Quick Reaction: Raptors 116, Nets 112

Agbaji missed two open catch-and-shoot looks in the first quarter, but then made one after re-entering the game. His defence was mostly up to his usual standard, although he did overcommit a couple times, allowing a blow-by, and closing out too hard on Cam Thomas in the corner resulting in a foul. However, he also played some good lock-and-trail on Thomas staying on his hip and forcing a couple difficult shots. Agbaji also picked up three-quarters on Schroder, delaying Brooklyn’s offence from getting into their sets. He was used as a screener and roller frequently and somewhat effectively, which is something to watch going forward. Agbaji also cut very well, with a couple nice back cuts and 45 cut. He’s had a really strong finish to the preseason. While Agbaji missed all but one three, I like that he was getting them up, and he also went 6-for-6 inside the arc.

Barnes kicked off his scoring by blowing past Jalen Wilson straight down the lane for a thunderous one-handed slam. He found Shead on a nice 45 cut and Agbaji on a baseline cut. If you are cutting, Barnes is going to find you. Later, he rejected a Fernando screen, got downhill and finished. Barnes had a few screen rejects this game, and that is a way he’s been able to score effectively in the past. The 3 started falling for him in the second half and he also had a big block coming in to help from the weak side, a role he excelled in last season.

For those unaware of Louis Zatzman’s offseason piece, Jakob Poeltl is noodles. In brief, what this means is that he always works, you can always count on him to be good in his role. Again, tonight was no different. On the offensive end he finished efficiently inside and kept the offence humming and the ball moving, expeditiously finding teammates with good passes and handoffs. On defence, his timing and footwork is impeccable for a seven-foot tall, 250-pound man. His ability to show and recover in pick n’ roll coverage, while also staying in-between and allowing his teammates to recover, is a marvel. Poeltl is simply a winning player, and a tasty dish.

Dick was successful at putting ball on the floor when run off the line, using defenders over committing at the line to gain dribble penetration. When inside the arc he was able to finish from mid-range or at the rim. His ability to score at three levels throughout the preseason has been promising. He also crashed for a put-back dunk after a missed push-shot by Mogbo, which was fun. He was cold early from deep but shooting was contagious in the third quarter and he made a couple. Dick is still very porous on defence, but that is going to take time. Although he also had two blocks!

In the first quarter, Ochai Agbaji was pressured at the wing and threw a high pass Quickley had to jump for. He was open upon landing and with no hesitation rose back up and hit from 29 feet. He’ll have to shoot with this kind of reckless abandon if he’s going to get anywhere near 10 3’s per game. He ended up only getting up two 3-point attempts in this one. The six-foot-two guard ran a lot of screen-and-roll with Poeltl, finding him on the short roll a couple times early which didn’t go anywhere. Later, he dropped a nice dime to the rolling big-man under the rim. Quickley found teammates with well-timed passes including a nice dime to Poeltl inside while pressured and finding Agbaji on a cut to the basket. He was constantly looking to create for others. Quickley also had a couple nice drives and finishes at the basket in the third quarter. He voiced in a recent media availability that he has been working on his ability to finish inside.

Mitchell had some great passes in this game. He made a great skip pass to Chris Boucher for a corner 3, found Boucher again through traffic in transition, and drove baseline and found Poeltl under the basket as soon as the help came. He maintained his sterling reputation for point-of-attack defence as well, even getting Cam Thomas to pass the ball a couple times after locking him up.

Shead had two nice cuts in his first stint, a 45 cut where he dunked it and a back cut on a Quickley drive. The ball pressure from Shead continued to be exceptional. He is able to anticipate offensive players movement and dribbles so well and beat them to spots, out muscling (for a small guard) and out smarting his opponents. The Houston product also continued to try to replicate Kyle Lowry, taking a charge from Ben Simmons. In a sideline out-of-bounds play, Shead came off a Miami action and found Boucher rolling to the Basket off the initial DHO for an alley-oop. He also hit an open catch-and-shoot three in transition.

The Boucher chaos was back. He ran in transition early drawing a foul, hit a three, and threw down a lob from Shead. He played his role perfectly, coming off the bench and immediately making an impact, leading the Raptors in first-quarter scoring. His presence energized the team. He was replaced by Garrett Temple after a knee-on-knee collision in the fourth quarter. He exited to the locker room and did not return with a right-knee contusion.

Had a nice roll to the basket off a sideline out-of-bounds play. While Fernando has mostly been a mess, I thought he looked more composed and comfortable than he has all preseason. He finished at the basket, rebounded well, was a solid presence at the rim, and generally did what you want a third-string centre to do.

Mogbo found Fernando on a cut with a well-timed pass. He had a lot of energy on the defensive end, using active hands to deflect and steal passes. His ability to push in transition off of live rebounds continues to be an asset.

Continues to do his job, which is make shots. A shooter with his size definitely warrants some more looks.

He showed intensity and effort on defence after coming into the game, picking up Schroder full court. Carton then jumped a passing lane for the pick-six. Still allowed some blow-bys and looked a little disoriented in the half-court defence.

Ramsey made his free throws. He also had some sloppy plays with the ball. He had Battle open in the corner late in the fourth with the score close, but drove into two defenders and turned the ball over instead.

Cool to see Temple in the game. He may have air balled a three and played poorly, but it doesn’t matter. After all he is a VP of the NBPA.

Negligible minutes.

Once again, Darko appears to be getting buy-in from his squad with their new defensive principles, especially when it comes to pick up point and pressure at the point of attack. Now if they win next Wednesday is he buying dinner?