After trading away OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn, the newly acquired Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett’s debuts were highly anticipated and safe to say, they did not disappoint. The new Raptors helped out immensely and the “old” Raptors also helped secure a 124-121 victory over Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Toronto seemed to be playing with a new energy that we haven’t seen from the team in quite some time and this energy was infectious across the board. Toronto scored 41 points in the opening quarter and this is the most that they have opened a game with this season.
Immanuel Quickley immediately showed why Toronto is so excited to have him and why his presence is a game changer for Toronto. His first make as a Raptor came simply as a weak side shooter from the hands of Scottie Barnes. It was merely a spot up three but it represents so much more for Toronto. Reliable shooting and just reliable play from the point guard position has not been a given for Toronto and Immanuel Quickley represents both of those things. Quickley also exploded to the rim after a handoff from Jakob Poetl and earned some free throws. He showed off his speed and what type of actions that can unlock for the Toronto Raptors. Quickley also attacked a closeout later in the game and showed off that patented floater, this game was just the perfect introduction to Immanuel Quickley if you are not familiar with his game. Quickley also brings a level of consistency as a defender that Toronto has been missing at the point guard position for quite some time, he is just the ideal player for this team. Pascal Siakam made sure that amongst the new era people did not forget what he brings to the table as well as he made three threes in the opening quarter and kept pressure on the Cavaliers. The entire offense is humming in quarter one, people are playing well off the ball, Pascal and Scottie and being good initiators, life is good.
The second quarter is where RJ Barrett introduced himself to his new team and showed what he really brings to the team and that is tough, gritty, finishing. He drove to the rim in semi-transition, put a shoulder into the chest of Caris Levert and got himself a layup. Later, he drives to the rim and misses, but he follows his miss and gets another layup. RJ had a really nice debut with 19 points and a lot of his buckets were powering his way to the rim and either making the layup or earning free throws. More rim pressure is something this Raptors team has needed and RJ showed off his immense potential on that end last night.
Toronto jumped out to a pretty decent lead at halftime and the scoring was very spread out amongst everyone in the rotation. The new players were fitting very well, and the “old” players were coexisting very well together. The lead didn’t get larger because Donovan Mitchell and Caris Levert’s scoring did not allow it to. Mitchell and Levert were taking any and everyone off the dribble and scoring very well.
In the second half the Cavaliers stormed back and began to make it a close game despite a huge quarter from Pascal Siakam. Toronto did a good job to fend off any comebacks for a long time but eventually the offense couldn’t keep up with the threes that Cleveland was making and it became a slugfest. Many lead changes, both teams going back and forth, things were beginning to look dire for Toronto but none other than Pascal Siakam and Scottie Banres were there to clean things up and secure the victory. Pascal Siakam made a huge mid range fadeaway to fend off the Raptors like he had been the entire game. Scottie Barnes swept through the lane and with his outstretched arm made a tough layup to also fend off the Cavaliers. After a miss by DOnovan Mitchell, Scottie Barnes leapt through the air and bodied a man out of the way to secure the rebound and essentially, the game. RJ Barrett made some free throws down the stretch, and eventually, Toronto won.
This game may seem like a mere regular season win to the naked eye but it represents so much more to this team. It represents a new beginning, and it represents a new direction as well. The two players you traded for that you want to be a part of your future showed in their first game that they fit well and provide immense value, the old regime showed that life with the new guys is a good one, and the entire team closed out a game that I’m not sure they would have closed out, even a week ago. The new year has brought a new team to Toronto, and it’s a team with more life than it had before.
