Raptors Blow Out Nets With Eyes on Development of Quickley & Barnes' Two-Man Actions

For years, the Toronto Raptors used to have a trademarked go-to move in the clutch.

When crunch time rolled around, Toronto would call up Kyle Lowry or Fred VanVleet to the top of the arc, using one of the guards as the screener for one of Toronto’s forwards, usually Pascal Siakam. It created a pick-your-poison proposition for opposing defenses who were either forced into an uncomfortable switch or required to nail a perfect rotation to avoid a dire situation.

When it worked, it was beautiful.

Siakam would either penetrate the paint with the momentary lapse in coverage or find one of the guards beind the arc for three.

That’s the kind of chemistry Toronto is hoping to recreate in this new era with Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes taking the reigns as the new dynamic duo for the Raptors.

“It is very important. I think they can create some unique combinations, when those two guys are in different kind of actions,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said ahead of Toronto’s 121-93 beatdown of the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night. “That's part of our plan for those guys, to be able to work out together as well, and to work on those different combinations.”

Barnes and Quickley did link up a few times in the first half with each player working as the screen setter for the other at times.

An off-ball screen from Quickley got Barnes into a mismatch against Dennis Schröder that resulted in a pair of free throws for Toronto. Moments later, Barnes played the big man in the pick-and-roll alongside Quickley, generating enough space for the Raptors guard to score inside.

Barnes did use a back screen from Quickley to freeze Nic Claxton and put the Raptors up nine early in the third quarter.

But as a go-to option, it’s a two-man action that hasn’t been ideal for Toronto yet.

Opposing teams are quick to switch the action, using their two relatively like-sized defenders to snuff out the attack. If there’s a rotation, Quickey’s screen setting abilities aren’t quite at the level of his predecessors, creating a smaller window for Barnes to attack.

Toronto has been more comfortable using Trent as the guard screening for Barnes, hoping to create a bigger advantage for Barnes with Trent popping behind the three-point line for open looks. While Trent hasn’t been particularly effective inside the arc this season, he’s continued to be a deadly three-point shooter, nailing a trio of threes in the first half en route to a team-high 25-point performance.

"Him being such a threat downhill and being a mismatch nightmare, it could put you in different positions to be successful whether if I'm screening or somebody else smaller is screening like Quick," Trent said. "You’ve got to switch the point guard on to him and a big man is trying to chase Scottie and now the guard is trying to get back to me. So it's just a cat and mouse game."

If there’s been a notable development with Barnes and his relatively new teammates, it’s come with RJ Barrett who seems to have a knack for connecting with Barnes in transition. Whether it’s Barnes’ speed up the court on the receiving end of Barrett passes or Barnes using his elite passing to find the Canadian forward, the two have developed a unique sense for where the other one is going in transition opportunities.

Quickley did look more comfortable out of the all-star break, even if most of 24 points came without Barnes’ help. He did nail a catch-and-shoot three courtesy of a Barnes’ kick-out, but Quickley spent most of the night creating alongside Jakob Poeltl or Kelly Olynyk in more traditional two-man actions.

"I like his aggressiveness, our team likes his aggressiveness, his teammates like his aggressiveness," Rajaković said of Quickley. "I think he did a really good job of attacking. But also it's going to be work in progress."

A step-back three-pointer from Quickley following a screen from Olynyk put Toronto up 15 late in the third as the Raptors began to pull away.

In the fourth, a pull-up three from Trent midway through the quarter followed by another Quickley triple stuck the Raptors to a 26-point lead from which Toronto never looked back.

Barnes finished the night with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting with a game-high 12 rebounds in nearly 31 minutes.

It’s going to take some time for Barnes and Quickley to gel and 21 games together isn’t enough to make any grand proclamations. The hope is the stretch run of this season and a summer working together helps create a more consistent two-man action the Raptors can turn to in the clutch.

“(They’re) at the very beginning for where we want to end up with those guys in the chemistry that they need to have,” Rajaković said. “This is literally just the beginning of it.”

Up Next: Atlanta Hawks

The Raptors will be right back at it Wednesday night when they head to Atlanta to take on Trae Young and the Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET.