Quick Reaction: Raptors 107, Magic 126

In his second game back from a finger laceration injury it was good to see Anunoby’s shooting touch return. He went 2-11 from the field and 1-6 from deep against the Pistons but tonight he started 4-7 from the field and 3-4 from three, scoring 11 points in the first half. Unfortunately, he didn’t make another basket the rest of the night, nor did he take another shot. Try not to put too much stock into it considering he’s still getting back into a groove after missing three games.

Lately, it feels impossible to describe Pascal Siakam’s game without mentioning the term post-up. Tonight was no different. It felt like every time he was in the post, good things happened. He would either quickly find ways to score or when the double came, he would make the right read and dish the ball. He especially succeeded with throwing interior passes to cutters under the rim. If he could just shoot from three at an even marginally respectable rate it would open up so much for his game and the offence as a whole. After snapping an 0-17 streak by knocking down a triple against the Pistons, he went o-fer from beyond the arch once again.

Jakob Poeltl really has developed a chemistry with Dennis Schröder when it comes to the pick-and-roll. It’s evident that duo’s comfortability operating together is growing with each game. The part that the Austrian needs to figure out now is how to stay on the floor with faster-paced teams. He played just 23 minutes, partially due to foul trouble, partially because of how much the Magic kept pushing the pace and moving in transition. When that happens, the Raptors tend to go to the more mobile Precious Achiuwa, and we all know the results are a mixed bag. Poeltl may not be exciting or athletic, but he provides reliable interior defence and rarely makes head-scratching mistakes.

Scottie Barnes started the game slowly but woke up in the second quarter. All 10 of his first-half points came in the second and the forward scored or assisted on 18 of the team’s 33 points in the frame. Like most of the squad, however, that was about all the Raptors got from him. Barnes efforts the rest of the night felt a bit muted as he couldn’t get his shot going from distance, or generate much for anyone else.

Before the game, Raptors show host (and Raptors Republic alumni) Will Lou asked, “who’s going to step up amongst the guards?” for Toronto, and the clear-cut answer was Dennis Schröder. He was the only guard to step up and provide any sort of punch. He was also doing it without the ball in his hands nearly as much as usual. At least in the sense that when he had the ball he wasn’t trying to run the offence. Weird, considering the German entered the night ranked eighth in the league in assists (7.3 APG). But, with how much Siakam was operating and initiating out of the post maybe it was just a case of the gameplan not running the ball through him as much.

A rough outing for Gary Trent Jr. Very little was working for him tonight but he also wasn’t looking to do anything other than try and score the ball. He had blinders on and that may be fine when he’s having a good shooting night but when you’ve hit just one shot, try and find other ways to make an impact.

Malachi Flynn’s minute felt inconsequential and that’s a bad thing. He didn’t score until garbage time, he wasn’t generating opportunities for others, and he wasn’t really locking anyone down. For your backup guard, if he’s doing none of those things, what is he providing out there? He’s improved game-by-game in the grand scheme of things, but the bar was low to begin with.

For all the positive things we saw out of Precious Achiuwa against Detroit, things that highlighted just how much potential he has, there were just as many negative things today to remind us of how much he needs to grow. He picked up a couple of cheap fouls and turnovers while wandering aimlessly for much of his time on the floor. Way too many possessions lost momentum simply because Achiuwa couldn’t handle a pass that came his way.

It felt like an old-school Chris Boucher night where he gave some and took some. He hit a timely three in the second when the Raptors were in a drought offensively, but he also fell asleep on defence and allowed a couple of easy baskets the other way. Not a whole lot else to take from his 15 minutes of action.

Gradey Dick just doesn’t look comfortable out there. It feels like every shot he takes, every decision he makes, there’s a weight attached. Like he needs to make everything work out all at once. It’s hard to do any of that when he’s out there for 5-6 minutes and if he doesn’t get it going during that span, he’ll be done for the game. There’s a lot of debate on whether or not Dick should go down and join the 905, but simply for a greater opportunity and more live reps, it could be worth considering.

Garbage time.

Garbage time.

Garbage time.

Today was the seventh time in nine games that the Raptors have been down 16+ points. Most of those deficits have come in the first half of ball games, and after a point, that falls on the coaching staff. A team starting that slow on a consistent basis points to a lack of preparedness and Rajaković and his assistants need to figure something out. The defensive effort tonight was also unacceptable when you consider it was a top-10 defence of his Raptors taking on a bottom-ten offence.