GOOD NEWS: The Raptors’ highest-ranking player in terms of passing grades has had …
In a 119-95 loss, the Raptors were clearly outplayed by their opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it wasn’t a pleasant game of basketball. Not surprisingly, the home team’s grades are also dismal. However, there is a caveat with this one. With almost no time to acclimatise to the system, the Raptors were introducing two players into the rotation. It was clear on many times, and there’s no doubt that until Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji have had some time to become familiar with the playbook and their new teammates, the uncertainty and giveaways on display on Saturday night will be cleared up. Having said that, these Raptors grades are quite dismal.
For most of the night it felt like he was the only Raptor on the floor that either A, wanted to win the game or B, had the capacity to keep them even close. However, even Barnes appeared to realise that a loss was inevitable after scoring 20 goals in the first half, and his one-man show faded. Though it was a wasted effort this night, Barnes did record his third triple-double of the year and seemed to adopt a more outspoken and prominent leadership position than perhaps he has in the past.
We’re overlooking the team-worst minus-22 because for one of the few times this year Dick looked like the shooter he was coming out of Kansas and that is a very good thing for a Toronto club looking for positives in a remainder of the season where too many wins don’t appear to be in the cards. Dick played 22 minutes and made half of his shots including a 3-for-6 night from distance. He also made all three of his free throws for a 14-point night. In a game like this one, that earns him second best Raptor of the night.
RJ BARRETT C: Not his best performance by any means, but similar to Barnes, he at least gave the impression that he was motivated to win right away. He only made five of his fourteen shots, so it was a difficult shooting night, but he did get on the boards and assist with rebounding. Barrett will improve once again if those around him on the court play a little more enthusiastically, but this particular evening he will have a poor performance.
KELLY OLYNYK C-
For a man who prides himself on outwitting his opponents almost every night, this must have been difficult. In his post-game statement, Olyynk expressed as much, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of how little he could accomplish without even a rudimentary understanding of the plans his team was executing. In the second half, the club buckled down and Olynyk began to make an impression. This will undoubtedly improve with time, but for a person who is obviously excited to be here and wants to make an impression, it’s not a nice night. But he did stand out with three thefts and four offensive rebounds.
