Quick Reaction: Raptors 111, Celtics 113

Raptors

111

Final
Box Score

113

Celtics

P. Achiuwa29 MIN, 13 PTS, 13 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 5-12 FG, 0-4 3FG, 5- FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/-

Better energy and intensity from Precious. He may be one of the best “bigs” in the league with the ball going from baseline to baseline. There were times he did too much, but he’s a new man in Toronto and now is the time to test his limits.

B+

O. Anunoby29 MIN, 17 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 6-14 FG, 3-8 3FG, 3- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +1 +/-

A slower start led me to believe OG would have that letdown game we saw far too often last season. However, he really is starting to unlock that next level to his shot creation. Jayson Tatum will be the first of many players caught by surprise after OG pulls out the step back. Keep an eye out on his improved passing.

S. Barnes30 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST, 0 STL, 4-10 FG, 0-3 3FG, 2- FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, -13 +/-

The offense is a work in progress but we’re seeing the Draymond Green comparisons surface. If anything, Nick Nurse will be able to dust off some of those jumbo playmaker actions from the top of the arc he used with Marc Gasol. Also – it looks and sounds like he’s doing a lot of directing out there, especially for a rookie.

G. Dragic14 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-7 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/-

His Raptor Killer powers have permanently been transferred to Payton Pritchard. I’m probably just going to ignore Goran until the regular season opener.

B+

F. VanVleet29 MIN, 22 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 8-15 FG, 6-8 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +1 +/-

I really like that Freddie trusts Scottie to handle the ball during the beginning of sets, allowing him to initially play offball. Between the rookie, Pascal, and OG, Fred will have plenty of opportunities to do what he does best, and that’s creating looks away from the action.

Inc

S. Dekker3 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/-

We were introduced to Big Shot Sam tonight.

D-

F. Gillespie10 MIN, 0 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, +3 +/-

The travel after OG found him and getting his dunk attempt blocked on the feed from VanVleet sums up his preseason. I’m not sure why that spark that he often played with last season is gone.

C+

J. Champagnie18 MIN, 3 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2- FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, +8 +/-

I loved the sequence where he blocked Kanter and then contested the second shot attempt immediately after. The guy has bounce and is a fun prospect to put through the Raptors development program.

C-

M. Flynn15 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0-6 FG, 0-6 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/-

This is a doom and gloom kind of take, but I don’t feel good about Malachi’s future with the team. He’ll have a better opportunity when Dragic gets moved, but even then, I’d rather Dalano, Pascal, OG, and even Scottie get pick-and-roll reps.

C+

D. Banton6 MIN, 7 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +6 +/-

At his height and length, Banton gets to spots quicker than you’d expect. I’d like to see him get more burn in these final two exhibition games.

Inc

D. Johnson4 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/-

I’d also like to see more of the forgotten rookie. That was a smooth jumper to tie the game late in the fourth.

B-

S. Mykhailiuk22 MIN, 12 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-9 FG, 2-5 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -3 +/-

Not his best game as a Raptor, but it’ll be impossible for Nurse to not give this guy minutes off the bench.

B-

G. Trent Jr.24 MIN, 14 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-14 FG, 2-7 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +1 +/-

It was wild seeing him make an offball cut twice. He understandably plays differently with some of the starters on the floor. In his defense, we never did get a good sample size last year. We’re going to need his scoring this year.

Inc

I. Bonga7 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +9 +/-

Loved his energy.

Nick Nurse

He asked for a video review, got on the refs a few times, and called timeouts like it was a regular season game. We also got “open-mouthed” Nick for the first time this year. He’s ready to go.