Raptors: Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet continue to carry team
The Toronto Raptors put up another impressive performance with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet leading the way against the Portland Trail Blazers.
If Pascal Siakam hasn’t shown that he was worthy of the max contract he received from the Toronto Raptors, Wednesday night’s performance against the Portland Trail Blazers should help make his case stronger.
The Raptors took advantage of a struggling Portland squad to get back in the win column with Siakam putting up 36 points while Fred VanVleet joined him with 30 points. Considering all the attention the bench has been getting, Toronto still needed their stars to play a big role after coming up short against Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers and certainly got that.
More from Tip of the Tower
- Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
- Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
- Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
- Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
- Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith
Siakam or VanVleet didn’t get a lot of rest playing over 40 minutes but also got support from Terence Davis II who played 31 minutes and scored 15 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Injuries to Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby haven’t been as big of an issue but it’s not going to be easy to maintain. Luckily, they won’t play until Saturday which will give Anunoby time to heal and return to the lineup.
Making up for Lowy and Siakam’s absence will continue to be a challenge but it will be easier if they continue to play suffocating defence against top players.
Against the Lakers, Clippers, and Trail Blazers the Raptors held Leonard, LeBron James and Damian Lillard to a combined 34 points (23.7 per cent from the field) which is not something you see everyday. It is the level of defence that should give the Raptors more credibility as a contender.
While star players will find ways to produce against Toronto but Nick Nurse has shown that he can make the necessary adjustments when the situation calls for it. That will prove to be valuable when the playoffs come around.
As long as Siakam and VanVleet continue to produce, there is no reason to think the Raptors can’t compete with the top teams in the East and make things interesting late in the season.
Next. Raptors show Kawhi Leonard they can still compete without him. dark
What do you think about the Raptors play lately? Can they continue to rely on Siakam and VanVleet to produce as they have recently? Let us know in the comments below.