We are back for week eight of Top 10 Raptors Plays of the Week, and it’s been a successful three wins out of three since our last edition. The week started with the game in Sacramento against the Kings and culminated with their statement win in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, so we’ve got some nice plays to go over.
10. Mamu’s first and one of the list
Spoiler alert! We’re going to get another and one from Mamu, but Sandro hadn’t been a part of the starting five for a long time as Collin Murray-Boyles took over for the center position once Jakob Poeltl went down yet again. CMB did a great job of holding the position down as he’s listed two inches shorter than Mamu, but his burly build makes him a tough defender. Anyways, Boyles suffered a thumb contusion at the beginning of the road trip and left a hole in the starting unit that was filled by Mamu this time, and he looked great once again as a starter.
9. RJ Barrett beats the buzzer
Speaking of starting positions, RJ Barrett was also out for a while after suffering an ankle sprain in Boston early in January, but returned on this exact game, actually. He’s played just 42 minutes total across two starts since coming off injury and is being eased back into competition yet again. This was a nice momentum bucket for Toronto, as you could see on the broadcast, the Blazers were on an 8-0 run at the end of the second quarter, and Barrett’s clutch tip shifted the momentum into Toronto’s favour right before the end of the first half.
8. Mamu’s hoop plus foul again
Here is part two of Mamu’s and one’s in Portland, as this time Sandro finishes over a gigantic Donovan Clingan, who towers over him, listed at a massive seven feet two inches. Mamu gets creative to finish around the giant with a nice double-clutch layup and takes a bump from Clingan to add two more points to a really impressive night in Portland.
7. Quickley gives Toronto momentum before the second half
Immanuel Quickley came off one of the best weeks of his career as the sixth-year pro took home the honours of being named Eastern Conference player of the week for last week’s performance. Before this game, Quickley tied his career high of 40 points against the Golden State Warriors in a blowout win and followed it up with an 18 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals performance in Sacramento on the second night of a back-to-back while shooting above 50 percent from the field yet again.
6. Big Mamu energy in Portland yet again
This is the last of Mamu in Portland, I promise. And I had to save the stat line for his last highlight of the game as Sandro had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal across 60 percent field goal and 50 percent shooting beyond the arc. Have a night, Mamu. I also liked this play as his best for the night, as he shows great energy on the offensive glass, tipping the ball to RJ Barrett and the way Scottie just stays there for a second after throwing the no-look pass like a statue is just too good to pass up.
5. Shead’s behind-the-back dime
We have our first highlight from Jamal Shead as the sophomore point guard got some starts in the midst of all the injuries the Raptors had, but by this game, he was already back in his usual bench role. His stat line was nothing crazy, but it was still solid with nine points, four rebounds, five assists plus a steal. The dime was just too beautiful to pass up as he threw a nice behind-the-back dish to Ja’Kobe Walter for a corner three. Only elite playmakers can throw dimes like that.
4. Gradey Dick from defence to offence
Gradey Dick has had his worst season shooting-wise beyond the arc as he’s at a career low 31.7 percent from downtown. Anyways, that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily having a bad year, as I think around the time of the homestand that saw the Raptors comeback two times against the Golden State Warriors and Orlando Magic, Gradey has been playing hard. To end this road trip, Dick has hit the 10-point digit all four times in the four game winstreak and has brought energy a ton of nights recently, even if his three-ball isn’t falling.
3. Big Ochai energy
Speaking of poor three-point shooting and energy, Ochai fits the criteria just as much as Gradey Dick, as his three-ball has been even worse, shooting just 18.8 percent beyond the arc. Of course it would be nice if the two could shoot better, but the fact that they are bringing hustle consistently overrides their poor shooting, and you just gotta pray that they find their stroke once again as we are now into the second half of the regular season. Ochai didn’t have the greatest road trip, but this game was his best out of the bunch with 10 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal while just missing three shots all night, which ended up being all from downtown.
2. The Toronto 2014 Spurs strike yet again
This is probably the eighth edition of the 2014 San Antonio Spurs beautiful game ball movement shout, as it seems we see this once a week on the list, and it’s just way too good to pass up. This possession might be the most clutch Spurs possession that the Raptors have had so far as it comes at a huge time in the crunch, and the ball touches four Raptors hands. Toronto really balled out in a huge statement win against the Thunder and probably gained respect from a ton of NBA fans, as outside of Canada, the Raptors don’t really get much attention from the American media.
1. Scottie ices the game on defence
To end our week eight, we go on the defensive side, and how can you not love the duality and versatility of Scottie Barnes? The crazy part is this isn’t the first time he’s come up big on the defensive end in the clutch and even won defensive player of the month recently. He still leads the league in total steals + blocks (stocks) with 131, and surprisingly, Tyrese Maxey is right behind him with 128. Back to the game in OKC, Scottie had a passive game of only putting up eight field goals in total, which netted him just 10 points, but Scottie’s beauty is the all-around game as he added 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks to round out a great win in Oklahoma.
