Competitive Raptors are back at it
After a blowout-filled lull, Toronto looks to have found new energy
RJ Barrett said it best after the game. The first game with the entire lineup back against the Milwaukee Bucks and all the hype that came with BBQ was a wake up call.
Regardless of the talent available, this team has to fight tooth and nail to be competitive.
There were signs of intent against New York, and then a full-blooded effort against Cleveland. The Detroit game needed a terrific bench effort to spark life into the team and now the last two efforts at home have been very much recognizable from earlier in the season.
The atmosphere for the Warriors game was incredible with Steph Curry in the building. The Celtics game felt like fans were nervously waiting for the other shoe to drop and Boston to eventually take over, but the energy went up a notch when a Raptors victory looked increasingly likely in the fourth.
Anatomy of a Roar
No, this was not a series clinching game. Heck, it was a long way from a Play-In Tournament clincher. That Scottie Barnes roar at the end of the Celtics game was an exclamation of relief and release of frustration for a team sitting at 9-31 coming in.
Toronto hadn’t won two in a row since Dec. 1st and 3rd against Miami and Indiana, respectively. Back then, 7-15 didn’t look too shabby. They lost 11 straight after that and 16 of 17, a win over Brooklyn serving as brief exhale. Barnes hadn’t experienced beating Boston since March 28, 2022 when Pascal Siakam dropped 40 in an overtime win.
He hadn’t experienced beating a Celtics team featuring Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown since Oct. 22, 2021. That game, you may remember, was probably the first game that got Raptors fans enamoured with Barnes as he put on a brilliant road performance in just his second game with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Lastly, in the two prior matchups this season, there was a double-overtime buzzer-beating game-winner by Jayson Tatum in Boston and a 54-point drubbing on New Year’s Eve. Those would have stung in very different ways even though Barnes didn’t play in the first one.
So, when this roar came out, some may look at the Raptors’ record on the season and find it amusing but this is the fight you want to see from your leader. This is the pride you want to see especially when on your home floor. And yes, him losing the ball out of bounds as he got caught up in the moment and let it all out was objectively hilarious.
Tough times are a major test of who you really are and Barnes has had to learn the hard way the last couple seasons. This team had to earn its way to a win against Golden State and then repeated the trick against Boston. Good for Barnes, good for the Raptors.
Starters Lead the Way
The bench has been pretty vital of late with Chris Boucher and Jamal Shead leading the way so a night like the one against Boston was needed.
Speaking of Barnes, he was immense on both ends of the floor in both wins and I’ve loved the compete level he’s brought. His leadership has faced a signficant test these last few weeks and it’s great that he’s helped his team find the light at the end of the tunnel.
I broke down his work in the mid-range the last couple weeks and it was a key factor in the win over the Celtics.
Barrett was pretty close to an ideal performance against Boston minus another rough go at the free-throw line (1-for-4). He finished the game with 10 rebounds and made the most of whenever he got cross-matched against Payton Pritchard. On the reverse end of things, the Raptors were also able to create switches where he was matched up with bigs. He used that wisely, too, seeking opportunities to either beat them on the cut or blow by them to the rim.
Good teams are ruthless in seeking out those advantages and maximizing them and this was a night where the Raptors did that. Below are some examples:
It’s getting better for Gradey Dick. I think the reduced minutes are helping as he hasn’t crossed the 30-minute mark since Jan. 3.
Jakob Poeltl went 8-for-8 from the field against the Celtics which puts him at an astounding 27-for-31 (87%) in the season series.
Mitchell’s performance against Boston was one of his best of the season if not the best. He finished with 10 points , four rebounds, five assists, and two steals. In fact, below is more on that.
Defence Peaks
Look, it has to be said. Despite the obvious difference in talent levels offensively between Immanuel Quickley and Davion Mitchell, it shifts the dynamic of the starting lineup’s defence when there are three plus-defenders on the court (Poeltl, Barnes, Mitchell) versus two. This is by no means inferring that Quickley shouldn’t be starting, just rather the issues at hand when all of Quickley, Barrett, and Dick are starting.
Mitchell didn’t even play well against Golden State but there is a greater sense of purpose and, dare I say, accountability on the defensive side of the ball. Speaking after the game against Boston, Mitchell revealed that the team felt like they owed Boston one after the last encounter and were going to make it a point to dictate early.
“I’m kinda glad I got those two fouls at the beginning, kinda just set the tone,” Mitchell said. “We’re gonna be physical throughout this game, they can’t call every foul. That’s the thing people don’t understand, they can’t call every one, we’re gonna be physical, and we’re just gonna be the more hard playing team and that’s what we did.”
Tatum and Brown shot a combined 9-for-31 from the field, while Derrick White was 2-for-9. Brown even made his first two field-goal attempts, making him 2-for-14 the rest of the way.
Boucher Still Bringing Heat
Boucher’s playing so well he had Steph Curry shaking his head and smiling in frustration over the performance against the Warriors.
Even if Boucher cooled off offensively against the Celtics, his nine rebounds in 16 minutes were instrumental in helping the Raptors win the battle on the boards. When your shot’s not falling, there’s other ways you can help your team win.
Notes
The Raptors know the Celtics want to win the outside game and so they have to win the inside game. The Celtics won the three-point line by 15 but Toronto outscored Boston 60-40 in the paint.
Ochai Agbaji picked up one of the strangest injuries I’ve seen, and I’m still not sure how it happened. He missed catching a pass from Scottie Barnes, fell over and when he used his right hand for support from the court, looked and realized he cut himself. Agbaji ended up receiving three stitches to his right hand and didn’t return to the game.
I wouldn’t overreact to the Celtics being 7-7 over the last 14 games. It isn’t abnormal for a reigning champion to have a mid-season lull and in combination with the Cavs running away with the top seed, it’s easy to see why they’re not quite locked in right now. Will things continue like this all the way through the All-Star break? Now that may be a concern.
Scottie Barnes making that mid-air behind-the-back pass to Jakob Poeltl took me back to when Andrea Bargnani almost pulled off a behind the back bounce pass alley-oop to Chris Bosh. Almost because Bosh ended up getting fouled on the dunk attempt: