Fourth-quarter collapse spoils Poeltl’s Raptors homecoming

TORONTO – Leave it to the 2022-23 Toronto Raptors to spoil Jakob Poeltl’s homecoming.

Coming off three straight wins and the deadline day re-acquisition of the veteran centre, things were starting to look up. Poeltl had looked OK in a solid 17 minutes off the bench, playing his first game as Raptor since 2018, and his team was leading the Utah Jazz by 13 points with five minutes left on the clock.

But in a season filled with bad losses, this one becomes an instant contender for one of their worst.

Toronto was in the penalty less than three minutes into the fourth quarter and committed 11 fouls in the frame, putting Utah on the line 13 times and allowing the Jazz to shoot 13-for-17. The Raptors’ defence gave up 39 points over the final 12 minutes.

“It’s not acceptable by our standards,” said Fred VanVleet, who played most of the fourth quarter with five fouls and shot an air ball on a crucial jumper inside the final minute of the 122-116 loss.

Despite hitting just six of 24 three-point attempts, the Jazz shot 54 per cent from the field and scored 76 points in the paint. It was the type of game that explains why Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster felt they needed to address the team’s most glaring weakness, even though many expected them to operate as sellers ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. It’s also the type of game that begs the question, why bother?

Poeltl got the news that he had been traded late on Wednesday night and, fortunately, he didn’t have to go very far.

The seventh-year centre was already in Toronto, having just played what ended up being his final game for San Antonio. Coincidently, the Spurs had planned to stay the night, and Poeltl was scheduled to fly to Detroit with them the following morning.

Poeltl, whose name was in the rumour mill leading up to the deadline, has since admitted that he was a bit distracted during a 112-98 loss to his former and – as it would turn out – future team. Shortly after, he found that the Raptors were acquiring him for Khem Birch, a protected first-round pick in 2024 and two second-round picks.

“I was excited,” Poeltl said ahead of Friday’s contest. “It was a little bit of mixed emotions. I’m leaving a life behind in San Antonio; I was there for four and a half years. This past season was little bit tough because we’ve been losing games, so I was excited to get [to Toronto] and play winning basketball again and play for a playoff spot, go out there and compete again.”

On Friday, his former club, the league-worst 14-42 Spurs, lost to the NBA’s second-worst team, the Detroit Pistons, in double overtime. They’ve now dropped 16 of their last 17 games, so you can see why Poeltl would welcome a change of scenery. But if he’s looking forward to playing “winning basketball” he may have come to the wrong place.

With their latest loss, the Raptors – now 26-31 on the campaign – fell below Washington in the standings and find themselves sitting in 11th place, just outside of the conference’s play-in race. Rather than steering the ship in the opposite direction – they currently hold the league’s eighth-worst record – the Poeltl trade was intended to solve some of the underlying issues that have plagued Toronto this season, primarily on the defensive end.

Clearly, Utah wasn’t deterred by anybody at or around the rim on Friday, whether it was Poeltl, Precious Achiuwa, whomever. In fairness to Poeltl, who only played the first four minutes of the team’s fourth-quarter collapse, he had just arrived and was learning Nick Nurse’s system on the fly.

The hope is that once he gets acclimated and a few practices under his belt, likely claiming a spot in the starting lineup, he’ll be able to anchor a Raptors defence that’s really struggled without a true rim protector. The problem is they haven’t just had a hard time protecting the bucket. Given their persistent issues guarding on the perimeter and stopping guys at the point of attack, expecting Poeltl to make up for all those mistakes is a lot to ask of anyone.

They’re also hoping he can get up to speed quickly and that his familiarity with the organization will help ease that transition.

The Raptors selected the seven-foot-one Austrian with the ninth-overall pick in 2016. He played a couple seasons in Toronto, and took a big leap in his second campaign as part of the vaunted Bench Mob alongside fellow members of the 2016 rookie class, VanVleet and Pascal Siakam.

During the summer of 2018, he and DeMar DeRozan were sent to San Antonio in the deal that brought Kawhi Leonard to Toronto. At the time, the Spurs asked for Siakam, in addition to DeRozan and a first-round pick. The Raptors refused, and then they eventually settled on Poeltl. But they never wanted to trade him, and while the deal worked out pretty well for them – they have a championship to show for it – his absence was felt in the years to come.

In his time with the Spurs, Poeltl developed into one of the league’s most dependable, well-rounded centres – something that Toronto has lacked and desperately needed since losing Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol in free agency.

The misconception was that they were essentially punting the position, refusing to employ anyone taller than six-foot-nine, but that wasn’t the case. After missing on a couple bargain signings in Aron Baynes and Alex Len, they didn’t want to roster a traditional centre just to say that they had one. They’ve spent the past few years chasing big men who would either fit their style of play or be worth adapting for. They’ve kicked the tires on Rudy Gobert, Deandre Ayton and Myles Turner, among others, but their favourite target was Poeltl.

They tried to trade for him at last year’s deadline but were rebuffed and then inquired again over the summer, when the asking price was too high. Finally, they were able to bring him home. Finally, they’ve got their centre.

“We felt like it was a long time coming,” said Siakam, who remains close friends with Poeltl.

Fittingly, Siakam assisted on both of his buckets, the first coming in the pick and roll. Their connection was evident, even after all this time, and the Raptors are excited about what his improved playmaking and screening can bring to the offence once he builds chemistry with the rest of his new teammates.

Some familiar concerns showed themselves in his return, as well. He picked up five fouls in his 17 minutes – not including the one that was overturned on a coach’s challenge – which is something that plagued him during his initial tenure with the team. He also shot 2-for-7 from the free throw line. He’s also not a three-point shooter – he’s only attempted four triples in his seven NBA seasons – so spacing could be an issue, especially when he’s out there with Scottie Barnes.

Still, the 27-year-old excels in many areas that should help the Raptors. He’s not an elite leaper or shot blocker, but with his size, positioning and basketball IQ, Poeltl’s become an excellent rim protector.

Siakam joked that he wouldn’t have to guard the likes of Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and the rest of the league’s biggest and most physical centres anymore, and while he said it with a laugh, he did seem genuinely relieved. Not that they aren’t capable of it, but having a traditional big to take those assignments should free Siakam, O.G. Anunoby and Barnes – often miscast as centres – to expend their energy elsewhere.

His presence around the rim should take pressure off a lot of guys and make everybody’s job a little easier. It’s been a long time since Nurse and his team have had that luxury.

However, he can only do so much. He plugs one obvious and long-time hole, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, this team has so many holes; it’s been leaking water for months. The addition of Poeltl will help, but as his first game back in a Raptors uniform showed, there’s no quick or easy fix.