The Toronto Raptors still haven't found their groove.
On Monday, the Raptors fell to 1-5 on the season with a 126-114 loss to the Boston Celtics. Fred VanVleet had one of the best games of his career, scoring a team-high 35 points to go along with eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome a balanced effort from the Celtics, one that saw Jayson Tatum erupt for 40 points and rookie Payton Pritchard come up with 23 points off the bench.
After the game, VanVleet said the Raptors are in "uncharted territory" for many of them and that they're in need of "some soul searching."
Fred VanVleet: "This is uncharted territory for most of us. I've never been a part of something like this... Nobody's coming to save us. We've gotta do this ourselves. We've gotta do some soul searching and look at ourselves in the mirror."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 5, 2021
Toronto's lone win this season came against the New York Knicks on New Year's Eve. They've dropped two games against the New Orleans Pelicans, one to the San Antonio Spurs, one to the Philadelphia 76ers and one to the Celtics.
The Raptors lost their first three games of the season despite having a double-digit lead in each one. According to Elias Sports, the Raptors became the first team in the last 20 seasons to start a season 0-3 while blowing a double-digit lead in all three games.
The Raptors blew another double-digit lead against the Celtics, with Boston turning an early 13-point deficit into a 15-point lead by halftime.
Following Monday's loss to Boston, Toronto ranks 28th in offensive efficiency and 13th in defensive efficiency. The Raptors have a tough four-game road trip ahead of them, with matchups against the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers looming over the next week.
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