Toronto Raptors' Key to Success Without Brandon Ingram

Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers went to the home team. The fifth-seeded team from up North salvaged a Game 5 loss, forcing a Game 7 that will be played in Cleveland. 

It has been quite an up-and-down series for both teams. The Raptors put themselves in a hole after a 17-point fourth quarter in Game 5, but never trailed by more than six points in Game 6.

The home team has won every game in this series so far, so the Raptors will hope to change that in Game 7.

Going into the series, not many people gave the Raptors much of a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. This is largely due to the sizable experience gap between the Cavaliers’ superstar backcourt duo of 11-time All-Star James Harden and seven-time Donovan Mitchell compared to the entire Raptors’ rotation. Adding to the doubt for Toronto was the unshakable issues in scoring throughout the regular season, specifically in the half-court or in the fourth quarter, and from the bench. 

Now with six games behind them, it’s clear that half-court and fourth-quarter issues are still present. Toronto scored just 12 points in the fourth quarter on Friday, which is largely why Cleveland was able to mount a comeback and force OT.

That said, a pleasant surprise has been the production from Toronto's bench. Much of the regular season failure came from the lack of help around two-time All-Stars Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, but that’s not the case as it currently stands. 

It’s clear that Ingram was not at his best against the Cavaliers in the first five games, and he ended up missing Game 6 due to injury. Cleveland’s head coach, Kenny Atkinson, stated after Game 1 how important it is for his team to limit the former No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft’s touches and to make his job as a scorer as difficult as possible.

In the first four games of the series, that mission was accomplished as Ingram either attempted fewer than 10 field goals or shot under 30% from the field in every game. While he only played 11 minutes in Game 5 due to a re-aggravation of his right heel injury, he only attempted two shots to that point and scored one point. 

With the Raptors’ scoring leader from the regular season either underperforming or unable to go throughout this series, it has been a necessity for the bench to supply significant production. Entering Game 6, Toronto had the third-highest scoring bench in the first round of the playoffs. That group contributed 30 more points in Game 6 

The brightest spot of the bunch has surely been standout rookie lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles, who is averaging 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 66.1% shooting. 

What this points out, though, is that Barnes and RJ Barrett need help if they want to survive this series, especially with Ingram out. While it may be difficult to find significant production without starting point guard Immanuel Quickley, the Raptors need more from Jakob Poeltl and Ja’Kobe Walter. 

It will take everyone in Game 7 on the road, but so far Toronto has shown the ability to get production from up and down its roster.