DEEP-SIXED: Raptors stumble early and often in pre-season loss to Philly

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As good as a Raptors fan may have felt after that first pre-season effort, the second one had to have them feeling equally as anxious.

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Facing the same 76ers team they did three nights earlier although, with the noted exception of the return of both Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, the feel-good vibes were replaced with some anxiety as the Raptors coughed up 71 first-half points on their way to a 125-113 loss.

Obviously, the return of Embiid and Harris were factors. Not to be underestimated was simple pride. The Sixers were embarrassed in Toronto three nights ago and head coach Doc Rivers called out their effort, their physicality and their very desire.

None of those were in question Thursday night as the Sixers were the better team from the opening tip.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse sounded like he felt his young team came into this one expecting a repeat of their success from Monday night.

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“There’s a lot of lessons, I think that we can take from it,” Nurse said. “I think that you understand from one game to the next, each game is a new game. It’s not like you shoot the ball really well, you run up and down the floor [it’s going to happen again]. You understand that, especially when you’re playing the same team, they’re going to be more determined and make you do things at a faster speed and you got to be ready for that and the physicality.”

And no, the Raptors did not look like they were ready for that.

Nurse’s other major takeaway from this one was the need to start spending a little more time the team’s offence.

“We’ve got to get going on our offence a little bit,” Nurse said. “It was really, probably poor offensive execution tonight and shot selection and those kind of things. We got to get going on that and pick up the pace on that a little bit.”

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The Sixers got double-digit scoring efforts from eight different players, led by the 16 from Georges Niang.

Philadelphia was deadly from behind the arc, going 18-for-36 from distance, again led by Niang, who was good on four of his seven attempts.

The Raptors struggled mightily with the Sixers’ size in this one, with Embiid back joining Andre Drummond, two of the bigger bigs in the league, against a Raptors team that was playing without three of their own bigs in Khem Birch, Chris Boucher and Yuta Watanabe.

There were some bright spots for the Raptors.

OG Anunoby continues to show a ton of confidence with his offensive game, finishing with a game-high 22 points. That kind of contribution is going to be needed even when the likes of Pascal Siakam, Boucher and Birch return.

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Gary Trent Jr. struggled with his long-range shots, which is to be expected given this was his first action against anyone he didn’t share a uniform with.

Trent, though, remains an above-average scorer and went 5-for-7 from the non-three-point shooting areas.

The Raptors will remain on the road for a third pre-season game Saturday in Boston before returning home.

EARLY MOST IMPROVED

Asked about Rexdale native Dalano Banton’s progress, Nurse called the Raptors’ second-round pick probably the most improved player on his roster since Banton joined the club.

“He’s made some real strides in his pace of play,” Nurse said. “He’s made some real strides in his shooting that’s gonna, like, he’s changed the mechanics and he’s got tremendous work ethic. I don’t know when that’s going to show up but I’m really confident it’s going to show up because of those two things. He’s going to keep at it and the stroke looks good now.”

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Where Banton needs time and repetition is with the Raptors’ defensive schemes.

“There’s a lot of learning on the defensive that takes place just, again, foundationally, rotation-wise, scheme-wise, and all that stuff, “Nurse said. “But saying that, it’s pretty cool that he races the ball up the floor at 6-9 and has a tremendous vision and then he blocks a shot and then grabs a big rebound at the other end. He plays big at the defensive end and that’s kind of, we like that, versatile.”

YUTA HAS EARNED IT

It should not come as a surprise to anyone that Watanabe, despite the fact he does not possess a guaranteed contract, has all but certainly earned a spot with this team.

Nurse said as much before Thursday’s game.

Good thing, too, because it looks like his opportunity to show any more during this pre-season has been taken away from him with a mild calf strain that he suffered Wednesday during practice.

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Watanabe has only gotten better since a strong debut season with the Raptors, and showed as much through the training camp period and the early portion of the pre-season schedule.

Hearing Nurse tell it, the Raptors are counting their blessings that Watanabe wasn’t more seriously injured during a practice incident on Wednesday.

Nurse said he expects him back by opening night but unlikely for any of the remaining three pre-season games, which ends with Tuesday’s game in Washington.

BUSTED

Eighteen former NBA players are facing charges for an alleged health insurance scheme to defraud the league’s benefits pay of almost $4 million.

Among the 18 are five who spent time as members of the Toronto Raptors. That list includes Alan Anderson, Jamario Moon, Antoine Wright, Milt Palacio and Sebastian Telfair.

All 18 are facing charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in addition to aggravated identity theft.

The scheme revolved around the use of fake invoices and federal prosecutors are alleging the whole thing was orchestrated by Terrence Williams.

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