The Toronto Raptors need more from Brandon Ingram. The team’s regular season scoring leader, who made his second all-star team for his strong work, has had a rough first three games to begin the NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ingram has averaged only 12 points on 39% shooting so far in the post-season with nearly as many turnovers (nine) as assists (eight). Not only has Ingram missed shots, he also has looked lost and uncomfortable far too often, slipping and falling, losing control of the ball, to the point that he has been benched on a couple of occasions, with the team largely looking better with him on the bench.
Game 3 Performance
He started decently in Game 3 on Thursday, turning in a solid first quarter (though not as good as his best frame of the series, the first quarter of the opener when he was scoring at will, the only time Ingram has really looked comfortable). Three fouls in five second-quarter minutes took Ingram out of the game in Game 3. He was fine in the third quarter, but barely scored and only re-entered when the Raptors had taken control of the game with a dominant start to the fourth quarter.
It’s odd to see Ingram look like this. He was excellent in the final six games of the regular season and appeared to have an extra pep in his step, with more explosiveness. He also bailed out Toronto’s offence consistently throughout the season, and Ingram’s teammates remain confident in him.
Teammates Voice Support
“The way they’re guarding him, whatever he gets, he gets,” point guard Jamal Shead told the Toronto Sun post-game when asked how the Raptors can get Ingram going. Scottie Barnes talked at the podium of the gravity (attention from defenders) Ingram is drawing despite his struggles, which has opened things up for Barnes and RJ Barrett, who like Barnes had a dominant performance Thursday.
Shead agrees. “I think that he’s made it a focal point to not make it about himself, which is really big and awesome leadership. And if he was being selfish RJ wouldn’t have the day he had and Scottie wouldn’t have the day he had. So, hats off to him being unselfish and really being a team player for us,” Shead said.
Ingram's Perspective
Ingram will talk to the media after practice Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Game 4, but before Game 3 had said he believed all was OK and would improve. “I’m confident that I won’t miss all my shots, find a rhythm. But I’m also confident in our team,” Ingram had said. “I don’t want to sit up here and make this about what I’m doing on the basketball floor. I know when I’m going the team is effective, maybe more effective, but it’s a collective thing. How we’re connected on the offensive end, how I’m also running in transition with the rest of the guys and getting more opportunities on rebounds to bring the basketball up the floor. There’s a lot more things that I can do than just thinking about getting the basketball, and I’ve gotta take that into account with the defence’s attention is on me.”
Playoff Experience and Crowd
With Immanuel Quickley lost for the series, it’s even more important that Ingram continues to draw Cleveland’s attention, and ideally he would unleash a great performance, the way he did in his first trip to the playoffs years ago with New Orleans. Back then, Ingram nearly upset the favoured Phoenix Suns by himself, averaging close to 30 points in the series on strong shooting numbers.
Shead also mentioned that Toronto doesn’t have a ton of post-season experience overall, so he wasn’t surprised they looked a lot better in Game 3 and he thinks that should continue. “I think the adjustments (made to stop Cleveland) were good, but I also think that some guys took challenges today and took it upon themselves to play a lot harder. You can tell certain guys played a lot harder, including myself,” Shead told the Sun. “We only had about four or five guys on our team, general, our whole starting five are the only ones that have playoff experience. And Scottie’s only had one time, RJ and Quickley, I think, two times. Jak, and BI two times … I think we just needed time to prepare, and then got to come home to the best crowd.”
On that note, Shead said the Toronto crowd lived up to the hype. “From the start, as soon as they said: ‘Get ready for Toronto Raptors basketball,’ they went crazy. It was awesome. It was way louder than Cleveland,” he said.
It will get a whole lot louder if Toronto plays well in Game 4, with Ingram leading the way.
