Quick Reaction: Raptors 111, Hornets 118

Started involved early on the glass and even offensively as he got a couple of looks from Barnes early. Screens were also great tonight as they led to a lot of open looks and created a ton of space. Poeltl also showcased one of his most underrated parts of his game tonight as he had a ton of great passes and could’ve easily had one or two more assists. Only decent performance in overtime for Toronto, as he was able to tip in a Barnes miss and came away with another offensive rebound, but unfortunately, the shot-making by Toronto went MIA. He was also pulled for Ja’Kobe Walter after being the most effective Raptor in OT.

Scottie’s very first play of the game was a forced pass into the paint, but luckily, it wasn’t a turnover, and after that, he crashed the glass and scored in the paint, followed by a three-pointer. He was picking the Hornets defence apart as he was able to get to his spots with relative ease, which ended up being mostly in the paint tonight, whether it be his post hook shots or just a layup at the rim in general. The only complaint you could have of Scottie tonight was the risky passes he was throwing, but that’s what you get when you’ve got a premier playmaker who trusts his ability to zip the ball into tight windows. But give credit where it’s due. Barnes had another all-around game and made two huge free throws to give Toronto a 104-101 lead with 12.6 seconds to go.

Opened with an and one floater after recovering a tipped Scottie Barnes pass that had no chance of making it to his intended target, Jakob Poeltl. It was a great Quickley game for a big portion of the night, as he was able to get to his floater when needed, knocked down threes and was able to find his teammates for open looks throughout most of the night, but he really fell off late in the fourth quarter. Two costly turnovers and misses at the three-point line when he had some really good looks sting for the Raptors as the win streak is now over.

Good start from his patented mid-range game tonight. His hot start cooled off for most of the second quarter until coming back alive offensively late in the first half. It was a game of two halves for BI3 as he started the second half with a nice stop-and-go move to finish at the rim, but his shot rate really slowed down, both in the attempts and the make department. His defensive effort on the Kon Knueppel game-tying three-pointer at 104 was poor, as Ingram didn’t even get a hand up to contest a game-tying three against a great shooter.

Quiet first shift. He was able to knock down a corner three midway through the second quarter to get his night going. Mamu has been running the floor well lately, and tonight was no different as he was able to receive an outlet pass after a Hornets bucket that led to two free throws late in the third quarter. After the first shift, Mamu was able to settle into the game and got more comfortable with every minute that passed in the game, as most of his points came in the second half and the fourth quarter.

Agbaji has been struggling this season, but continues to stay in the rotation. He had a nice block midway through the second quarter. He followed it up with a nice finish at the rim shortly after. Missed a chance to finish a beautiful play that involved Shead, Ingram and a nice cut by Agbaji, but he missed the dunk at the rim midway through the fourth quarter, which could’ve really come in handy.

Gradey started his first shift with a nice bounce pass in transition to feed an Ingram finish at the rim. He had a bad turnover when he ran himself into trouble trying to penetrate the Charlotte paint, but responded a few possessions later with a three-pointer. His second bucket was a bit of an unorthodox finish as he shot a running floater with his left, but he was able to make it stick. Dick is another one of the Raptors who has poor shot selection at times, and tonight, there were a few questionable decisions on shots and a bad drive into a packed paint.

Rough start as Shead airballed a three-pointer that had to go up since the shot clock was expiring late in the first quarter, followed by getting blocked on a layup attempt shortly after. His third shot decided to be the third time charm as he finally got a clean three from a Scottie dish that he was able to knock down. He hooked up with Mamu late in the third quarter off a screen and roll that led to a nice alley oop, and that was it for Shead’s highlights of the night. He was surprisingly a part of the closing unit in overtime after not having the best game, and unfortunately, he wasn’t able to provide anything in the final minutes of the game.

Quiet first shift with the starters as he wasn’t able to find an open shot opportunity, but they won their minutes by quite a margin. Like always, his defence was solid; most nights it’s much better, but he finally got on the board on offence with a corner three early in the third quarter. To his credit, though, I thought Walter’s shot selection wasn’t the best last year, and with him being out there with starters’ minutes tonight and shooting only 3 shots, which were all good looks, is progression in itself.

CMB was unable to come away with a few 50/50 balls that he got his hands on in the first quarter, but his defensive intensity was good. His energy on the glass was also great on both sides of the ball. The stats don’t look too impressive, but his motor was great tonight, and he was giving more energy than Shead, Dick, and Agbaji, who all played more than him.

Darko has struggled to win challenges during his career, but tonight he was able to win his two challenges as mid-way through the third quarter, when Ja’Kobe Walter was called for a defensive foul at first, was overturned after review. He was completely stationary in the paint, and after a look, the refs overturned it for a charge. He had a successful, rare two-challenge night as early in the fourth quarter, Kon Knueppel dribbled the ball off of his own knee. The original call was Charlotte ball, and it looked like Dick might’ve touched it, but once you see the replay, it wasn’t even close. Though the rotation decisions were poor, as CMB having the fewest minutes on a night where he was hustling was not good. The overtime rotations weren’t great either, as Shead was struggling tonight, and Sandro was the only bench member who offered a scoring punch tonight, which is what Toronto was missing in overtime.