Raptors dominate defensively in Summer League opening win
The Raptors run in Vegas began, and it had to begin without the Raptors exciting new pick, Collin Murray-Boyles – who was out with a left adductor strain. That didn’t stop them from showing out in the slightest.
It wasn’t an offensive minded affair to begin with, as both teams played with extended pressure to erase transition points, and the Bulls even went so far as to play zone to vex the Raptors further, and to take away the early pick n’ roll opportunities that they wanted to attack with Jamal Shead. A unique zone wrinkle with Noa Essengue often meeting ball handlers at halfcourt and then sinking into the zone after slowing the ball. Neither team found their way to dependable offense — neither side had an uber talented manipulator on ball to bend the defense — so they both made their money off of broken plays, and AJ Lawson was maybe the most effective at taking advantage in those situations.
For the Raptors that meant attacking gaps and rumbling downhill until they could rummage through and muscle the ball into the bucket. Jonathan Mogbo & Ulrich Chomche in particular were able to score out of broken plays or off of steals – both made plays by stepping out above the break on the defensive end. The Raptors bench was extremely animated as they cheered on every steal, every foul, and every effort play they could muster. As per usual with SL openers, the vets showed up to support as well.
The players who provided the finesse early on were Ja’Kobe Walter (who had a great layup in traffic, taking contact and finishing over the top, and adding a pull up triple for good measure), Matas Buzelis (whose bully drives helped fuel advantages for the Bulls), and Yuki Kawamura (who was able to push pace and thread the needle on some passes that outfoxed the Raptors pressure at the point of attack). After awhile, the game did open up though. The Bulls didn’t necessarily have the depth or mobility to maintain the pressure that made the Raptors so uncomfortable, and the Raptors were able to supplement a bit of halfcourt scoring with quite a few runouts. In the middle of all of that, Alijah Martin ascended for the earliest contender of Summer League’s best poster. Halfway through the second quarter, the Raptors had amassed a 10-point lead, 35-25, and they didn’t relent at all after that.
Buzelis had an awesome windmill dunk, by the way.
With the defensive intensity still turned up to 11, the Raptors managed to hold the Bulls to 8 points through the rest of the first half. High pick up points, bigs who can step out to keep the ball out front, and an effective Chomche roaming the inside and eager to jump and contest anything – they suffocated the Bulls offensive process. On the other side of things, the Raptors actually managed to create a nice dose of halfcourt looks for Jamison Battle, and as a tremendous shot maker, he hit pay dirt repeatedly. Shead found his footing as a prober and wiggled for advantages and was able to pass his teammates into looks. The Raptors jumped out to a huge lead by the end of the half.
The third quarter was an exhibit of dominance, to be sure. The Raptors guards, across the whole roster, were far too accomplished at squashing the Bulls offense with their ball pressure. It started with Shead, of course, who drew offensive fouls and pestered the Bulls from the start, but guys like Martin, Hepburn, and Lawson were very comfortable providing it as well. Not to mention, guys like Battle & Lawson are extremely comfortable scoring the basketball, and they both did so in spades. Lawson in particular was quite electric as a shot maker – he had 22 points before the 3rd quarter was over.
The Bulls were still overly reliant on Buzelis & Kawamura, and Javon Freeman-Liberty for their offense and consistently went through droughts.
Their defense gave them the platform to perform on, and it made it easy for every player to find their role – on either side of the court. They rode it to a 23 point lead heading into the final frame.
Martin & Mogbo opened the fourth quarter with a movement triple and two straight dunks on two straight lobs. A finishing blow, well before time was up. It was a really great example of how the Raptors won the physicality battle, and comfortably, in this one. They stripped the Bulls for a run out before Martin lobbed Mogbo, and Mogbo caught the second lob after carving out heaps of space against Kawamura down low. For good measure, Martin lobbed Mogbo for a third time in transition. Dominance from the Raptors Summer League squad, and a 33 point lead. 91-58.
The Raptors built the lead up to 37 points before clearing the bench with about 5 minutes to go. The end of bench fellas didn’t let up at all, as their pressure was great too. Joiner was pretty slick operating the offense. Excellent win to kick things off.
Tre’s thoughts, from courtside: “This was one of the best summer league games for the Raptors in the past 10 years. Favorite watch – Ulrich Chomche. He’s come a long way. The game slowed down for him a bit. Decision making was good in drop, and he was a big reason in why the Raptors opened up the lead.”
Notable stat lines:
Mogbo: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals – 21 minutes
Lawson: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals – 20 minutes
Martin: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals – 21 minutes
Have a blessed day.
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