There arrives a night such as Thursday when RJ Barrett emerges as a go-to player for the Raptors, and a presence on the glass and just about everywhere on the floor.
asserted
Barrett → arrive → floor
With the Raptors dealing with injuries, Barrett has, at times, been exposed.
When asked to create and score late Wednesday, he couldn’t execute.
asserted
he → deal → times
One night later, Barrett posted a double-double, highlighted by a season-high 31 points.
asserted
Barrett → post → points
Playing with grit is one thing, but there’s a decided talent disparity, and it showed for the second straight night, this time in a 123-112 loss to the host Philadelphia 76ers.
asserted
it → play → 76ers
The loss was Toronto’s third in a row and fourth in its past five games as its record dropped to 5-7.
asserted
record → drop → 5
No one should be alarmed, though, because the current roster makeup isn’t good enough to beat good teams.
asserted
makeup → beat → teams
And once again, the Raptors started fast.
asserted
Raptors → start → ?
Entertaining basketball has described Toronto’s back-to-back set, which began Wednesday night when a 22-point lead was erased by the visiting Boston Celtics, who took over late in the evening around the same time Toronto’s offence went stone cold.
asserted
offence → describe → time
The teams combined to turn the ball over only nine times, a 24-minute stretch punctuated by offence and shot-making.
asserted
teams → combine → offence
At intermission, the teams were deadlocked at 60-60, a fitting result given the ebbs and flows that would see Toronto at one point double up on the Sixers before the home side went on an 8-0 run.
asserted
side → deadlocke → run
Despite being shorthanded, the Raptors competed, much like they did one night earlier against the Celtics, another Eastern Conference powerhouse.
asserted
they → compete → Celtics
If there were any lingering effects from the previous night, it was hard to notice.
asserted
it → be → night
Credit the Raptors for bouncing back and staying focused on the present, good signs for a team that has been forced to rely on its bench in the face of injuries.
asserted
that → credit → injuries
Head coach Darko Rajakovic hasn’t been afraid in using different lineups, either.
asserted
Rajakovic → use → lineups
Six turnovers in the third quarter by the Raptors, combined with a 11-0 run by the Sixers, and the game, suddenly, was slipping away.
asserted
game → combine → Sixers
The Raptors trailed 96-87 heading into the fourth quarter.
asserted
Raptors → trail → quarter
A quick three-pointer by Philly to open the fourth period and a basket following a Raptors turnover and the lead swelled into double figures.
asserted
lead → open → figures
The Raptors continued to scrap and claw at the same time the Sixers never gave an inch.
asserted
Sixers → continue → inch
The following are three takeaways on a night the Raptors faced Jaylen Brown for the first time as a member of the Sixers, one night after the Raptors faced Brown’s former Boston Celtics teammate in Jayson Tatum, though Brown was nowhere near a presence as Tatum.
asserted
Brown → follow → Tatum
How Quickley was the page turned?
asserted
page → turn → ?
The Raptors’ starting point guard was 3-for-14 from the field, including 1-for-8 from distance in 28 minutes.
asserted
guard → include → minutes
He hasn’t been good for long stretches this season, but he was very good to begin Thursday’s tip in Philly.
asserted
he → begin → Philly
Perhaps it was the sight of seeing former Kentucky teammate Tyrese Maxie on the opposing team, an electric point guard who is much better than Quickley.
asserted
who → see → Quickley
At least for the opening minutes Thursday, Quickley outplayed his former Wildcats teammate.
asserted
Quickley → open → teammate
Quickley and Jakob Poeltl executed a high pick and roll to perfection, taking advantage of Philly’s slow rotation.
asserted
Quickley → execute → rotation
With the ball in his hands, Quickley was decisive and very assertive, playing with a flair and freedom he has seldom shown this season.
asserted
he → play → flair
It was Quickley’s play that would set the tone for the Raptors in the opening frame, which would see the visitors jump out to a 32-16 advantage.
asserted
visitors → set → advantage
When a team is able to make 60% of its shots, double-digit leads are a byproduct.
asserted
leads → make → shots
Toronto started quickly against the Celtics as well.
asserted
Toronto → start → Celtics
Much like Wednesday, Thursday became a question of sustainability.
asserted
Thursday → become → sustainability
Quickley scored 11 points Wednesday, but by halftime Thursday he had netted 15.
asserted
he → score → 15
He finished the night by scoring 26 points, one off his season high.
asserted
He → finish → high
Will Joel Embiid emerge as a presence for the Sixers?
asserted
Embiid → emerge → Sixers
A scary scene unfolded early when Ja’Kobe Walter bumped knees with Embiid by trying to go under a screen at the top of the circle.
asserted
Walter → unfold → circle
The way Embiid remained on the floor, wincing in pain, one felt he would not return.
asserted
he → remain → pain
Embiid did make his way back to the game.
asserted
Embiid → make → game
With Leonard out, the occasion did allow Embiid to focus on the game and not evoke any of the unpleasant memories from Leonard’s four-bounce buzzer beater in 2019 that bounced Embiid out of the playoffs.
asserted
that → allow → playoffs
A distraught Embiid in tears remains one of the most bitter moments of his career, which will one day land the extremely talented and yet injury prone big in the basketball hall of fame.
asserted
which → remain → fame
These days, Embiid’s jumping ability has been severely compromised, the toll of carrying his personal weight and the weight of expectations.
asserted
ability → compromise → expectations
On one sequence, he took Poeltl off the dribble and finished it with a flush.
3.
asserted
he → take → flush
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
