Takeaways for Toronto Following Blowout Raptors Loss to Thunder

The Toronto Raptors were run off the court by the Oklahoma City Thunder in what turned into an ugly showing Thursday night

Dec 5, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9)drives to the net against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City Thunder 129, Toronto Raptors 92

Growing Pains

Sometimes that’s going to happen.

Thursday wasn’t pretty. Oklahoma City jumped on Toronto, taking a 13-3 lead by the first timeout, and never looked back. That lead ballooned to 20 in the second quarter and 30 in the third quarter. It happens, especially for young teams, and especially against teams as locked in as the Thunder have been these seasons.

What’s been remarkable about this Raptors season so far is how infrequently Toronto has been dismantled in this kind of fashion. Save for opening night and a couple of tough road losses, the Raptors haven’t been blown out often this season. They’ve hung in with the league’s best on a regular basis and shown — more often than not — that they’re competitive.

But Oklahoma City proved to be way too much.

The Thunder smothered Toronto, recording more combined steals and blocks than the Raptors had made field goals in the first half. Scottie Barnes couldn’t get inside and was settling for tough jump shots in the first half. RJ Barrett was ineffective early. It was ugly.

Toronto showed some fight in the fourth quarter, as Barnes and Barrett began to make some headway but it was far too little too late. Barnes checked out with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in 31 minutes while Barrett led the Raptors with 17 points.

MVPoeltl

Jakob Poeltl may not be Toronto’s best player, but it’s hard to watch the Raptors play without him — as they did Thursday — and not think he’s the organization’s most irreplicable player.

Toronto went 4-28 without Poeltl last season and things looked pretty bleak without him against the Thunder. It’s a combination of how integral he is to what the Raptors want to do at both ends of the floor and the organization’s lack of depth behind him. Bruno Fernando started and couldn’t do much of anything before the Raptors ultimately decided to go with Jonathan Mogbo to start the second half as a small-ball center.

If Toronto wants to get serious about tanking later this season, the organization is going to have to make Poeltl disappear. Be it by trade or by some ailment, that’s the safest and most fool-proof way to get really bad, really quickly.

Barnes and Shooters

The Raptors tried something new Thursday night, briefly playing a lineup featuring Barnes alongside Barrett, Gradey Dick, Jamison Battle, and Ochai Agbaji. It was the closest lineup Toronto has to surrounding Barnes exclusively with shooters right now.

It wasn’t a particularly informative three-minute stint, but it’s certainly something Toronto might want to try again. Dick, Battle, and Barnes all converted three-pointers in their brief playing time together as the Raptors tried to claw into Oklahoma City’s lead. More interesting, though, was merely that it happened and it’s probably something Toronto should take a look at again down the road.

Up Next: Dallas Mavericks

It won't get any easier for the Raptors who will play host to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET