When does Cooper Flagg start playing?
That was the sentiment among Toronto Raptors fans Wednesday night, as the optimism of a new season was dashed to pieces on the rocks of a blowout loss. The Raptors hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers and were absolutely demolished, with a 36-17 second quarter blowing the game open for Cleveland. In the end, the final score was 136-106, a truly embarassing showing from the Raptors.
Playing without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk, the Raptors didn't have answers on either end of the court for a playoff team like the Cavaliers. Evan Mobley was dominant in every facet of the game, scoring a game-high 25 points with nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Donovan Mitchell had 21 points, Caris LeVert had 19 and Jarrett Allen chipped in four blocks as Cleveland dominated in the paint.
Who played well for the Raptors in a losing effort, and who fell flat on their face? Let's look at the "studs and duds" from the Opening Night loss.
Scottie Barnes was a dud
The reason that the Toronto Raptors had hope coming into the season of making some noise in the Eastern Conference was Scottie Barnes, who developed into a two-way star last season and had the potential to take another step forward this year. Perhaps that step forward will come, but in the first game of the season it was a substantial step backward for Barnes.
Playing against his 2021 Draft class foil in Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes was outclassed. He shot just 3-for-14 from the field and scored only nine points, and was a game-worst -33 in his 26 minutes. His shot looked terrible, he could work his way to open shots, and he was something of a mess defensively as well. When he and Mobley were matched up it was usually Mobley getting the better of him.
If the Raptors are going to go anywhere this year, Barnes has to be their best player. On Wednesday night, he was one of their worst.
Chris Boucher was a stud
With injuries continuing to strike the Raptors during the preseason, the biggest bright spot was the play of Chris Boucher. The longest-tenured Raptors player had a rought year last season before going down with a knee injury, and it was unclear which version of Boucher the Raptors would get this season.
They are apparently getting the version who is extremely confident shooting from the perimeter. Boucher translated a hot preseason into a scorching season opener, shooting 4-for-5 from deep (80 percent). The rest of the team shot just 8-for-26 (30.7 percent). He had one of the team's few blocks but was largely an open door defensively, powerless to stop the bigs of the Cavaliers, but on offense he was confident and let it rip when he caught a pass.
He drew six free-throws in addition to his long-range shooting, also an unusual feat for Boucher, and scored 18 points overall; the last time he scored as many points was in April of 2023, a full 18 months ago. The Raptors can use his floor-spacing if he can continue to shoot confidently from outside.
Bruno Fernando was a dud
While Boucher was strong offensively, he was unable to properly defend the paint; unfortunately, the Raptors' only other option at center from Bruno Fernando, and he wasn't able to do anything on any end of the court.
That's slightly uncharitable; Fernando ended up with six points and seven rebounds. Yet what the Raptors needed was someone who could body up to the likes of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley inside, and Fernando was again and again out of position and absolutely no help in rotation. To make matters worse, after allowing the Cavs to score, Fernando committed a careless violation not properly inbounding the ball and gave Cleveland another possession.
The Raptors kept Fernando to have a veteran option at center behind Jakob Poeltl; with Kelly Olynyk out he was a part of the rotation. The Cavs are a formidable team to face in the paint, but neither in the preseason nor on opening night did Fernando look worthy of that roster spot.
Immanuel Quickley was a stud
This season is an opportunity for Immanuel Quickley to spread his wings as a full-time starting point guard. He missed most of the preseason with a thumb injury but entered opening night fully healthy. Right from the jump, Quickley looked like the best Raptors player on the court. He confidently stepped into a 3-pointer off the dribble, then his drive game opened up passing lanes for him to hit shooters on the perimeter.
The Raptors outscored the Cavaliers during his first quarter stint, and in 14 minutes he finished with 13 points and four assists. Unfortunately, Quickley then took a hard fall, going for a rebound and getting his feet inadvertantly swept out from under him by Darius Garland. He missed the rest of the game with a pelvic injury, and his status will be updated soon. He appears to have avoided a significant injury, which is a good thing, because he was one of the lone bright spots for the Raptors on Wednesday.
Davion Mitchell was a dud
The next man up to replace Quickley was Davion Mitchell, and the offseason addition was not up to the task. After proving himself as a facilitator running the offense in the preseason, Mitchell was tentative and predictable trying to do so against the elite defense of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had five turnovers and just three assists.
Perhaps that could be forgiven if he was able to dominate in other areas, but Mitchell shot 0-for-3 from outside and scored just eight points on his 10 shots. He did has two steals and was decent as an on-ball defender, but he didn't have a major impact on the Raptors' inability to stop anyone inside. If Quickley misses time, the Raptors cannot feel confident starting Mitchell against high-level teams.
The Purple Unis were a stud
The score was brutal, the lack of interior defense a shocking disaster, but the Raptors did one thing extremely well last night: they wore some of the coolest jerseys in the entire league.
The purple jerseys absolutely popped when the Raptors came out during introductions, and as the Raptors tipped off their 30th season of existence the nostalgia came in heavy waves. It felt like VInce Carter could be dunking any moment, or Chris Bosh blocking a shot and then screaming into the heavens like a Raptor roaring over its prey.
The performance was obviously disappointing, but anytime they have on the purple uniforms at least something is right in the world.
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.