News: Raptors Escape Rocket Scare as New Roster…
After the trade deadline, the Toronto Raptors almost let a 22-point lead slip away, but they managed to pull out just in time to spare an embarrassing loss to the Houston Rockets.The Toronto Raptors will play with this roster for the remainder of the season. Although a few spots on the list will undoubtedly be filled, the 16 players on the roster right now might as well get accustomed to it.
For the organization, the last six months or so have been extremely busy. Since the conclusion of the previous season, about 75% of Toronto’s squad has changed. Out of the group that finished last season, only Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher, and Jakob Poeltl are still in the lineup.
However, the storm is over. All that’s left is a younger group that will work well with Scottie Barnes in the future.
Is it flawless?
No.
Toronto’s 107-104 victory over the Houston Rockets demonstrated the amount of work that needs to be done. It was nearly unforgivable to lose a 22-point lead for the second straight week. However, if Toronto’s lack of a future direction was the Raptors’ pre-season problem, then at least that has been resolved.
Jakob Poeltl stated, “It’s good in the sense that, like now, we know what we’ve got and we can try and build on this. There seems to be a fresh group of youthful participants, and we’re working to create something. In order for us to get a head start there, we can examine the remainder of the season.
Dillon Brooks almost saved the day for the Rockets, scoring 11 of his 20 points, including three game-winning three-pointers, in the fourth quarter. However, the Raptors made the necessary stops, forcing Aaron Holiday to miss a wide-open three-point shot before smothering Jeff Green at the last second.
It was appropriate that Toronto’s opening game following the trade deadline was a matchup with the Rockets and Fred VanVleet. This new era was partly ushered in by VanVleet’s departure this past summer. Although VanVleet, 29, recognized on Friday that the writing was on the wall, Toronto wanted him back.
Regarding Toronto’s changeover, VanVleet stated on Friday, “It was just kind of a matter of when. Once you embark on that trajectory and chronology, it appears as follows: ” I believe it was time to make a fresh start.
Toronto has acted in this manner.
Despite passing their physicals, Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji, Toronto’s two most recent arrivals, did not play on Friday night. However, the team’s other mid-season additions performed admirably against the Rockets.
Immanuel Quickley, 24, had some time to get used to his surroundings, but he appeared to be the starting point guard Toronto had signed. He was 4-for-9 from behind the arc against the Rockets, dropping 25 points in 39 minutes.
“He was able to get some out of pick-and-rolls and in transition but also his teammates found him,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said of Quickley. “We want him to shoot 10 threes a game and he was able to get nine tonight and he’s going to continue to get better.
It wasn’t hard to see what Toronto loved about Quickley, whose dribbling moves were on full display against Houston. He deceived Aaron Holiday with a spin maneuver so badly that Holiday collapsed to the floor, unable to keep up with Quickley. In the third, Quickley got Amen Thompson to bite on a pump fake, sending the Rockets rookie falling out of bounds before the Raptors guard calmly hit a corner three-pointer to put Toronto 22.
With Barrett, it’s more power than fineness but the Canadian forward has been fantastic since joining Toronto—frankly better than anyone could have expected offensively. His offensive efficiency has been extraordinary lately, with a true shooting percentage of 62.5% in Toronto. For context, that offensive efficiency rating is better than Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
But Barrett’s playmaking against Houston stood out the most. He frequently found Poeltl in the paint for easy twos or hit Trent behind the arc on kick-out passes to set up easy baskets. His seven assists on Friday helped Toronto score 17 points in addition to his 21 points.
“He’s a strong finisher and is doing a fantastic job.” Therefore, the defense frequently gives up on him, and when it does, he does a terrific job of finding me for late dump-offs,” Barrett was quoted by Poeltl.
The Raptors have been concerned about Barnes’ performance.
Barnes’ stats have decreased overall since Toronto started to reorganize the team around him. With the workload he is required to carry, his scoring hasn’t been the same, and he slips into and out of games more frequently than he should.
He scored just five points on 2-for-9 shooting through three quarters, and the Rockets were able to rally thanks to the bench units headed by Barnes in the absence of Quickley. These units faltered early in the second quarter and again in the fourth.
But Barnes also had an influence on the game in other ways. In the first quarter, he blocked Alperen Sengun’s layup attempt, and by the end of the game, he was only two assists short of a triple-double.
Rajaković praised Barnes’ playmaking, saying, “I think he needs to be more assertive when he has open shots to take those shots.” Barnes completed the game with 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting. He was making incredible winning plays at the end of the game and retrieving the ball. I think his playing was excellent.”
Barnes will need to put in more if Toronto wants to make this work. Although Quickley and Barrett have shown incredible growth, Barnes’ progress will be crucial if the Raptors are to return to their desired level of success.
