Raptors bench leads early, Ingram & Quickley close late over Nets
With the Raptors sitting Jakob Poeltl in this one (to rest his back), and starting Sandro Mamukelashvili in his place, we got to get a good look at some “theory” around what the starting lineup could use: spacing. Albeit, against a mediocre team in the Nets. Take as much salt as you would like with all this, be it one grain, zero, or ten.
The effects were immediate on playstyle as Scottie Barnes played the first possession as a Delay action big man in the offense to feed RJ Barrett for free throws. Barnes plays this way when he shares the floor with Mamu, not Poeltl. The next play down? Mamu hit a triple. The play after that? He caught the ball on the move and lobbed Barrett at the bucket. There was a bit more, but I won’t recite it all for you.
The Raptors broke off a 12-0 run to open the game with their backup big involved in basically everything. Of course, the opening run isn’t everything and a string of missed shots from the Raptors and run outs from the Nets brought the game back even. Noah Clowney, in particular, had some nice drives to fuel Brooklyn. Also, an unsurprising pain point without Poeltl? The defensive rebounding. Additionally, once the Nets dedicated to switching most actions, the extra spacing didn’t translate into much for the Raptors. They needed someone, preferably an elite screen setter, to help them shake loose of some matchups.
Both Ingram & Barnes got stretches with the bench quartet of CMB-Dick-Walter-Shead, with Ingram’s coming first, Barnes’ coming second, and both going well. The bench really does win minutes, man. Early and often exercises of depth.
The game persisted, with the Raptors keeping the Nets at arms reach, legs still pumping, feet searching for their grip to close the gap. You can’t fault the Nets for how hard they play. They drive it hard from a few different positions, they try and hunt down the glass, they hustle. Coach Jordi has his team punching the clock. No doubt about it. The Raptors just had a far easier time of making shots. Partially because of their superior talent in creating them, but also because of their superior talent in making them.
In the first half the Raptors were scoring a pretty fantastic 121.7 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt. Great stuff from one of the NBA’s best halfcourt offenses, but the Nets were able to stay within 7 points (65-58) because they got enough second opportunities, and the Raptors transition offense was putrid. It’s not offense that your halfcourt looks are outpacing your transition attempts by a great deal, but the Raptors were far better playing slow than fast in this game’s opening.
Also, I have to credit the bench guards (Ja’Kobe Walter 8 points, Gradey Dick 8 points, Ochai Agbaji 4 points) for helping pace the Raptors with 20 points on 10 shots in the first half. It helped the Raptors survive a fairly ghastly shooting performance from the starting lineup as a whole, save for Mamu and Barrett.
The creation chickens were coming home to roost early in the third quarter. The Nets switching scheme clamped the Raptors like a vice grip. And to make things worse, one of their best creators against switches, Barrett, tweaked something in his lower leg after a steal and a breakaway dunk.
The Raptors would later confirm that it was a knee sprain for Barrett.
Similar to how the Ingram-Dick-Walter-CMB-Shead lineup had success in the first quarter? It found some in the third. Largely fueled by Walter’s shot making at the end of ball movement. First it was Dick driving his closeout to the rim and dumping off for a Walter dunk. Then a swing to Walter for a triple. Then, a steal from Dick, a hit ahead to Shead, who found Walter who unleashed the quickest trigger of his season so far, and found the bottom of the cup. It wasn’t a runaway for the Raptors, as they were still allowing a bit of offense to the Nets, but it was a really needed stretch for the Raptors, and the best stretch of Walter’s season so far. A fading, middy buzzer beater from Barnes kept the Raptors out front by 5 points heading into the fourth, 87-82.
With the power of the triple, and some offensive rebounding, the Nets closed the gap to tie the game at 94 in pretty short order. Tyrese Martin was having himself a game. 26 points in 20 minutes played, halfway through the fourth. Ever the stopper, Dick picked Martin clean to stop his momentum.
Note: Clowney airballed 3 triples tonight.
The two teams grappled for a handful of minutes, trading baskets, and the game was tied at 104. The quality of looks, I would have to say, favored the Nets. Able to utilize their bigs on the inside, and able to create more consistent rim pressure. The Raptors were spending a lot of time dribbling the ball above the break, and on a handful of possessions, didn’t seem to get to their first action until there was less than 10 seconds on the shot clock.
Toronto went to an Ingram post touch, playing out of the double the Nets sent, pinging the ball around, and eventually finding Quickley who expeditiously set his feet and fired from downtown. They went to the same thing the next time down and Ingram located Quickley on a skip pass for another triple.
112-104. 2 minutes left. Winning time.
A grind throughout, but a very composed finish for the Raptors, who now move to 12-5.
They leaned on whoever they could throughout this one. A great response from the depth of the roster.
Have a blessed day.
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