Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro
The Toronto Raptors’ raucous return on Wednesday was the perfect appetizer. A tantalizing taste that was simultaneously satisfying and left us wanting more.
From a 7-0 run in the opening minutes that included a clean set play, Kawhi Leonard semi-transition triple, and a steal from the Klaw finished the other way by RJ Barrett, cueing a Chicago Bulls timeout, to another transition triple by the Raptors godsend that extended their lead to 46 and cued the clearing of the benches, Toronto was in control from wire to wire.
Clean Miami-Spain action for the Raptors’ first bucket of the season. RJ speaking Spanish! pic.twitter.com/WyDp6wszwm
— Ian Finlayson (@ianfinlayson_) October 22, 2026
But the Raptors didn’t just smash the Bulls; they dismantled them without their full arsenal — both theoretical and concrete.
Sure, their fastball of guillotine-choke defence successfully pressured the Bulls’ young and sloppy offence to the tune of plus-nine steals, plus-17 turnovers and a plus-13 advantage in shooting possessions. But Leonard was far from peak form. The half-court offence flowed seamlessly for brief moments but often lurched and stalled — more like a first car than a finished product. Toronto hit fewer 3s than it averaged last season.
“It’s the first game, so we’re going to keep on building. Try to get better,” Leonard said in his post-game interview.
This wasn’t his best, and it wasn’t the team’s either. But it shouldn’t be. It was Game 1 against a Bulls squad that will likely only regret this loss if it relegates them from the lottery at season’s end.
Still, after an equally charmed and cursed course of events brought Leonard back north, it’s a promising start. Especially when we consider the areas for growth. Here’s what to take away and what to leave from the Raptors’ opening-night franchise-record 135-92 win over the Bulls on Wednesday.
Signal – Defence
There isn’t just this one-game sample of the Raptors pressuring full court, playing high in the gaps, and aggressively helping to force turnovers and steals. Nothing has changed, and if anything, the Raptors want to do it more. It was evident in their commitment to the taxing style of play even when their lead was well out of reach.
Leonard was new to the scheme, though. He fit in immediately, as expected, given his pedigree and tools (enormous hands and all). He clawed away four steals, go-go-gadget arming balls away from unsuspecting rookies and jumping passing lanes with ease.
Side note: CMB was an absolute madman.
Noise – Kawhi smoking bunnies
After drilling his first triple, Leonard proceeded to miss his next eight attempts. Even more mystifying, five were from within 10 feet, where he shot 65% last season.
Apparently Leonard is human after all. This, of course, is as noisy as it gets. Unless Leonard actually got monstar’d and can’t make a layup anymore, everything will be just fine.
If anything, the way he got to his shots — methodically dribbling through digs and launching 3s willingly — should inspire confidence.
Signal – Commanding the flow
The Raptors outscored the Bulls 34-13 on the fast break. They outran them in transition frequency 15.5% (97th percentile) to 6.4% (15th percentile).
This is also nothing new. The Raptors worked hard to tilt the floor in their favour last season. And for good reason. League average points per 100 in the half-court is 97.8, compared to 125.0 in transition. They finished third in transition frequency and allowed the second-lowest opponent transition frequency in 2025-26.
One way the Raptors accomplish this is with their defence. Repeatedly bludgeoning the Bulls’ ball-handlers for steals gave them 12 additional opportunities to run. This also helped them achieve the aforementioned plus-13 shooting possessions — another way the Raptors work to control outcomes.
Noise – 3-point shooting
This could either be a good or bad thing depending on how we look at it.
The Raptors attempted 31 triples and made just 10. Last year, they averaged 31.2 per game and made 11.4, both bottom-five marks league-wide.
But this didn’t feel like a poor shooting night for the Raptors. Leonard launched six in 24 minutes. Quickley made 4-of-9 in electric fashion: pump-faking into pull ups, turning it loose as the leak man in Spain and launching from 30 feet. Specialist Jamison Battle splashed a pair, of course.
raps run spain pnr with scottie handling & cmb/iq screening on b2b possessions. 1st one cmb rolls into a pindown for iq on the pop, next one scottie hits cmb on the dive (nice block by buzelis). a bit later, scottie & iq run a post split off cmb, scottie slips, cmb hits him for 2 https://t.co/MfUfjIQkbP pic.twitter.com/xLVJAqtuPm
— Joe Wolfond (@joey_doubleyou) October 22, 2026
They also attempted just five pull-up 3s. Also on par with their league-worst average from last season.
But every starter played under 29 minutes. And after the benches cleared midway through the fourth, Toronto took only one 3. Given the volume bump Leonard should provide and the team’s firmly stated intention to jack more shots up (despite the lack of follow-through in the past) this isn’t cause for concern (yet).
Signal – Walter experimenting off the dribble
Walter made his bones as a sticky point-of-attack defender and a reliable catch-and-shoot man in his sophomore season. A 3-and-D player, if you will. These skills are great, and they are of desperate importance to the Raptors. But they also aren’t enough to be a truly successful rotation wing in today’s NBA.
Players in Walter’s position need to be able to put the ball on the deck when forced and extend advantages. This can be either getting to their own shot or creating one for others. Walter has mostly struggled to do this so far in his career. But on Wednesday, he drove a couple of closeouts and scored the ball.
This comes with the caveat that some of this experimentation came when the game was already well in hand. And to clarify, this performance doesn’t signal that Walter can drive consistently. It’s the experimenting that’s being signalled.
But he showed glimpses of this in the playoffs, and Walter getting reps attacking off the dribble in Game 1 is an encouraging sign.
Noise – In Graves Danger
OK, Allen Graves debut is going under the noise category because he has just one game of NBA experience under his belt. But it was a strong debut. He is still hustle personified and did well to hunt the ball with every ounce of his rangy frame. Graves’ first NBA basket aptly came on a putback.
There were clunky moments, as expected. Graves looked hesitant and indecisive with the ball. But he also used well-timed help to collect four stocks.
The 20-year-old rookie’s lone game of NBA experience is still noise at this point. But it was also noisy. Like Scotiabank Arena when he threw down a two-handed transition dunk.