Analyst right to call out Raptors $175 million player

The Toronto Raptors are winners of three straight games and they will hope to keep things going when they start their five-game road trip.

The team has been led by Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett for the first eight games of the season, but they need more help from the supporting cast. Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes thinks the team needs point guard Immanuel Quickley to step up to the plate in the near future.

“Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett are all cooking to start the season, combining to haul the Toronto Raptors’ offense into the league’s top half through their first seven games. It’s a good thing those three are all hitting over half their shots from the field and taking on a heavy collective load because Immanuel Quickley is stumbling out of the gates,” Hughes wrote.

“As his top three teammates have surged, Quickley is shooting under 40.0 percent from the field, under 30.0 percent from deep and amassed a minus-25 in his first 220 minutes of court time. Coming off a 33-game, injury-hit 2024-25, the Raptors point guard had more to prove than anyone on the roster but Ingram, who didn’t even suit up for Toronto last season.

“Head coach Darko Rajakovic hasn’t lost faith in his point guard, but Quickley will need to find his footing soon. Barnes, Ingram and Barrett can’t run this hot forever.”

Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley dribbles against the Milwaukee Bucks. / Gerry Angus-Imagn Images

Quickley has struggled to start the season, averaging 13 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting just over 38 per cent from the field and under 28 per cent from beyond the 3-point line.

His high price tag makes him a key part of the Raptors, but he isn’t playing like that to start the season. This doesn’t mean Quickley cannot get back into a groove, however. It’s a long season, but it’s getting closer to a point where the sample size is large enough to get a gauge on how players truly are.

Through eight games, Quickley hasn’t played up to par. If he continues this over the course of the next 10 contests, the Raptors may need to look at ways to limit Quickley in the rotation.

That may result in giving backup Jamal Shead more minutes or dangling him in a trade for a player like Ja Morant, but Quickley is feeling his seat get a little warm.