Pascal Siakam’s absence was a little over two weeks, but he wasted little time re-establishing his place both within the Raptors and in the NBA as a whole.
Siakam, out for the past 10 games with a strained groin — a three-and-a-half-week period — returned looking like he hadn’t missed a second of action never mind nearly a month.
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Siakam was right into attack mode scoring his first two buckets on spin moves in the paint as we have seen him do so many times before.
Siakam has made it clear that he wants to join that next level of elite scorers and defenders in the league and Monday was a statement that no groin injury was going to get in the way of that.
His 18 points and 11 rebounds led the Raptors to an 100-88 win over a game but undermanned Cleveland squad.
The Cavs, who came into the game third in the conference with a 13-7 record, were without starting centre Jarrett Allen and veteran reserve Kevin Love among a handful of others.
Allen’s absence was particularly noticeable as the Raptors were able to get inside and do damage, normally an area that the Cavs dominate.
Pivotal for the Raptors in this one was the blanket defence they played on Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell has scored 30 or more 11 times already this season but with a heavy dose of OG Anunoby in his face, Mitchell was unable to get out of single digits, finishing the night with just eight points.
Anunoby, who took over Siakam’s No. 1 option role offensively in his absence, didn’t slack in that area either, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and four-of-five makes from distance in the game.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse went a little unorthodox with his starting lineup, but it worked out nicely.
Scottie Barnes came off the bench and gave the Raptors another strong defensive presence in the second unit while scoring 11 points.
More than anything it allowed Nurse to ease players like Siakam and Barnes back into the lineup.
Siakam was held just under 33 minutes while Barnes played 30 off the bench.
Defensively, the Raptors were crisp all night.
Siakam’s return had a lot to do with that but so, too, did the presence of Barnes and especially Anunoby.
Siakam did most of his damage offensively in the first half where he had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in just 16 minutes.
Anunoby picked up the slack in the second half. After attempting just four shots in the first half leading to six points, he was a much bigger offensive contributor in the second half finishing with a team-high 20 points.
THE GANG IS MOSTLY ALL BACK
Siakam, Barnes, Dalano Banton and Justin Champagnie all made their returns to the lineup Monday night against a Cleveland team that is still very much in the midst of their own injury nightmare.
The last 10 games have been a trying time for Nurse and his staff. Trying to figure out a rotation that doesn’t overload certain individuals while still fielding a team competitive enough to get the win.
There were nights over that 10-game span when the Raptors were down to just one healthy starter with as many as three of their top reserves also out.
On Monday, they were down just two top reserves out — Otto Porter Jr. and Precious Achiuwa — and all the starters back in action.
Nurse was asked to describe the 5-5 record his team was able to amass despite all the injuries and illnesses.
“I think staying afloat is probably a good term to use,” Nurse said. “We probably did that OK. I can sit here and think of one half here against Brooklyn and one game at OKC where we didn’t play very well. Other than that, we played pretty good basketball and gave ourselves a chance in all the rest of them. We picked a few off, let one or two get away. Main thing is trying to play good basketball and execute. Have to be fairly happy with what guys did, for sure.”
Getting the rest of the injured back, though, isn’t going to be a quick process.
Achiuwa hasn’t played since badly spraining his ankle in a win over Houston on Nov. 9.
Nurse was asking director of sports science Alex McKechnie about Achiuwa’s status on Monday and was told he is probably another two or three weeks away before they even have a better idea of a return date.
Porter Jr., out with a dislocated toe, could very well be longer than Achiuwa returning.
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NURSE MIXES IT UP
With the bulk of his roster available, Nurse chose to go a little different with his starting five despite having all of his five regular starters available.
Nurse chose to go with Juancho Hernangomez and Thad Young, who had been so pivotal throughout the Raptors’ depleted-roster period.
Left on the bench to start the game were Barnes who just returned from a knee injury, and Gary Trent Jr. who had been struggling with his shot.