Jamal Shead Offers Perspective On Raptors' Offensive Struggles

The past four games have not been kind to the Toronto Raptors who are still without superstar Kawhi Leonard as well as 25-year-old standout Scottie Barnes.

The 35-year-old Leonard is set to miss at least another week as he continues his recovery from left knee swelling while Barnes remains day-to-day with an adductor strain. The absence of both players was clearly felt during the Raptors' 123-112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.

Nonetheless, guard Jamal Shead is not giving up hope. The 24-year-old commended resiliency from teammates like RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley who had impressive bounce-back nights.

“Every team goes through this," Shead said, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. "They click at the right time, or they click at a certain time, and everything makes sense. I think we’re waiting on that a little bit. No Scottie, no Kawhi, that hurts, but I think we still have enough without them. But RJ and Quick, they did a phenomenal job today, but we just got to help them… I think we can fix it though."

Although Shead mustered just five points on 1-for-6 shooting, he was a force in other facets of the game, recording five assists and collecting one steal. Barrett picked up the slack, scoring 31 points while going 13-for-20 from the field. 

Quickley had a terrific showing of his own, logging 26 points and collecting four rebounds. The 27-year-old also delivered on defense, making one block and a steal. 

Furthermore, the continued upward trajectory of Alijah Martin is worth noting. Following a career night last Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks, Martin managed seven points and shot an efficient 50% from the field.

Jakob Poeltl was another bright spot, tallying nine points while collecting five rebounds and making three assists plus one steal. 

However, Thursday still showed how badly the Raptors have missed Leonard and Barnes. Toronto got off to a decent start, outscoring the LeBron James-led 76ers 33-24 in the first quarter and going into halftime tied 60-60. It all went south afterward with Philadelphia going on an electric 11-2 run to close out the third quarter. 

Even then, the Raptors refused to go down without a fight in typical fashion, scoring 25 points to Philadelphia's 27 in the final frame.

Reducing turnovers while also finding ways to make more timely buckets will be crucial in Toronto staying afloat going into another tough matchup on Sunday against the defending NBA champion New York Knicks.