The Raptors keep taking hits in the standings, but Alijah Martin is giving them something real to hold onto.
Toronto dropped its third straight game with a 123-112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and the injury situation remains front and center. Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes were still out, while Immanuel Quickley was on a minutes restriction. The Raptors are now 5-7 and still haven’t beaten a playoff team.
That’s the ugly part of the start. The encouraging part is that the injuries have opened a door for players who might otherwise be buried on the bench, and Martin is walking through it. He has now played at least 16 minutes in four straight games, and while he hasn’t matched the 27-point explosion he had against the Milwaukee Bucks, he’s starting to settle into a clear 3-and-D job.
“Alijah’s role is he needs to be a pest defensively and he needs to knock down open shots,” Darko Rajakovic said after the Raptors’ 98-93 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Martin has been doing enough to back that up. Against Boston, he hit four 3-pointers and did a solid job on Payton Pritchard.
Against Philadelphia, he went 1-for-3 from deep, but still finished second on the bench with seven points on 3-for-6 shooting. He also chipped in four rebounds, a steal and a block.
For a player who appeared in just 23 games last season and spent plenty of time with the Raptors 905, that matters. Even in a rough stretch, Martin is showing he can handle real rotational minutes against quality competition. That’s a small win in the middle of a messy one.
And the Raptors need it. Leonard’s absence has done nothing to fix the team’s perimeter shooting, and Toronto remains one of the league’s weakest 3-point teams. The Raptors are 26th in 3-point percentage at 32.9% and 22nd in attempts per game.
Martin and Jamison Battle have been the bright spots from outside, shooting 56.5% and 43.4%, respectively. Ja’Kobe Walter and Quickley, meanwhile, are both under 34% from three.
Martin is not going to live at 50-plus percent all season, but if he keeps giving Toronto dependable shooting, he becomes useful even when the roster is whole. There’s a case for him to stay in the rotation once Leonard and Barnes return, and that case only gets stronger if Walter keeps missing threes at his current rate.
With Leonard not expected back for several games and tougher opponents still ahead, Martin has a chance to turn this short stretch into something bigger. The Raptors need him to keep making shots and keep making it impossible for Rajakovic to take him out of the mix.
In Other News...
Raptors Could Fix A Costly Roster Problem With One Bold Move
Reports around the league have put Naz Reid into the trade conversation, with the Charlotte Hornets said to be weighing whether moving him could bring more draft flexibility and clear minutes for other players. For Toronto, the idea is easy to understand. The Raptors have been searching for ways to sharpen a roster that still has obvious holes, and a versatile big like Reid would give them another option in the frontcourt while fitting the kind of lineup balance they have been trying to build.
Reids appeal for the Raptors goes beyond just adding size. He brings the kind of skill set that can help a team that wants more reliability around the rim without sacrificing mobility, and that makes him a natural fit for a club looking to address a costly roster problem. Nothing has been finalized, of course, but if Toronto is serious about improving the shape of its rotation, this is the sort of move that would make people around the team pay close attention. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Nurse Sounds Concerned About Joel Embiid For One Clear Reason
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Nick Nurse knows that reality better than most, and after seeing Embiid again in a game against Toronto, he pointed to the tricky balance of keeping him available while also managing the wear and tear that comes with his workload. The Raptors coach acknowledged Embiids desire to keep playing, even when rest might be the smarter answer, and that makes every appearance feel a little more uncertain for Toronto and everyone else trying to plan around him. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Loss Exposes A Bigger Problem Than This Skid
The Raptors latest loss to the 76ers, a 123-113 defeat in Philadelphia, fit the pattern of a team trying to stay afloat without two of its most important pieces. Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes were both sidelined by injuries, which pushed RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley into bigger offensive roles and left Toronto leaning harder on its remaining creators. Even with those efforts, the game ended as the clubs third straight loss.
What stood out most was less the skid itself than how thin the margin looked once the rotation got stretched. Toronto had enough individual production to hang around, but Philadelphias deeper bench gave the Sixers a steadier flow over the course of the night, and the Raptors could not match it. For a team already dealing with injuries, the bigger concern is how quickly the supporting cast gets tested when the top options are unavailable. [Read more 🡒]