Raptors find blueprint for life without Leonard in win over Magic

TORONTO — For perhaps the first time this season, the Toronto Raptors looked like the Toronto Raptors. 

Specifically looked like the group that clawed and scrapped their way into the playoffs for the first time in four years last season and once there very nearly clawed and scrapped their way into the second round. 

They looked like the team they’re going to need to be whether Kawhi Leonard is in the lineup or not, but especially if he’s not.

There were, in the same game, sightings of Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, Collin Murray-Boyles and even Jamison Battle. 

Meanwhile, RJ Barrett put his shoulder into the load and, with the help of Scottie Barnes — putting memories of his scoreless 0-of-12 debacle against Minnesota Sunday into the rearview — gave the Raptors the kind of one-two punch they’re going to need at the top of their rotation while Leonard is out trying to get the swelling in his left knee to settle down. 

The result Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena was exactly what the basketball doctor ordered: an encouraging all-round performance against the Orlando Magic that delivered a comfortable 129-99 win in the first of a two-game home set that picks up again on Friday. 

For the Raptors, it was some welcome proof of concept. They didn’t go to all the risk, trouble and expense of acquiring and signing Leonard so that they could flounder around when the 15-year veteran with a long history of knee issues inevitably misses some games, and maybe a lot of them. 

They did it because they were convinced their young core could be competitive enough in games without Leonard to make it worthwhile, with the hope that it all comes together in the playoffs. 

“You don’t have an opportunity to add a player like Kawhi Leonard that easily… him wanting to come home and us believing he’s a great fit for our team, it was an easy decision to make,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “And we believe that we have a pretty deep roster. We saw pretty much these same guys perform in the playoffs and we are confident in the work we’re putting in that guys are improving and getting better and that gives us every confidence every single night that we are good and deep enough that we can face any team in the league.”

They weren’t good enough through any part of their roster against the Timberwolves, as the Raptors got blown out while Leonard sat out in what was also their first chance to compete against one of the NBA’s better teams. 

It was hard not to think about last season when the Raptors were more often than not overwhelmed by the league’s best. 

How good the Magic are is anyone’s guess — even theirs. Former Raptors executive turned Magic president Jeff Weltman, along with former Raptor wing turned Magic general manager Anthony Parker, have done a textbook job of assembling a deep roster of young talent, but constant injuries have prevented them from seeing exactly how it stacks up. 

True to form, they are without Paolo Banchero (ankle) and Jalen Suggs (knee), but the Raptors are in no position to show any sympathy, and they didn’t. 

It wasn’t quite as decisive as the 52-point beatdown they handed Orlando last March when the two teams were vying for playoff seeding, but it was thorough. The Raptors trailed by nine midway through the first quarter and then used a 22-6 run fuelled by Barrett, who had 12 points in nine first-quarter minutes and hit all three of his three-point attempts as Toronto led by seven going into the second quarter. They won the second and third quarters by double figures to take a 27-point lead into the fourth. 

Barrett continued his fine start to the season with 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Barnes put his career-worst 0-of-12 scoreless stinker against the Timberwolves into the rearview with 28 points (one 11-of-17 shooting), six rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. He scored 16 points in the third quarter as the Raptors put the Magic away. 

“I don’t know if it was our most complete game, it’s only been four games, but I feel like we did a good job defensively (the Magic shot just 41.2 per cent from the floor and committed 20 turnovers), did a good job scoring in transition, and I think RJ did a great job of that in the first half, being able to get to the paint, scoring and getting kickouts. He set the tone for us on the offensive end.”

The win improved the Raptors to 3-1 and dropped the Magic to 1-3. The Raptors will need more performances like it if they are going to keep pace with Leonard out. 

A big key will be contributions from the bench, especially if Walter (14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3-of-7 from deep) remains in the starting lineup in Leonard’s place. 

It was good then to see Shead drive some offence after a slump that started in pre-season and bled into the first three games of the regular season. The third-year point guard came into Wednesday's game shooting just 23 per cent from the floor and not having made a three. 

Against Orlando, he looked much more like the player the Raptors signed to a three-year $24 million contract extension in training camp after his impressive season last year. Shead finished with 13 points (4-of-7 shooting, 1-of-3 from deep) and seven assists in 23 minutes. 

The offensive push was intentional.

“I really haven’t shot the ball much this season. Today was the first time I was looking for my shot, so it felt good for it to go in,” Shead said. 

Shead added that it’s something he needs to continue to do. He’s very much a pass-first guard in addition to his qualities as an on-ball pest, but if he doesn’t look to score. defenders will play the pass, creating another layer of problems. 

“I’d say offensively I’m a liability if I don’t look for my shot,” said Shead. “I think I do a great job of getting guys involved, but if I’m not looking to score the ball, they’re just going to help (guard other players).”

The bench as a whole was a positive, something that the Raptors benefitted from during the playoffs last year and will need more routinely. Murray-Boyles struggled with foul trouble, but he still finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Battle chipped in seven even though he only made one field goal. Perhaps most important was Trayce Jackson-Davis, who generally sees limited minutes as a third big, but with Jakob Poeltl in foul trouble, Jackson-Davis played a season-high 20 minutes and finished with six points, 11 rebounds and two assists. 

“He did a great job rebounding, boxing out, running the floor,” said Barnes. “I think he’s a great passer as well. So when he does get the ball in those pinch post actions, I think he does a great job of seeing the floor.” 

The Raptors are designed to be their best with Leonard’s all-NBA, two-way play amplifying their strengths and papering over some of their weaknesses. But when he’s injured, the rest of the roster will have to figure it out on their own. 

They did just that against the Magic, potentially giving themselves a blueprint to work from going forward. 

Three-point Grange: 

1. It’s not just Kawhi: At least Leonard’s injury woes are somewhat predictable, and ideally manageable. But the talk before the game among scouts, basketball executives and coaches was the injury wave that seems to have swept across the league just one week into the season. About 15 per cent of the league is injured, and many of them are among the league’s best players: Banchero, Suggs, Jaren Jackson, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Duren, Kon Knueppel, Anthony Edwards and 40 per cent of the starting lineup in Oklahoma City, just to name a slew.

Why?

Training camps being too short to properly prepare for the intensity of NBA competition was one point mentioned; the style of basketball being played now, where all five players are in motion on offence and defence, and the ball ricochets around at lightning speed, was another.

“When I played, I jogged to one corner and stood there and then covered the guy on the other team that ran to the corner and stood beside him. It wasn’t that hard,” said one former player who played in the 2000s. “Now you’re running from side-to-side, closing out, pressing up on the ball. It’s totally different.”

What to do about it?

A couple of different people thought going to 40-minute games should be considered, and the potential expansion to 32 teams reducing the number of games was also suggested. Teams could play 45 games in their own conference and 32 against the other conference. The two additional teams would allow the NBA to deliver roughly the same number of games to their broadcast partners but trim the burden on each team from 82 games to 77. 

2. No time for Poeltl Panic: It has not been the start the big Austrian centre was hoping for after a disappointing season a year ago. Through four games, he’s averaging 2.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game. The referees didn’t help Poeltl’s cause as he picked up two fouls in the first quarter, his third in less than two minutes of work in the second quarter, and his fourth and fifth in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Several were of the 50-50 variety in screen-and-roll plays at both ends of the floor.

“I think tonight it was a very specific game with the call situation and everything else,” said Rajakovic. “We’re going to take a look at film; we’re not going to pass any judgements. We know what he does for us; how much he can contribute for us… I’m a big believer in Jak and he’s going to do well for us.”

3. Cup fever: The Raptors host the Magic again on Friday, but the stakes will be much higher, in theory. Friday is the opening of NBA Cup play, and the Magic are in East Group A along with the Raptors, Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.