TORONTO — Terence Davis II checked in at the 7:19 mark of the second quarter as the third man off
coach Nick Nurse’s bench and the eighth Toronto player to get into Tuesday night’s home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans.It’s, honestly, probably way too early to be discussing the nitty gritty of the rotation — what with a grand total of one game played in the books — but other than the standout performances of Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, the most striking sight on the court Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena was how few players Nurse opted to play.
Going eight-men deep is not uncommon in the post-season — and given the amount of media attention on hand Tuesday you’d be forgiven for believing it was a playoff game. But this wasn’t a post-season affair. It was Game 1 of 82 against a Pelicans squad that isn’t expected to amount to much this season — particularly with news of prized rookie Zion Williamson being out for at least six weeks to start the year.
No, a lack of energy couldn’t have been the only factor at play when Nurse opted to only play eight men Tuesday as it appears there’s a lack of trust in the back end of his rotation at the moment. “Those nine through however we still go, those guys are getting daily double work,” said Nurse before Tuesday’s game. “We’ve just gotta get them up to speed so we can get them in tune with what we’re doing. It won’t last forever, but just trying to get them reps and build some good habits.”Stream 200+ marquee NBA matchups from around the league, including over 40 Raptors games. Plus, get the NHL, MLB, Grand Slam of Curling, CHL and more.