Quick Reaction: Raptors 122, Bucks 94

Most of Murray-Boyles’ points came when the game was decided, but his impact was felt much sooner. Nothing flashy but very solid defense, including sticking with Cam Thomas through an entire possession as he tried to work for a bucket.

Ingram is the antithesis of analytical basketball and I absolutely love it. The Bucks gameplan was to keep the ball out of his hands early but he was still able to get to his spots even if it meant rising over multiple defenders to do it. Even off ball he was strong as he sliced baseline for a mean dunk when the Bucks went zone. On multiple possessions he bailed the Raptors out late in the shot clock and capped his scoring in the third quarter with a layup and open corner three. It’s hard not to be impressed with his defense as well, which has been surprisingly excellent lately and culminated in two blocks tonight.

Dare I say this was Quickley’s best game of the season? Yeah I know he had a 40 piece dinner against the Sacramento Kings but this was a complete showcase from the starting guard. This game was bleak early as the Bucks went zone and doubled Ingram, daring anyone else to beat them. But in the second quarter Quickley rose to the occasion, hitting a trio of triples from the right wing and attacking through the middle of the zone. Defensively his activity was mucking things up as he deflected numerous balls. There’s no one happier to see Poeltl healthy than Quickley, he opened things up tremendously for the guard and Quick rewarded him late with a no-look dime off an offensive board. Quickley looked like a true lead guard in Scottie Barnes’ absence today.

I don’t know if he needs more time to recover or what but Barrett still doesn’t have the burst he had before his injuries. Today he couldn’t get to the rim and settled for tough mid-range jumpers that he couldn’t get to fall. A quick turnover in the second half saw him yanked early in favour of Jamal Shead. He did come back in the fourth to throw down a fastbreak dunk but a rough outing for Barrett overall.

Walter started in place of Barnes today and early on he struggled to get his shot to fall, missing all three of attempts from deep in the opening quarter. That bled into his defense as well as Porter Jr. picked him apart over and over. Still, he weathered the storm and calmed things with two triples in the second quarter to go with a dime for a Quickley three. The shot-making parlayed into stronger defense, and late in the third he re-located for a top of the arc three to put the Raptors up 11. His shooting and defense has catapulted him into the backup wing spot and the way he’s progressing he could become a fulltime starter some day.

This game was by far the healthiest that Poeltl has looked all season long. He was all over the offensive glass, creating extra shot opportunities and his screening opened up so many looks for the Raptors. He was a big reason for Quickley’s offensive outburst as they operated the pick n’ roll on numerous occasions with great success. At one point he set three screens to get Quickley an open layup. Him getting back to health is the key to this home stretch for the Raptors.

There seems to be a flow to Mamukelashvili’s games in which he starts by providing an offensive spark, and then throughout the middle tapers off the scoring before stepping back up in the fourth quarter. Today he did just that, starting with 7 points in the first quarter, helping the Raptors beat the Bucks zone early with their only three of the opening frame. Then in the fourth quarter he opened things up with another three and a putback layup to reach a bench-high 15 points on the day. With Poeltl’s return he’s played more minutes alongside Murray-Boyles which has helped him defensively as well.

Garbage time. Happy birthday though!

At this point it seems clear that Walter has passed Dick in the pecking order. The question now is how far will Dick fall? Tonight’s performance was another tough one in a string of poor outings. He once again couldn’t get his outside shot to fall even though he’s shooting open stand still jumpers. When he finally got in late in the third quarter he allowed Kevin Porter Jr. to score back-to-back on blowby drives. I was hoping the haircut would change his fortune but alas, here we are.

Phenomenal Shead game today, he was key to beating the Bucks zone early as he operated from the heart of the defense and found cutters on two possessions in the first quarter to grease the offensive wheels. In the third quarter he replaced Barrett early and immediately sparked a 10-0 Raptors run. He drilled an open three off a Quickley dish and a couple possessions later deflected a pass for an open layup in transition, not quite getting the same hops he had earlier when he threw down a dunk on a similar play.

He got a short stint in the second quarter and drilled a corner three then was never seen again until garbage time.

Garbage time.

Can’t give the birthday boy anything less than an A+ today, but it just so happens that he earned it too. The most noteworthy thing he did was pull Barrett early in the second half for Shead which paid dividends immediately with a 10-0 run sparked by Shead himself. Overall his energy throughout the game kept the team fired up and he made the necessary adjustments to beat the Bucks zone. A blowout win led by defense without the team’s DPOY candidate is a strong statement and an excellent win.