Development Takes Center Stage for Raptors Following Heartbreaking Loss to Celtics

The Toronto Raptors see promising development from Precious Achiuwa despite loss to Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, the Toronto Raptors might as well just focus on development.

It's been one squandered opporunity after another this season. Each loss seems more innovative that the last. After two straight losses to the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton and Minnesota Timberwolves without Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, Toronto came up with a new one Saturday. This time, turning in a 106-104 loss to the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics who lost Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart in the first half.

How?

It's barely worth getting into it. A 9-0 run without Pascal Siakam to start the fourth quarter erased Toronto's lead and 12 minutes later everything unwravled. Some strange timeout shenanigans left the Raptors without a timeout in the final seconds and any hope for a comeback died moments later.

But enough of that. It's not even clear anymore if winning would be helpful for this team. So let's focus on some positives.

Scottie Barnes came into Saturday riding his hottest stretch of the season. He'd averaged 19.5 points, nearly eight rebounds, and five assists per game over his last 10 games. And yet, it wasn't exactly how the team has envisioned his success. Coming into the year, Toronto sang Barnes' praises as a ball-handling lead guard. His recent success, though, came with Barnes at the center spot, using him as a roller and finisher rather than a shot-creator and offensive initiator.

On Saturday that changed. With Fred VanVleet sidelined with a rib injury, Barnes shifted over to the point guard spot and looked stellar early. He got into the paint in the first quarter, beating Al Horford for a bucket off a nice dish from Gary Trent Jr. From there, he rediscovered his three-point stroke, nailing a pair of catch-and-shoot threes in the first half while sinking a 21-footer off the dribble.

"It's almost completely opposite role," said Raptors coach Nick Nurse. "I thought he was really showing some good leadership in organizing the offense at times and play calling and all that kind of stuff. So I like it. I think he looks good in that position."

Barnes did slow down in the second half, unable to get much going with the ball in his hands. He threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Payton Pritchard mid-way through the fourth and finished the night with just 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting with five assists.

If Barnes is the primary focus of Toronto's future, Achiuwa isn't far behind. He slid into the starting lineup and didn't look out of place, twice working the pick-and-roll with Pascal Siakam before finishing a pair of And-1s over Horford and Luke Kornet. At one point, he even nailed a step-back pull-up three-pointer in the corner over Grant Williams to put the Raptors up six in the third.

"His fight and compete level were as good as they could be," Nurse said of Achiuwa who finished the night with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and a team-high plus-13. "We certainly needed him for the matchups out there tonight and he played very well."

On the other end, Achiuwa looked even better. He showed his potential as an eventual All-Defense candidate, locking down the paint for extended stretches against Boston.

Precious Achiuwa's defensive impact in the first half?

Celtics scored 24 points on 10-28 (36%) FG in 15 minutes with him on the court. Raptors were +13.

Celtics scored 26 points on 9-14 FG (64%) FG in 9 minutes with him on the bench. Raptors were -6.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 21, 2023

Even when the Celtics tried to pull him out to the perimeter, the 6-foot-9 Achiuwa flashed his quick feet, holding his own against Malcolm Brogdon and Jaylen Brown. When Brogdon got a step on him early in the third quarter, Achiuwa recovered for a chase-down block at the rim. He added another one in the fourth, switching a pick-and-roll and blocking Williams at the rim, his third of three blocks in the game.

That's what the season will be about for Toronto. Yes, Siakam's All-NBA campaign will be important for his contract situation and personal prestige. He added to it Saturday with a near-triple double, finishing the night with 29 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. But the Raptors know Siakam is a borderline superstar. Now it's about finding out who else can help him. 

Nurse Frustrated with Timeout Issues

Toronto had a chance to pull off the comeback with 14 seconds to go in regulation when Trent picked off a bad pass from Pitchard. There seemed to be an opporunity to scamble in the chaos for a bucket but Nurse quickly called a timeout to calm everything down.

Moments later, Nurse burned his final timeout trying to challenge a jump ball call he thought should have been Toronto's possession. He said he'd been told he could challenge the call if he took the timeout. However, the senior referee ruled the play unchallangable and refused to give Toronto its timeout back claiming they never heard Nurse never asked about the challenge before calling the timeout.

"The thought process was to challenge it because it didn’t look like a jump ball to me," Nurse said. "It looked like the ball got knocked away (and) Pascal got it back."

Losing the timeout proved costly.

When Toronto did get the ball back following an offensive foul by the Celtics, the Raptors couldn't advance the ball in the final seconds. Instead, Siakam was pick pocketed at midcourt and Boston held on, droping Toronto to seven games below .500.

Injury Report

O.G. Anunoby limped off the court early in the second half with a jammed right ankle. He was initially deemed available to return but was eventually ruled out.

VanVleet, meanwhile, was ruled out with a right rib injury he suffered on Thursday, Nurse said. He'll likely be questionable to play on Sunday.

Up Next: New York Knicks

The Raptors will be right back at it Sunday evening when the New York Knicks come to town for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.