A new look, born out of necessity and a tinge of desperation, may have helped unlock some of the offensive woes that have plagued the Raptors during a season-worst four-game losing streak.
By playing Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn at the same time — in part because the Raptors have been getting no consistent shooting and in part because Gary Trent Jr. was a late scratch Friday night — coach Nick Nurse fell upon the same kind of look that helped the team to its greatest success.
Two true point guards, undersized though they may be, give the team an extra ballhandler, another guard who can get to the rim, and it will force defences to at least respect the Raptors’ perimeter shooting.