Raptors' Collin Murray-Boyles Shows Promise in First Start

After scoring 19 points, grabbing three rebounds and adding four stocks (steals and blocks) in his second game, Collin Murray-Boyles registered his first career start in Toronto’s 139-121 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Murray-Boyles started in favor of Jakob Poetl, who missed the game due to lower back stiffness. In Poetl’s absence, Murray-Boyles showed flashes of why he could be a starter for the Raptors for the foreseeable future.

The ninth overall pick scored 13 points on an 81.3 true shooting percentage. Murray-Boyles shot 3-for-4 from three-point land, and his jumpshot has been a surprising development to begin his career. The forward looks comfortable taking above-the-break threes and has a more fluid form than he did during his time at South Carolina.

Murray-Boyles was used most as a screen and roller and did a solid job diagnosing when to hold his screen or slip and roll to the basket, but he was missed on a fair amount of open looks in the short roll. To maximize his impact, the Raptors must utilize him in the short roll and let him take advantage of three-on-one situations. Murray-Boyles showed the ability to finish advantages with his passing and finishing at the rim against the Rockets.

The rookie struggled a bit on defense, especially compared to his previous game. Murray-Boyles received a few welcome-to-the-NBA moments from Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams.

Early on, Murray-Boyles got two solid contests on Durant’s jumper, but Durant responded by drawing two fouls where Murray-Boyles was too aggressive and was hit a patented mid-range with him defending. He often found himself guarding Sengun and conceded a few drives that led to buckets or open shots for Houston.

Adams was too big and physical for Murray-Boyles. When the two were matched up, Adams grabbed several offensive rebounds and scored a bucket by sealing him in the paint. The Raptors were much smaller with Poetl out, and their rebounding suffered. Murray-Boyles finished with one rebound in 25 minutes, and Toronto was outrebounded by 21.

After the game, Murray-Boyles spoke about how difficult it was to guard Adams.

Raptors rookie Collin Murray-Boyles laughing about what it was like trying to guard Rockets big man Steven Adams:

“He’s insanely strong. My wrist are sore right now trying to bo him out… I was asking him what’s his routine mid game.” pic.twitter.com/FUBr3XjO39
— Toronto Star Sports (@StarSports) October 30, 2025

Overall, Murray-Boyles's performance was promising, one of the few bright spots in the Raptors' 1-4 start. The top-10 pick has clear areas for improvement, including managing his aggression while defending and looking to attack slower-footed bigs more frequently, but his play until this point should be cause for optimism.