Immanuel Quickley was sorely missed when he had to sit out several games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He returned for the Raptors’ must-win mini-series against the Miami Heat. While he only played 18 minutes and went 1-3 from the field, his presence as a playmaker and 3-point shooter helped the rest of the team, especially Scottie Barnes. He looked more comfortable in the rematch, recording 11 points, including a team-high 9 points from behind the arc, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Quickley’s presence makes the Raptors’ offense operate more smoothly because defenses have to respect him as a 3-point threat and he can handle a lot of the playmaking responsibilities. After the game, it was his defense that earned Quickley some praise from head coach Darko Rajaković, though.
“The way he’s closing out, the way he’s guarding off-ball screens, he’s outstanding there,” Rajaković said in the postgame media availability. “And he really really improved his on-ball defense. Disruptiveness, great hands. I’m really really happy with where he’s trending with his defense.”
Defense is crucial to the Raptors’ success
The Raptors are an average offensive team. They currently rank fifteenth in the league in offensive rating. Defense is what makes this team go. The Raptors have the seventh-best defensive rating in the league. Scottie Barnes is an All-Defensive-level player, rookie Collin Murray-Boyles could throw his name in that conversation in the future, too, and the team has a ton of size and length to make switching and crowding the paint easy.
Quickley doesn’t have the same size advantage that many of his teammates have, but he can still be an impactful defender if he’s engaged and working hard on that end of the floor.
Rajaković took over as the Raptors’ head coach in 2023. This is the first time since then that Quickley has played a relatively complete season. He only played 38 games for the Raptors in 2023-24 after he and RJ Barrett came to town in December as part of the OG Anunoby trade. The next season, he struggled with injuries and only played 33 games.
Hearing Rajaković praise Quickley’s improvements as an on-ball defender in his first full season with the team is a great sign for his future and the playoffs. The Raptors’ defense needs to be firing on all cylinders in the playoffs. Otherwise, their first-round series—which will likely be against the Knicks or Cavaliers—could be over quickly.