Takeaways: Raptors vs. Cavaliers, Oct. 23

Buckle up, folks, wins and lessons season is here

Photo credit: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP

Say it with me now, the Toronto Raptors are in a rebuild. Development is the priority, and there will be plenty of lessons along the way.

Lesson One came Wednesday night as all the excitement of the 30th anniversary home opener was quickly wiped out by a 30-point defeat. It’s the largest opening night defeat in franchise history and only the 10th time in NBA history that a team has lost its home opener by at least 30 points.

There’s been plenty of talk about wanting to establish a better defensive identity this season and Darko Rajakovic will have to hope for better days as the Raptors allowed at least 30 points in each of the four quarters.

“I think that we got slapped in the face,” Chris Boucher, who led the team in scoring with 18 points, said after the game. “It’s probably good for us, especially as young as we are, just realizing that we gotta play 48 minutes and that it’s not easy to win games. I think it’s a good way for us to realize the season’s actually started and we gotta play a lot harder than we are right now.”

Cleveland’s stellar second quarter was decisive, outscoring Toronto 36-17 after leading 33-32 after the first frame. Evan Mobley looked like the best player on the court and finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks.

Toronto did not have the services of R.J. Barrett, Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and Ja’Kobe Walter in this one due to injury, while D.J. Carton was listed as inactive. Here are the key takeaways:

QUICKLEY IMPRESSES UNTIL INJURY

Immanuel Quickley’s left thumb ruled him out of all but one pre-season game and now we will wait and see what type of damage he’s suffered on opening night. Quickley skied for a rebound in the second quarter but was inadvertently undercut by Darius Garland who had already taken up his own position. Toronto’s starting point guard landed hard on his back and, though he remained in the game to shoot free throws, headed back to the locker room later and didn’t return.

The Raptors have thus far diagnosed him with a right pelvic contusion and we’ll see if there’s an update on his status at Thursday afternoon’s practice. Toronto has a back-to-back Friday against Philadelphia and Saturday against Minnesota so don’t be surprised if caution takes priority.

While Quickley was in the game, he looked really good and that makes the injury all the more frustrating. He pushed the pace offensively, showed off his outside shooting with a couple triples, and had four assists to go with his 13 points in 14 minutes.

On top of the offence, Quickley was excellent in leading Toronto’s full-court press, hounding Garland and a key factor in the Cavs guard struggling to score in the first half.

Heal up, Quick.

DICK CONTINUES UPWARD TREND

The biggest positive from this game was the play of Gradey Dick. He knocked down a couple threes from above the break, attacked the basket when the opportunity presented itself, and made some solid defensive stands that included a block on Garland.

It is amazing to see the confidence with which he’s playing, even if it’s something we’ve come to expect ever since he wore that Wizard of Oz inspired suit on draft night. He looks much more up to speed with the NBA’s pace of play and the work he’s put in on his body during the off-season has him unafraid of drawing contact.

BARNES’ LEADERSHIP WILL FACE BIG TESTS

It was disappointing that Scottie Barnes didn’t start off his 2024-25 campaign the way that everyone hoped. He was 3-for-14 from the field and missed both of his three-point attempts to finish with a 9-6-5 triple-single. Off nights happen and he will bounce back with better performances.

Where Barnes has to show progress this season is raising the floor of his intensity and discipline in terms of sticking to the plan/process.

There was a play in the second quarter where Donovan Mitchell tapped the ball away from Barnes and the absence of a foul call resulted in showing some frustration on the defensive end. Later, after Mobley was clearly getting the better of him and the team had a shot clock violation, Barnes seemed to let it out with a hard foul on Jarrett Allen and repeatedly looked to go for isos to prove a point rather than try to orchestrate the ball and player movement that Rajakovic preaches.

Watch below as Barnes turns the ball over just before halftime, doesn’t run back with Evan Mobley — who he’s attached to for a moment following the turnover and was his primary defensive assignment — and then makes a nothing play on the ball. All four of the other Raptors players have at least tried to get back and are in the defensive paint when Mobley dunks to end the half.

Later, there was also a play where Barnes clearly committed a foul on Caris LeVert but insisted on Rajakovic challenging the call. Rajakovic obliged and the challenge was lost.

How much of his frustration and decision to put the scoring onus on himself stemmed from the lack of offensive firepower around him when playing with the bench unit? That’s worth considering. This will be a long season and, as a competitor, Barnes is allowed to feel some frustration. Part of his growth from a leadership standpoint, though, will show in his ability to remain committed to the team’s philosophies and bring teammates forward with him.

SHEAD MAINTAINS STRONG PLAY

Jamal Shead is going to steadily become a fan favourite because of the tenacity he plays with.

There was more playing time for him in this one due to the injury suffered by Quickley and the absence of both Barrett and Brown, but outside of being a part of a dreadful five-man unit that had very limited scoring and spacing (more on this later), Shead had a strong third quarter performance and is consistent in what he brings to the table.

With about five minutes remaining in the third quarter, there was a possession where Shead was draped all over Garland in a full court press and forced the ball out of his hands, then switched onto Sam Merrill and forced a contested three as the shot clock was winding down. Below is the end of that play, and you can hear the praise Vince Carter, Alvin Williams, and Matt Devlin had for him.

“Jamal, every time that he touches the floor, he plays so hard,” Rajakovic said. “The way he competes, he was able to get a couple of deflections and steals, that allows us to get out and run a little bit.”

OLD FACES APLENTY FOR 30TH ANNIVERSARY

The throwback jerseys looked fantastic and oh how the purple has been missed.

Bringing together the early good vibes was the presence of former players like Damon Stoudamire, T.J. Ford, and Jerome Williams a.k.a. JYD/Junkyard Dog. As an added bonus, Vince Carter joined the Sportsnet broadcast (something he’ll be doing on occasion this season) and teamed well with former teammate Alvin Williams and Matt Devlin.

Sportsnet will be airing a four-part documentary on the history of the franchise which looks like must-see TV for Raptors fans.

The intro video was also pretty cool, bringing back some fond memories with old highlights with Northern Touch providing the musical backdrop. Barnes addressed the fans before the game and spoke well, finishing off with a loud and long, “Let’s gooooooooooooooo!” while Choclair performed at halftime.

Xs and Os

Toronto came out intent on exhibiting the much hyped ball pressure on one end and using the pick-and-roll to create mismatches and score efficiently on the other.

Considering Cleveland’s starting backcourt is 6-foot-1 Darius Garland and 6-foot-3 Donovan Mitchell, I thought Darko Rajakovic might opt for Davion Mitchell in the starting lineup for the injured R.J. Barrett instead of Ochai Agbaji. You can’t complain about the 27-20 start to the game, and Rajakovic probably figured he needed a bit more size to help rebound against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The Cavs scored 28 more points in the paint through three quarters.

The ball pressure was excellent early on and it was a clear tactic to apply as much of it on Evan Mobley whenever he caught the ball, on one occasion Mobley going up against a full court press in the backcourt and turning it over. What changed? It’s hard to consistently apply ball pressure when you can’t put the ball in the basket and turning the ball over the way the Raptors did in the second quarter.

It could not have been more clear that development trumps winning this season when Rajakovic trotted out a lineup of Shead-Mitchell-Barnes-Boucher-Fernando to bridge the first and second quarter. The five-man unit was a minus-12 during that stretch and was effectively when Cleveland found its mojo and never looked back.

Yes, the absence of Barrett and Kelly Olynyk was definitely felt in managing the player rotations, but one would still feel there’d be a way to stagger and tether Barnes-Dick minutes as well as Quickley-Poeltl minutes until they return.

NOTES

• Jakob Poeltl struggled in this one with six points on 2-of-6 shooting, as well as five turnovers and four fouls.

• Davion Mitchell also had five turnovers and didn’t look too comfortable starting for the injured Quickley to open the second half. He did score 10 points and had some nice defensive moments when initially subbing in for Quickley in the first quarter.

• Jonathan Mogbo came in during the second quarter and scored his first NBA points in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer! He went 0-for-2 in college.

CONTENT DROP

I’m going to use this section once a week to drop all the NBA content I’ve done during the week in case you’d like to check it out:

• Sportsnet NBA panel Raptors Roundtable season preview

• Locked on Raptors Over/Unders episode

• NBA contenders preview for Sportsnet