CLEVELAND, Ohio. This is how they put it together because Toronto Raptorsthe brain trust projected how the group they assembled could compete with the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Dose Brandon Ingramhard shooting when needed, combined with elite three-point shooting with Immanuel QuickleyStuff from Steady Eddie Jacob Poeltlvarious contributions from the laboratory department and – this is the most important – Scotty Barnes I play like a superstar.
This is a formula that may have some validity. Especially Barnes as the superstar.
The fifth-year forward has had an impressive start to the season, but he wasn't just the best player on the court in the Raptors' 126-113 win over the Raptors. Cleveland Cavaliers On Thursday night, Toronto's most impressive win this season, he might have been the best player in any given phase of the game.
He finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and a steal. It's hard to put together a more complete score than that, but so many of his buckets came on plays that seemingly only he could make, like when he spun along the three-point line to block Evan Mobley's shot and scored on the other end to start the second half, or when he fought for a defensive rebound in traffic against the bigger Cavaliers, ran out in transition and ripped his left arm without looking over Poeltlu's shoulder later in the game, the same shot – one of Barnes' four setups for the Raptors' center. Three of his blocks came against a pair of Cavs seven-footers, Jarrett Allen and Mobley. It would seem that every rebound occurred in heavy traffic. He scored nine points in the second quarter as the Raptors overcame a sluggish start to go into halftime with a 13-point lead, then 10 in the fourth quarter after Cleveland cut a 17-point third-quarter lead to five.
“I know what I can do, so I just have to bring it every night,” Barnes said. “Be aggressive, attack downhill, be aggressive on both ends, and I just helped my teammates a lot. If somebody's down, I just try to help them. So just do it on both ends. If I'm aggressive, then I attack downhill and just pull my guard and can get a shot. You know, it opens up a lot of opportunities for our team.”
And not just in any game. Suddenly, the Raptors' stunning four-game losing streak, in which they came into Cleveland two weeks ago with a 1-4 record and needed a 20-point outburst (on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from three) from the little-used Jamison Battle to beat a Cavs team missing three starters and several rotation players, seems like a decade ago. This time around, the Raptors leave Cleveland with a 7-5 record, having won 6 of 7, with a chance to go 7 of 8 when they finish their road trip Saturday against the injury-plagued Indiana Pacers, who are 1-11 after losing to Phoenix on Thursday night. The Cavs fell to 8-5.
But Barnes wasn't the only one playing at full strength, so his performance was at its best. Quickley had perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 25 points and six assists on 10-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-7 from deep. In the fourth quarter, he made three crucial baskets – a pair of threes and a pull-up in the lane – that gave the game some solidity.
On the surface, Ingram had a quiet night — 5 of 15 for 11 points, a bad night by his standards — but his half-court moves came under a lot of pressure and seemed to come when the Raptors got bogged down offensively. Thus, his willingness to slip away from the ball when the Cavaliers outplayed him or doubled him weakened opportunities for others.
“He gets so much attention,” Barnes said of Ingram, who has four assists. “You know, today they stayed close to him, got in his way, tried to be super aggressive, played on his top side, so you just have to find ways to help him, but he also pulls the defender out of the play, so the lanes are more open, there's less help there.”
Poeltl benefited from the attention given to Ingram and Barnes as he finished with a season-high 20 points, and his rebounds (three offensive and four defensive) and three steals also made him a major factor in both matchups.
But for all their contributions, with the exception of Barnes, the bench was perhaps the most important element in turning the game around.
Toronto trailed by 10 points with just under three minutes to play in the first quarter, largely because they insisted on fouling Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell every time he touched the ball. At least it was proof that they had read the scouting report, considering Mitchell came into the game averaging 30.4 points per game and making 40.4% of his 10 three-point attempts per game. But by the ninth minute of the game, various Raptors defenders had sent Mitchell to the free throw line eight times. Once they kicked the habit (not completely, as Mitchell shot 15 of 17 from the line en route to 31 points), Toronto was able to get back into the fight.
They did so thanks to a 20-3 run within five minutes spanning the first and second quarters, a surge fueled by a bench that has become more and more influential as the season picks up steam. Second year point guard Jamal Sheed hit a couple of threes while assisting on a couple of other buckets while the backup center Sandro Mamukelashvili added a pair of triples and a fast break en route to 13 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. Shed finished with eight points and seven assists in 23 minutes.
“When he comes out on the floor for us, he's a game changer,” Barnes said. “We've had a lot of games this year where the offense has looked slow, come in defensively, offensively, changing the whole game. It's like a little boost, like a little 'we're ready to go' feeling when he comes on the court. He changes the game with his offense, his defense, his ability to get down, make those extra reads… he's very important to our team. He's been a leader every single day. This is his, what, second year in the league? And I feel like he's one of our biggest leaders.”
But Barnes is the leader who matters most. When he plays at this level, he is a star player who can take a team to unexpected heights. We're only 12 games into the 82-game season, but Barnes and the Raptors are starting to chart a direction for themselves that could take them to some interesting places.
Respect the buy-in: Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson praised the job his colleague did with the Raptors.
“Their offense has improved, they're top 10 in the league (the Raptors were actually 10th in the NBA going into Thursday's game with an offensive rating of 116.9 per 100 possessions), they're definitely pushing the ball more, they're playing more defense… but defensively, what stands out is their pressure, can you get the ball in the half court against these guys?
“It's 48 minutes of hell, just like those Arkansas teams (the fast teams that Nolan Richardson had great success with in the 1990s). It's very similar to this, I like it… [but] Darko does a great job of creating an identity and attracting its big players. Like, this is part of it. You can have whatever style of play you want to play, but get guys like BI (Ingram) and RJ (Barrett) to step into the game; This is a real credit to their coaching staff and players.”
This was a good draft: Ever since they were rookies, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes have been linked, considering they finished third and fourth respectively, and finished 1-2 in Rookie of the Year voting, with Barnes coming out on top.
In future years, you'll have to give Mobley a slight edge over Barnes, considering he's already earned a Defensive Player of the Year award and all-NBA recognition for last season, as well as another all-defensive nod on top of Barnes' lone stellar season in 2023-24.
But even before his strong performance last night, Barnes held his own, coming into Cleveland averaging 19.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 44 percent from 3-point range.
He got the better of Mobley on Thursday as the Cavs finished with just seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal on 2-for-7 shooting. But this season entering Thursday's game, Mobley was averaging 20.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks on 47.9 percent shooting (34.5 percent from three). Barnes and Mobley are the only two players in the league averaging at least 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game this season.
Was there anything special about Barnes' performance against his draftee peer? “I’m just trying to go out and win the game, you know?” – said Barnes. “Evan Mobley is really good. Even though people always (try comparing us). He's super talented… he's a damn good player.”
Next: The Raptors don't have to look ahead, but that doesn't mean we can't. Toronto is well positioned to make it big in the next few weeks as they take on Indiana (1-11), Charlotte (4-7), Washington (1-11) and Brooklyn (1-10) twice in five of the next six games. The only team they will face and win in the next few days is the 76ers (7-4), next Wednesday in Philadelphia.
