Raptors Bench Showcases Skills in Blowout Victory over Australia's Cairns Taipans
Even in the best of times, preseason basketball can be pretty meaningless. Last year, for example, the Toronto Raptors looked pretty good in their five preseason games. Little did we know what lay ahead.
This year, the story is very much the same. A 134-93 blowout victory over Australia’s Cairns Taipans moved Toronto to 2-0 in the preseason. What does it all mean?
Not much.
“The regular season is a completely different ball game compared to the preseason,” said Thad Young prior to Sunday’s tipoff. “I think within the first 10 games (of the regular season), that's how you know if a team is, like, whatever they did before has prepared them for the regular season.”
We’ll run through the starters quickly. Chris Boucher stepped in for Jakob Poeltl who missed the game with an illness. It was a bit of a surprise that he got the start over Gary Trent Jr., but Toronto, at least for now, appears to be prioritizing continuity in their starting lineup.
The ball whizzed around early, and Toronto rained down three-pointers courtesy of some stellar drive-and-kick actions. Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam got deep paint touches and found O.G. Anunoby and Dennis Schröder in the corners on back-to-back possessions and the rout was on.
Toronto connected on 10 of 24 three-pointers in the first half including two from Scottie Barnes who led the starters with 14 points before their night came to an end at halftime.
"The start of the game, we were locked in," said Raptors coach Darko Rajaković. "Just the way, the stuff that we were working on, recognizing who are the guys on the floor, getting to extreme corners. The defensive energy was very good. ...
"It's human nature when you get a big lead to put your guard a little bit off. But that was our conversation in timeouts, as well, that we need to pick up our energy level and focus on what we're doing, and I thought we were able in the fourth quarter with those guys on the court to get back to that."
For some deeper bench players, though, every opportunity to impress the coaching staff can’t be taken lightly. Malachi Flynn was once again early off the bench and nailed a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions in the first quarter. Flynn found Trent for a three to open the second half after Toronto’s sixth man freed himself up with a savvy off-ball screen from Young.
Flynn finished the game with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting with four assists and seems to have solidified himself as Toronto’s backup point guard.
Gradey Dick’s shooting has been a little so-so thus far but the rookie wing has shown some impressive passing abilities for his position. He threaded a stellar pass to Young through two Taipans defenders but Young couldn’t convert the layup. He showed off his driving abilities a little later, working a dribble handoff with Young whose screen freed him up for a layup at the rim.
Dick wrapped up his night with just five points on 2-for-7 shooting, another lackluster shooting outing with just one made three-pointer.
Toronto eventually turned to its two-way and non-guaranteed contract players late in the third. Mouhamadou Gueye found Garrett Temple with a nifty touch pass in the paint for a bucket. Javon Freeman-Liberty followed it up moments later with a tough driving layup. Even Markquis Nowell, Toronto’s 5-foot-8 point guard showed off his finishing skills with an up-and-under layup as the Raptors topped 100 before the final frame.
Freeman-Liberty was the most impressive of Toronto’s deeper bench group. The 23-year-old runs the well in transition and is constantly moving in the half-court. He and Nowell hooked up for a pair of buckets in the fourth courtesy of some heads-up high-IQ basketball.
"That kid brings it every single day," Rajaković said of Freeman-Liberty. "He competes at a very high level, and since he joined us, everything that we asked him to do, he was able to do it, and he really helps us in practices. He brings versatility as well. I think that he can be on the ball, play off the ball. He's got good size, he can guard positions 1s and 2s. He's doing a really good job, he's a good player."
Freeman-Liberty had 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting with a banked-in three-pointer and a pair of steals.
"I’m not trying to get too far in my head, just play the right way," said Freeman-Liberty who was signed following Summer League to a two-way deal. "Pretty much just do anything to help the team win."
Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Makur Maker were the last off the bench for Toronto, another sign that Dowtin’s days with the Raptors are likely coming to an end before the regular season tips off.
Up Next: Chicago Bulls
The Raptors will hit the road for their penultimate preseason game Tuesday night when they take on the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. ET.
