Toronto Raptors lose, but Jamal Shead gets extended look
In a defeat against the Cavaliers in their season opener, the Toronto Raptors rookie was a high point.
The Toronto Raptors kicked off their 30th season with a game at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. The jerseys were purple (that’s fun), a couple of Raptors legends were in attendance (also fun), but the game was a 20-point blowout before halftime (not fun).
Look, if I sat here and gave you a play-by-play recap of all 82 games this season, we would all be really frustrated by like game 8. I’m not gonna do that!
So, let’s test out some ways where I can tell you about the game without droning on for 700 words about how the Raptors trailed by 20 for most of the game. Cool?
Now that it’s the 30th season, the Raptors seems to be bringing in a lot of former players here for celebrations. For the home opener, they brought Damon Stoudamire and Jerome Williams to Scotiabank to enjoy in the celebrations. Vince Carter is also around for select games to do analysis with Sportsnet.
As for the actual current Raptors players, there were injuries going into the game (Barrett, Olynyk, Brown, Walter), but then Immanuel Quickley was injured at the end of the first half. He fall hard defending a drive, and then held his back for a few possessions before asking for a sub and walking straight to the locker room. He didn’t return.
Instead, Darko went WAYYYYY into his bench. Like Jamison Battle deep. Fair.
Then the lead grew from 20ish to 30ish.
Sooooo — Let’s get into a high point: Jamal Shead
In his first “official” career NBA game, Shead had a fantastic night. He scored 10 points, 4 assists.
In the clip below, you can see him being an absolute menace on defence. For a rookie, he already seems to be adjusting to that aspect of the game.
NBA Folks, welcome to the Jamal Shead experience. pic.twitter.com/LggmSDUOgB
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) October 24, 2024
Shead is looking like an early fan favourite in general. He got a loud cheer from the crowd when he entered the game, and made some good plays considering it was his very first game.
After the game, Darko Rajakovic praised Shead for how hard he works whenever he is on the court. In a rare occurrence where every rookie got minutes in a season opener, it seemed like Coach was pleased with their effort — especially considering the nerves of it being their first game.
As for Scottie, while the team as well as himself did not necessarily play their best ball today, he said they will not let it get them down. He acknowledged how close this group is and how they feel connected. They will get into the film room, and get back into the gym tomorrow.
I guess that’s the message for Raptors fans after this opener. We knew it was going to be a development season. We knew the losses were imminent. Don’t let it get ya down on night one.
Anyway, the Cavaliers won 136-106 over the Raptors to kick off their 30th season. I’ll leave you with this “fun fact” from a good friend of the site:
Raptors lose by 30 points, their worst loss in a home opener in franchise history.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) October 24, 2024
It's also the most they've lost by in a season opener in franchise history.