Ochai Agbaji –
Agabji was playing very aggressive defense tonight, he had very active hands and he was very attentive in navigating screening actions as well. Great digs. His outside shot was not falling tonight, despite getting some great looks at it, these shots usually fall for him but tonight they just weren’t finding the bottom of the basket. His defense was strong and disruptive tonight though. Great in his role, but didn’t have the punch on offence that Toronto would have wanted.
Grade: C+
Jonathan Mogbo –
Mogbo didn’t get too much burn tonight, only playing 11 minutes, and his defense was a bit erratic. He was great in switch, less so as a paint protector. He cleaned up on the glass in his minutes, but he seemed to be a bit out of sorts on defense in transition. Offensively didn’t offer enough, and even got blocked around the rim on a great pass from Scottie Barnes.
Grade – C
Gradey Dick –
Gradey was being used in a multitude of ways in the halfcourt tonight. His speed running off of pin downs is exhilarating and his movement shooting impressed tonight as well. Gradey was also great in transition, he was the recipient of many outlet passes and got himself some nice easy looks, he played his role on offense practically perfectly today. He was also putting in a lot of effort on defense as well, diving for loose balls, and getting his hands in the lane to break up passes.
Grade: A+
Jakob Poeltl –
It can not be understated just how important Jakob’s screening is for this team. He set brutalizing screens tonight and freed up ball handlers. His own scoring was the result of being in the right position under the basket and taking full advantage of breakdowns from Atlanta’s defense as well. He finishes so well, he’s really important to Toronto’s efficiency from 2-point range, and he ran in transition, too. Even threw a lob to RJ Barrett!
Grade: A-
Brandon Ingram –
In his Raptors debut Ingram was sensational. He is such a seamless fit in this offense and a versatile scorer, more versatile than he’s given credit for. He lived in the mid range, he curled off pin downs, he broke defenders down off the dribble, and he constantly found gaps in Atlanta’s defense to attack. He was also a more than willing passer, often finding his way to the paint and kicking it out at his first opportunity.
Grade: A+
Sandro Mamukelashvili –
Mamu was really good at attacking closeouts tonight, he knows just how to get a defender to commit to his pump fake and attack at just the right time to keep the advantage alive. His body control is outstanding, and his playmaking on the move was really good as well. He’s just an ideal tertiary player.
Grade: A
Immanuel Quickley –
Quickley left a lot of meat on the bone tonight as a scorer, he had more than enough great looks tonight to put in more than 13 points. What he did do was make sure the Raptors pace was high, and really push the ball in transition and he was able to rack up assists tonight doing this. He is a much better jump shooter than he showed tonight, but its clear that he had value as a playmaker tonight. Solid defence, too.
Grade: B-
RJ Barrett –
Ever since RJ arrived in Toronto he has molded into any role that has been asked of him and tonight was no different. RJ scored in every way imaginable, catch and shoot threes, cuts to the basket, driving to the rim off of handoffs, barreling to the rim in transition, he truly showed off his offensive versatility tonight. Perfect as the third banana behind Barnes and Ingram, and he punished the Hawks in that position.
Grade: A+
Scottie Barnes –
Barnes had a really complete game tonight on both ends of the floor. He made quick decisions as a passer, he had a few passes after screening that were eye-popping, including a touch pass to Poeltl for an easy layup. He used his size well tonight, and really imposed his will on the paint, and mixed in a couple of mid-range jumpers as well. His length was bothersome for Atlanta’s offense as well, he made a lot of their rim looks uncomfy.
Grade: A+
Jamal Shead –
Things started off rough for Shead tonight as he had a hard time creating on-ball. But as the game progressed he was able to find himself some nice open looks, and he got himself to the free throw line multiple times as well. His screen navigation was pretty rough tonight, but he was still able to impact the game in a positive way. Some very fancy passes.
Grade: B
Coach Darko Rajaković –
Darko spread out the touches amongst the starters beautifully, and he allowed each of them to be used in multiple different ways. He ran great off-ball actions for Ingram, he used Scottie as a screener perfectly, and he used RJ as a swiss-army knife on offense perfectly as well, just a great balance from Darko tonight. He is running very clean lineups, too. Had an answer for every run the Hawks tried to make.
Grade: A+
