A
J. Poeltl29 MIN, 20 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 7-10 FG, 0-0 3FG, 6-6 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/-
This was by far Poeltl’s best game of the season, he looked much more like himself. He picked up easy points on dump offs, tipped in missed shots, and took off in the fourth quarter, scoring half his points to close the game out. Not to mention that his screening was strong, in the fourth quarter he had two screen assists for Quickley. Clearly his back was feeling better, as he had many possessions where he was everywhere on defense and ran out in transition on multiple occasions for easy buckets.
A+
S. Barnes35 MIN, 28 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 12-22 FG, 1-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 5 BLK, 2 TO, 18 +/-
Scottie opened the game continuing his defensive dominance, blocking two shots in the first two minutes of the game. He was also getting everything done offensively, knocking down a three and then a step-through bank shot in the first. A turnaround jumper over the outstretched arm of Evan Mobley pushed him up to 14 points in the first half. He truly does everything for this team on both ends and did the same in the fourth, putting up 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists with a huge block on Jarrett Allen to get him a 4×5 in this one.
A+
I. Quickley32 MIN, 25 PTS, 1 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 10-13 FG, 5-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 13 +/-
Coming off a streak of hot games, Quickley opened the scoring for the Raptors with a floater over Jarrett Allen. Filling the lane on the break with Ingram, Quickley knocked down his first three point attempt of the game to take a 9-7 lead early. His confidence is at an all time high as he pulls up from deeper and deeper with every three he takes. He finished the first half with 3 threes. In the second half he started to cool off, before coming in to the fourth quarter with a clutch fast break three, putting Toronto up by 12 with 5 minutes left and another one a minute later to go up 13.
C
B. Ingram35 MIN, 11 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 5-15 FG, 0-6 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 5 +/-
Ingram started the game looking for his teammates, with a pass that led to Scottie Barnes free throws, another one shortly after into a floater for Poeltl. On the next possession he tried to find Scottie on the break but overthrew the pass before finding Immanuel Quickley for a three the next time down the floor. While his shot wasn’t falling early in this one, he was still able to knock down a heavily contested leaning jumper over De’Andre Hunter late in the first half. An and-one middy kicked off his scoring in the second half, but he allowed the Cavs to bait him into taking a higher rate of threes with the zone they played. He never really found his shot in this one, but luckily everyone else did so not a bad night to have an off game.
D+
R. Barrett27 MIN, 9 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/-
After a poor showing against the Brooklyn Nets, Barrett started the game by picking up two fouls in the opening four minutes. His shots are still falling short and he’s forcing shots when they aren’t there. He picked up a third foul on Mitchell early in the third quarter and took out his frustration by taking it to Mitchell’s chest for a layup a couple plays later. Darko went to Shead early in the third quarter. To open the fourth he left yet another three short, but grabbed the board and found Scottie for an open middy. Despite the slow game, he did make some big plays in the fourth quarter, and had 4 points 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the closing frame.
A-
S. Mamukelashvili17 MIN, 13 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 8 +/-
Mamu there goes that man! This dude just moves out there, slicing through the lane for an easy layup and relocating to open space for a three a few possessions later. In the 2nd quarter he added a three and an and-one. He led all bench players in the first half with 11 points. A bold play on the fastbreak, after almost falling out of bounds he threw it back to the wide open Quickley who knocked down yet another three! While only finishing with 13 in this one, his play in the first half provided the Raptors with the necessary spark to win this one.
C-
G. Dick21 MIN, 6 PTS, 0 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 10 +/-
Subbing in early in the opening frame after early Barrett fouls, Gradey immediately picked up a foul on a Donovan Mitchell drive. He continues to be able to knock down open threes when he gets them, and the gravity makes everything easier for everyone else. In the second half he helped the Raptors break the Cavaliers zone with his shooting / threat of shooting. He knocks down the shots he needs to but, that’s about all he’s contributing right now.
A
J. Shead24 MIN, 8 PTS, 2 REB, 7 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 15 +/-
When the offense was stalling, Shead hit an open three off a Gradey Dick kickout to stop the 11-2 Cleveland run in the first quarter. Everything was going right for him in the first as he banked in his second three to add to the 9-0 run. In the second quarter Jamal found his groove playmaking, and finished the half with 6 assists. In the second half while his counting stats may have dwindled his impact certainly did not as he finished the game a +15. He just always makes the right plays.
D
J. Walter13 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -16 +/-
Walter got early minutes on this one after Barrett and then Dick picked up early fouls and immediately made his impact felt, grabbing an offensive rebound off an Ingram miss and hitting Barnes for an open three to end a three minute scoring drought for the Raptors. Outside of that play he really didn’t contribute anything in the first half. In the second he came in for Barnes and seemingly took some of his defensive powers, as he immediately had a steal and then nearly forced a turnover on a blind double the next play. A dunk on an ATO play from Darko and another two offensive rebounds seemed to get his confidence up, but he ultimately is not contributing enough to justify the minutes he’s receiving.
Inc
J. Battle6 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/-
First quarter Battle minutes! And then none, not really sure why as he could have certainly helped against the zone the Cavs played in the second half.
Inc
G. Temple2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/-
Garbage time
A
Darko Rajakovic
Rajakovic played 10 guys in the opening quarter to deal with early foul trouble from Barrett, Dick, and Walter who all picked up 2 fouls apiece. He continues to find success with transitional lineups, with the group of Shead, Ingram, Dick, Mamu and Battle going on a 9-0 run to bring the Raptors within one to end the quarter that eventually snowballed into a 20-5 run. He took Barrett out to end the first half in favour of a lineup featuring Quickley and Shead, a recent revelation that has worked extremely well. He went back to that early in the second half, subbing Barrett for Shead at the 8:45 mark of the third. When the Raptors were struggling to attack the zone Cleveland rolled out he called a timeout which immediately led to a wide open dunk for Ja’Kobe Walter. Putting Mamu and Gradey in to beat the zone worked excellently as well, as it forced Cleveland to be quicker in their rotations and opened up lanes for others. He lost his challenge after Quickley was called for a foul on an illegal screen from Thomas Bryant that the referees disagreed was illegal. My only nitpick is the lack of Battle minutes in this one but overall a very well coached game from Darko.
