3 Studs and 4 Duds from Raptors' horrifying loss to Cavaliers on Opening Night

Jakob Poeltl was a dud

This is the most damning entry on this entire list, because the performance that Jakob Poeltl put forward on Wednesday night was garbage with a capital G.

The reason why the Raptors had a chance to make some noise this seaosn and challenge for a Play-In Tournament berth started with interior defense; with Jakob Poeltl at the rim and Scottie Barnes roving and rotating into the paint, the Raptors had a strength to build upon.

Yet the advanced metrics for Poeltl have not been kind in evaluating his rim protection the last two years, and on Wednesday the eye test came crashing in to match the advanced stats. Poeltl looked absolutely helpless against the frontline of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. His feet appeared to be stuck in mud as he was frequently caught a step or two out of position.

He would float over to defend Allen just outside the paint, unable to get back to the rim in time to stop a driver. Then he would try to defend a pick-and-roll action by standing perfectly in between the two players with his hands down; Darius Garland could have easily floated the ball in OR tossed the lob to Allen. Poeltl has to at least take one of those away!

Poeltl's paint defense was consistently bad; at least his turnovers displayed variety. He had a whopping five turnovers of every flavor imaginable: he pushed off of Jarrett Allen when he had the ball, he fumbled a pass, he carelessly threw the ball away on an outlet pass that Donovan Mitchell immediately pulled up and shot a 3 off of, he made a slow pass on the perimeter that was knocked away, and he had his pocket picked holding the ball at the elbow. That's an impressive array of carelessness.

Cleveland had 68 points in the paint to Toronto's 38; it was a bloodbath, and supposed paint presence Jakob Poeltl was supposed to be able to stem the tide. Instead, he was the No. 1 culprit. If Poeltl cannot defend the paint, the Raptors have no one to turn to; it's certainly not something Chris Boucher or Kelly Olynyk are going to do.

If Poeltl doesn't rebound from this game in a significant way, the Raptors' season may be over before it even gets started.

Cooper Flagg's first game is Monday, November 4th.