Quick Reaction: Raptors 112, Cavaliers 101

Immanuel Quickley / Grade: F

I’m not at all concerned about the 3-point drought. It would be nice for him to hit them, but whatever. I am concerned about his inability to find his way into the offence right now. Opened the game with a steal and a missed floater in transition. Broadly, his transition attempts right now are about equivalent to what Gary Trent jr.’s were for a few seasons. (Transition: terrible.) I liked the defensive activity at times (at other times, less so, his closeouts especially are miserable), but his offensive process inside the arc needs so much work. In the second he drove, tried to draw that foul on his floater, didn’t get it, and threw it away looking to the corner. He’s constantly picking up his dribble. It’s really bad right now.

RJ Barrett / Grade: A

Such a terrific finisher so far when seeing his looks created by teammates. Barnes was looking for him early. Gave it right back to him with a bounce pass along the baseline for a Barnes layup. Then hit a triple from Ingram. When everything he shoots is assisted, he’s so fantastic. The scoring dried up later, and his defence wasn’t particularly stellar, but he’s still thriving in his role.

Brandon Ingram / Grade: B+

Closer, as he finished the game with some easy middies, an up and under, and some smooth action. He’s still finding his way into the flow of Toronto’s offensive system, but he’s such a talent that he’s still making it work. While he cooked a little bit from the midrange, his finishing in the paint was poor as he challenged stationary help defenders. Nothing is as smooth as it will be a few months from now, but when he gets to dance in the middle of the floor, it’s extremely fun. So far, Toronto has used him as an initiator out of the corners out of Chicago actions, Iverson cuts, and some posts and isos. There’s more meat on the bone. It’ll come.

Scottie Barnes / Grade: A

A very solid game. Ingram is very good, but the Raptors are at their best when Barnes leads with his diverse excellence and excellent diversity. Then Ingram can take over in the fourth. Barnes’ first possession saw him driving to the rim and finishing in traffic. Then had a beautiful touch pass after a slip into the gut of the defence, leading to a Barrett triple. Followed right away by a transition touchdown to Barrett for a layup. Talk about being able to contribute in a variety of ways. His shooting went through a drought, as Toronto’s own scoring dried up. That is also when Cleveland took control of the game. Later, his defence closed down the half court for Cleveland.

Jakob Poeltl / Grade: Inc

Out injured

Jamal Shead / Grade: B-

Rajakovic brought him in early in the third quarter to steady the ship as Quickley wasn’t doing much. He hit a miracle triple, but otherwise he wasn’t able to plug the leaks. Still, him helping on the glass and not making insane choices with the ball in his hands made him Toronto’s better point guard tonight. His minutes reflected that.

Gradey Dick / Grade: C

Five minutes, did nothing with them.

Ja’Kobe Walter / Grade: C+

I am a believer in his shot. It’s so simple and compact. He hit his first, and I thought he’d get hot and hit a few, but it didn’t happen. Still, his defence is really strong. He stays attached and is getting much better at knowing when to stunt and when to fully dig into the lane. Offensively, he needs to do more when he puts the ball on the floor.

Sandro Mamukelashvili / Grade: A-

The offence is one thing, and it’s amazing. But he really settled the defence down when he checked in for the first time. Helped clean the glass, move his feet, and played smart and hard. But the offence dried up in the late second and third, as Toronto failed to score. He missed some triples bad. Some unnecessary turnovers. But the defence remained solid, especially as he got a steal above the line to lead to an uncontested Shead layup the other way.

Collin Murray-Boyles: Grade: C

His first quiet outing since his career opener, though he did have his moments. Was driving extremely aggressively early. Though Cleveland’s length bothered him a little, he still was able to grab his own misses and finish, generally. He’s so physical whenever he gets the chance — rebounds, screens, anything. It doesn’t always result in offensive rebounds, or blocks, or numbers in the box score, but it must always result in pain for his opponents. His minutes dwindled, and Battle closed for him.

Jonathan Mogbo / Grade: Inc

Didn’t play.

Ochai Agbaji / Grade: C

A boneheaded turnover on his first possession because he didn’t want to handle the ball in transition. Then another when he did try to bring the ball up the floor. If he’s going to be the reliable vet at shooting guard he has to be more reliable. Battle hoovered his minutes in the second half. His plus-minus was not reflective of any particular excellence from him in this one.

Jamison Battle / Grade: A++

Actually saved the game. Checked in, hit a triple, then another, then another. It was Cleveland’s fault for leaving him (he was in precisely the same spot in the corner on all three), but still, good on him for hitting them. He’s been a very reliable threat for Toronto so far this year, which is especially comforting because the team has had so few such players. Oh, and: chasedown block! More triples in the fourth. Many more.

Darko Rajakovic / Grade: A-

More than in any other game so far he was ready to sit the stars if they weren’t performing. Quickley especially saw his minutes slashed. (And, fair.) Battle saw his minutes skyrocket. The defence was far tighter and less chaotic than in previous games. An actually solid game from the crew.

Three Things:

1: Is it any wonder that everyone seems to have great chemistry with RJ Barrett? He just finishes when players create for him. The efficiency is sky high, and it’s because he doesn’t pump out of good jumpers, and he drives when given lanes. Playing simple, and finishing good looks, makes basketball so much easier for your teammates.

2: Again, Toronto’s opponents grabbed more offensive rebounds than Toronto did defensive ones. At least, before the first timeout of the game. The defence was actually outside of that problem (other than Barrett falling asleep on a back cut). But defensive rebounding is important! But after that timeout, when Toronto grabbed rebounds, the defence really settled in for its first very good quarter at actually forcing misses of the season. The in the third and fourth, Toronto stopped grabbing rebounds, and Cleveland pulled into the lead. Huh, whaddayaknow?

3: The Barnes+Spacing lineup (Quickley, Dick, Mamu) hasn’t been great so far this season, but I see the vision. The Raptors have been playing around with the pieces of this Barnes+Bench group, and Barrett saw some time there tonight. The defence wasn’t there with this group, but the offence created great looks. I would expect this lineup to eventually win its minutes over the long haul.

4: Go Jays.

5: Barnes was grabbing his left hand for a few minutes in the late third quarter. If he’s hurt, that would pretty quickly turn a bad start to the season into a disaster. He stayed in and played great, though. Let’s hope it’s nothing.