If there’s anything to take away from a preseason loss, it’s that the Toronto Raptors are ready to play real basketball. Against a New York Knicks squad that was humiliated by these same Raptors only a few nights earlier, Toronto outperformed the defending champions for much of the evening. Though neither team treated it as seriously as a regular season game, this was about as close as it gets for the preseason. Both squads had starters reach the 30-minute threshold, and both teams had moments of brilliance — and real effort — from their stars.
But there were four Raptors who rose head and shoulders above the rest.
1. RJ Barrett
I called Barrett the team’s running back in the Quick Reaction, and that covers his role. He moves the chains in a variety of ways. He’s physical, likely the most physical player on the offensive end. He drives, finishes, draws free throws, cuts, hits the offensive glass, even hits triples. He finished with 21 points on 12 shots, and he will hit that level of efficiency on many nights this year. Few teams have horses in the wing-defence stables to guard Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes and still have a stopper left over for Barrett.
But the man is insatiable for buckets. He bullies everyone, and when he doesn’t reach the paint, it is generally because he is fouled. He is going to be irreplaceable on this Raptors’ team. Remember when the Raptors went on a massive losing streak last season that coincided with Barrett being out? The offence disintegrated? That could happen again if Barrett missed time. He projects to be that important on that end. A huge preseason for the Canuck.
2. Collin Murray-Boyles
Karl-Anthony Towns was shredding the Raptors to open the game. He was dicing cutters with the pass as Toronto’s defenders (especially Immanuel Quickley) were playing too aggressively in the passing lanes and getting back cut. He was driving Poeltl into outer space off of closeouts. He was annihilating Toronto’s team defence in the pick and roll. It was superstar stuff from a superstar.
Enter Murray-Boyles. He took Towns away. He punted those drives out of the building with his footspeed. He played so aggressively on the ball that passing angles were far less available. It was a show of defensive problem-solving that only the league’s best can muster. And Murray-Boyles is one of the league’s best on that end. When he guarded Andre Drummond, he took the ball from him as if from a small child playing against his father. He stole passes and dribbles. He swatted shots. He was Toronto’s best defensive performer.
Offensively, Murray-Boyles had some moments, though he ultimately was less of a star on that end. He hit a straightaway triple, drew some free throws, and even drove Towns for a layup in the fourth. He was getting solid contact on his screens. The Raptors will give him a huge amount of chances to be involved on the offensive end, and his touches and usage will come out of basically every action. He needs to be aggressive in turning those chances into proper advantages.
3. Scottie Barnes
Barnes was mostly chilling against the Knicks in the first half. Sure, that chilling constituted hitting three triples and a variety of of mid-rangers in a variety of ways. But defensively he never left first gear, and he mostly played standard preseason basketball. He let his teammates do the effort thing, even if his jumper meant he was still quite impactful. (It’s good to have access to easy impact!)
Then came the second half. Barnes revved the defensive motor and started erasing shots at the rim, including a Jalen Brunson floater that nobody outside of springy centers should have any chance at catching. He started fast breaks and used his enormous size to throw down monster dunks. He was the best player on a court featuring Brunson, Towns, and Kawhi Leonard. That will happen a lot this season, Barnes being the best player on a court full of stars, at least for stretches.
He eventually cooled his jets and didn’t run himself into the ground in preseason, which is why the Raptors never completed the comeback. But he won his minutes and showed for a terrifying stretch just how dominant he can be.
4. Immanuel Quickley
There were some very questionable moments for Quickley against the Knicks, such as those early defensive breakdowns, or a pull-up triple in transition that he bricked, which could have been an uncontested layup. Those moments drew attention. But outside of those, he played a very impressive game.
Quickley’s offensive choices were generally very strong. He cut well and made strong passing decisions. He found cutters even when his jumper was available, and he even cut himself for a layup when off ball. He made the extra pass when he could have taken a semi-contested jumper, letting Barrett drill a wide-open one. At one point in the fourth quarter, he caught the ball in the corner, drove baseline, drew the defensive attention, sprayed the ball out, relocated above the break, and drilled a triple. That’s enormously good process.
Quickley ended up with a tidy stat line of 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and a team-high plus-nine. You can’t fall into that type of production. Last season, Quickley’s biggest knock was when his jumper was off, he didn’t find enough ways to contribute offensively. Against the Knicks, he shot 1-of-6 from deep and was still one of Toronto’s most impactful offensive contributors. If he plays like this on nights when he misses jumpers, the Raptors will be very, very happy.
