Morning Coffee - Nov. 19., 2024

Barrett with career night | Poeltl rounds out career three game stretch | This team may not be all that good, but it's fun as hell to watch

RJ Barrett stars as the Raptors beat Pascal Siakam in his return - Raptors Republic
The defensive woes remained for the Indiana to start the second half, as they still had a lot of trouble guarding fundamental actions like the pick n’ roll. Poeltl was catching often, going up nearly as often, and scoring at a really high clip – 24 points & 12 rebounds halfway through the third quarter for the big man. Mitchell hit a pull-up three, Barrett continued to churn offense – it was really bad for the Pacers as they were staring down a 22-point deficit. Similar to the run in the second quarter though, the Pacers pushed hard and often and managed to squeeze the deficit down to 14 points by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.

That pace stuck, and helped the Pacers carve even further into the lead. By the time we reached the midway point of the 4th quarter it had evaporated to just 7 points. Not only were the Raptors taking tough shots and missing them, but they were also turning the ball over to jumpstart the Pacers. Guys like Obi Toppin and Bennedict Mathurin, who had a bit of trouble getting uncorked in the halfcourt, they ran out for bucket after bucket to start the 4th. Luckily, the Raptors had a bit of a counter punch in Barrett – who got to the line off a great cut, and one play later scored on a great euro step after the Raptors ran their pet ‘Spain Leak’ play with Dick as the back screener. Back up 12.

Getting the ball into Barrett’s capable hands was the solution all night. Every time the Raptors needed to make something happen on offense, to shake and move, the ball found Barrett, and he found the bucket. This game was never going to be won on the defensive end, not between these two teams, and Barrett carried the Raptors forward the whole game. Crab dribbles into the middle of the lane, push shots, turnaround jumpers, big, reaching last steps that got him to the glass where he would kiss the ball softly off of it. Step back jumpers. Scoring the ball and creating for others.

Ultimately, Barrett would guide the Raptors to the win with 39 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. A really great performance, and not done alone, as Poeltl provided 30 & 15 in lockstep with Barrett. The Pacers got 25-10-5 out of Siakam, and 28 & 5 out of Mathurin, but similar to much of the season, they couldn’t stomach another 28% shooting performance from their star guard, Tyrese Haliburton. With both teams missing players, the Raptors reached back and found star performances in their ranks. Great game.

Quick Reaction: Pacers 119, Raptors 130 - Raptors Republic
Grade: A
R. Barrett35 MIN, 39 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 13-21 FG, 4-8 3FG, 9-12 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, 12 +/-

Barrett started off 2/2 beyond the arc. RJ’s been flashing quite a few behind-the-back passes recently, and brought it out again tonight early in the second quarter. Barrett started the second half just like the first, with a corner three. A negative tonight was he had a few poor passes that led to turnovers. The best part of RJ’s game tonight was the fact that he made most of his free throws, possibly the only side of his game that has tanked since joining Toronto. Fewer turnovers would have earned him an A+.

Toronto Raptors link up with their ex — aka the Indiana Pacers were here - Raptors HQ
RJ Barrett

What a night for the Canadian! 39 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists — the highest points in franchise history in a single game by a Canadian. RJ was everywhere — 4-8 from three-point range, active in the paint, passing.

Thinking back to when he was traded to the Raptors, it’s wild to think about how far RJ has come. Back then, he was seen as an “add-in” to the trade — with Quickley as the focus. Now, Barrett is just as important (if not more so currently with IQ out).

Jakob Poeltl

Jakob Poeltl has been ON FIRE for the past two weeks. Absolutely dominating in the post — which apparently Darko has been pushing hime to do. After the game, Darko mentioned that he spent the summer trying to motivate Poeltl to be more physical under the hoop. He says now the big man finally seems to believe he can do it.

He had 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the win against the Pacers.

Raptors snap seven-game losing streak with victory over Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers - Toronto Star
The Raptors had been playing a tremendous game, out-playing the Indiana Pacers in every facet and seemingly had things under control.

But it’s never easy for this group that manages to snatch defeat from victory with regularity and even their first 20-plus lead of the season didn’t complete feel safe.

For once, though, they made the shots and got the stops and didn’t do anything to ruin their chances in what was finally a well-deserved and, for them, a relatively comfortable victory.

RJ Barrett, with 39 points and nine rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl, with another big night of 30 points and 15 rebounds, led Toronto to a 130-119 victory over the Indiana Pacers, snapping a seven-game Raptors losing streak.

“I don’t know if you guys heard the celebration in the locker room, obviously it was a little bit of a relief factor with it,” Poeltl said. “And it’s obviously great to get that winning feeling back.”

Coach Darko Rajakovic had talked about the team’s resiliency before the game, how the sting of losing seven times in games decided by six points or less hadn’t numbed their senses.

“This is a very special group of guys that has a lot of resiliency, that understands the stage of our team, they are focusing on the process, they’re focusing on getting better and game in and game out we are getting better,” he said.

“I want our guys to have a short-term memory, they need to learn from those games and experiences and really focus on the next one.”

The win in some way validated that resiliency.

“I know how much this group is working how much they love each other and support each other,” the coach said after the game. “So once we go out there and get a win that gives them an extra boost of energy to continue working hard and playing hard.”

Barrett iced the game by scoring 15 of his points in the final quarter.

Raptors out-pace the visiting Pacers to earn a well-deserved win, Toronto's third of the season - Toronto Sun
Neither the current iteration of the Raptors nor the Pacers are nowhere near championship-calibre.

Credit the Raptors for once again bringing that competitive fight into the night.

Much like in Boston, the two players who elevated their games for the Raptors were RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl.

Saturday, it was Barrett recording his first-career triple-double, while Poeltl poured in a career-high 35 points in Toronto’s 126-123 loss.

Indy was without its big man in Myles Turner, who can also extend his offence, freeing up Poeltl to pounce on the Pacers.

The turnover-prone Raptors were up to their old tricks, allowing the Pacers to get back into the game.

Toronto’s two primary turnover culprits were Barrett and Poeltl, who combined for 11 of the Raptors’ 23 turnovers.

The tandem also combined to score 69 points.

Takeaways As RJ Barrett Stars in Raptors Upset Over Pacers - Sports Illustrated
Don’t let all the talk of modern small-ball basketball fool you, size still matters in the NBA.

Jakob Poeltl showed as much Monday, punishing the Pacers who were forced to make do without their entire center rotation. Indiana tried to slow Poeltl with its undersized forwards, using some combination of Jarace Walter, Obi Toppin, and rookie Enqiue Freeman to size up Poeltl.

It didn’t work.

Toronto got to the hoop with little resistance, taking advantage of Poeltl’s size and repeatedly going to the 7-foot Austrian out of pick-and-roll opportunities. Barrett continued to show his improving playmaking chops, feeding Poeltl with easy dump-off passes near the hoop. When Barrett did take it himself, Poeltl was there to clean up the glass if he missed.

On one first-half possession, Barrett missed a layup leading to three straight Poeltl offensive rebounds before Poeltl finally converted the put-back. Indiana simply had no answers for Poeltl’s size and while it’s not going to be as easy as it was on Monday against other teams, Poeltl’s emergence this season shows how valuable he can be for this franchise.

"I think what we’re doing over here really well is team is finding him. He's playing really well in pick-and-rolls," Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. "He's playing with more force, going downhill and trying to dunk some of those situations. That's a testament to his work."

Poeltl finished the night with 30 points and one wild one-handed slam dunk courtesy of a great find from Gradey Dick.