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Published Oct 27, 2025 • 4 minute read
Jacob Poelti of the Toronto Raptors grabs a rebound
Jacob Poelti of the Toronto Raptors grabs a rebound next to Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Frost Bank Center on October 27, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. Photo by Ronald Cortes /Getty Images
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The Raptors return home from the Lone Star State with an empty feeling.
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In Big D Sunday night, a 39-point third quarter led to Toronto’s demise.
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Monday night in San Antonio, the Raptors gave up 41 first-quarter points, the most yielded in a period four games into a new season.
It’s not hard to dissect what has gone wrong.
Scoring isn’t the issue, but preventing opponents from filling up the boxscore remains the biggest area of deficiency.
Toronto has gone through a gauntlet of opposition skilled bigs in dropping three games in a row.
Meanwhile, the team’s incumbent big, Jakob Poeltl, has gone missing in action.
In fairness, he has been hobbled with a back issue suffered in the pre-season finale and left Monday’s game in the fourth quarter because of lower back tightness.
He hasn’t been himself right from opening night in Atlanta.
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Toronto was much better on the defensive end to begin the third quarter, when the Spurs were turnover-prone.
The Raptors’ defensive focus continued in the fourth when the Spurs’ penchant for turning the ball over continued.
Toronto never led, and deserved its fate.
The following are three takeaways from a 121-103 loss at Frost Bank Center, where the Spurs won their fourth game in succession.
WEMBY? WOW!
It’s not every day when someone who is 7-foot-5 scores around the rim by executing a 360-degree spin move over a 7-footer no less.
Then again, Wembanyama is not your ordinary hoopster.
Extraordinary suits the Frenchman.
The scary part is that Wembanyama is just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.
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The Spurs have a few decent pieces to support Wembanyama, but this is not a contending team.
His presence makes the Spurs must-see viewing.
The Raptors got their up-close look as Toronto closed out its two-game run in Texas.
Trying to guard this freak of nature is virtually impossible.
Following a stop, Wembanyama executed a behind-the-back dribble before his outlet pass led to an uncontested basket as the Spurs added to their first-quarter run to take a 17-point lead.
Defensively, his presence in the paint is very disruptive, even when he’s not recording blocks.
Part of his off-season was spent with Hakeem Olajuwon, whose influence wasn’t hard to notice whenever Wembanyama went to some of his ball fakes.
Following three quarters, Wembanyama made five shots from the field, but he still posted 18 points because he was flawless from the foul line in converting all 10 of his attempts.
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Wembanyama finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and was a plus-35.
When he wasn’t on the floor, the Raptors had more than a few moments when they were the better team.
When he was on the floor, there was no doubt identifying the superior side.
CMB BOUNCES BACK
Ninth overall pick Collin Murray-Boyles had a tough debut Sunday night in Dallas.
One night later, the kid was more active and far more comfortable on the NBA stage, a good sign as Murray-Boyles looms as a key bench piece for the Raptors.
His first NBA basket came on a pick and roll sequence, the first of four straight points he scored for the Raptors.
Murray-Boyles got his hands in the passing lane to force a turnover and used a nice pump fake to score.
He even knocked down a three-pointer, as the rookie scored nine points in five minutes.
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His confidence was noticeable when CMB used the dribble to get into the paint before missing a floater.
After drawing a foul on another possession, CMB buried one of his two free throws to reach double digits in scoring.
He got see Wembanyama’s ball handling in the open floor on a cross match.
In the second quarter, CMB shared the floor with Ja’Kobe Walter, whom the Raptors selected with their first pick (19th overall) last year.
It marked Walter’s season debut.
CMB was by far Toronto’s top reserve, netting 16 points in 16 minutes. He ended the night by scoring 19 points.
He did his best in getting into Wembanyama’s body to limit his space, but no one can stop the Frenchman.
SHARP-SHOOTING BARNES
No one will ever confuse Scottie Barnes as a three-point shooter, but he is more than capable of burying looks beyond the arc when his feet are set and when heaves are taken in rhythm.
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Not a single three-pointer was attempted in the season-opening win in Atlanta because none was required.
In Dallas, Barnes made three of his five attempts, each shot launched confidently and in the flow of the offence.
Monday, he made his first two attempts to give Barnes seven makes on 11 attempts.
What he can’t do is settle, an area Barnes was guilty of in the past.
This is his fifth year in the NBA with signs of maturity reinforced through Barnes’ shot selection.
At the same time, he was not aggressive in getting his shot off against the Spurs.
He scored only eight points in 30 minutes.
UP NEXT
The schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Raptors face Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night (6:30 p.m. tipoff). Unfortunately, former Raptors guard and NBA champion Fred VanVleet (knee) is sidelined for the entire season in the wake of a torn ACL suffered in the off-season.
fzicarelli@postmedia.com
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