[ad_1]
Article content continued
Lowry’s absence was actually one of two from Toronto’s starting five, though the second was by choice as Nick Nurse chose to sub out Aron Baynes for the night and go with Alex Len at the troublesome centre position.
Len didn’t turn out to be the answer, as his minutes were limited to just five rather forgettable ones before he joined Baynes on the bench for the remainder of the night.
Nurse spent the rest of the game going with either Boucher in the middle or a small lineup with Siakam, or even Yuta Watanabe at centre.
And whoever he called on answered, which certainly hasn’t always been the case this season.
The same could be said of the bench, which like the centre position had been a huge area of frustration for Nurse and his coaching staff so far this season.
But on Friday, beginning with Boucher, the bench unit came on and really outplayed their Sacramento counterparts for the bulk of the night.
Terence Davis and Malachi Flynn, both called out earlier this year for inconsistent or ineffectual play both had double-digit nights off the bench, Davis with 18 and Flynn with 12 while shutting what had been a highly functioning Kings offence down.
Stanley Johnson, forgotten for most of last season, again found a niche with his defensive play off the bench. He didn’t score a point in 15 minutes but he was a plus-11 and chipped in on the glass with four boards in a better-than-the-box score-showed night.
The Raptors now head to San Francisco, where they will take on the Golden State Warriors and the always-dangerous Steph Curry.
mganter@postmedia.com
[ad_2]
Source link
