Coming off a dreadful 2-4 road trip, Raptors play next three at home

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The Raptors find themselves back home following a road trip that could have looked much different had the whistle gone their way in a close loss to the Lakers.

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In some ways, the Raptors also find themselves pretty much where they were before they left Toronto to embark on a six-game trip that ended with a 2-4 record, capped off by a truly ugly blowout loss to the host Utah Jazz.

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The team, regardless of who is in uniform and what lineups are cobbled together, can’t defend.

Rumours of Pascal Siakam’s impending departure or contract extension have yet to reach the finish line.

Losers of three in a row, the Raptors have actually dug themselves an even deeper hole with the real possibility of forfeiting their first-round pick to San Antonio as part of that misread trade that brought Jakob Poeltl back to Toronto.

For those who have lost track of the ins and outs of the deal, the Spurs own the Raptors’ 2024 pick as long as it doesn’t fall in the top six.

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Poeltl turned an ankle in the Raptors’ rout of the host Golden State Warriors and isn’t expected to be available for any of the team’s coming three-game home stretch that features a tip against Boston Monday, Miami Wednesday and Chicago Thursday.

Five, in fact, of Toronto’s next six will be in the 6ix before it heads out on another six-game sojourn that will take the Raptors to the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

On the next day, the team will welcome back Fred VanVleet and the Houston Rockets.

The man who famously bet on himself left town with the Raptors holding a bag full of nothing when VanVleet signed in free agency.

A similar scenario involving Siakam is always possible, at least in theory.

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To say Siakam’s status is fraught with complications would be to state the obvious. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer and is keen on cashing in big in a current market that views him as a rental pending some kind of wink-wink guarantee.

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Regardless of what side of the fence one resides, it has turned into an old story in the absence of clarity with the usual suspects rumored to be interested, a list of purported teams featuring Indy, Philly, Dallas and Golden State.

In any event, time is running out.

Time may have already run out on the Raptors, who did build some momentum with the arrival of R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, a restricted free agent this summer it must be noted.

The Raptors are 0-9 against divisional rivals, laying claim as the only team in the NBA to reach such depths of defeat.

The team is coming off a woeful effort in Utah when the home side spanked the Raptors to the tune of 145-113, the third-most points surrendered by Toronto in club history.

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Interestingly, the Celtics arrive having pasted the Rockets by the identical scoreline as Boston’s home unbeaten run continued.

Entering the night, the Raptors are tied with Atlanta for the seventh-fewest wins in the NBA, a standing that will ensure San Antonio will get Toronto’s first-round selection in the coming draft.

Also entering Monday’s tip, only the woeful Detroit Pistons have a longer active losing streak than the Raptors, whose loss in Motown ended an historic slide.

At the core of the Raptors’ issues is defence. And unless better defence is summoned, there will be more moments of head-scratching than fist-pumping.

An end of a long trip a loss might have been expected and perhaps somewhat tolerated had mental toughness been shown. Instead, the Raptors were soft in Utah and allowed the Jazz to go off for 81 second-half points, an inexcusable and pathetic amount that speaks to lack of discipline and drive.

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Utah outscored the Raptors 58-31 in paint points, crushed Toronto on the glass to the tune of 58-31, while also going off by drilling 21 three-pointers.

Boston brings an NBA-best record to town, a team that bested the Raptors on Dec. 29 in Beantown when the C’s were minus Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.

On the same night, Scottie Barnes made a career-high seven three-pointers.

In the ensuing eight games, Barnes buried 14 from distance, including four in a loss to the host Sacramento Kings.

Whether the grind of a road trip caught up to him or not, the fact remains Barnes did not play well in games versus the Clippers and Jazz.

Clearly, he needs to be better.

There’s no better measuring stick than Boston, a team that has found ways to beat Toronto in three previous meetings, the past two being tight and competitive.

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Coming off a 33-point loss to Milwaukee last Thursday, the Celtics quickly regrouped when they dusted off the Rockets. Tatum, who would get ejected following his second technical, scored 22 first-half points on 8-for-11 shooting in the Houston win.

In the second half, it was Jaylen Brown’s turn to take over when he poured in 21 of his game-high 32 points in the third quarter.

Brown (third overall) and Siakam (27th overall) were each taken in the 2016 draft, the same class when the Raptors used their first pick (ninth overall) on Poeltl.

Brown will earn plenty of green after he signed a record five-year supermax extension with the Celtics  worth in excess of $300 million US.

In three games this season against the Raptors, Brown has averaged 27.6 points and has made 32 of his 50 shots.

In three games this season against the Celtics, Siakam has averaged 22.3 points and has made 27 of his 51 shots.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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