Top 10 Raptors Plays of the Week: Scottie Barnes has a monstrous game to kick start five-game homestand

We’re back for week four of the Top 10 Plays of the Week, and in this edition, we had three games to pick from, starting with the embarrassing loss against the Washington Wizards to the miraculous comeback win at home against the Orlando Magic.

10. Scottie Barnes flushes it home

We kick things off in Washington, where the Raptors had a humbling road loss against then league-worst record holders, the Wizards (they picked up another win the following game against the Memphis Grizzlies). The play starts with a dribble handoff from Immanuel Quickley to Jamal Shead, and Barnes sets a pick after, rolls to the rim recieves a nice bounce pass from Shead and flushes home a dunk with two Wizards in the paint. This wasn’t a great performance by Scottie Barnes or the Toronto Raptors in general, but it was a pretty play.

9. Ochai to the rescue

This play starts on the defensive end for Agbaji as he reels in a rebound off a Curry miss and fumbles down low. Ochai hits the floor, and if you keep your eyes on him, he’s the second last player to hit the half-court mark. Curry is the last man across the line, which leaves Ochai totally unattended even in a crowded paint, and he puts in a nice putback layup. Agbaji got a ton of starts with Barrett out of the lineup, and even though he is still struggling to knock down triples, his form has definitely picked up, and Agbaji’s putback is becoming a routine at this point.

8. BI3 turns into a Beyblade

Ah, what a beautiful sight this was to Raptor fans. It felt like Siakam was back on the court for the Raptors as Brandon Ingram pulled off the former Raptors’ signature move to finish a layup over Kyshawn George, who played good defence on this play and is enjoying a breakout season in his sophomore season. Ingram had a solid game with 29 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the Raptors in this one as they completely ran out of gas in the fourth quarter with a brutal 36-17 loss in the final frame.

7. RJ no look dish

RJ Barrett made his long-awaited return as he was out of competition for a bit over a month, and boy, did he come back at a good time. Toronto kick-started a five-game homestand against the Golden State Warriors after a brutal loss in Washington. Barrett finds Scottie yet again in a pick-and-roll action and throws a beautiful no-look bounce pass, which Scottie flushes home. Barrett only played for 24 minutes in his return as Darko Rajakovic elected to ease him back into shape, and he didn’t have a crazy good game, but he was still solid for the Raptors, and his presence alone opens up the offence for Toronto.

6. Mamu double clutch

Sandro became a consistent member of the starting five ever since RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl picked up their injuries. Still, in this one, Mamu was sent back to unfamiliar territory, coming off the bench for the first time in a while. He still played 22 minutes and had 13 points on over 50 percent shooting from the field, and his nice double-clutch layup over a smaller but good defender of Gary Payton II was the prettiest 2 of the 13.

5. Mamu finishes at the rim yet again

With RJ Barrett taking the night off due to a back-to-back and load management, Mamu found himself back in the starting lineup and delivered yet another 13-point performance on an even 50 percent shooting this night. Yet again, his best basket of the game comes at the rim through contact, as this time he loses control of his body but still finishes a tough layup over a slightly bigger Wendell Carter Jr.

4. Shead’s quick five points

Not the greatest buckets highlight-wise, but this one is more about the personality over the looks. Jamal Shead delivered a career-high 19 points in this one as Toronto were down 20+ points at one point of this game in this same quarter, but Shead was completely locked in all night and refused to let the Raptors lose. In fact, the 19 points were a game high for any Raptor as the starters really struggled, but the bench was a big reason why this comeback happened.

3. Scottie sends the game to OT

Darko Rajakovic elected to shuffle the starting five after a tough loss to Washington, as RJ Barrett was back, but the more surprising news was Scottie at the five. Boy, did it work out. Scottie Barnes had the game of his career with an insane 23 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists triple-double, and his biggest moment of the night poetically came off the glass. A huge putback to send the game to overtime.

2. CMB sparks an amazing possession

We just went over Shead’s tremendous night on our fourth-best play of the week, and this one includes Collin Murray-Boyles, who comes away with a momentum-shifting block to spark a transition. The ball starts in the hand of Ja’Kobe Walter, who was also great in this game (mostly defensively), and the orange touches every Raptors’ hand but Ingram. A 2014 San Antonio Spurs-like offensive possession that culminates in a Scottie three. CMB was struggling to make shots, but he brought the defensive energy and came away with double-digit rebounds yet again to make it back-to-back 12-rebound performances during his last two outings.

1. Gradey makes the pass of his life

To finish our top 10, we get the first-ever hustle play of our new series, and this possession capped off a huge run at the end of the third quarter, during which Toronto forced three turnovers on consecutive possessions. It’s no secret that Gradey Dick has struggled this year, but in the last two games, his energy has been contagious. Just look at the hustle to get to that loose ball and then to throw a perfect pass to Scottie without even knowing where he is was just the stars aligning in a miraculous comeback win.

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