Is last night’s victory against Chicago finally the one that will allow the Raptors to exorcise their first quarter demons, seen notably against San Antonio, Washington and Milwaukee earlier this season?
While Darko Rajakovic’s men had indeed shown great difficulty in starting their matches correctly, against the Spurs, the Wizards and the Bucks in recent weeks, their performance against the Bulls is proof that they are, ultimately, well able to start with their feet on the floor from the midfield.
Facing a Chicago squad certainly in distress this season but far from being ridiculous defensively (10th best defense in the league before the match), the Raptors scored 36 points on 70% shooting (16/23) in the first quarter -time. A natural springboard towards a first half, more broadly, of high quality collectively (62 points on 59% shooting and 18 assists).
“ This first quarter was high-level basketball “, appreciated Darko Rajakovic. “ The ball flew in all directions and the guys had fun making the ball move. Just in the first half, Pascal [Siakam] had already recorded 7 passes! We exceeded our goal of 30 passes per match [32 passes, ndlr]. They weren’t an easy team to play against, but we managed to beat them tonight. »
A benchmark performance in attitude
For the Raptors’ attack, not always very inspired this season (20th in the league in average points scored, 25th in offensive evaluation per 100 possessions), this match against Chicago was therefore logically the reference on the offensive level of the Raptors. basketball desired by Darko Rajakovic, with 32 assists and 6 players with 13 points or more.
“ It’s a testament to our focus on details. We always try to move the ball quickly, from one side to the other of the field. This is how we generate our opportunities in attack », Adds Scottie Barnes, as always the hub of the Raptors’ game with his 13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. “ [Ce soir], that was the standard of our attack: that everyone contributes. This is our keystone. »
A message of course corroborated by the Serbian coach.
“ The more players who contribute on offense, the more choices the defense must make. And the more points you score, the more food there is on the table for everyone. », concludes Darko Rajakovic, logically satisfied with the fair distribution of points scored. “ This is our credo: everyone eats fairly. I am proud of the face displayed by the team, of their generosity displayed. »
Comments collected at Scotiabank Arena
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Pascal Siakam | 15 | 33.7 | 49.8 | 24.1 | 72.2 | 1.4 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 20.3 |
| Scottie Barnes | 15 | 34.7 | 47.2 | 38.2 | 75.9 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 9.1 | 5.7 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 19.7 |
| Dennis Schroder | 15 | 31.1 | 46.2 | 38.7 | 85.7 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 16.9 |
| Og Anunoby | 11 | 31.3 | 47.3 | 38.0 | 65.2 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 14.9 |
| Jakob Poeltl | 15 | 25.7 | 70.2 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 10.6 |
| Gary Trent, Jr. | 12 | 26.6 | 37.9 | 38.3 | 55.6 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 10.5 |
| Precious Achiuwa | 9 | 19.8 | 45.2 | 23.5 | 63.6 | 1.9 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 7.4 |
| Chris Boucher | 13 | 16.4 | 45.3 | 41.7 | 82.8 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 7.1 |
| Malachi Flynn | 15 | 17.3 | 47.3 | 40.0 | 66.7 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 6.3 |
| Gradey Dick | 14 | 15.1 | 27.0 | 24.4 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 4.0 |
| Otto Porter | 8 | 13.1 | 45.5 | 46.7 | 100.0 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 3.5 |
| Garrett Temple | 5 | 3.3 | 80.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
| Jalen Mcdaniels | 12 | 9.1 | 27.0 | 16.7 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.1 |
| Markquis Nowell | 1 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Thaddeus Young | 3 | 3.3 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Ron Harper | 1 | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
