Quick Reaction: Raptors 134, Wizards 125
Immanuel Quickley / A+ / 27 points, 11 assists, 10-of-15 from the floor, 2-of-7 from deep
One of my favourite games from Quickley. The passing was as strong as it’s been all year. Stepped into a handoff triple for his first shot of the game, which was funny because his shooting wasn’t the best part of his game (this is a good thing). A very heads-up wraparound pass to Poeltl for a layup in transition as he faked the pull-up triple. Found him in the half court, too in the pocket and with the lob. He’s just so much more comfortable offensively with Poeltl as his big. His triples pulled Toronto back into the game in the second. He was very speedy in transition and had a nifty euro-step with Poeltl Gortat-screening for him in the fourth.
RJ Barrett / B- / 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 8-of-15 from the floor
He still found his way to output, but the burst just hasn’t been there since he came back from injury. He played for the pass better than he has recently. He had his head up on the drive, and his teammates were keeping passing lanes available. When he did shoot, instead of those shots coming on the move, most of his looks are on step-throughs, pivots, and other more difficult shots that reflect less athletic capability since the injury. Defensively, he wasn’t doing enough and was involved in a few mixups. Still, it was one of his better games since the injury.
Brandon Ingram / B / 24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 9-of-14 from the floor
He found his way into the game, but his start was bordering on inexcusable. His defence was Toronto’s weak link early. Dying on screens, giving up one-on-one drives. To be fair, he has been defending very well for some time. Everybody gets to have bad defensive nights. Honestly, the notability of it being so poor was, itself, notable: he really hasn’t been poor defensively for a long time! At least he also got hot on the offensive end, especially when it was Quickley creating shots for him. Once he found his way into the game, his points were automatic, and no Wizard could defend him.
Scottie Barnes / B / 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
A fine game, even if it was subpar for a star of Barnes’ calibre. He was, like his team, too casual early on both ends. Defensively he didn’t wreak his usual havoc, and he was invisible offensively. He didn’t hit double digits in scoring until a post fade gave him 10 points at the end of the third quarter. But he really asserted himself in that quarter, looking for his shot in the post against smaller defenders. Even when he did so, his physical burst looked quite limited. His bruised quad looks to be really limiting him.
Jakob Poeltl / A- / 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Flat-out dominant offensively. He didn’t miss a shot, and his screencraft opened the floor for teammates. He was moving very well. Defensively, the Wizards were running Poeltl in a boatload of ball screens early on. He wasn’t defending poorly himself, but the team was falling apart in the actions. It wasn’t Poeltl’s fault, but neither was he able to clean up others’ messes. He did have a steal above the 3-point line by overplaying the passing lanes, which is the type of agility that he just wasn’t showing before his extended rest.
Jamal Shead / B / 7 points, 3 assists, 3-of-7 from the floor
Came up big in big moments. When the Raptors were fading late in the first quarter, he stole a defensive rebound, drove in transition, and finished a tough layup in traffic. His defence wasn’t perfect. (No one’s was!) As with Quickley, Shead gave a nifty pocket pass to Poeltl for an and-1 layup in the pick and roll. He hit a corner triple late in the fourth to slam the door on the game.
Ja’Kobe Walter / C / 6 points, 2 assists, 2-of-3 from deep
Not his best night. In the positive column, the jumper remains smooth. His stroke is so simple, it’s no surprise it’s been turning around lately, but it is very positive to see. His defence wasn’t as impactful as Toronto would have hoped (and to which it has become accustomed), as he died on screens like many of his other teammates. He even gave up blowbys without a screen in sight, which is very unlike him.
Sandro Mamukelashvili / C+ / 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
He was also getting lost defensively early. Offensively, he remained a producer despite a waywards 3-point stroke. He’s such a terrific mover with the ball in his hands for his size, especially in transition. Had a fantastic and-1 after setting a hard screen for Shead during Toronto’s big comeback in the second quarter. Still, a quiet game, and he saw his minutes cut as Toronto turned to physicality to win the contest.
Jamison Battle / A / 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2-of-3 from deep
He saw plenty of early minutes with Collin Murray-Boyles out with injury. I really liked his rebounding. Defensively, even though his positioning was fine, some drives went through his body and found paydirt anyway. The shooting, of course, was great.
Darko Rajakovic – ?
They won a game they should have won. They came out flat. They fixed it. The defence remained poor throughout. I never know how to judge coaching, and I really don’t know how to judge coaching in this game. Truly no idea.
Three Things:
1: Toronto’s defence was somewhat casual early as the Wizards got loose for triples with plenty of Raptors dying on screens. After such letdowns against the Thunder and Spurs, despite relatively tight defensive performances, you’d think Toronto’s defence would carry over here against a far lesser foe. Extremely disappointing that wasn’t the case early.
2: The Raptors have proved this season that, sure, they can’t beat the best. But they certainly can lose to the worst. Sure, they figured it out. They shouldn’t have had to claw back into the game against a team like the Wizards. If they play even a modicum of their own game out of the gate, this isn’t even a contest. Frustrating start.
3: If any game has ever proved the value of good screening, it was this one. The Raptors defended as if they’d never been screened before. Meanwhile, Poeltl’s hefty screens on offence gave the team life no matter who was handling for him.
4: Quickley played like a proper floor general. His 10th assist came with flashy ball-handling, a rapid drive, sucked-in defence, and an early-beat spray to the corner for an open Shead triple. Credit to him for performing in such a dominant, understated way. To see him succeed so well without his 3-pointer falling must be like manna in the desert for the Raptors.
5: I understand that the Raptors need Barnes if they want to have a chance at winning most games. And even when he’s hobbling, he still gives so much that they need him. But the Raptors are going to the playoffs. This bruised quad better not stay with him. If there’s any chance this thing lingers, I would far prefer the Raptors rest him for a week or two to get it right.
Your next read: Our beloved Samson detailing Toronto’s advantages against the Wizards:
Getting back into the game (nearly all the way back) before halftime required a new approach for the Raptors. One they haven’t had access to very often this year: bludgeon away with Jakob Poeltl’s size and his finesse. Tristan Vukcevic and Anthony Gill aren’t very stalwart defensive front court players and they had basically no answer for Poeltl when he was moving downhill with momentum – whether that was after the catch or pursuing the glass. 12 points on 4 shots. 100% from the field and from the line. Finally, the Raptors got to be the big team against the small team.
Poeltl steadied the Raptors offensive approach while getting his hands on a few different balls to disrupt things on the defensive end. He was supplied on the glamorous end by Quickley, who was comfortably out foxing the defense of the Wizards young guards. A few strong reads in the pick n’ roll, composure as a shot maker – things the Raptors definitely need. On top of that, Ingram never really fails in terms of volume, and he converted efficiently on his way to 13 points on 8 shots.
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