The Raptors’ injury list grew by one for Monday night’s tip against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, a young team that started the season by winning six straight before dropping three in a row.
asserted
that → grow → row
Kawhi Leonard’s swollen knee kept him out of the lineup for the eighth straight game, while Scottie Barnes (adductor) and Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) were inactive for the second game in a row.
asserted
Barnes → keep → row
The newest member sidelined was Collin Murray-Boyles, who was ruled out because of an illness.
asserted
who → sideline → illness
Needless to say, the Raptors were short-handed and in need of an overall team effort summoned Friday night when the visitors overcame a double-digit deficit to beat the host Milwaukee Bucks.
asserted
visitors → say → Bucks
While Memphis entered the night on a losing streak, it is a much better team than Milwaukee or the L.A. Clippers, the two opponents Toronto defeated.
asserted
Toronto → enter → Milwaukee
Not unexpectedly, the Raptors lost to the Grizzlies 118-102.
asserted
Raptors → lose → Grizzlies
The loss dropped Toronto’s record to 5-5 knowing a very difficult stretch awaits.
asserted
stretch → drop → 5
The Raptors trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening half to the energetic Grizzlies, who took a 59-53 lead into the break.
asserted
who → trail → break
RJ Barrett struggled from the field, where he went 2-for-8, and from the charity stripe, where he missed four free throws on six attempts in the first half.
asserted
he → struggle → half
More damning were the zero fast-break points produced by the Raptors.
asserted
points → produce → Raptors
An early 12-0 run in the third quarter extended the Grizzlies’ lead to 16 points.
asserted
run → extend → points
A much-needed lift arrived when Jamison Battle began to heat up from distance, the lefty long-range shooter dropping 14 points in the third quarter.
When Toronto’s shots failed to drop, and there were many, Memphis used its size advantage to regain its 16-point advantage.
asserted
Memphis → need → advantage
The night began with the Raptors’ margin for error slim.
asserted
margin → begin → error
With 2:44 left in the game and the Raptors trailing 113-97, Toronto had no margin for error.
asserted
Toronto → leave → error
Three-point shooting kept the Raptors in the game, but three-point shooting by Memphis in the decisive fourth quarter led to Toronto’s demise.
asserted
shooting → keep → demise
The following are three takeaways on a night Toronto native Zach Edey scored eight points, while recording nine rebounds in 23 minutes for the Grizzlies.
asserted
Edey → follow → Grizzlies
Can Alijah Martin repeat his career performance?
asserted
Martin → repeat → performance
Different night, different opponent and it became clear early that Alijah Martin would be hard-pressed to repeat his 27-point outing Friday night.
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Martin → become → outing
That’s no knock on Martin.
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That → ’ → Martin
During stretches, he was teamed up with rookie Jaden Bradley in a Raptors backcourt woefully thin on experience.
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he → team → experience
After he missed a three-pointer, Martin used his dribble and strength to score at the rim.
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Martin → miss → rim
When Martin gambled on a steal, he was matched up against third overall pick Cameron Boozer, whose size was no match for the smaller Martin.
asserted
size → gamble → Martin
On the night, Martin scored two points, 25 fewer than Friday’s breakout game.
asserted
Martin → score → game
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2. Is Jamal Shead indispensable?
asserted
Shead → recommend → ?
Fresh off playing a season-high 34 minutes against Milwaukee, Shead wasn’t expected to produce a 16-1 assist-to-turnover ratio performance against the Grizzlies, but his presence on both sides of the floor was nonetheless required.
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presence → play → floor
The night began with Shead asked to defend Ty Jerome, an emerging player and one of the NBA’s early season feel-good stories.
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Shead → begin → stories
Jerome plays with an explosive edge who seems to always apply pressure on any defence.
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who → play → defence
Shead embodies the qualities of a floor leader who isn’t asked to score.
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who → embody → leader
When Martin was on the floor, the Raptors went with a two-point-guard look, even though Martin profiles more as a scoring guard.
asserted
Martin → go → guard
His penetration led to a draw-and-kick sequence capped off by a Shead three-ball, the Raptors’ first from beyond the arc after Toronto started the game by missing its first six shots from distance.
asserted
Toronto → lead → distance
Having both Shead and Martin on the floor at the same time isn’t exactly ideal when one considers each lacks size.
The Raptors’ hands were tied in the wake of injuries.
asserted
hands → have → injuries
While Barrett can handle the ball in certain situations, he’s not a point guard as the ill-fated experiment from a few years ago to use him as the primary point guard clearly revealed his shortcomings.
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experiment → handle → shortcomings
The Raptors’ best two-guard combo involves Quickley playing with Shead, who would knock down his second consecutive three-pointer against Memphis off another open look.
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who → involve → look
A third straight three-ball would drop as Shead accounted for half of Toronto’s 26 points in the first quarter.
asserted
Shead → drop → quarter
Shead entered the night having made a combined five three-pointers this season on 23 attempts.
3.
asserted
Shead → enter → attempts
How do the Raptors best manage Kyle Anderson’s minutes?
asserted
Raptors → manage → minutes
The veteran has a nice feel for the game and has the overall tools to serve a role, provided that role features limited minutes.
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role → have → minutes
Injuries forced the Raptors to mix up their rotation for the second game in a row, thrusting Anderson into the starting power forward spot.
asserted
Injuries → force → spot
A nice feed by Anderson led to an assist, good timing would lead to a block on the defensive end.
asserted
timing → lead → end
Ideally, Anderson is coming off the bench as the eighth or ninth player in a rotation, which is no slight for someone nicknamed Slo Mo.
More than anything, Anderson’s start underscored the kind of card the Raptors were dealt.
asserted
Raptors → come → card
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
