Quick Reaction: Raptors 71 @ Celtics 125

Scottie came out of the gate trying to lead by example, as he said after his post-game press conference against the Hawks. His defensive effort was much better. He was struggling big time with the shot-making though and there were a few head-scratching turnovers again. His shot-making was so bad that late in the second quarter the ball slipped out of his hand as Scottie was about to let a three fly. Barnes was much better offensively in the second half, but it was too late as the rest of the team was struggling big time to help out and the game had gotten out of hand at that point.

Agbaji started the game with a missed reverse layup off of a beautiful Davion Mitchell bounce pass, that was wide open. Ochai has hit a four-game slump. The consistency and efficiency haven’t really been there as he’s missing shots he made all season long lately.

Poeltl had a very similar start to the game tonight as he did against Atlanta. He scored the Raptors first points again and set up a cutting Bruce Brown with a beautiful dime. Poeltl feasted on the glass again just like last time in Boston as he was able to hit 10 rebounds before the half came to an end. His playmaking was solid tonight too as he found cutting teammates all night long. Poeltl and Barnes were the only two Raptors who you could argue had decent games.

Walter got yet another start due to injuries to RJ Barrett and Gradey Dick. He started off with a bad airball that had way too much power off of a corner three. He missed a transition dunk early in the second quarter which led to a pointless half. Walter has a bad tendency to force bad shots at times and tonight he was trying to make an impact. Walter was able to finally get on the board early in the third quarter with a floater.

Mitchell saw his first start in a while after being the primary point guard option when Immanuel Quickley was unable to play. Mitchell was confident beyond the arc tonight and knocked down two threes in the second quarter. The biggest problem with his game tonight was the accuracy of his passes, as he was throwing the right passes on his turnovers, but sometimes he would add too much power or throw it in poor locations. Another part was the “off night” nickname. The defence was nowhere to be seen. It was an off night for Mr.Off night himself.

Brown had a good first half where he was able to contribute across the board. The second half was a totally different story, as he missed a bunny at the rim and wasn’t able to score again. Not too much going on defensively too and Brown has squandered the chance to start his season with two good performances.

We saw an aggressive Jamal Shead on the offensive end which we don’t see quite a lot, but it didn’t end up good for Toronto as Shead struggled with his shot. Not much going on in the playmaking and defensive department too, which is Shead’s two best categories.

Boucher came off the bench and made an instant impact, making his first shot in his first offensive possession. After his first shot, he was unable to knock down another one until garbage time. Montreal’s finest wasn’t able to contribute in any other way, which might’ve sealed the fate of his worst performance of the season.

Quiet first half. Olynyk probably had one of his worst outings as a Raptor tonight as his playmaking was nowhere to be found which is a very rare sight, as that’s his best attribute as a player.

Battle was reinserted into the rotation after injuries to two key Raptors players. He was able to make the Raptors first three-pointer of the game after an 0/15 start and made a beautiful skip pass to Bruce Brown on the ensuing possession to set him up with a three-pointer of his own. Those two possessions early on were his biggest highlights. Battle did some solid work on the offensive glass, as he let an offensive rebound slip out of his hand and he successfully came down with another one but proceeded to miss a freebie at the rim. Also, too many open looks that he wasn’t able to knock down like he usually does.

Garbage time.

Garbage time.

Garbage time.

Garbage time.

Darko was able to call a successful challenge early in the second quarter tonight and he was able to successfully call another one in the third quarter. This was Toronto’s 16th different starting unit of the young season so it’s hard to blame the head coach when his players aren’t available but another questionable call of leaving Jonathan Mogbo on the bench until garbage time.