Raptors vs. Nets, Dec. 19 Takeaways: Undermanned squad underwhelms against Nets

Without Barrett and Poeltl, the Nets played bully ball against a smaller team

It was probably not a good sign that Ben Simmons had a stretch where he seemed to be imposing his will on the game.

Brooklyn came into Toronto and left with a 101-94 win, sending the Raptors to a sixth straight loss including a fifth straight at home. Toronto is now 7-21 on the season, fourth-worst behind Washington, New Orleans, and Utah. This could be a vital loss in terms of lottery odds come the end of the season.

Cameron Johnson erupted for 33 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 11-for-12 at the foul line. Simmons finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Nic Claxton was ejected in the second quarter.

Scottie Barnes returned to the lineup but RJ Barrett sat out with an illness while Jakob Poeltl was sidelined with his groin injury. The Nets were coming off a 130-101 defeat to the Cavs.

There won’t be any respite for the Raptors as they’ve got the red hot, 18-9 Houston Rockets coming to town on Sunday. Below are the game’s takeaways:

Small ball brings bad rebounding results

With both Jakob Poeltl (groin) and RJ Barrett (illness) out, Darko Rajakovic resorted to small ball. Scottie Barnes, Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter, Ochai Agbaji, and Jonathan Mogbo started the game, becoming the youngest starting five in franchise history with an average age of 22 years and 187 days.

There may have been some growing pains in the first quarter stint but the start to the third quarter had some really good moments. Trailing by six at the half, that unit went on a 20-9 run to open the second half before Jamison Battle checked in for Barnes and Jamal Shead replaced Walter.

Without Poeltl and a pretty strong rebounder in Barrett, the Raptors were out-rebounded by 15 in the first half and then by four in the second half. Nic Claxton was ejected in the second quarter and so that likely aided the Raptors’ rebounding cause. Toronto was also outscored 46-36 in the paint which is not often the case.

Personally, while there is intrigue to having such a young starting lineup, I wouldn’t mind seeing Olynyk back in a starting role if Poeltl is to miss more time. Part of picking up the Canuck was to see how Barnes operates with a stretch big as well.

Barnes underwhelms in return to action

I’m not sure if it was easing his way back into game action or seeing the Brooklyn Nets in front of him but I thought Barnes played down to the level of his opponent in this one. I get the silliness in saying that because the Nets are above the Raptors in the standings, but there wasn’t that much aggression from him at all tonight. It’s still better to give him a pass being the first game back and having very little help around him.

Barnes took jumpers early on it was a particularly tough closing stretch. First, he put Shead in a difficult spot passing him the ball with five seconds on the shot clock. He followed that up with taking a hero-ball step back 3-pointer trying to counter the three Cam Johnson had just made on the other end and finally committed an offensive foul pushing off for a mid-range jumper.

The hero-ball three was a particularly disappointing shot, and one that I felt was reflective of someone playing knowing there were no stakes, like it was better to try and do something that would look cool rather than effective.

Barnes finished with 16 points, three rebounds, six assists, and two blocks while finishing with as many field goal attempts as Jonathan Mogbo (11).

Agbaji has another big offensive night

Needing as much offense as possible, Agbaji delivered a 20-point performance on 8-of-16 shooting including four 3-pointers. You know I’ve got my counter out with him and, yes, three of the four triples he knocked down were from above the break.

He had a bit of a cold stretch with his outside shooting, going just 4-for-18 from deep over the last five games entering Thursday night, so it was good to see him go off like this. He’s still at nearly 45% from three for the season. Even with the outside struggles, it’s worth noting that he has shot 58.8% from the field overall over the last three games including this Nets game.

This type of fun has almost run its course

I think I’ve learned all I can learn of Dick, Agbaji, Mogbo, and even Shead and Mitchell in overextended roles. I won’t put Walter in this category because of how much time he missed. This is by no means to say I don’t enjoy watching them play, but rather that I think we have reached the point of diminishing returns as we near the halfway mark of the season.

The coaching staff and front office need to have a good look at what not only Quickley-Barrett-Dick-Barnes-Poeltl look like together but also how everyone else fits in when operating in their ideal roles. It’s great that the names I mentioned earlier have shown as much as they have, but the sense of mystery and curiosity has dissipated.

Here’s hoping Quickley is back soon.

Notes

• Cam Johnson is going to make a playoff team or championship contender very happy. He’s young, has solid athleticism, is a net-positive defender, and can shoot the lights out.

• The Raptors attempting 44 threes in the game and winning the 3-point battle by 18 points is a moral victory. Currently second-last in 3-point attempt frequency, Dick and Agbaji propped up the outside shooting with a combined 8-for-16 night. The rest of the team went 7-for-28.

• Kelly Olynyk had some good chemistry going with Jamison Battle in this one, assisting him on a pair of triples as well as a layup on a cut to the basket. You may have noticed earlier that he had a nice lob to Agbaji operating at the nail against Brooklyn’s zone defence as well.