4 Heroes and 3 Zeroes from Raptors' Summer League finale loss to Spurs

The Raptors' passing was a zero

The San Antonio Spurs were zipping the ball around the court when they had the ball, taking advantage of smart cuts and a soft defense to set up teammates for shots. They totaled 25 assists, an extremely solid total for a Summer League game.

The Raptors, on the other hand, were unable to replicate that offensive flow. Jamal Shead total six assists; no other Raptor had more than two, and as a team they had just 15. They tried to run actions to set up roll men and cutters but it generally did not work, and otherwise they were clanking 3s (more on that in a moment) and trying to create shots for themselves.

Ja'Kobe Walter was a hero

Ja'Kobe Walter is supposed to develop into a 3-and-D player at the NBA level, but as a teenage rookie the defense was wildly inconsistent in Summer League, and his 3-pointer was absolutely not falling; he shot just 20 percent on 3-pointers across five games, including 1-for-4 on Sunday. His only make was a spinning prayer at the end of the shot clock that miraculously went in.

To Walter's credit, however, he did not let cold shooting stop him from making an impact. He continued to cut off-ball, often getting the ball on the move to the rim and showing great chemistry with Shead. On one player he caught it on his way to the basket and was stopped by the Spurs' big man; he calmly showed off a twisting array of post moves until the defender bit and he got an open layup.

That relentless off-ball movement and cuts to the rim allowed Walter to draw a number of fouls again. He had eight free-throw attempts and hit seven of them; across all five games he averaged 4.6 attempts per game and shot 87 percent from the line. That aggressiveness will serve him well as he finds his niche in the NBA.