The first Raptors game of the season did not go the way the home team planned. Things went downhill not long after Scottie Barnes delivered a rousing address to fans eager for their first taste of real NBA basketball in many months. Overwhelmed by Cleveland’s size, Donovan Mitchell’s silky finishing and short too many players, it was ugly.
Barnes later called it “an ass-whooping” and he wasn’t wrong. Here are some takeaways:
MEN AMONGST BOYS
Cleveland might be one of the biggest teams in the NBA, starting behemoths Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley up front, but the battle in the paint shouldn’t have been as comical as it was.
The Cavs doubled up Toronto in the paint with 30 points (on 65% shooting, to Toronto’s 37.5%), as only Jakob Poeltl offered any resistance inside. And that was even with former all-star Darius Garland having an uncharacteristically poor evening (Garland shot 3-for-12, including 1-for-3 inside). Cleveland threw down 11 dunks (four each by Allen and Mobley) to only one by the Raptors.
“That second quarter we really struggled to finish around the rim,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “They did a good job of protecting around the rim, blocking shots, which allowed them obviously to get out and run.”
And at the other end Toronto couldn’t slow the waves of Cleveland attackers.
“We did not get rim protection. But I think it was starting on the ball. Tonight we were getting hit on screens quite a bit. We did not do a good job of avoiding screens and staying in front of the man,” Rajakovic said. Guards beat Raptors and went downhill creating easy lob opportunities.
Rajakovic had talked a lot in the pre-season about improving things at the initial point of attack, but this was not a good start.
“We’ve talked about it, that any good defence starts with on ball. Better we do a good job of communication, guarding the ball, staying in front of the ball, that’s going to take some of the problems at the rim. But we’ve got to continue working on that, we’ve got to continue addressing that. I think video session is going to be a really good one tomorrow. Guys have a lot of emotions going into this game, but that’s all behind us, and we can really focus on our growth and development from here,” he said.
LACK OF DEPTH QUITE PUNISHING
Toronto is not a deep team. One injury to a key player can be withstood, but any more than that and things might get dicey. So with last year’s leading scorer RJ Barrett out, key reserves Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown sidelined as well, the last thing Toronto needed or could deal with was Immanuel Quickley being taken out of the mix too. Yet that’s what happened after he had a hard fall. “He’s sore right now. We want to be very (cautious) with it. And obviously we’re going to do all the testing tonight and tomorrow and see where he’s at,” Rajakovic said.
Davion Mitchell was just OK in his Toronto debut, while Jamal Shead had a good first game, but Quickley is Toronto’s most important player behind Barnes (on offence at least. Jakob Poeltl is very important defensively).
Chris Boucher said they’d stay positive, that injuries happen, but it’s pretty clear from the outside that there isn’t enough talent on the roster to make up for multiple absences every night.
BARNES MUST LEARN FROM THIS
Barnes was way off. He had trouble with Cleveland’s size, showed some frustration and wasn’t as decisive as usual. “We missed some open threes. But also, you know, we got some switches. I just got to be ready to split those switches more, be more aggressive on the ball,” Barnes said.
“It’s one night, it’s one game. We all believe in Scottie we know what kind of player he is and how he can contribute team. He will be just fine,” Rajakovic said.
ROOKIES SHOWED SOMETHING
As mentioned, Shead provided a needed spark.
“Jamal, every time he touches the floor, like, he plays so hard and the way he competes, he was able to get couple of deflections and steals. It allows us also to get out and run a little bit,” Rajakovic said.
Jonathan Mogbo, who didn’t look comfortable with the speed of the game for much of the pre-season seemed far more in his element. “I like what I saw there, the energy that he brought and the length that he presents defensive end especially,” Rajakovic said.
Ulrich Chomche and Jamison Battle also got valuable learning minutes that will help down the line.