Quick Reaction: Raptors 102, Trail Blazers 105

He didn’t do a ton that stood out positively (until that late triple in the final 10 seconds), but he also didn’t do a lot negatively, either. All in all, the Raps won Battle’s minutes and when his shot isn’t falling like it wasn’t for most of the game on Saturday, that’s a good thing. He’s showing value outside of his calling-card skill, and that versatility is welcomed. He also had the ball in his hands a lot more in this one. Plenty of bringing the ball up the floor, even “operating” around the elbow-extended areas on a handful of possessions. It’s a nice little development.

A bit of a strange tale of two sides game for the Raps’ cornerstone player. He was incredibly disruptive on defence. Heck, he had a career-high in steals and the most by a Raptor since OG Anunoby nearly three years ago, as he kept getting in passing lanes, pressuring ball handlers and swallowing up drives by making use of his awesome size and length. But on offence, it felt like a bit of a more timid approach. Equal parts patient and selective but also somewhat passive? For what it’s worth, he did have moments when he put his head down and barrelled to the rim — there was a play in the second when he took a rebound and just pushed through multiple defenders in transition for a banked floater — but I hoped to see that a bit more often. Overall, it was still positive to see him look for contact enough (even while going up against stout defenders like Toumani Camara) to make up for the lack of field goal efficiency by getting to the line a bunch and setting up others.

Look, when a guy makes his third 3-pointer through 560 NBA games and does it on a set play during the team’s opening offensive possession, it’s basically worth at least a B-grade on its own. When Poeltl nailed a corner three for the Raptors’ first basket, it was his first triple since Feb. 11, 2022! Aside from proving he’s the Austrian Splash Mountain, the big man was solid all game. He managed Blazers’ behemoth rookie Donovan Clingan around the glass and was really active as an elbow-hub on offence, both as a scorer and facilitator. And then we saw the “Big Schnitzel” pick off a pass in the fourth and go coast-to-coast for a statute-of-liberty style slam … yeah, that’s an A-grade minimum.

The swingman made his return after missing seven consecutive games and reminded folks what he has to offer. While Agbaji took a bit of time to get his sea legs in the halfcourt, he immediately made a difference in transition with a pair of lob finishes on the break in the first. He eventually settled in and found his spots in the halfcourt and looked like the steady plug-and-play guy the Raptors have grown fond of.

Similar to Barnes, it was a bit of a slow start for the rookie as he looked to get others going. Once he settled in offensively, Shead had a pretty fun outing, all things considered. He won his minutes and did plenty of table-setting for the players around him. A personal favourite moment was in the second when he drove off a pick-and-roll with Orlando Robinson and then fed the rolling big man with a behind-the-back dime. He’s also really come into his own as a distance shooter in the NBA, with another strong 3-point shooting game on Saturday. Shead’s proven he’s never shy to let it fly from deep in transition either (very Kyle Lowry-esque). He made use of that speedy release in the third when he nailed a triple on the break to put the Raps up by 13.

The Flower City kid has been the defacto sixth man for this version of the Raptors, and it’s been pretty fun to see him continuously play with a ton of energy regardless of the circumstances. He entered the night having tied the franchise record for most points through three games off the bench (78) and did a bit more of the same against Portland. He made a couple of tough buckets and zipped around as a help defender.

On the same day Colin Castleton was rewarded with a second 10-day deal by the Raptors, he showed more of why the team wants to keep him around. The 24-year-old was incredibly active on the offensive glass, creating multiple second-chance opportunities. Castleton ranks top 20 in the NBA for offensive rebounding through the month of March, averaging over three a game. He also had a pretty sweet connection with Robinson in the third, taking a nice bounce feed on a backcut for a dunk through contact. Big-to-big connection!

While it’s always entertaining to see non-garbage-time minutes from the 38-year-old, and he continues to put forth an admirable effort, he didn’t have a lot to provide in this one. The Blazers’ youth took advantage of the elder statesman on multiple trips as he looked a step slow through most of his minutes. The most notable moment from Temple came when he ran an iso to end the first quarter that resulted in a baseline fadeaway for nothing but backboard. We’re seeing Poeltl taking corner threes to start quarters and Temple taking on multiple defenders for fading jumpers to end them — what a wacky time to be watching the Raptors.

Not the most impactful night for Robinson. It felt like when the Blazers went smaller, it really impacted his ability to keep up. On the positive side, however, he seems to be building chemistry with a handful of the core players, namely Scottie Barnes. They connected on a pair of passes in the second — first a slick feed from Robinson to Barnes under the basket that led to a foul, and then Scottie returned the favour a couple plays later with a driving dump-off assist to a cutting Robinson for a push shot finish. He was an active passer all night and wasn’t afraid to step out and defend multiple positions.

It’s felt difficult to evaluate the Raps bench boss as of late, considering what the not-so-subtle priority is. He managed his rotations well throughout the night, getting guys quality minutes, but didn’t wait to yank the highly impactful Poeltl before it was too late, like he did with RJ Barrett against Orlando a couple of games ago. So, he pulled the levers the front office seemingly wanted pulled — closing with a lineup of Lawson, Battle, Agbaji, Castleton and Robinsn — and presumably achieved the desired outcome.