On throwback night that evoked memories of Vancouver and Toronto going toe to toe on the NBA stage, two Canadians stood out in a Boxing Day matchup featuring the host Grizzlies and visiting Raptors.
For Toronto, it was RJ Barrett stepping up. For Memphis, it was Toronto native Zach Edey disproving all the naysayers who were convinced his methodical game would not translate at the pro level.
Barrett flirted with a triple-double, while Edey’s double-double helped pace the Grizzlies to their 155-126 win. So many points yielded and yet the Raptors never did hold a lead.
Edey’s night became less burdensome in the wake of Toronto big man Jakob Poeltl (groin) being unavailable.
When Memphis pushed the pace, the Raptors were overwhelmed in trailing by as many as 19 points.
When Toronto defended, it competed, but this night was all about offence with Barrett and Edey emerging among the game’s very best.
For the Raptors, it was their ninth straight loss as their road record dropped to 1-14
They can’t win without Poeltl’s presence, they don’t stand a chance when Scottie Barnes continues to shoot the basketball so miserably and they have absolutely no shot when their defence is so shoddy.
Edey was transformed into a modern day Wilt Chamberlain, knowing a TV audience back home had tuned in to watch him play his hometown team for the first time.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had enough of the game’s officiating, his emotion and frustration boiling over two minutes into the fourth quarter when he was tossed. By getting ejected, he took one for the team.
At least Rajakovic showed fight, but he did go way over the line and was justifiably ejected.