Toronto Raptors hold serve in win over undermanned Warriors

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To call the version of the Golden State Warriors that took the court against the Raptors last night undermanned would be akin to saying Omicron is a little worrisome right now.

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The nine members of the Golden State Warriors that did make the trip to Toronto were a mix of three rookies and six others with a combined total of 26 seasons of NBA experience.

Kevon Looney and Nemanja Bjelica have six years of experience each leaving 14 seasons between the other four.

Looney and Damion Lee were the only Warriors who were even on the team roster two years ago when the Raptors bested Golden State in the NBA Finals and only Looney saw the floor.

The outcome wasn’t guaranteed to go in Toronto’s favour but the odds were very much in Toronto’s corner even after the playing field got somewhat levelled with news about an hour before tipoff that both Pascal Siakam and rookie Dalano Banton were entering the league’s health and safety protocols.

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It marked the end of a rather impressive stretch where the Raptors went head to head with a number of teams that either arrived in or left Toronto with increased cases while the home side remained mostly unaffected.

In any event the loss of Siakam and Banton barely scratched the surface of what the Warriors sent home one game before the end of a five-game road trip.

Without regulars like Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Andre Iguodala, the Warriors were just overmatched falling 119-95 to a Raptors squad that welcomed back two players in OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa while losing the likes of Siakam and Banton.

Injuries played a role in the Warriors decision to come so short-handed but it wasn’t the only factor.

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“Yeah, everything factors in,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said before the game. “It feels like the whole league now is at a precarious spot. We factor in the differences in the rules here (in Canada) and how that might manifest itself long term … all that stuff.”

Kerr was certainly not making any apologies for the decision.

“I would just say that the last few days have been really difficult with Jordan Poole going into the protocol,” Kerr said. “Every day you open up the internet and read about 10 or 15 players going in. We are in the midst of a really tough schedule so we have guys banged up. We made the decision to do what we did thinking this was going to protect our team going forward and give the guys   … Steph will get rest and the other guys will get a couple of days to recover from their injuries and hopefully we can go out and compete and really perform well with our young guys.”

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Well, the young guys gave it their best effort but they were never really in this game.

The Raptors did the expected and attacked the young Warriors in waves building a 13-point lead by the end of the first quarter and bumping that to 21 by halftime.

Fred VanVleet in particular seemed to be picking the Warriors apart reach the 20-point, 10-assist mark by halftime.

He finished the game with 27 points and 12 assists with his night limited to 33 minutes with the game out of reach rather early.

Scottie Barnes continued his assault on opposing defences, and offences for that matter, with 21 points marking the third game in a row he has surpassed the 15-point mark. He also hauled down eight rebounds and dished out six assists.

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Achiuwa also had a nice return to the lineup with 15 points and five boards in   25 minutes off the bench.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Jama Mahlalela may have taken his developmental tools out to the Bay area, but his body of work and his legacy live in with the Raptors in the progress made by the likes of VanVleet, Siakam, Anunoby and Boucher.

The much-loved assistant coach in Toronto and former head coach with the Raptors 905 has already cemented a place of equally high regard within the Warriors organization which he joined this season.

“ Jama has been amazing,” Kerr said of the one-time U of T Varsity Blues assistant who is now assistant coach and director of player development with the Warriors. “Just a wonderful addition to the staff. His work ethic, his charisma, his energy — he just sort of ties everyone together every day. Players and coaches all love him so just a great addition to the staff and he has such a great track record with player development here in Toronto.

“… We do have a unique situation where we do have this veteran core, guys who have won championships and are still competing at a really high level. They are able to mentor these younger guys who are really gifted. So to bring Jama in to sort of organize it – I mean he really organizes our daily schedule. He’s kind of my chief of staff in a lot of ways. On top of that he’s just a great person, fun to be around. We are thrilled to have him.”

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