Everyone was all smiles before the game. Jamal Murray was playing in front of his hometown fans in Canada. Head coach Darko Rajakovic waxed on about his countryman Nikola Jokic. RJ Barrett was returning to the lineup after missing the start to the season.
For the Toronto Raptors, those smiles continued into the game. Against a foe they had no business beating the Raptors hung tough, shutting down every Denver player not named Nikola Jokic. Toronto was up a point after the first quarter, and then inexplicably extended the lead to eight points at halftime. The Raptors were playing loose and running the older Nuggets up-and-down the court.
Toronto was up 10 points with just over two minutes to go when the greatest player in the world took over. He and Murray began working the two-man game that won them a title and stormed back. The Raptors committed senseless turnovers and missed three free-throws in the final two minutes, and Jamal Murray tied the game on an insane up-and-under reverse layup with one second to go to send the game to overtime and, ultimately, a Denver win.
The loss was a gut-punch to the Raptors, but it's also hard to eclipse the joy this team was exuding as they played. There is something to this group, even if they didn't have the horses to stop an experienced championship team.
Who balled out against the Nuggets, and who ultimately stalled out? Let's look at the individual performances that stood out from an exciting game.
Ochai Agbaji balled out
We'll get to the big names in just a moment, but we are going to begin by highlighting the play of Ochai Agbaji, who is experiencing a career renaissance right before the eyes of the Toronto Raptors front office. He was a disaster last season and in Summer League, but has turned things around and become a critical 3-and-D wing for the Raptors.
Bumped from the starting lineup by the return of Barrett, Agbaji was no less effective and active in playing 29 minutes off the bench. He shot 2-for-5 from 3-point range and was constantly running the court in transition and cutting in the halfcourt. He and Scottie Barnes connected on a beautiful play where Barnes drove into the top of the key, drawing the attention of multiple Denver defenders. Agbaji took off cutting the baseline, got a no-look pass from Barnes, and slammed the ball home over a helpless Jokic.
GET UP OCHAI 🤯🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/jYfAm78Ehe
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) October 29, 2024
This version of Ochai Agbaji is a player the Raptors desperately need now and going forward.
Scottie Barnes balled out
Against a contending team and the greatest player alive, Scottie Barnes was incredible, having one of the best all-around games of his life. He missed some shots, but facing a defense keyed into him and often facing the elite defensive stylings of Aaron Gordon, Barnes put up 21 points and had nine assists as he worked the ball to his teammates.
On defense he was truly special; he was everywhere, often taking the Nikola Jokic assignment while Jakob Poeltl matched up with Gordon. Barnes was strong, he was fast, and his hands were everywhere; he had a whopping five steals and a block, and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Unfortunately for Barnes and the Raptors, he was inadvertently struck across the face by Nikola Jokic, taking a hard elbow to the eye socket that had him dizzy and needing help to walk back to the bench, and eventually the locker room. He missed the final few plays of regulation and all of overtime, and there is not yet an update on his condition.
A gut-punch loss becomes even worse if Scottie Barnes misses any time. This team simply can't catch a break when it comes to injuries.
Gradey Dick stalled out
Gradey Dick played extremely hard on Monday night, and he is not the reason the Raptors lost the game. However, he was the defensive target once the Nuggets locked in, and they attacked him again and again down the stretch. That's been the reality for Gradey going back to Kansas, and he needs his offensive game to be strong enough to counteract that.
He hit a couple of bigtime shots during the game, but overall he was just 5-for-13 from the field and 2-for-7 from deep; the Raptors could have used another creator in overtime without Scottie Barnes, but Dick wasn't able to step up and be that player as RJ Barrett labored through possessions and Davion Mitchell instead took up the mantle, as well as he could. It's a learning process for Gradey and he played hard, but he stalled out as an effective two-way player in this one.
Davion Mitchell and Jamal Shead balled out
The law firm of Mitchell and Shead have taken over point guard duties in the absence of Immanuel Quickley, and Darko Rajakovic and his coaching staff will have a difficult decision once Quickley returns because both have earned a role moving forward.
Together one or the other played all but a handful of seconds against the Nuggets and were elite defensively, holding the combination of Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook to 9-of-27 shooting for the night (33 percent) and 0-for-3 from deep. Neither could gain any amount of separation beyond the arc. Murray has not been at his best to start the season, but if he hoped to get going against the "soft" defense of the Raptors he was sorely mistaken as Mitchell and Shead were relentless.
Competent point guard play is the most important baseline for an NBA offense, and the Raptors of last season can attest what happens when you don't have it. The Raptors have three such players now, and together Mitchell and Shead combined for 11 assists in 53 minutes combined.
Mitchell started and took the bulk of the minutes, 35 to Shead's 18, and it speaks to his place in the pecking order. Still, Shead was steady with the ball and patient finding cutters and shooters; on one such play he curled around a screen just inside the arc and hit a cutting Javon Battle on the baseline for a bucket. He has played extremely well to start the season.
Mitchell, however, was on another level as a defender, sticking to Jamal Murray like glue. On the final possession of regulation it took a hard Jokic screen to separate Mitchell just enough for Murray to get loose baseline, forcing an awkward switch by Jakob Poeltl who couldn't quite keep up. It was the only small blemish on an otherwise incredible defensive night for Mitchell.
RJ Barrett stalled out
Saying that Barrett stalled out is an intentional term, because he certainly didn't look "bad" on Monday night. He came into the game and immediately dropped nine points, looking like the Barrett who was carving up preseason before he hurt his shoulder.
Just five minutes into the game, however, he was noticeably winded, which is very understandable given that he missed nearly a month. The way his shoulder was wrapped up every time he returned to the bench also spoke to how he was probably experiencing symptoms from his injury as well.
The nature of the game and Scottie leaving due to his injury likely forced Barrett to play more than he was supposed to, and as he became more exhausted he was more foul-prone and his attacking of the basket more labored. He summoned a second wind for a couple of drives in overtime to keep things close, but ultimately didn't have it to do much more.
Jakob Poeltl balled out
We end with center Jakob Poeltl, the man tasked primarily with defending the paint and facing off with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
And Poeltl? Well, he held his own.
In an overtime game that the Raptors lost by two, Jakob Poeltl was on the court for a whopping 40 minutes and was merely a -1 in that time. He ripped down 19 rebounds, scored 16 points (both gargantuan numbers for him) and was right there in the paint again and again deterring many shots and contesting many others. He clearly began to wear down in the final minutes of the game, which is less a knock on Poeltl -- there are only two or three starting centers who can play 40 minutes -- and more an acknowledgement of the incredible shape Nikola Jokic is in.
The Jakob Poeltl who has played to start the season is a significant step up on the one who played last season, and he is a major reason why there is real optimism and hope for the Raptors despite their overtime loss.