One thing the Toronto Raptors have proven during this winning stretch of basketball is the fact that this team has depth. That’s been tested during this four-game homestand, as they deal with wear and tear. Last night, it was Jakob Poeltl who sat out because of rest, but RJ Barrett left the game early due to a non-contact knee injury. This caused the Raptors to be short-handed for the second night in a row, as Barrett stayed out of the game against Cleveland.
Luckily, Barrett’s absence wasn’t a detriment, and the Raptors came out on top with a 110-99 win over Cleveland, their 8th straight win. Brandon Ingram scored 37 points, his best performance as a Raptor yet.
The good news with Barrett is that his knee injury is just a sprain and doesn’t seem to be too serious. Darko told the media before the game that he had further scans done on it during the day, and that they looked “promising.” Barrett will be day-to-day with the injury.
Still, this injury meant the starting lineup was shorthanded, and there were a few different ways Darko could have adjusted.
First, he could have gone big, subbing in Mamukelashvili or Collin Murray-Boyles for RJ Barrett, but with Barnes and Jakob Poeltl out there, that seems like a weird way to balance out the lineups. The other wya he could have done it was to go small ball — putting in Jamal Shead and starting the two-point-guard lineup that has been working out really well over the past few weeks.
Ultimately, he went with sliding Ja’Kobe Walter into the starting lineup, replacing Barrett with the guy who has been first off the bench in the past few weeks. Gradey Dick and Mamu ended up being the first players off the bench tonight.
One of the most impactful bench players for the Raptors has been Jamal Shead. His impact off the bench has been the x-factor for the Raptors in a lot of close situations. He is also leading in a few statistics when you look at the league-wide bench numbers. Before tonight’s game, he was leading the NBA in assists off the bench.
“We saw the potential last year, it’s been really cool to see it sprout,” Jamal Shead said after the game.
His assist-to-turnover ratio is also great, not just up there among bench players, but all NBA players. Going into tonight’s game, his 4.8 assist-to-turnover ratio was No. 8 league-wide.
“Jamal is just solid,” said Darko Rajakovic before the game. “He has improved in taking care of the ball, touching the paint, playmaking, and defensive diversity.”
“He’s committed to his role,” Darko said.
Shead ended the game with 9 points, 7 assists, and was +14 in his minutes on the floor. Darko even decided to end with him on the court, running that lineup with him and Quickley.
Mamu was also fantastic off the bench tonight, scoring 5-8 from the field and was +7 on the court in his minutes. He’s been fantastic, able to score in the paint but also stretch the floor, and assist his teammates. He’s really a perfect player for Darko’s .5 offensive system, someone who can score on multiple levels but also can assist, and will rebound the ball as well.
Overall, though, the key to this game was Brandon Ingram. He was just cooking from the midrange today, and pretty impossible to stop from the elbows. He scored his Raptors record-high 37 points tonight, helping the Raptors in moments of dry spells from a lot of their other options.
He added onto that stat line with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and shot 15-30 from the field and 5-11 from three. These performances from him are just what the Raptors
“I told the team he played great defensively as well,” said Darko Rajakovic about Ingram’s performance tonight. Ingram is known for his offence, and has not really had the defensive prowess as part of his overall game. It was something he specifically mentioned as an improvement he wanted to work on this season, and it’s paying off. He’s rebounding, being active on the defensive end, and got one steal as well. He’s also been sharing the ball a lot, a reflection of Rajakovic’s system.
Mixing Ingram’s star power with that of Scottie’s produces, as we are learning, incredible results. Specifically in late-game situations. Barnes has always been a guy who loves performing in the fourth quarter, and he’s stayed true to that in his 5th season. Mix that with a guy like Ingram, who does better the more he sees his shot go down, and feeds off of his own confidence and the energy in the room, and you get these fun and energetic endings to games.
“The best part of being [in Toronto] is that our coach brings the energy every single day,” says Ingram, joking that Darko “runs into the locker room yelling” every day, bringing that vocal energy and encouragement to everything he does.
Darko specifically mentioned feeling like the team is ahead of schedule when it comes to chemistry and communication. He continued on to say that this is from the character of the players they have in the locker room, and everyone is accepted for who they are.
“You got a lot of unselfish guys,” Shead said, “it’s about winning.”
“I don’t think Darko would let that come into our locker room,” Ingram says after being asked if anyone has been celebrating the winning streak. He said that not one person has mentioned the winning streak. They are not letting their egos take over, focusing on the process, and making sure they do not let up on effort.
The Raptors are now 13-5 on their season, holding their spot in the 2nd place spot in the Eastern Conference. This game also solidifies that they win the season series over Cleveland. Unless these two teams play each other in the NBA Cup knockout rounds or consolation regular-season games, that was the last game they will play against one another this season.