Scotiabank Arena was a packed barn tonight, but when you blinked, and the fans yelled, it sounded like the arena was filled far past its 19,800 person capacity. It’s good for the fanbase to exorcise some demons by screaming their hearts out, and in tonight’s game, there were plenty of opportunities to do just that.
In the rematch of a game where the Raptors beat the Orlando Magic by 30 points, a loss is a difficult pill to swallow. Taking the medicine is made all the more painful when the Magic are
shooting a blistering volume from three (in the first quarter alone, Desmond Bane shot four-for-four from the three point line), and the Raptors were getting called for fouls like they’re going out of style, picking up 33 to the Magic’s 21.
Fouls, the “Bane” of the Raptors
The Magic defended very physically tonight, to their credit, but it was hard to feel like the Raptors weren’t getting the short end of the stick, as well as some calls that looked arbitrary at best. Neither the Raptors players, or their fans were taking any of that lying down. Twice in the first half, echoing choruses of “Ref, you suck!” reverberated throughout the arena after some particularly unpopular calls.
Both teams combined for 40 personal fouls in the first three quarters alone, and the game was punctuated by a number of confrontations between players, notably between RJ Barrett and Desmond Bane early in the game.
Old buckets, new buckets
Without Kawhi Leonard there as a primary offensive threat, Scottie Barnes took over to score a career high 41 points, and looked like he just couldn’t miss. That midrange in his arsenal has become a weapon deadlier than a pearl handled revolver, and looked twice as polished tonight.
Barnes has yet again proven himself to have grown as a creator; this is not rookie Scottie, or even Scottie of last year. Barnes looks like he’s grown into himself offensively this year, and the do-it-all label has swung towards offensive creation in a big way tonight. He looked great tonight, scoring from the low post and the midrange and from three, on fantastic efficiency.
Tonight was messy on the hardwood, however. Players tripped, shoved, pushed, and bumped, and for anyone who says they miss the old NBA, this was the game to tune into. Before the NBA became a league that made stars of its guards and forwards, it was a league for giants, and tonight, Jakob Poeltl seems to have awoken.
After a very rough start to the season, Poeltl notched his first double-double of the season tonight. Hopefully, this is an upwards trajectory that keeps moving in the right direction for the heavily scrutinized big man. Building confidence is important, and as Poeltl entered the season after a long period of recovery from injury, he seems to be needing plenty of time to ramp up his contribution. Tonight, from the start of the game, he looked faster, grabbed more rebounds, and the as quarters passed, looked all the more ready to fight for a Raptors win.
Big swings, big misses
From a defensive perspective, there were a few lapses where the Raptors just needed to get their hands up in front of defenders’ faces, but they were also dealing with an Orlando Magic team that had the hot hand to end all hot hands; sometimes, there’s only so much a team can do.
Offensively, the Raptors looked good, but passed up a few open threes, demonstrating that while a lot has been done to push outside shooting, a lot of the team’s important players just don’t take those shots naturally. RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley both had some rough shooting nights tonight, and fully activating all five of the Raptors’ starters in a single game is a dream that has yet to come true this season.
To say that it was Barrett and Quickley that sunk the Raptors tonight would be incorrect, but making sure that the Raptors have room for more than one big offensive night is important.
A gulf remained between the Raptors and Magic for much of the game, but in the fourth quarter, Barnes’ bombardment of buckets brought the Toronto Raptors some much needed space, as the game remained close going down into the wire.
Everybody seemed to be wearing multiple fouls into the end of the game like they were haute couture, and Collin Murray-Boyles looked deadly from the inside withs some massive slams. Coming down on a big attempted dunk, Barnes looked like he hurt his hand, but checked back into the game late. With two minutes remaining in the game, the Magic were up 117-112, and the Raptors needed a bucket to go, but just couldn’t buy one. In the last seconds of the game, Scottie Barnes fouled out, finishing the night with 41-5-5 on a monster night.
Desmond Bane finished with 28 points and shot six for 12 from three on the night, while Franz Wagner had 26 points and 11 assists of his own. The Magic held it down missing two of their starters against a Raptors team that had a lot going for it tonight. Toronto will be looking for revenge in their next matchup, as they’ll have to hold onto this 121-114 loss
