Raptors Takeaways: Near-comeback disguises mixed-effort loss to Celtics

The Toronto Raptors went into the homes of the defending NBA champions, fell behind by 34 points early, yet showed enough fight and determination to make the Boston Celtics sweat, turning a blowout into a nail-biter.

Don’t, uh, worry about the context specifics. Like the Celtics being on the second night of a back-to-back, or them playing without seven of their top eight players, or this being a pre-season game, or the comeback more closely resembling Raptors 905 beating the Maine Celtics-née-Red Claws. The Raptors lost 115-111 on the road to the best team in the league. That’s all you need for a holiday headline.

In reality, this was a tale of two games, both of them extremely pre-season-y. The Raptors came out with an inexcusable lack of energy and execution, getting run off the floor to the tune of 41 Celtics points in the first quarter. Even down two starters and a few rotation pieces themselves, the Raptors don’t have the laurels to rest on so early in exhibition play, with so many players fighting for roles and minutes and jobs. They were beaten to every rebound and loose ball and hardly looked like a team that’s been talking nothing but defence over the last two weeks.

Things turned around for the starters after halftime, which is mildly encouraging. They shouldn’t have been lethargic enough for the change to feel so dramatic, so they only get partial points for bouncing back. Then things really turned around for the bench, which really makes up the presumed third-string or G League reinforcements, which is more encouraging. The hungriest players looked hungry.

Here are some takeaways from a game that was pretty disappointing through the meaningful portions, only to end up pretty fun.

Scouting takeaways

• There’s something to be said for letting your shooters shoot their way into games. Gradey Dick didn’t look particularly good to start this one — his defence in the opening quarter was egregious — but an extremely green light let him find his way eventually. Dick ended the game 5-of-10 on threes, and most importantly, all of those attempts came above the break. Dick was a very good corner shooter by the end of last year, and that’s a useful skill when he’s alongside the team’s core players; if he’s going to maximize his value as a spacer, especially in bench units, he's going to have to show this ability to stretch the floor vertically, too.

• Ochai Agbjai assisted on all four of Dick’s third-quarter threes, and those two seem to have carried over some chemistry from the end of last year. Agbaji still desperately needs to show some shooting capability to keep an NBA role long-term, but for now, the combination of defence, passing, and cutting will get him continued opportunity.

• Darko Rajakovic ran what I assume will be his opening night rotation pattern for the first half. That meant Scottie Barnes left fairly early in the first quarter, returning with three-and-a-half minutes left to lead a Barnes-and-bench unit. The personnel will be different when Toronto is healthier (and will probably be fluid all year), but Barnes getting six or seven minutes a game with four bench players seems likely to be the plan once again this year.

• Barnes had a rough start in this one, looking like a guy playing in his second game since March 1. He was much better in his third-quarter stint, attacking mismatches with more aggression, using his strength in the paint, and showing the ability to get a late-clock mid-range look off on a broken play, something the team will lean on him for.

• Jonathan Mogbo had a large hand in the Raptors turning a monster deficit into a competitive game late. He owned the all-bench minutes, impacting the game in a few ways. Most notably, Mogbo grabbed 10 rebounds in 21 minutes, and his defensive rebounds are high-value because of his ability to push in transition without hesitation. He also had four assists, continuing to make reads that are advanced for a forward, if not always perfectly executed. And finally, he found ways to score in the paint, something that’s troubled him so far. Mogbo is going to have ups and downs all year, so it’s encouraging to see him showing improved comfort and productivity game-by-game from the open scrimmage to now.

• Jamal Shead once again looked the part, scoring 14 points with five dimes in just 19 minutes. He even hit his first three of the pre-season, something he’ll need to continue showing. Shead’s defence has been as advertised — ask Jaden Springer — and his knack for punching into the paint quickly and finding unconventional angles for passes or bank shots is impressive.

• Jahmi’us Ramsey and D.J. Carton both had good moments, as well. Ramsey is the lone player on the camp roster the Raptors don’t hold G League rights on (for now); if general manager Luke Winn can acquire them, Raptors 905 are looking very strong in the backcourt. …  Jared Rhoden is more of a wing but had a couple of assists in a short stint, too. … Jamison Battle continued to make the most of end-of-game windows as a shooter and cutter. … I complimented Bruno Fernando’s low hands on defence last game, and the opposite might be sad about his hands on offence. He did shoot two of two and made both free throws here, catching tougher passes or loose balls is just a bit of a work-in-progress.

• The Celtics do a nice job with their five-out offence of emptying out one side of the floor or getting an early switch so that the help responsible for the roll-man is a guard rather than a wing or big. It results in something like Neemias Queta rolling to the rim with only Davion Mitchell around to try to tag his roll. Even for a defender as good as Mitchell, stopping a big man with a head of steam already in the paint is a difficult proposition. The Raptors ran some five-out of their own, resulting in a nice Barnes runner, and it will be interesting to see how they try to manipulate opponent help contingencies with their less space-y personnel.

• Lonnie Walker only getting an Exhibit 10 deal this summer is wild. He’s very clearly an NBA player, probably a rotational one. The Celtics are deep enough that he may not play a ton if he makes the team; they just keep finding inexpensive bench guys to support their expensive core group.

• NBA scorekeepers being a little too liberal in giving out assists has been a pet peeve of mine in recent years. If the early pre-season games are any indication, I’m going to lose my mind on this hill eventually. If a guy runs three quarters of the court with the ball and makes multiple basketball moves, his bucket is not assisted! The same goes for handoff plays that precede a guy needing to break down his defender. Let’s be reasonable.

Injury updates

• Immanuel Quickley (thumb), RJ Barrett (shoulder), Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder), and Bruce Brown (knee) remained out. While it’s not the end of the world in a season where results aren’t entirely the measuring stick for the team, it’s unfortunate Quickley hasn’t been able to get into contact action. There will be a refamiliarization period for him with the starters, especially Barnes, if he can get into these final two pre-season games, and that will happen again for the starters on Barrett’s return. Manageable, just not ideal.

• Kelly Olynyk and Garrett Temple were also out again Sunday. Olynyk is dealing with lower back stiffness and Temple is dealing with left hamstring tightness. More notably, Temple was in a sharp suit this time as opposed to the warmups he wore Friday. With the team’s two most senior players, it’s reasonable to take precautions and use the time to get a look at other players, though Olynyk will obviously be a big part of the second unit when the season begins.

• The Celtics were playing on a back-to-back and, as such, opted to rest a whole bunch of guys. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet — the team’s starters against Philadelphia — all sat out, while Al Horford remained out (he’s yet to play in the pre-season), and Kristaps Porzingis (off-season foot surgery) is out for a few months still.

It stands to reason we’ll see most of these guys back in there Tuesday when the Celtics visit Toronto.

I wanted to note here, too, that teams have a large hand in deciding their own pre-season schedules. So if you see a back-to-back, or hear LeBron James and JJ Redick complaining about travel in the pre-season, and so on, it’s usually the case that the organization had a significant say in creating that scenario. (The popular comparison is how teams determine their non-conference schedules in college prior to conference play.)

Hall of Fame aside

As far as patience goes, it was interesting to hear Chauncey Billups allude at the Hall of Fame on Sunday to the core that could have been for the Raptors, acknowledging Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter in attendance. Billups wasn’t quite Billups yet then, and the Carter-McGrady (and Marcus Camby!!) what-ifs have been explored plenty, but it really does highlight the need to have a plan you’re committed to with conviction. That group is also a good reminder that many young players take time to become the players (and people) they’ll eventually become.

This group has a long way to go to be on the level of that what-if — the previous core, transitioning between the championship group and the current group, is currently a more interesting thought experiment — so take this as a bit of a ham-fisted way to promote that Michael Grange has a bunch of great work out and coming from the Hall of Fame weekend. Still, you know, patience in “year one” of the rebuild is going to be a consistent plea.

WNBA Finals, Game 2

It really looked like the New York Liberty might let another one skip away on Sunday, this time in front of a record crowd of 18,040 in Brooklyn.

A prolonged second-half scoring drought allowed the Minnesota Lynx to claw back into a second consecutive WNBA Finals game, posing the important question of whether I’d delete this regular WNBA blurb if the Liberty were down 0-2. Fortunately, the Liberty hung on, closing out on a 14-2 run after their stumble, and we’re all squared up at a game apiece.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was pivotal in keeping the Liberty above water during the tougher times offensively, while Breanna Stewart set a WNBA Finals record with seven steals to fuel the defence. Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams were mostly excellent, but a combined 12 turnovers hurt. Bridget Carleton, meanwhile, was the Lynx's best player in the early going but cooled off as the game rolled on, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Kai Gammage has you covered in more detail here.

Game 3 goes Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in Minnesota. (I dearly appreciate them avoiding going head-to-head with Raptors pre-season action.)

On an aside, it’s very cool to see things like Natalie Achonwa posting she’s watching Carleton with her child, or Syla and Savvy Swords being at the game live, or our pal Crina Mustafa being on-site to write a great feature on Carleton for Canada Basketball. Carleton is doing something only three other Canadian women have done by appearing in the WNBA Finals, and it’s great to see that rally some of the Canadian basketball community around her (even if some of us are still on the Liberty side of things).

What’s next

The Raptors have a short turnaround by pre-season standards, with a practice day back in Toronto on Monday and then a second look at the Celtics on Tuesday. That game (7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet) represents their only pre-season game in Toronto. The exhibition slate wraps with a road game against the Nets on Oct. 18, then we get started for real back in Toronto on Oct. 23 against the Cavaliers.

On a programming note, The Raptors Show returns Tuesday — now with Matt Bonner alongside me — and will be daily for the remainder of the year, 11 a.m. - noon ET on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+, and wherever you get your podcasts. Bobby Webster will be joining us on Tuesday, with Ochai Agbaji and Jonathan Mogbo joining (via pre-tapes) later in the week.