Raptors film room: Thunder’s defense exposed a fatal flaw

The Raptors can’t win if they can’t score in the paint. That’s the truth. And it might prove fatal down the road. On a tough loss to an undermanned OKC team:

Here’s Louis Zatzman on the loss:

When Barnes was in the game, the Raptors were serious contenders. When he sat, the Thunder dominated. Rajakovic lamented after the game that Barnes didn’t receive enough free throws. He was physical, and he was defensively dominant. And Toronto did win his minutes by 18 points in a nine-point loss. Keep in mind, the Thunder were without a huge portion of their championship roster, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Still, the Thunder were able to take Toronto’s defensive menace and defang it in only a quarter.

And in that grind, Toronto’s identity broke down to Barnes’ ability to win in isolation. This was a vision of the future, a vision of the playoffs. This team can only go as far as Barnes’ greatest weakness will take it. And, to be fair, Barnes is an exceptional player. Even his worst abilities are still strong. He started the third quarter by posting up, picking up his dribble, reposting, driving, and hitting a hook shot. He drove and dimed Murray-Boyles for a layup on his duck-in from the weak-side dunker spot.

Barnes was very good. But such things are not the building blocks of efficient team-wide offence. There were misses in there, too. And the Thunder remained a high-octane offence the other way. Oklahoma City’s lead grew and grew. Toronto just couldn’t survive Caruso. He stole the ball away on pick-and-roll passes or on entry passes from the baseline. He finished layups on broken plays. He hit triples. Toronto had a chance whenever it was the more physical team. It simply wasn’t when Caruso was playing. (Caruso’s plus-22 in the game was the only mark that surpassed Barnes’.)

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