You’d love to be able to use a lack of familiarity together as an explanation. You can’t, but it’d go something like this: The Toronto Raptors' starting lineup on Wednesday entered the game having played 19 minutes as a group in over a year on the roster together; the New York Knicks' starting lineup had played 19 minutes as a group, per game, over 33 games this season.
Were this a closer game that came down to a few possessions or late-game execution between those groups, you could chalk it up to the cost of an injury-plagued year and the growing pains in a rebuild. Call it a fun learning night, dust your hands off, get ready to do it all again against another Eastern Conference beast Thursday.
Instead, the Raptors did as they’ve done too often lately, looking overmatched enough to rub the veil of rebuilding threadbare. After a pretty strong first half and a nice response early in the third quarter as things started teetering, the Raptors lost their footing, hung their heads, and saw a superior Knicks team run away with it. The modest 112-98 final comes thanks to Chris Boucher going on an all-time “get-me-out-of-bench-purgatory” three-minute, 10-point, plus-11 run; when the game was over enough for Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to actually play Tyler Kolek, it was a 26-point hole.
For a while, there were positives to build on.
Immanuel Quickley looked solid, scoring 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and was active enough to finish a bad loss with a plus-7. (Single-game plus-minus is extremely noisy, so I point this out mostly out of respect for Knicks fans who constantly pointed out Quickley’s strong on-offs during his New York tenure.) In the second quarter, Quickley went on a personal 6-0 run, getting to the free-throw line twice, knocking down a pull-up transition three, coming up with a steal, and blocking a Landry Shamet corner three. He’s still figuring out the chemistry with a lineup that played a long stretch of time without him (or any point guard), but it was solid.
Late in that same quarter, the Raptors also forced a pair of shot-clock violations, showing that they can, in fact, defend when they lock in. The starting lineup even won their minutes as a group, allowing a reasonable 31 points in 17 minutes together (an 88-point pace).
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Those forward steps were moonwalked back promptly. The Knicks’ familiarity shone through, with plays like Jalen Brunson failing to get a switch on a staggered screen yet seeing Josh Hart peel off for a cut-and-kick to Mikal Bridges for an open corner three. The Raptors’ inattention to detail showed, too, like doubling off Brunson to help on OG Anunoby in an unthreatening elbow post-up position. (The Raptors misapplying their help principles is something Garrett Temple spoke openly with us about on The Raptors Show this week.)
Some of these mistakes are acceptable if they’re accompanied by 48 minutes of effort and intensity. That wasn’t the case here, with a healthy and decently rested Raptors team playing hard for a half and then losing the rope once again. I feel like a broken record noting the difference between competitive losses with positive developmental signs versus getting run off the floor and looking disinterested; Wednesday we got a look at both, half-to-half, just in case the contrast wasn’t obvious enough yet.
Here are some other notes from the Raptors’ 14th loss in their last 15 games.
• Scottie Barnes’ first six shots of the game came in the 10-to-19 foot range, where he’s really been trying to establish himself since Quickley’s return. Heading into Wednesday’s game, Barnes ranked in the 92nd percentile among all players in hook shots and turnaround jumpers by volume and in the 86th percentile in effectiveness.
Win or loss, that change in shooting mix is notable as Barnes shifts to more of a forward role in the offence with a natural point guard back. Barnes will still handle and initiate plenty, but Quickley’s presence should allow Barnes to work in the paint and around the block more, as evidenced by him averaging 3.8 three-point attempts to 13.3 two-point attempts over the last four games (compared to 5.8 and 10.6, respectively, prior).
Barnes finished with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four blocks in this one, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor.
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• Ochai Agbaji left the game in the second quarter after suffering a lower back contusion in a rebounding collision with Josh Hart. He did not return, and his streak as the lone Raptor to play in every game would now appear to be in jeopardy with the team on a back-to-back.
His absence opened up more minutes for Ja’Kobe Walter in the second unit, sliding from 10th man to seventh man in the rotation patterns.
• Another rotation item to watch is Jamal Shead being ahead of Davion Mitchell. Mitchell appeared in the game for only two cameos — six seconds at the end of the second quarter and 20 seconds at the end of the third — to guard Jalen Brunson on final offensive possessions. Shead, meanwhile, looked overmatched and was minus-21 in his 16 minutes.
This is a developing season and Shead has real potential, so the rotation decision is understandable. Still, Mitchell has been steadier of late and could potentially be a less-discussed trade piece at the deadline, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get the backup point guard job back for a while. (That’s especially true when the Raptors and Raptors 905 schedules align, allowing Shead to get extra G-League run; he used that very well earlier in the year.)
• There were more bench minutes to be had overall because Gradey Dick played just 20 minutes. He’s struggled of late, missing every two-point attempt he’s taken over the last three games and struggling a bit from long-range, too. It’s possible Dick’s hit a sophomore wall after so many minutes early on, or that he’s having trouble adjusting to what should be an easier role for him with the other starters back. Trimming his minutes for a little bit, on merit, is entirely fair with the team healthier now.
• Darko Rajakovic used his challenge at the end of the second quarter to try to save Jakob Poeltl from a third foul. While you can understand that the desire, it was a very low-leverage use of the challenge, as even a third foul at half isn’t really foul trouble, and there were no free-throws on the line. It was a fairly obvious lost challenge, dropping the Raptors to 11-of-25 (44 per cent) on challenges this year, compared to the 58.4-per-cent league-average success rate. The coaching staff will have to be better with this when the games are closer and outcomes matter more.
• Eugene Omoruyi is joining the Raptors on a 10-day contract, the team announced during the fourth quarter.
Omoruyi has been the standout player on Raptors 905 since joining the team a few weeks into the season, and this will allow him to be rewarded for his strong play and get a look in an NBA environment again (if he finds his way to minutes). Omoruyi has settled in as a bit of a pseudo-Quad A type, someone who is clearly among the best players in the G League but hasn’t gotten enough NBA run in his cups of coffee to show he can stick. This will be his fifth NBA opportunity, including decent runs with the Thunder, Wizards, and Pistons.
He is a tough and physical player who loves to rebound, has become at least a capable three-point shooter and passer, and is extremely well-liked as a teammate. At age 27, he’s not a prospect in the traditional sense, but he’s someone who could carve out an energy role off the bench, especially on those nights that other Raptors don’t seem to have the intensity level.
This is also a make-good on a bet on himself Omoruyi made after training camp: He passed on a $77,500 Exhibit 10 bonus from the Timberwolves in order to land with the 905 instead, and will now make $124,288 over 10 days to more than make up for that amount.
And hey, more CanCon!
• Omoruyi slides into the roster spot created from waiving Bruno Fernando this week. Fernando’s deal would have guaranteed for the season if he wasn’t waived, and this gives the Raptors a bit of additional roster and luxury-tax flexibility as they enter trade-deadline season. In the interim, expect more 10-day deals and, post-deadline, 10-day trials or the conversion of Jamison Battle (or another two-way) to a standard NBA deal.
Branden Carlson was waived by the Thunder in a similar contract situation. I’d expect them to try to bring Carlson back on a two-way contract, but if Carlson doesn’t find an NBA landing spot, Raptors 905 would still hold his G-League rights.
• Raptors 905 centre Frank Kaminsky is joining us on The Raptors Show on Thursday morning. It was great to catch up with him for that segment and hear about his journey from NBA to Serbia to Mississauga, the state of Wisconsin basketball, and whether his Bears are in a worse spot than my Jaguars.
• The Raptors are back in action on Thursday in Cleveland (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet+), against a Cavaliers team that beat the Thunder on Wednesday. That should be another good test of the new Raptors starting lineup with both teams on even footing on the second night of a back-to-back. You could forgive the Cavaliers for a let-down game after winning maybe the marquee game of the NBA regular season to date, but I don’t think 32-4 teams have letdown games.
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