Raptors Begin to Find Answers With Another Victory Over Wizards
The Toronto Raptors made it consecutive victories Sunday night by topping the Washington Wizards thanks to stellar showings from RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley
So what exactly is this Toronto Raptors team?
It's hard to read too much into NBA games this time of year. Half the league seems completely disinterested in winning games and that typically leads to uninformative results. As you may recall, the Raptors went 10-9 in the final 19 games of last season and for some reason thought that meant their roster was adequate.
This time the story is a little more complicated.
Injuries and personal issues have left Toronto bereft of talent for most of the last month, but the return of Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett has given the Raptors some life lately. A victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday was followed up with a 130-122 victory over the lowly Washington Wizards on Sunday evening.
In spurts, this team can look pretty good. Toronto showed as much in the first quarter, scoring a season-high 42 points while outscoring the Wizards by a season’s best 25 points before the first break. It was the kind of outing that should theoretically get people excited about the future.
Take those numbers with an oversized helping of salt considering the Wizards have been the league’s second-worst team all season, but still. The starters, when healthy, look adequate.
"It was very positive that whole first quarter. We were making shots, we were running in transition. I thought the defense really set us up, our aggressiveness, active hands, deflections," Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said.
It’s the bench, at least this iteration of it, that’s a disaster. Malik Williams and Javon Freeman-Liberty checked in late in the first and suddenly Toronto was on the ropes. A 21-2 run by the Wizards showed just how bad Toronto’s depth is these days.
Maybe that’s helpful though.
For all the talk of there being opportunities galore for Toronto’s depth players, it’s been evident for weeks now that nobody is rising to the occasion. Gradey Dick has been solid, but other than that, none of Toronto’s bench players has shown much. Jordan Nwora has fallen out of the rotation and likely won’t be back and the only one of that group with guaranteed money next year Jalen McDaniels shouldn’t be back.
It was pretty telling that Toronto, in a “developmental" year turned to the 37-year-old Garrett Temple to join Bruce Brown and Dick off the bench in the second half. There simply aren't players worthy of developing long-term.
Other than that, though, it's tough to take much else from these. The Wizards, for example, aren't just bad, they were playing Sunday without their leading scorer and two other regular starters. They're essentially a skeleton team awaiting the NBA Draft Lottery next month.
But what appears to be clear is Toronto’s starters — when healthy — are not terrible.
Gary Trent Jr. has been impressive for over a month now, albeit playing as essentially the focal point of Toronto’s offense for most of that stretch. If the Raptors can keep him on a reasonable contract this summer, that’d certainly be preferable to letting him walk in free agency for nothing.
Immanuel Quickley is a legitimate starting point guard and has shown he can help run a team even when Scottie Barnes is sidelined. After coming up one assist shy of a triple-double against the Bucks, Quickley was again phenomenal leading the way with a season-high 31 points, 13 assists, and six rebounds including the game-clinching free throws in the final minute.
"We’ve talk since day one, his ability to shoot the ball opens up a lot for everybody on this team," Rajaković said. "I thought that Kelly did a really good job of actually setting good screens for him and freeing him up to attack and I thought that his decision making tonight was great."
The biggest surprise has been how incredibly effective RJ Barrett has been offensively. His defense still has a ways to go, but for a player who was plagued by inefficient shooting in New York, Barrett has been spectacular for Toronto. Again, Wizards caveats aside, he was unstoppable getting to the hoop Sunday, scoring nine buckets in the paint in a 22-point, seven-assist showing from the Canadian forward.
With the win, Toronto won’t be able to jump the Portland Trail Blazers for the fifth-worst record this season. It’s narrowed the margin between the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto to just two games, but it unlikely the Raptors put themselves in a position for that to matter.
Dick Exits Early
Dick exited in the fourth quarter with a right groin contusion and did not return. He had 13 points in nearly 25 minutes Sunday.
Up Next: Indiana Pacers
The Raptors will play their final home game of the season Tuesday when Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers come to town for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff at Scotiabank Arena.
