Here are four takeaways from the Toronto Raptors‘ 113-104 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
1. Raptors are woefully undersized due to injuries
The Raptors’ biggest issue all season has been defence. Since Dec. 1, the Raptors rank 29th in defensive rating — mere fractions behind the Utah Jazz — and it only continues to nosedive after injures to their top two defenders in Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes.
Toronto’s starting five was smaller across the board as compared to their Detroit counterparts, who started two seven-footers and had 6-foot-8 Cade Cunningham running point. The Raptors countered with 32-year-old Kelly Olynyk, who is a power forward in his 11th season covering at centre, and flanked him with four guards. Pistons sophomore Jalen Duren was younger than all nine of Toronto’s players, yet he looked like a man amongst boys while collecting 24 points and 23 rebounds.
Ironically, the Raptors have pivoted away from their 6-foot-9 forward strategy only to find themselves missing exactly that in their current roster. Even with Barnes and Poeltl back, there still needs to be more physically capable and defensive-minded players in the rotation if the Raptors have any intentions of winning in future seasons.
2. Immanuel Quickley getting to the rim
Immanuel Quickley returned from a brief one-game absence and continued to be the Raptors’ best player by far, finishing with 25 points and eight assists against zero turnovers. Quickley has been great ever since the trade from New York, but is now finding his consistency by improving his ability to finish in the paint. He has a great floater, and yet he has mostly shelved the shot in favour of getting deeper and better shots in the paint, which had been his biggest weakness in his first month on the team.
Quickely actively sought out switches against Detroit’s seven-footers, took the time to isolate in space, before bursting past them for a series of impressive finishes at the hoop. Quickley’s continued improvement in his first extended run as a starting point guard is the most compelling reason to watch the Raptors at the moment.
3. Jontay Porter playing solid basketball even when others won’t
Even though the season is lost, this is still a vital time for at least half of the rotation. There are roster spots and future contracts to audition for, and it won’t be the odd windmill dunk that wins the job. There were plenty of boneheaded decisions made by the Raptors’ reserves — Jalen McDaniels tapped his chest saying “my bad” more times than he actually made the right plays — but Jontay Porter remains impervious to making mistakes.
The 24-year-old remains stoically in his lane, which is to be in the right spots defensively to make plays (four blocks and a steal), while making the right high-low passes from the top of the floor. The most indulgent he will get is to fire a three, but his 2-for-5 effort shows that he’s sensible rather than thirsty. The same cannot be said for the other third-stringers he shared the floor with.
4. Kelly Olynyk and Gradey Dick have great chemistry
Olynyk understands Gradey Dick’s game better than anyone on the roster. Even though they have only been teammates for a month, Olynyk has shown an astute ability to read and react to Dick’s movements to set him up for backdoor cuts. Dick deserves credit for reading and setting up his defenders, as he is typically being denied catches at the 3-point line which is creating chances to counter, but Olynyk deserves credit too for the way he is reacting to Dick’s decision.
If anything, they are only getting bolder with how they are finding each other, and their chemistry should form the bulk of the second unit’s halfcourt offence when the Raptors finally get healthy. Dick didn’t connect on threes the way he has for the last month, but was still a net positive on offence with his spacing and cutting.