3 Heroes and 2 Zeroes from Raptors' tight win in preseason finale vs Nets

The Toronto Raptors have had an up-and-down preseason, losing to the easiest teams on their schedule but crushing the defending champs. They capped things off with a 116-112 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in their final preseason game before the regular season begins on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was a fine performance from the Raptors, who got down early before battling back to take the lead at the end of the first quarter. Brooklyn hung around until the Raptors blew things open in the third; once Toronto pulled its main guys, the Nets went on a run at the end of the game to make it close.

Scottie Barnes played a solid game, Jakob Poeltl was big, and Gradey Dick continued his diverse offensive upgrade as he hit shots in a variety of ways. For this final game, however, let's dig a little deeper and look at the question of trust: who was a "hero" and earned the team's trust, and who was a "zero" in failing the test?

Immanuel Quickley was a Hero

Immanuel Quickley made his preseason debut after nursing a thumb injury for the last few weeks. He had a bit of rust and was a little hesitant to take shots he may have otherwise pulled, but his work as a passer in this game was excellent, and extremely encouraging as he steps into the starting point guard role full-time.

Quickley had 10 assists in less than 24 minutes of playing time. He was in command of the offense, adeptly hitting the right player out of the pick-and-roll; sometimes the roll man, other times a player spotting up around the action. He read the defense, knew where his teammates would be, and made the play. With Scottie Barnes' new confidence as a 3-point shooter the options for Quickley as a facilitator are opened up even further.

Having Quickley healthy and ready for the season opener is a major boon to the Raptors, who will likely still be down RJ Barrett and Bruce Brown on Wednesday.