Title: Raptors Notebook: Frequent slow starts hard to overcome
Date: December 8, 2023
Original Source: Sportsnet
Synopsis: In my latest at Sportsnet, I wrote about another bad Raptors loss to a bad team made possible by an awful start.
There is a real danger in getting comfortable doing things the hard way.
A lot of nits could be picked about the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors‘ 119-116 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. And they are real, and we will mention them. Whatever the late-game execution, though, the Raptors could have made life much easier on themselves by not once again falling behind by 20 to a bad opponent. It has become a habit, and the Raptors are simply not a good enough team to consistently dig out of those holes, even against a 6-13 team without their best player in LaMelo Ball.
So yes, it was frustrating to watch the Raptors come out of a timeout with seven seconds remaining, down three points, and run a play that amounted to “Scottie Barnes, please do something.” No action to free him before the inbound, no screen to help him create space, just an inbound and observers as Barnes tried a contested pull-up three near the buzzer that missed.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 