Short Handed Raptors Fall in Charlotte
Streaky play from both teams but the home team won the day
The Raptors flew down to Charlotte to face the high energy Hornets in an early battle to determine the bottom of the Eastern conference. Without Scottie Barnes, out for several weeks with an orbital bone fracture, the Raptors were in tough after an already weak start to this NBA season. The Hornets have put together some better efforts but came up without much results early so both teams had a good chance at a win.
The Hornets scored the first 9 points in 2 and 1/2 minutes, starting the game off with streaky play that would wave back and forth between the teams all night. The Raptors would wave back to tie it at 11 mid way through the first but then the Hornets would end the 1st with a 30-16 lead after yet another hot streak. It took the Raptors until mid 3rd quarter to catch back up and actually take the lead, 78-77 with a long run of strong play. However by the end of that 3rd quarter the Hornets were up again by 7 with a very strong bench performance from multiple players and both teams would battle all 4th quarter with the Hornets never giving up thier lead again. Let’s congratulate the deserving and pin some blame on the goats…
The Good
RJ Barrett
Powerful runs to the Rim allowed him to pass out for 8 big assists and drop 31 points himself...in only his second game back. His 4 for 6 shooting from deep forced his defender to come close, allowing the fake shot and drive to really work great. Defensively held much of his own but with his team down a top defender RJ got tougher assignments.
Nick Richards
Huge game by the maturing Big at the Heart of the Hornets starting lineup tonight. Battled his better paid vet opponent center hard all night going toe to toe in the trenches at both ends. Dropped 24 with 14 boards and 4 big blocks on the smaller Raptor penetrating guards. Steady development and hard work are paying off a bit more now.
Gradey Dick
Dropped 30 in a solid 10 for 17 shooting performance…but it’s the +12 and 3 steals that catch my eye more as this second year player continues to develop on a pretty fast track here in Toronto. Reminds me more and more of a young Klay Thompson really and that’s an incredible compliment. His motor looks a lot better this year with a gas tank that lasts over 30 minutes a game without slowing down. The combination of great shooting, high movement and great conditioning are already paying off more this year. He will certainly grow into his large frame more over the years and defending large NBA players will get easier. Very likely an All Star at some point in the next 5 years!
Tre Mann
27 points in only 28 minutes off the bench…Tre didn’t get a longer contract and he’s on fire early this year to show that decision was a mistake. Faster than many think, slippery as well. His consistency this year off the bench has really given the Hornets a chance in games so far.
Cody Martin
25 pts in 25 minutes on hyper efficient 9 for 11 shooting. Replied fast after every Raptor bucket. Part of the strong bench group that rotated seemlessly throughout the game, adding energy constantly to power the win.
Grant Williams
Powerful force off that Charlotte bench who changed the tide of battle when he hit the floor. 17 points and a +21 while stretching out the Raptors defense hitting 3 of 4 deep shots. Plays a tough physical style that doesn’t give up much inside…exactly what the Hornets need.
Jakob Poeltl
Strong night in the paint with 20 points and 16 rebounds and a solid +18. Literally turned off much of the inside attack when he was in the game forcing guys into middy jumpers. Played 35 minutes which is a lot of a Big in today’s NBA fast paced style.
Jonathan Mogbo
Solid night for the rookie who got the start with his friend getting injured. All around good game in most ways…efficient 5 for 7 shooting, contributed defensively nicely, only took 2 fouls, a couple nice blocks. Still ended up -9 but it’s just unreasonable to expect much more than this young rookie is giving right now. However I want to see more aggression simply because he’s impacting the game already.
The Bad
Miles Bridges
A weak 7 points on 2 for 11 shooting and an overall poor start to this year to be honest. This guy has a lot more talent than he’s showing right now and there must be some problem behind the scene that’s got him playing so poorly.
LaMelo Ball
Most like his 19 points but I didn’t like his 6 assists and 6 turnovers. 7 for 20 shooting on a night he got some pretty close attention from the Raptors should have got him passing the ball more, but with so many turnovers that wasn’t a good idea either. Sure he got some highlight reel high difficulty stuff done, but he sure didn’t carry his team much. Maybe my expectations are going up for this guy, but tonight I wasn’t impressed much.
Seth Curry
4 shots in 27 minutes? I thought this guy is a shooter? If he’s not then he’s worthless out there cause he isn’t impacting the game in any other ways. His Mom liked that game but nobody else.
Jamison Battle
14 minutes and missed 2 shots ending up at -19. Rookie didn’t seem to know the plays or where to be defensively with just a slight step out of the right spot too often. More and more of the complex actions have been installed in the offensive package now and not everyone is getting it.
Summary
The Hornets are full value for this win at home with an energetic performance. Their bench bailed the starters out all night really and that’s good news for a young team looking to develop and grow. Of course there are a lot of lack of ‘top end’ talent issues in Charlotte so this team doesn’t look to be on much of an upswing beyond getting more competitive night after night in the NBA. That’s a good start however in turning this around…or is it in an extremely deep Draft year expected next Summer?
The Raptors fought hard and a lot of young guys got a lot of NBA floor time to develop and mature. They also lost which is important in the draft race as well. If Gradey can become that high end player many hope for this team might only be a top 3 draft pick next Summer from having a great Core of high end talent to build during the next 5 years. Quickley still hasn’t impacted this year and he’s very important to this team. While Scottie remains out for the next 3 weeks or so development is the moral victory in Toronto and there won’t be much real winning. Soon enough this team with face the trade deadline and have to make some tough decisions with a few guys that don’t fit the rebuild moving forward.