Nick Nurse Hints at Possible Options for Slowing Tyrese Maxey

The Toronto Raptors may have to turn to shake up their rotation to slow down Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey in Game 2

Aaron Rose | Apr 18, 2022

Nick Nurse Hints at Possible Options for Slowing Tyrese Maxey /

For all the attention the Toronto Raptors' lack of size gets when it comes to taking on supersized centers like Joel Embiid, Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers exposed another issue for Toronto: A lack of speed.

It's been a quiet problem for Toronto this season, especially in the second half of the year as Fred VanVleet has battled a nagging knee injury. It wasn't all that long ago that Trae Young dropped 41 against Toronto in a game Raptors coach Nick Nurse admitted VanVleet had no business playing in. More recently, Houston's Kevin Porter Jr. and New York's Immanuel Quickley have both caused problems for the Raptors as well.

In Game 1, VanVleet was tabbed with the Maxey assignment and things didn't go very well. The Raptors guard surrendered 17 points to the 76ers' sophomore in six minutes of defense, allowing Maxey to shoot 6-for-6 from the floor when defended by VanVleet, according to the NBA's matchup data.

"I think we’ll have to try to catch his speed a little bit, get into him a little bit more and maybe show him a little bit more attention as far as off-ball when he was spotting up," VanVleet told reporters in Philadelphia. "But give him credit, he played a great game. We’ll try to tighten up a little bit and see where we can limit him but the first two problems are Joel and James for sure."

If VanVleet can't handle the assignment, Toronto's options get pretty thin pretty quickly. Gary Trent Jr. is doubtful to play in Game 2 due to a non-COVID illness and doesn't profile as the kind of defender the Raptors would want against Maxey. OG Anunoby could take on the assignment, but the Raptors need him against James Harden and Joel Embiid, and Pascal Siakam is better used as more of a center fielder who can help off Tobias Harris rather than someone who is going to take on Maxey.

Outside of the starting group, Malachi Flynn and Armoni Brooks profile as the best options on Toronto's roster to defend Maxey. Both the bench guards were out of the rotation in Game 1 but could see playing time in Game 2 considering the injuries Toronto is battling through.

"I think that our smaller, quicker guys – obviously it would be Malachi or Armoni – I think would maybe be able to chase him a little bit," Nurse said following practice Sunday.

Ultimately, though, focusing too much on plugging one hole is just going to create others for the Raptors. Flynn and Armoni don't offer the versatility to switch the way the Raptors want to on defense and aren't going to crash the glass and grab offensive rebounds the way Toronto so desperately needs.

This series has always been about who can dictate the style of play and force the other team to adapt. If the Raptors are forced to surrender their defensive identity just to stop Maxey, the 76ers have already won.

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