Raptors defence historically bad as losing streak hits nine

There was nothing that could get the Raptors going on defence in Memphis on Thursday.

Not a beautiful retro night to remind of an erstwhile rivalry. Not one of the league’s fastest and most dynamic scorers, Ja Morant, and his 7-foot-4 pick-and-roll partner, Zach Edey, who were ready to smash Toronto in the mouth from the opening tip. Not an ejection for their head coach, which barely moved the needle in energy level.

With six minutes to go, it wasn’t a question of if the Grizzlies would hang an embarrassing number on the Raptors. It was a question of if it would be a historically embarrassing number. And not even that could coerce much defensive execution.

155.

That’s the number the Grizzlies put up in a 155-126 victory, a new franchise record for points allowed in a game for Toronto.

It came with 18 threes, 24 offensive rebounds and double-digit scoring from eight different Grizzlies.

It came with some fun side-notes and solid offensive performances from the Raptors, too. Cool. They allowed 155 points; so it’s hard to focus on much else. A fitting example came midway through the third quarter, when the Raptors were only behind 16, came out of a timeout to score on six straight possessions, and were still down 14 because they couldn’t get any stops. At least it was close then.

Teams often say to "flush it" after a performance like this. Toronto better have a plumber on speed dial.

What follows are some notes from the game.

• Darko Rajakovic opened the fourth quarter by getting ejected after a pair of technical fouls. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen Rajakovic that fired up, even in his famous rant in Los Angeles last season, as Ochai Agbaji and Barnes needed to help restrain him from the officials.

The Raptors are the league’s most foul-prone team, and at times Rajakovic has felt the whistle hasn’t been equivalent the other way. That’s been especially true with the calls his star, Barnes, receives amidst traffic in the paint.

• The presence of Edey and absence of Jakob Poeltl meant a rare start for Kelly Olynyk. It did not work, nor did basically any lineup iteration against Edey. The Grizzlies were a plus-29 in his 27 minutes, and while a lot of those were alongside other starters with shared credit, Edey was a major problem for a team with such limited size right now. He finished with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a pair of triples, with 16 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Edey, by the way, continues to have a really strong and exciting rookie year. Some of the knocks on him 18 months ago were fair, but he’s worked tirelessly to improve the weaker parts of his game, which was on full display at Purdue last year. He looks like an unquestioned NBA rotation player, likely starter, major piece for Memphis’s future, and, hopefully, an impact piece for Canada in future international events.

What a bright spot in the NBA season.

• Bruno Fernando’s contract becomes fully guaranteed for the season if he isn’t waived by Jan. 7. He’s appeared in just two games since Nov. 27, only one of which wasn’t garbage time. He didn’t even play Thursday, ceding his garbage-time spot to Ulrich Chomche.

Fernando gave a nice, brief boost early in the year and has been a good culture piece, but the writing appears to be on the wall here with his recent usage.

By waiving Fernando next week, the Raptors would maintain a bit of extra roster flexibility and breathing room under the tax to absorb money entering trade season. It would also free them to cycle through some 10-day contract options and, if the spot remains open after the deadline, convert Jamison Battle to a standard (likely multi-year) NBA deal.

• The Raptors briefly played with Barnes and Barrett off the floor at the same time, something that’s happened in a couple recent games when both were available. Entering this game, the Raptors had a disastrous -22.5 net rating in 130 minutes with neither on the floor (and Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley also on the bench or hurt); tonight, the Grizzlies popped off a quick 6-0 run in under a minute against that look.

Rajakovic has very few options available to him with the roster thinned out this badly, and playing Barnes and Barrett together is Toronto’s best path to winning minutes, but they just can’t survive with neither offensive creator in the game right now.

Barnes and Barrett, by the way, combined for 53 points, 15 rebounds, and 18 assists with just five turnovers. They were both really solid and efficient offensively, which was probably the lone bright spot here; they continue to have a nice chemistry at that end.

• Joining Quickley, Poeltl, and Bruce Brown on the inactive list were Jamal Shead (knee) and Ja’Kobe Walter (illness). That required the team’s 15th different starting lineup in 31 games, already halfway to last year’s franchise record 30.

The Raptors, still haven’t had their projected starting lineup together for a single game. Quickley, Barnes, Barrett, and Dick have played a total of 18 minutes together since the big trade last Dec. 30, a span of 81 games.

If there’s any team that isn’t going to feel badly for the Raptors injury woes, it’s the Grizzlies. Memphis is leading the league in man-games lost for a second consecutive season. In some ways, their leap up the standings highlights a silver living in last year’s injury issues: This year’s depth is far more experienced and capable of contributing than they may have been otherwise. Any team would surely take a healthy squad over a banged-up one, but the Grizzlies have made gourmet chicken salad with 18 months of chicken... well, you know.

Santi Aldama was added to the list in this one, leaving in the first quarter with an ankle injury. He’s been a huge contributor this year, especially in Edey’s absence, but knowing the Grizzlies, another terrific big will spawn in his place if he needs to miss time.

• The aesthetic of this game was beautiful, with both teams wearing retro colours and the Grizzlies using their retro, Vancouver-era court. They make for two of the best looks in the league, individually, and are perfect together if you’re of a certain age, taste, or nostalgia level.

The unofficial Naismith Cup meeting was also a chance for everyone to revisit the mystery around that piece of hardware. Matt Devlin explained it on the broadcast, but if you’re looking for more, I did a deep dive into its history and whereabouts in 2020. And I mean deep – I spoke to the Raptors, Grizzlies, NBA, NBA Canada, and even the Israel ambassador of sport and goodwill. Fingers continue to be pointed in multiple directions, yet I am without a firm location.

• Fittingly, given the matchup and throwback theme, the Raptors and Grizzlies combined to set a new NBA record with six Canadian players in a game: Edey, Olynyk, Barrett, Chris Boucher, A.J. Lawson, and Brandon Clarke. Very cool!

• Cheeky move from Morant late in the second quarter: Davion Mitchell lost a shoe on offence, and before Mitchell could get it back, Morant and thrown it away to the other side of the floor, requiring Mitchell to finish that possession and the subsequent defensive one in one shoe.

• The prior Raptors record for points allowed in a game was 152, set in the 1997-98 season. Lamond Murray led the Clippers with 25 points. Chauncey Billups was minus-31 for Toronto.

• The Raptors get another pair of days off before resuming play Sunday at home against Atlanta. (That Hawks staff has a pair of old friends in Brittni Donaldson and Ryan Schmidt, who both spent multiple years in the org.)

At least a couple of Raptors should be Mississauga-bound for an afternoon Raptors 905 game on Friday. With the G League Winter Showcase now complete, the standings reset, so the 905 are 0-0 heading into the 34-game “regular season” portion of the schedule. The somewhat odd format convention gives the 905 renewed life after a 16-game start mired with injury and roster turnover. A.J. Lawson, Frank Kaminsky, and Jared Rhoden (once healthy) should be major additions for the second leg.

• Part one of Sportsnet’s four-part documentary, Raptors Delight, aired after the game and is available on Sportsnet.ca. I can’t recommend the lead episode, The Birth, enough. The amount of work that went into it behind the scenes has been cool to watch from the inside, and parts three and four might include myself (I haven’t seen a final cut; I better make it, you guys have been warned).

Hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season!