Raptors vs. Lakers Nov. 1 Takeaways
Dick, Barrett shine again as Ja'Kobe debuts against Lakers
The losing continues but so does the fun.
Toronto dropped to 1-5 on the season and the Los Angeles Lakers won for the first time in three tries on the road but more impressive performances from R.J. Barrett and Gradey Dick coupled with an enticing Ja’Kobe Walter debut showed important development and growth.
Anthony Davis finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks while LeBron James brought back some LeBronto memories with 27 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Lakers to a 131-125 win.
This game followed a similar trail to Wednesday’s contest against Charlotte, the Raptors going down by 24 after the first quarter before battling back the rest of the way. Things got interesting in the fourth quarter
Here are the game’s takeaways:
Walter’s impressive debut
What are the odds a man named after Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan gets to make his NBA debut against the Lakers and LeBron James?
Made to wait due to a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, Walter’s moment finally came and he was fascinating to watch during his time on the floor. The first thing that screams out at you when watching Walter is TWO-WAY PLAYER WITH HIGH BASKETBALL IQ.
“It was his first NBA game and it didn’t really feel like it, to be honest,” Jakob Poeltl said after the game. “To me, he seemed very comfortable out there, he seemed like he knew what was going on so I was impressed with him today.”
Walter’s defensive instincts are really good, and he made several impactful plays that helped the Raptors get back in this game. In the first clip below, Walter gets in front of a Max Christie drive well which allows Mogbo to dig at the ball as a help defender before receovering the ball himself. In the second clip, he does a great job getting back in transition and denying Rui Hachimura at the rim. In the final clip, again Walter’s back as the Lakers go to Anthony Davis with a hit-ahead and he smartly taps the ball off the L.A. star to regain possession.
On the offensive end, he functioned well within the offence and showed his ability to be a connector and extra possession getter. He had six rebounds, two of which came on the offensive end.
There was good process with bad results in the shooting department. That’s the knock on Walter having shot just 42% on twos and a pedestrian 34% on threes during his one year at Baylor. With a clean shooting stroke, the Raptors are banking on that efficiency trending upwards at the pro level.
Poeltl Power in full effect
After a slow start to the season, Jakob Poeltl is balling.
When he’s finishing on the roll and showcasing the playmaking he’s capable of, he’s a fundamentally different player than the one we saw against both Cleveland and Minnesota. This game was particularly encouraging in that it came against Anthony Davis.
One intangible that is being lauded this season is Poeltl’s vocal leadership. Being the main on-court veteran of the team, the Austrian is making a much more concerted effort to communicate with the young guys, help them along, and hold them accountable.
Toronto’s defence in the third quarter was stellar and Poeltl was a huge part of that. The Lakers managed just 23 points after 43 and 33 in the first and second quarter, respectively. Anthony Davis continues to look like an early season MVP candidate but Poeltl had one absolutely monstrous block on him.
Dick’s time to shine
I said in the last takeaways that Gradey Dick had a good chance of beating the career-high 30 point mark he set against Charlotte in the month of the November and it took him precisely one game to do it. He has now set new career-highs in three of the last four games having gone from 25 to 30 to 31.
Dick wasn’t shy from the get-go in this one, and it speaks to the confidence he has that he was willing to let it fly even though he didn’t get off to the hottest of starts. He shot 6-for-16 in the first half before going 7-for-10 in the second half.
What impressed me most about Dick in this game is that he was able to get up 26 shots and wasn’t hunched over or exhausted at any point. This is a player who is an Energizer bunny in terms of movement, jetting from one corner to the other, faking one way before sprinting the other, getting good lift on every jumper but also mixing it up and attacking the rim with vigour. We’ve talked about him bulking up a bit more coming into this season but the work he’s put in from a conditioning standpoint has to be commended.
I expected Dick to be better this season but I did not envision this drastic of a leap.
Barrett repeats the trick
Equally impressive was R.J. Barrett, finishing with 33 points, five rebounds, and 12 assists to lead another spirited Raptors fightback, 24 points and nine assists came in the second half.
It was one thing to do it against the Hornets’ undisciplined approach and porous defence, another to do it even better against a Lakers defence led by Anthony Davis. The drives were working, the threes were falling, but again it’s the playmaking that really makes you look back and take notice.
Below are all 12 of his assists and only the last one would be considered generous because Dick catches and then still does a lot himself by driving all the way to the basket. There’s several connections with Poeltl in the pick-and-roll but my favourite connection between the two is when Barrett rises for a 3-point attempt, recognizes Poeltl has position inside and instead passes the ball beautifully inside for a layup.
With Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley unavailable, teams are obviously going to show more attention to Barrett and that’s what makes his last two efforts all the more impressive. If he was scoring inefficiently during this period and struggling to find the open man, it would expose areas of improvement. If he can continue to thrive the way he has, it flat out changes the way his ceiling should be viewed.
Darko’s tweak
After the Raptors gave up a 9-0 start to Charlotte and trailed 30-16 after the first quarter on Wednesday, Darko Rajakovic clearly felt the need to change the starting five.
Out came Jonathan Mogbo and in came Ochai Agbaji but things somehow got worse. The Lakers got out to a 14-2 start and led 43-19 after a quarter that included three timeouts from Rajakovic. We know life is going to be extremely difficult in the absence of Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, but we have also seen this team be scrappy just as they were in Charlotte and in this game, too. They are capable of starting better than they have.
Strictly from a matchup perspective, going smaller against a team boasting Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Rui Hachimura in the frontcourt was a bit odd. Now, a rookie in Mogbo likely wasn’t going to alter the outcome of that first quarter all that dramatically, but from a process-perspective it seemed puzzling.
Credit where it’s due, that same starting five was better at the start of the third quarter, executing Rajakovic’s strategy of doubling the post to much greater effect and chipping away at the deficit. You do feel for Rajakovic, who has now had five different starting lineups in the first six games and all the changes being forced by injuries.
NOTES
Jonathan Mogbo was impactful in his minutes, collecting six points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 21 minutes. Foul trouble was an issue in this one, finishing with five.
Jamal Shead had a quiet night on the offensive end for a change, managing just one assist and finishing 2-for-7 from the field. The defence was still strong.
Davion Mitchell had a solid second half, though his decision making still leaves something to be desired. If this team can get healthy, it would be nice to see him on the floor without playmaking responsibilities.
Immanuel Quickley won’t play against Sacramento on Saturday.
Kelly Olynk and Bruce Brown are still weeks away from a return.
CONTENT
Vince Carter’s jersey will be retired Saturday, and you can check out my appearance on the ‘Hello and Welcome’ podcast for a really fun chat on everything Vince: