The Toronto Raptors entered their game Wednesday night hoping to stay undefeated.
After a blowout win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to open Las Vegas Summer League, and a comeback victory over the Denver Nuggets to push to 2-0, a contest with the Utah Jazz awaited. It was a tough ask for the Raptors, given that their best player in second-year wing Gradey Dick was out with an ankle injury.
Things started well for Toronto and then fell apart from there. The Raptors got out to a 7-0 lead with a few drives to the basket by Javon Freeman-Liberty and a corner 3-pointer by Branden Carlson. Toronto led by two coming out of the first quarter and then lost hold of the rope, as Utah held them to just 10 points in the second quarter to gain a lead they would never relinquish.
The Jazz beat up on the Raptors
The shooting ability of Utah's bigs opened up the paint for the Jazz to cut to the rim, with Toronto centers Branden Carlson and Ulrich Chomche continually pulled out of the paint. Toronto's plan to start small with four guards around Carlson backfired when they couldn't buy a rebound to save their life.
The Raptors went on a late run to pull within 6 points with two minutes to go, but the Jazz closed the door and won 86-76. Utah's frontline of Kyle Filipowski, Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams collectively dominated the Raptors, scoring 58 combined points. It was a disappointing game for the Raptors, who will now face the Miami Heat on Friday with nothing on the line.
Who stood out from the game for Toronto? Were there any positives, or was it all a disappointment? Let's look at the standouts in both directions for the Raptors, including pointing the finger at a draft day mistake.