Columnist image

TSN Raptors Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO – Sometimes less is more.
 
With a half decade of experience as a utility player in the NBA, Khem Birch knows this all too well. It’s a lesson he’s learned over the years. He’s had to. But it’s something that his young teammate, Precious Achiuwa, is still figuring out.
 
Early in the second half of Saturday’s game in Indiana, Achiuwa failed to capitalize on an open look under the rim. His layup kissed the rim and then bounced out, which has become a regular occurrence for the 22-year-old centre in his first month with the Toronto Raptors. Those missed opportunities are frustrating, but that’s not what really irked head coach Nick Nurse.
 
On the following possession, seemingly in a misguided attempt to get that lost bucket back, Achiuwa put his head down, drove the ball into traffic, and tossed up a wild shot that had little chance of going in – another regular occurrence so far this season.
 
Moments later, and just three and a half minutes into the third quarter, Nurse pulled Achiuwa from the game. He watched the rest of his team’s 97-94 win from the bench, while Birch played most of the final 20 minutes.
 
Afterwards, Nurse had a message for his young centre. To paraphrase: less is more.
 
“We had a pretty good talk yesterday about understanding what we need [from him], what kind of effort we need defensively, and just cleaning up some of these things on offence,” Nurse said. “Try to get him to focus on the things he can do every night. He can guard, he can rebound, he can screen, he can roll, he can put pressure on the rim. Sometimes that means four points and sometimes, some nights, that’s going to mean 20. You just don’t know some nights what’s going to come, but trying to play solidly in all the other areas of the game when the shots aren’t there or the shots aren’t going in.”
 
“Today’s a new day.”
 
But for Achiuwa, it was much of the same. The sophomore had another tough night in New York on Monday. In the opening minutes, he pulled up for a 17-foot baseline jumper over the long arms of Knicks centre Mitchell Robinson – not the kind of shot you want to see a struggling player take. In his second stint, he drove right into Robinson and fired a pass into the corner, which was intercepted by Alec Burks and led to a Knicks fast break. Then, in the span of about 40 seconds, he shot an air ball from inside the restricted area and clanked another layup in transition. All the while, he had difficulty containing Robinson on the boards and around the rim.
 
“He’s just a little out of character these last couple games, just doesn’t quite have it going on either end,” Nurse said of Achiuwa, who scored two points and shot 1-for-9 in 17 minutes as Toronto went on to defeat the Knicks, 113-104, at Madison Square Garden. “I believe in him. He’s got talent all over the place. We’ve just gotta wash those two games away, get him back playing and get his confidence back up.”
 
After a strong two-month audition with the club late last year, and then signing a three-year $20 million deal with Toronto over the summer, Birch was expected to retain his starting job coming into this season. Instead, he tested positive for COVID just before training camp and missed most of the preseason. In his absence, Achiuwa impressed. He started each of the team’s exhibition contests and has now started the first eight games of the regular campaign.
 
However, his leash is getting shorter. As Achiuwa has struggled, Birch is getting his conditioning back and is starting to look more like the player that turned heads in 19 games with the Raptors last year. He started the second half in place of Achiuwa on Monday, and quietly turned in his best performance of the young season.
 
His numbers won’t jump off the page. Six points and eight rebounds is a solid stat line for a backup centre, but not something that’ll stand out next to OG Anunoby’s career-high 36 points, or Gary Trent Jr.’s 26.
 
Still, the Raptors were coming into MSG and facing the Eastern Conference-leading Knicks without rookie sensation Scottie Barnes – who’s nursing a right thumb sprain – and a couple other bigs in Pascal Siakam and Yuta Watanabe, and it’s hard to imagine them pulling out an unlikely win if not for Birch’s unheralded impact on both ends of the floor.
 
Birch played all but five minutes of the second half, including the entire third quarter next to the other four starters. He grabbed offensive rebounds, changed shots around the rim, and freed teammates up with hard screens. In other words, he did the dirty work, the little things that impact winning. Less was more.
 
“He had a good game for six points,” Nurse said after the victory.
 
“I feel like the perception is because last year I averaged a lot of points [after coming to the Raptors] people think I’m having a down year or whatever,” said Birch. “But I feel stress free, I’ve always been a guy who just wants to make winning plays, I don’t care about the box score. Now that I’m here, I got my contract, I can show that I can just make winning plays. Some nights I might have four points, some nights I might have 10. So I’m just happy I’ve been able to be stress-free this year and contribute to wins.”
 
With a record of 5-3, the Raptors have been one of the NBA’s pleasant early-season surprises. Barnes’ hot start has raised their ceiling, and he shouldn’t miss much time with the thumb injury. Siakam’s ramped up his on-court work; barring a setback, he’s expected to make his season debut in the next couple weeks. Anunoby is blossoming into a legitimate two-way star, Trent has taken another step, especially on the defensive end, while rookie second-rounder Dalano Banton and offseason addition Svi Mykhailiuk have established themselves as low-cost rotation pieces.
 
The one glaring change that needs to be made, and will likely be made ahead of Wednesday’s game in Washington, is at the centre position, where Birch has done more than enough to earn his starting job back, at least for the time being. Maybe when Siakam returns Nurse decides to start without a traditional centre, in the interest of keeping Barnes and Trent with the first unit. But for now, that group could sorely use the stability that Birch brings.

Over the past three games, the Raptors have outscored opponents by 41 points in 83 minutes with Birch on the court. They've been outscored by 20 points in Achiuwa's 55 minutes.
 
At 29, Birch is the second-oldest player on the roster, and as long as Goran Dragic is glued to the bench – the 35-year-old point guard has been a healthy scratch in each of the last four games – he is the oldest player in the rotation. He knows his role, he accepts it, and he rarely veers outside of it.
 
Meanwhile, Achiuwa’s energy could end up being a better fit coming off the bench. The Raptors are committed to him and his development, as they should be. He was their prized return in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Kyle Lowry to Miami over the summer, and at 22 and in his second NBA season, he’s got plenty of untapped potential. If you catch him on the right night, you can see his unique skill set come through – the speed and quickness, and that ability to handle the ball and make plays at his size; it doesn’t come along often.
 
They’re excited about what he can become, but he’s got to walk before he can run. In Nurse’s system, he’s been granted more freedom than he had as a rookie with the Heat. He’s got the green light from three-point range and they’re encouraging him to push the ball in transition. That’s what allowed Birch to thrive in an expanded role after coming over from Orlando last season.
 
Birch has found a healthy balance within that system – doing more, without doing too much. It’s still a work in progress for Achiuwa, but if he needs a blueprint, it’s right in front of him.
 
“I just try to encourage him,” Birch said last month. “A lot of young guys when they start have a lot of pressure. I’m just trying to help him out and just make sure he understands how to play team basketball. He was in a box [in Miami], but just because you are out of the box, it doesn’t mean you can shoot everything and do too much. As a vet you have to teach him that.