Quick Reaction: Raptors 112, Wizards 104
| Raptors | 112 | Final Box Score |
104 | Wizards |
B- | O. Agbaji30 MIN, 9 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-10 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 1 +/- Quiet first half. Defence was decent and his engagement on that end picked up by a noticeable amount in the second half. On the offensive end it was just one of those nights where Ochai wasn’t able to get much going but he gave Toronto great effort on defence in the second half. | |
A- | S. Barnes27 MIN, 13 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST, 3 STL, 5-16 FG, 0-5 3FG, 3-4 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 10 +/- It was an aggressive start that was filled with bricks. He did finish out the first quarter with solid momentum. That momentum carried into the second quarter where he was finally able to get shots to fall. This felt like a vintage Scottie Barnes performance that we haven’t seen in quite some time where he contributed across the board. | |
A+ | J. Poeltl26 MIN, 21 PTS, 11 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 10-13 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 3 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- Involved in the offence early on and the most reliable bucket-getter in the first for Toronto. Flashed his defensive ability to start the second half as he came away with two steals right away. A very consistent performance from start to finish and this game reminded me of the stretch that he had early on in the season where he was sleepwalking his way into double-doubles. | |
A | J. Battle27 MIN, 11 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-9 FG, 3-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Quick two fouls early on. He was able to get some clean looks which he couldn’t covert on but he was able to draw an offensive foul on Jordan Poole before the end of the first half. Defence has been getting better and tonight was another solid showing on that end. Battle’s offence came alive late in the fourth quarter when Toronto needed it the most and due to his shot making the Raptors were able to get a comfortable lead with a bit over five minutes to go in the game. | |
B+ | I. Quickley26 MIN, 21 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 5-16 FG, 3-9 3FG, 8-8 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 10 +/- Aggressive start just like Barnes but unfortunately the shot was not falling. He had quite a lot of family in attendance at the game so there might’ve been some nerves there. Luckily his aggression did lead to quite a few trips to the free throw line and he was able to convert there. Came out of the locker rooms much better for the third quarter and never looked back. Can we also take a moment to applaud good guy Quickley for picking up the cameraman when Mogbo knocked him over? | |
B+ | J. Mogbo24 MIN, 8 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- Good start setting up IQ with an open three off of a nice unselfish extra pass and a good off-ball pick that found Quickley two open looks which he failed to convert on unfortunately. His energy was also good from the get-go as he was involved on both the offensive and defensive glass as well as pushing the pace on a fastbreak. Got his offence going in the second half down low and at the free-throw line and finished off nicely. | |
B | A. Lawson23 MIN, 8 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/- Quick start on defence with a steal that led to a transition layup. He followed it up with a three-ball a few possessions later. A lot of people might be impressed by his offensive ability that he flashed a few weeks ago but I think his defence has been much more consistent and there every night. | |
A+ | J. Shead20 MIN, 14 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 5-10 FG, 1-4 3FG, 3-5 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Attacking the paint early on that led to free throws and three nice floaters. He’s now put together two really great performances in back-to-back nights. He is now the third Raptor in history to have 400+ points and 250+ assists in his rookie season, joining Damon Stoudamire and Scottie Barnes. | |
D- | O. Robinson19 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- Quiet first shift. The second shift wasn’t much better as he got blocked in three consecutive shot attempts. A night to forget for Robinson as he also picked up his fifth foul late in the third quarter which cut his shift short. The big man was given closing minutes and fouled out with a minute and forty-five seconds of game time left on the clock. | |
C+ | C. Castleton18 MIN, 5 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- Passable defence during the first shift. Defence was much better in the second half and he was able to flash his floor-stretching ability with a three-ball that we don’t see too often from him. | |
A | Darko Rajakovic Darko finally won a coach’s challenge tonight for the first time in a while as he made a successful call right before the end of the first half which set up two free throws for Quickley and a Raptors lead going into the half. The rotations have been kind of questionable lately, especially closing games out but it’s obvious that Darko is only interested in the development of the youngins right now. | |
Things We Saw
- Jordan Poole had a great time playing against Toronto this season as he had yet another great game tonight.
- A pretty clean game for Toronto as they’ve really struggled with turnovers the last two games prior to this one. Scottie had a turnover in the first possession of the game and it could’ve led to a snowball effect but the Raptors did a good job with the ball tonight.
- This game was won due to Toronto’s effort tonight. Good job of scoring on the fast break, winning second-chance opportunities and great work on the defensive end.
What’s new on RR
An early look ahead into the season coming up for Toronto.
And if Toronto is bad next year — when the team is almost certainly going to be trying to win — that would be a problem. It would be year three of losing. That stuff seeps into the bloodstream, into the bones. Most of the players on the roster (almost all) will have known nothing else in their professional career. That would be a setback of extremely large proportions.
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