Quick Reaction: Raptors 143, Jazz 127

When it comes to rising to the occasion, there isn’t many better at it than Scottie Barnes. After an embarrassing loss yesterday and the absence of three starters, Barnes came out with fire in this one. He scored the first 6 points for the Raptors and he and Barrett ran the pick n’ roll to perfection. Those two have an underrated chemistry, but tonight showed that when you match Barnes’ playmaking with Barrett’s leak outs and cutting, good things happen. At the end of the second and third quarters Barnes ensured the momentum was in the Raptors favour with two timely jumpshots, one of them was even a pull up three! Barnes still has to work harder than most to get the foul calls he deserves but regardless, tonight he struck a perfect balance of aggressive rim attacks, timely jumpers, and smooth playmaking.

One of the best things about Barrett’s game is that he doesn’t have to rely on his shot to get his points. Thank god for that because he couldn’t hit a free throw for the life of him… Still, he was effective, leaking in transition, cutting through the paint and running the two-man game with Barnes to great effect, finishing with 9 at halftime. Right out of the gates of the second half he immediately notched a three and then drilled three more alongside a couple of cutting buckets to put the game well out of reach. Really impressive stuff between him and Barnes, amazing to see what they can do in two-man actions with space to operate.

Whew… If this is the confidence that Walter is always going to shoot with, the sky is the limit. He’s already shown high level defensive abilities and is a solid cutter, adding the shot makes life so much easier. You could see that early in the third, after he already made a few threes, he was able to easily drive into the paint off a hard closeout and found a cutting Barrett for the easy layup. This was one of the first times in a long time that I’ve felt a Raptor would hit every shot they took, but that’s the kind of excellent night Walter had. If he shoots like this it completely changes his ceiling and the team construction around Scottie Barnes.

One of his best defensive games all year. He finished with 5 steals (I think they took some away) on the stat sheet but that doesn’t even begin to capture his full impact. He had a few more near steals and was really solid at sticking with his man. Those steals led to multiple fastbreak opportunities and on one of those chances he hit the behind-the-back dribble, knifed through two defenders and flipped in a running reverse layup. To cap it off, he was an excellent release valve on multiple possessions as well, drilling a three after Barrett was quadruple-teamed and another after a high-arcing pass from Shead.

Garbage time, but not a great showing from Jackson-Davis in those limited minutes.

It’s amazing the freedom and fluidity that Dick plays with when he isn’t worried about his minutes. Knowing the Raptors were lacking offensive creators, he wasn’t afraid to put the ball on the ground and take a pull up jumper and he also had some well timed cuts. In transition he finished better than he typically does, hitting a nice reverse lay and throwing down a mean dunk. While he still couldn’t drill a three until garbage time, he provided some offensive creation that the Raptors needed early.

His shot still isn’t falling, but it didn’t have to tonight since everyone else’s was. He seemed to get some of his downhill burst back and used that to set the table with expert precision. He ran pick n’ rolls, pick n’ pops, and all together assisted on 37 Raptors’ points. When things got shaky early in the fourth he checked in and was the calming force we all know and love, settling things and making smart plays. His calming force resulted in a career-high 15 assists and of course to top it off, he banked in a late shot clock three from the logo, because why not?

Also garbage time

Excellent game from Battle tonight, the shot was falling, he was cutting well and he even tried to get up for a monster block that was ruled a goaltend. I’m done asking for him to get more minutes, instead I’ll just appreciate the ones he gave us tonight,

Magneto is back. Murray-Boyles quickly reminded us of exactly who he is as soon as he checked in tonight. His defense was as sticky as always, and despite picking up a couple of early fouls he stayed in, forced a turnover and volleyball spiked a Sensabaugh drive. His screen-setting was massive without Poeltl, and he ran the pick n’ roll with new Raptors point guard Markelle Fultz beautifully. He added three more blocks in the third quarter and used his force on the roll to get to the free throw line numerous times. The defense is so much more versatile when he’s on the court and that showed tonight. Welcome back Rook!

This is one of those games where you have to throw out the plus/minus. Fultz was on the court late when the Jazz went on a run in garbage time but by no means was that indicative of his performance. The former number one overall pick was a solid playmaker and a decent defender for the Raptors in this one. The key thing that shined through was his ability to run the pick n’ roll and get his feet in the paint to create open looks. His one basket came off a nice give and go cut with Barnes which showcased his willingness to take what the defense gives him. As far as ten-day contract debuts go, this one was solid.

Down three starters Rajakovic did an excellent job managing the rotation and got the most out of everyone. Late in the game he tried to sit his starters but he was quick to put Shead back in when things looked rocky and then did so again when the Jazz went on a big run late. The lineups featured a ton of spacing and the Raptors ran good actions to maximize those opportunities. He won his only challenge late in the fourth and the Raptors bounced back from last night’s loss strong.