The Raptors’ road woes continued Thursday night when the host Memphis Grizzlies abused the visitors in a scoring frenzy as the home side set a record for most points scored in franchise history, which began in Vancouver.
Memphis never trailed, would occasionally be threatened, but in the end it thoroughly dismantled a hideous Raptors defence.
The night was so appalling that Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic was ejected early in the fourth quarter when Memphis was well on their way to their resounding rout.
1. ZACH ATTACK
For most fans, Thursday marked the first time to watch Toronto’s Zach Edey, a two-time college player of the year who was taken ninth overall in this year’s June draft by the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies, by the way, paid homage to their hoops roots by sporting the original jerseys the team’s namesake made fashionable when the club resided in Vancouver.
When Canada’s two NBA teams joined the league in 1995, the Vancouver Grizzlies used the sixth overall pick to select Bryant (Big Country) Reeves.
The 7-foot-4 Edey is a couple of inches taller than Big Country.
What Edey does not possess is Reeves’ offence, especially on the perimeter.
What Big Country did not have was an electric point guard in Ja Morant.
Edey and fellow Canadian Kelly Olynyk were at the centre of the action, so to speak.
Prior to the game’s opening tap, the two Canadians shared a moment at centre court.
Olynyk’s ability to knock down shots forced Edey to extend his defence.
On Toronto’s opening possession, Olynyk was positioned outside the three-point line as Edey maintained his position inside the paint near the rim.
Offensively, Edey drilled a three-pointer on his first touch.
On his second, he launched an airball from the left corner.
Edey had the ball on the right baseline with Olynyk up on him.
Edey found a cutter on a sweet pass as the Grizzlies began to take early control of the game.
On a throwback evening for the Grizzlies, Edey did not begin the night as a throwback post player given his presence on the perimeter.
He was late on getting out to Olynyk, who took advantage of open looks.
Edey’s seventh point of the game came on an uncontested layup off an inbounds play that exposed Toronto’s porous defence.
In the six minutes he played before Edey was subbed in, he had seven points, recorded three rebounds and had one assist.
In the second quarter, he had post position and easily scored over Scottie Barnes as Toronto went with a small lineup.
There was a stretch where four Canadians in Edey, Olynyk, RJ Barrett and Chris Boucher were on the floor.
To his credit, Edey’s foot speed wasn’t as bad as many first feared.
For a big man, he has a soft touch.
And when he seals his man, a basket becomes an inevitability.
Edey had an emphatic block, his first of the game, at the rim on a Boucher attempt.
On the ensuing possession, Edey’s fourth three-point attempt failed to drop, but it show how his offensive game has expanded.
Five Canadians scored at least 10 points on this night when A.J. Lawson became the six Canadian to see the floor, albeit in garbage time.
2. BEAM ME UP SCOTTIE
Barnes has not looked the same since his return from a sprained ankle.
He did bounce back in a loss to the host New York Knicks following two regrettable games where his jump shot was non-existent.
To make matters worse, Barnes was too passive and spent far too much time heaving missed three-pointers.
Against the Grizzlies, the Raptors went with a lineup that was arguably their best knowing Jakob Poeltl (groin) remains sidelined.
Barnes looked much more fluid, but Toronto’s poor start did have the visitors on their heels.
He began on the wrong foot by turning the ball over once, picking up one foul and missing the one shot he attempted before the Raptors subbed in Chris Boucher for Barnes.
His second shot attempt became his first make when Barnes buried a step-in three-pointer.
It triggered the type of sequence Barnes must produce more often, the kind where his court vision was highlighted, his lethal presence when he’s in the paint and his defence.
He was left defenceless once Edey had sealed Barnes.
Barnes made his first trip to the foul line three minutes into the third quarter.
In 33 minutes, Barnes was a minus-26
3. DISAPPEARING DEFENCE
By now, it must be painfully obvious how porous Toronto’s defence has become and how it has always been going back to last season’s nightmare.
It defies logic how slow players are when rotating, how vulnerable they become when defending the perimeter and how meekly they surrender points in transition.
Take, for example, the opening quarter.
The Grizzlies would score 43 points in the period and played with a double-digit lead for most of the opening 12 minutes.
When the Raptors finally began to play with some defensive intensity and efficiency, they avoided getting blown out of the gym.
Trailing 43-35 after the first period wasn’t so bad when Toronto’s defence had been so bad for most of the quarter.
The 43 points yielded tied a season high in a quarter this season.
For the record, the Raptors have surrendered 40 or more points in a quarter five times, including three in the past four periods.
Not good.
Poeltl’s absence is one thing, but this disappointing defence speaks to the team’s low basketball IQ and the basic and fundamental inability to keep one’s man in front.
Effort can mask many deficiencies.
Toronto began the second quarter with Davion Mitchell guarding Moran.
When the Raptors did step up their defence, they forced the Grizzlies to call a timeout after Toronto made it a one-point game mid-way through the second quarter and would draw even.
On the final possession of the opening half, Mitchell played with one shoe, but he did force a miss.
Memphis was “limited’’ to 35 second-quarter points in leading, 78-70 at intermission.
The 78 points were a season high or season low on a different level for Raptors.
With 6:31 remaining in the third quarter, the Grizzlies had recorded their 100th point.
Through three quarters, the Raptors had yielded 121 points, the most ever given up in franchise history after three periods.
The most points surrendered in a single game by the Raptors is 158.
They ended Thursday night’s game by giving up 155 points in a 29-point loss.