Dominant victory in season opener against Atlanta
The Atlanta Hawks were the favourites coming into this game. The Raptors didn’t have enough size and may struggle against their elite pick-and-roll, they said.
But the Raptors’ 16-2 run late in the third quarter cemented their lead and dominance over the Hawks.
I messaged Capital City Go-Go head coach Cody Toppert, who’s an expert on the pick-and-roll coverages, before the game, and he told me that the Raptors would have to be extra physical to avoid advantages given a smaller backline. “Expect [the Raptors] to late switch at the FT line to take away rolls and force tough floaters. Will hurt them on the rebounds tho,” he texted me.
After the Raptors established a 14-point lead, we saw a glimpse of the much-feared Kristaps Porzingis-Trae Young pick-and-pop combo. But Agbaji and Mamu switched, and Abaji got his hand on the ball as Porzingis tried to drive on him. This allowed Mamu to get the steal and hit Scottie for a two-handed flush to make it a 7-0 run and 101-85 with time still left in the third frame. It dealt a mental blow to the bad guys.
The assumption was also that Mamu’s an offensive threat, but a defensive liability. Not so yesterday. During the third quarter run, Mamu dropped on a Zaccharie Risacher-Onyeka Okongwu pick-and-roll and rejected their 2024 first overall pick’s shot at the rim.
Atlanta also struggled to exploit size mismatches and the Raptors did a great job nullifying it during their third quarter run. IQ walled off Risascher from the top of the arc. When he fell to the ground on a Young-Okongwu pick-and-roll, Gradey was forced to tag on the big. This left a mismatch in the paint, but the Hawks elected to go with an open 3. Risascher missing some wide open 3s during this important stretch also helped the Raptors.
Young, who’s also not a defensive stalwart, let IQ easily drive on him late in the quarter and made the mistake of fouling Gradey from the mid-range with 0.3 seconds left in the third frame.
As Louis stated, it was far from perfect defence – they left Luke Kennard wide open on a mid-range jumper off a DHO, but luckily, he missed, but the offense was beautiful.
Seven scored in double figures. Barrett led all scorers with 25 points. IQ and Gradey were a great one-two punch as the former pushed the pace all game. Gradey came off screens well and the gravity of his 3-point shooting allowed him to get to the line (he shot 7-for-8 from the charity stripe). Gradey’s late third quarter triple embodied the power of this one-two punch. IQ frantically clapped for the ball to be swung out to the top of the wing, he faked the pass to Gradey, an overly eager Young flew out, leaving Gradey wide open. IQ attacked the middle with one dribble. One extra swing to Gradey, and boom – a way too easy 3 for Gradey.
The 192-day wait for Raptors basketball is finally over. They defied the odds last night and set the table for Friday’s home opener, which has been adjusted earlier to accommodate Game 1 of the World Series.
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