No graphics for the first game, so we’re doing this the old-school way. You can find the box score here, which I’m not adding into the piece because it’ll take me too long. Grades!
Dennis Schroder: B – He was quiet but competent. Ran some pick and rolls, delivered some nifty passes to Poeltl (that weren’t finished, but that’s fine), and hit sixth gear with the quickness when he needed to. Fantastic in transition, just flying past everyone. Fun stuff. Also, you know what contributed to his being quiet? He fouled, like, a lot. Oh well, preseason.
O.G. Anunoby: A – Still a lights-out shooter. He had a nice baseline drive and swing to an open Barnes in the corner. Anunoby has basically maximized the skills he has been allowed to showcase to this point. It looks like he’ll get touches in more diverse scenarios this year, and if he can be a willing and creative passer in more complex scenarios, that would really add to the dangers he represents with the ball in his hands. Great dumpoff to a cutting Boucher in a transition post-up.
Scottie Barnes: A – Free throws! Huge add. His passing was worth the price of admission here, as it was fantastic. He will almost never miss the grand-slam pass, and his teammates were running and cutting with aplomb to load the bases for him. Also, some nifty dribbling on his first touch, with a half spin before heading back to the same side and drawing free throws. He didn’t hesitate to launch on his first catch-and-shoot attempt from deep, either. Then he turned to his bruising, slow-moving post-ups, hitting a few hooks. A great mix of offensive looks for him, and he looked comfortable throughout. His talk about adding conditioning didn’t seem to be surface-level.
Pascal Siakam: B- – He remains a killer, particularly when he catches with an advantage. If Toronto can do more of that for him this year, it will be a huge, huge year. He missed a few early, but it’s clear that his role will change. He had fewer touches and more dynamic touches, catching on the move in more circumstances and some early-clock post-ups.. He still had a few late-clock grenades come his way, which deflated his efficiency, but I liked how Toronto used him. The defense wasn’t there, but meh, who cares, it’s preseason.
Jakob Poeltl: B – The Raptors really did run stuff through Poeltl when he was on the court. He was a handoff hub and set bruising screens, but when the Kings denied his options and forced Poeltl to create for himself from 15 feet, it didn’t always look pretty. His first shot was an awkward, off-foot runner that didn’t come close. If Toronto does run its offense through the elbows, it’s hard to see that system being best with the ball in Poeltl’s hands rather than those of Siakam or Barnes. But he’ll always find ways to be a positive contributor.
Gary Trent jr.: A+ – The highlight of the game for Toronto. First touch took him approximately 0.5 seconds to get a shot off. Obviously he made it. Then stole an entrance pass on defense. He has no trouble with the 0.5 ethos. His 3-point attempts are going to be, more or less, the best outcome a Toronto half-court offense can expect on a high-frequency basis. He was getting into the lane after the first hitting some floaters and scoop layups. If you were going to try to nitpick, his passing wasn’t great (and he blew an uncontested dunk in transition), but in general, a really fantastic game from him even beyond from shot-making.
Chris Boucher: A – So much running and cutting and dunking. He’s awesome. Just, such a helpful player when he’s on a functional team. Barnes had eyes for him. His energy and legs are going to be crucial for a team that wants to be fun and fast but because of roster construction will get stuck in the mud now and then.
Thad Young: C – He was fun with the ball in his hands, even running a break in the second and creating a layup for a teammate. The man will be a plus passer until he’s 40. His defense was not what Toronto needed. It wasn’t his fault, as the Raptors needed him at center with Koloko and Achiuwa out, but the Raps weren’t deterring anyone with him in drop.
Gradey Dick: A – Didn’t check in until late in the third quarter, and the crowd was LOUD in cheering him before he even stepped on the floor. Immediately hit a jumper curling around a screen. He runs so much — he just does stuff that Toronto needs and doesn’t get in a lot of other places. I think he’ll be playing a fair amount of minutes pretty quickly for Toronto. He might have had too quick a trigger, but that’s much better than the inverse. Hit a triple late.
Jaden McDaniels: A+ – He already has a top-five prettiest jumper on the team, which, whatever, make of that what you will. But he shot without hesitation in this one, which is probably his best path to minutes. Loved that. But he also added in offensive rebounding, some short-midrange work. Great nail help on the defensive end, being active on long, and just taking up space to dissuade whatever the offense wanted. He may end up playing a lot a lot of minutes for the Raptors if he can consistently be this guy.
Malachi Flynn: C+ – Looks bigger and stronger, and he wasn’t getting pushed around. He was really hunting the pass, which resulted in a lot of turnovers but also plenty of assists. Unfortunately, the shot wasn’t there, which has become the real swing skill to impact his minutes in Toronto.
Markquis Nowell: C – Struggled against the size of the NBA. Got into the lane, which was more meaningful in the long run, but the Kings tracked him with relative ease.
Garrett Temple: B – Was bringing the ball up the floor for Toronto at points. He was the solid veteran, asked to keep the kids in line to end the game. Was solid.
Mouhamadou Gueye: A – Had a monster and-1 dunk on a drive straight past his defender. Man he gets to the rim quickly. In general, tons of movement, cutting, and effort. Looked awkward at points, and wasn’t always cutting into the right place, but at least brought motion. Intriguing long-term piece, and he’ll have some huge 905 games if that’s where he’ll end up. Even had a creative pass to a cutter, too. He’s raw but super fun.
Javon Freeman-Liberty: B – He attacked the rim when he was supposed to, but the finishes didn’t drop. Getting to the rim, though, is great.
Darko Rajakovic: A – It was the lowest possible stakes for his first game, but he cleared every bar and then some. The team moved and passed and generally created efficient looks. The defense bought in after an initial slow start. The stars looked comfortable. It’s preseason, so perhaps it’s all meaningless, but what a wonderful start. The handoff stuff didn’t get results early, but I’m sure the internal analytics staff will be happy with what it created.
Things I saw:
1 – The Raptors are back! Love the start to the new era. Players looked different. Sets looked different. Roles looked different. Things were fresh and fun. The team recorded 30 assists, which they only matched or passed nine times last season. It’s preseason, so don’t get too excited yet, but it couldn’t have started better.
2 – Horns into DHO between Schroder and Poeltl to start, get Pascal attacking off the catch, and he misses a little floater, but very nice set to play to their strengths to start. The second play — a handoff for Barnes. Toronto really pounded the handoffs tonight, which is fairly indicative of what we can expect their offense to look like. It’s a good way of using the bigs, generating dynamism, and giving players a little bit of help in trying to turn corners.
3 – Toronto’s defense did, uhhh, not come out hot. Sacramento put up points on every possession for the first five minutes to start the game, as they drew free throws, faced no nail help, found uncontested cuts, and generally got anything they wanted. The defense was significantly better once players like McDaniels, Boucher, and others got in the game, and it continued to be solid for the starters after that. It makes sense that it would take players with less certain futures to set the energy in preseason, so nothing to worry about there.
4 – Schroder is going to be the best or second-best corner-turner on the Raptors. That will be a big deal. Sure, maybe he won’t finish everything, but he’ll create for others and at the minimum force the defense to respond. The fact that he is getting his hips past his primary defender virtually every time he wants gives Toronto a component it really hasn’t had. That should be a big deal.
