Morning Coffee - Nov. 26, 2024

Raptors lose ugly to the Pistons | Need more 3s | Need Barrett back as well

Barnes leads Raptors, but Pistons win ugly, sloppy brickfest - Raptors Republic
Barnes managed two points in the third quarter, coming — surprise, surprise — on a tip-in after a weirdo, clunky, Poeltl step-through sweeping lefty hook as he attacked Jalen Duren. Duren was sagging deep off of Poeltl in delay action, which can really gum up Toronto’s offensive process. (Poeltl really needs to improve on attacking that space with the intention of creating his own points.) And eventually, that mud allowed Detroit to crawl back into the game.

Slop defined the game more than anything else. Toronto managed 20 points in the fourth quarter, virtually all of them from Barnes and Barrett. Players clogged the paint. Fouls were called, many many fouls. Mogbo picked up his dribble frequently when trying to toggle through handoff actions. Ochai Agbaji fumbled the ball away on easy passes. Players missed layups, and others picked up offensive fouls trying to chase the rebounds. Poeltl tried to throw away an inbound pass after a Pistons’ tip-in. There was a double foul called, then a double technical. Barrett and Barrett scored late, but mostly with brute force rather than guile, and Barrett also threw a layup attempt over the top of the backboard. And slowly, slowly Detroit crept into the front. Until the Pistons won on a Jaden Ivey buzzer-beating floater.

Barnes was the best player in the game, and the biggest, non-Duren category. He snatched offensive rebounds like a madman (Duren was the only Piston to have more defensive rebounds than Barnes had offensive) and kept Toronto’s beater in the lead against Detroit’s … equally junked up vehicle. Until the very end. But the flare and the flash from his three quick successive triples vanished early, and all that remained was grinding effort. That was not enough.

Look: Sometimes basketball games will be ugly. When neither team can shoot a lick, and guys are dribbling off their feet, and both teams are missing starters, sometimes the team with more scoring guards (by a score of 1-0, Ivey all by his lonesome) wins. Such games aren’t so much a step forward as they are a step … somewhere … one preceded by steps, and followed by steps. The NBA season is a marathon, and this was one leg. No more, no less. Basketball, like parenting, is full of such events. Unremarkable ones. Those are the building blocks of so much of our lives.

Perhaps the most important component was that Barnes was the best player. That’s a small victory encased in an ugly, forgettable loss, but it’s something. In a game like this, a mud fight, sometimes small victories are the only thing you can take home.

Scottie Barnes’ good leadership, Chris Boucher and more: Raptors starting 5 - The Athletic
The Raptors came into the Detroit game taking 30.5 3-pointers per 100 possessions. That is last in the NBA. It is more than six attempts below the league median, and 20 below the league-leading Celtics, an admitted outlier.

Meanwhile, Raptors opponents are averaging 36.7 attempts 100 possessions. The Raptors came into the Pistons game allowing the third-lowest 3-point accuracy, which means their opponents are due for some positive regression. Perhaps the Raptors have been a little unlucky shooting the ball, connecting on 33.6 percent of their 3s. We know there isn’t much shooting talent on this team, though, especially without Quickley.

On average, the Raptors are allowing 12.8 made 3s per game and making 10.4. It seems like those numbers will only grow further apart. The Raptors need Quickley back, and they need some other guys to start shooting more, even if they might occasionally scan as bad shots. This math cannot hold. (To be clear, it is not currently holding. They are 4-14!)

Against the Pistons, the Raptors were getting blown out until Barnes made three semi-contested looks that he easily could have turned down, especially with the Raptors struggling from deep. (He even took a heat check from extra deep). A tad more of that, please.

Raptors' lack of finish exposed once again in loss to Pistons - Sportsnet
Presumably, one day, the Raptors will come out on the other side of all this. That’s the plan, anyway. 

“You need to be in these situations to learn what it takes to win,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “To learn how to calm yourself down, how to execute, how to pay attention to details on both ends of the floor. But there’s also a mental component. You need to want to be in those situations, to embrace the moment, to embrace competing, embrace when the game is on the line and to learn what it takes to win in those situations.”

The Raptors clearly, are still learning. 

It’s failing at the details in the key moments that explains how a team loses games even when so many of the metrics point in their favour. The Raptors had 23 offensive rebounds to six by Detroit and had 104 shots overall to 76 by the Pistons. Toronto made just eight turnovers to 14 by the Pistons. However, Detroit was just a little more efficient (44.7 per cent from the field and 12-of-37 from deep while the Raptors shot 39.4 per cent and made just 10 threes) and the Raptors — as has been a season-long trend — fouled way too much. They put Detroit on the line 31 times while Toronto took just 10 free throws. 

“Today we had like, 30 more shots than them and still lost,” said Barrett, who had 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting. “We got to make some shots, I got to make some shots. That’s the good thing about it being so early in the season and us being young, we have time to learn from these mistakes.”

Some lessons to take away? 

“On the road just being smarter situationally,” said Barrett.  “I had a great corner three, but on the next one, I had some more time and could have got a better shot where we’re not giving up a wide-open lay-up on the other side. We’re not getting wide-open lay-ups at the end of the game, stuff like that. 

“And also starting the game off better. If we start the game off better, maybe if we go on that run it’s a 15–20-point lead (to start the fourth quarter) instead of seven or eight.”

The Raptors did go on a run, and once again it was the bench that sparked it. Contributions from veteran Chris Boucher and rookies Jamison Battle and Jamal Shead helped the Raptors finish the third quarter on a 13-5 run, with Shead hitting two threes and Battle one as Toronto led 80-72 to start the fourth. 

But they couldn’t close. It’s been the story of their season, but to hear them tell it, it’s not a sad story. Not yet.

The Raptors are still searching for their first road win after a dagger in Detroit - Toronto Star
For a team that has been losing a lot of games, there is a competitive edge to the Raptors that has kept them within striking distance on most nights.

That was the case again Monday against the Pistons in Detroit, where it took a Jaden Ivey bucket at the buzzer to beat the Raptors 102-100. 

The Raptors, who remain winless on the road, tightened the defensive screws after trailing by 15 points in the early going.  A banked three-point shot by Jonathan Mogbo capped a run by the bench unit to end the first quarter.

In the second, Scottie Barnes  made three consecutive three-pointers to give the Raptors a lead. Barnes scored 17 points in the second quarter alone and finished with a season-high 31, along with 14 rebounds and seven assists.

On the second night of a back-to-back,  after losing to the first-place Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday, the Raptors traded baskets with the Pistons until the game was knotted at 100-100 with 22 seconds left.

“It was kind of the story of the whole game: our missed opportunities, layups or threes that lead to their transition (opportunity),”  head coach Darko Rajakovic told Sportsnet after the game. “When the other team scores 17 points in transition, that’s a lot.”

Effort wasn’t the issue after the  first quarter. In the end, the Raptors won the rebounding battle 50 to 38 (23 to six on the offensive glass), outscored them in the paint (46-38) and scored more off turnovers (21 points to eight).

“We took 104 shots, they took 76 shots. That should put you in a pretty good situation to win the game, but we just did not convert on a high enough level,” Rajakovic said.

Raptors takeaways: This is Scottie Barnes they need, but RJ Barrett's road struggles continue - Toronto Sun
The Raptors need Barnes to play like he did against the Pistons. He was aggressive from the start. He attacked, found his teammates and even hit three three-pointers, which doesn’t happen often. Barnes scored 31 points, one off his career high, but also dominated the glass with 14, had seven assists and only one turnover and didn’t commit a foul.

Every Raptor but Jonathan Mogbo (2-of-3) shot under 50% from the field, but Barnes was only one make shy of hitting half of his 26 attempts. Barnes has only attempted more shots once in his career, but with Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick out, he’s the best option to launch early and often, especially if his outside attempts are falling.

This is the Barnes the Raptors need now and moving forward. When he imposes his will, he’s hard to stop.

RJ Barrett’s Jekyll and Hyde season continues to baffle. At home Barrett has played at an All-NBA level, averaging nearly 30 points a game. On the road, he’s been at a replacement level. That includes 7-for-19 shooting (1-for-6 from three-point range) and more fouls or turnovers than assists against Detroit. It’s remarkable that the same player can be so outstanding in Toronto and struggle so much everywhere else.

There’s plenty of blame to go around for Toronto’s 0-10 road record, but Barrett’s play is up there, just as he’s a huge reason the team has been solid at home so far.

Takeaways For Toronto As Raptors Lose Heartbreaker to Pistons - Sports Illustrated
Scottie Barnes was almost enough for Toronto.

After starting the game 0-for-3 from behind the arc, Barnes came alive in the third quarter, connecting on three straight three-pointers as the Raptors erased Detroit's early lead. They were easy three-point looks, the kind the Raptors want Barnes taking this season. First Jonathan Mogbo found him before a pair of kick-out passes from Davion Mitchell in the paint turned into catch-and-shoot opportunities for the Raptors all-star.

Barnes got into his bag of tricks from there, dribbling into a 19-footer and hitting a fallaway one-foot jumper à la Dirk Nowitzki. Neither were particularly good shots nor great decisions, but they were the kind of superstar shots Barnes is going to have to make more frequently if he's going to reach All-NBA level one day.

Detroit adjusted and Barnes slowed down after a 17-point second quarter, but the 23-year-old continued to make his impact felt in other ways. He cleaned up on the glass against Detroit with 11 rebounds and made a pair of big-time plays late in the fourth. A floater over Tobias Harris gave Toronto a late two-point lead before Barnes got inside again to find RJ Barrett with a kick-out pass for three.

A pair of missed chances from Barnes late proved costly despite a stellar season-high 31-point showing as Barnes finished three assists shy of another triple-double.

Raptors remain winless on road after heartbreaker in Detroit - Toronto Sun
Toronto trailed by seven after a quarter, but tied the game by halftime and led by eight heading into the fourth.

That quarter was a slog, with strange refereeing, fouls and missed shots abounding. Little separated the two teams. RJ Barrett hit a three-pointer inside of the final two minutes to give Toronto the lead back, but Ivey tied it. But then the Raptors missed three chances and the Pistons one before Detroit got a breakaway dunk with 38.5 seconds remaining. However, a Barnes layup tied it again, giving the Pistons the ball back with 22.3 seconds to go in regulation. That’s when Ivey went to work and finished things off.

The Raptors lost yet another player to injury even before tipoff, with the news coming early Monday afternoon that sophomore Gradey Dick would not play. Toronto was coming off a 122-108 at Cleveland a day earlier, with Dick bowing out after scoring 18 points in 31 minutes due to a calf injury. Fellow back-court starter Immanuel Quickley remained sidelined Monday, along with rookie guard Ja’Kobe Walter (who continues to be on a conditioning stint with Raptors 905) and veteran wing Bruce Brown, who is close to making his season debut. Kelly Olynyk is also still hurt.

Raptors mailbag: Evaluating Jakob Poeltl’s hot start and the inner workings of an NBA beat reporter - Toronto Star
Poeltl? Of course his usage is going to go down with Scottie Barnes back and Immanuel Quickley, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk coming. He won’t get as many shots — he certainly won’t get 30 and 10 a night, probably not even 20 and 10 — but he’s not going to disappear. He’s central to what they do at both ends and everyone knows that. And if you’re worried about him caring about his numbers, you’re wasting your time.

We’ve asked Chris a hundred times about his changing role. He’s said the same professional thing every time: He’s confident in his skills, can’t control minutes, stays ready and tries to have the same impact whenever his number is called. That’s an honest answer, and I take him at his word.

And you think he didn’t get a fair shake — the Canadian angle is so utterly ridiculous it’s not worthy of comment other than it’s utterly ridiculous — but I don’t agree.

Defence? Yes. Changing personnel and roles play a major role.

A lot of minutes?   Barrett, at 34.3 per game, is the most-taxed Raptor, and as I type this he’s 40th in the NBA.

The last thing they are is exhausted. They miss free throws because they need to be better free-throw shooters, not because they’re tired.

Report Card Grades for Every NBA Team's Rookie Class After 1 Month - Bleacher Report
Rookie Class: Ja'Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Jamison Battle

Shead is a rugged distributor who ranks third among rookies in total assists, while Mogbo flies around as an undersized big, creating chaos and transition chances in bunches. Neither has shot the ball well at all to this point, with Shead, a point guard, ranking as the more concerning bricklayer.

Still, the Toronto Raptors are getting real energy boosts from those two, and Battle has quietly been a reliable floor-stretcher, hitting 19 of his first 46 three-point attempts on the year.

Walter was the highest pick of the bunch, coming off the board at No. 19, but he's been an absolute dud in limited minutes. Billed as a smooth scorer capable of doing damage as a movement and pull-up shooter, he hit just three of his first 16 career shots.

Grade: C-