Raptors Takeaways: Offensive concerns, Barrett’s absence peak in streak-busting loss

It had all the makings of a streak-extending, wire-to-wire win for the Toronto Raptors… until it didn’t.

Despite leading by as many as 17 points on the night and by 12 in the fourth quarter, the Raptors walked away with a 118-111 streak-busting loss to the Charlotte Hornets in their first overtime game of the season.

There’s a reason why the saying goes: “It’s not about how you start, but how you finish,” and the Raptors were reminded of that on Saturday night in the Queen City.

Charlotte’s first lead of the ball game didn’t come until the 3:30 mark of overtime, helped largely by the fact that Toronto managed to score fewer points in the fourth quarter — which included a five-minute scoring drought — and OT combined (24) than it did in the opening frame (34).

And while the loss bucked the Raptors’ trend of strong clutch-time performances (previously 7-2), it continued one that’s become more concerning with each passing game. An offence that entered the night ranked eighth in the NBA — fifth in the halfcourt — for the season, has looked less so of late.

Over the Raptors’ last three games, their offensive rating has plummeted to last in the league, along with their true shooting mark (51.9 per cent). They shot 44.4 per cent from the field and 31 per cent from beyond the arc against the Hornets, all while the Raptors’ halfcourt efficiency ranked 42nd percentile among the 16 teams that played on Saturday night.

For a team that has lost just six of its first 20 games, five of those defeats have come when they’ve shot 49 per cent or lower from the field (now 7-5). It sounds like an oversimplification (because it is), but the NBA is — above all else — a make-or-miss league.

The Raptors have been doing much more of the latter lately, and while that didn’t cost them against a short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers team, or against the Indiana Pacers despite sub-40 and sub-20 per cent shooting from the field and distance, it got them stung by the Hornets.

The missing piece

None of the Raptors’ closing struggles appeared all that evident for most of the night, as they rolled to a 58-52 halftime lead and were ahead 98-86 with seven minutes to go. An effort that was primarily spearheaded by the top-paid trio of Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, who each finished with over 20 points.

Barnes was aggressive and intentional — finishing with a team-high 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 12 rebounds — with his decisions on offence. Ingram bailed out plenty of possessions on his way to 22 points, albeit on 26 shots. And Quickley zipped the ball — for a season-high 10 assists to go with 22 points — and let it fly as much as most would’ve expected. Meanwhile, Jakob Poeltl ho-hummed his way to a near triple-double with eight points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Yet it was ultimately the one missing starter that made the biggest impact.

RJ Barrett was sidelined for a third consecutive game — right in line with the Raptors’ offensive down swing — as he continued to recover from a right-knee sprain. Speaking to reporters on Friday before taking on Charlotte, head coach Darko Rajakovic said the Mississauga, Ont. native was “improving day-to-day, but it’s going to take some time.”

And there’s no doubt the Raptors have felt the absence, not just of his 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists, but also Barrett’s ability to diversify things offensively. The Canadian swingman has held a career-best 60.4 per cent true shooting mark this season, doing more with less and requiring little in return.

Harken back to the Raptors’ last matchup against the Hornets (victory No. 4 of the now-defunct nine-game win streak) when Barrett stampeded into the lane to score a game-sealing basket. A majority of Charlotte’s attention was divided between Barnes, Quickley and Ingram, who got doubled and eventually found Barrett for the finish, which left little focus on the starting two-guard — of which he took advantage.

The trio ultimately ran out of gas on Saturday without their release valve, none more than Ingram, who went 0-9 between the fourth and OT, as the loss was sealed by a Quickley turnover — one of just three — that turned into a Miles Bridges lob-dunk the other way.

The Raptors’ offence has looked far more one-note without Barrett’s timely cutting, reliable shot-making or consistent rim pressure to punctuate the advantages created by those around him, and it was felt most against the Hornets.

Second-unit struggles

It hasn’t happened often, but for the second game in a row, the Raptors’ bench production was sub-par. Usually known for injecting energy into game-breaking runs, the backups sucked the life out of possessions as they shot 9-of-28 from the field (32.1 per cent).

Sandro Mamukelashvili did his part with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, but his usual running mate in Jamal Shead hit just one shot on six attempts. The Raptors’ second unit ultimately finished minus-10 (34-24), unable to provide the starters much relief or keep up with the Hornets’ reserves.

As for Charlotte, its bench was plenty impressive thanks to the pairing of Collin Sexton and Moussa Diabaté. While it was Kon Knueppel’s triple that forced overtime, and Bridges’ game-high 35 points — including 10 of the Hornets’ 14 in OT — that ultimately secured victory, it was the reserve guard-forward duo that kept them in it along the way.

Sexton finished with 18 points off the bench and Diabaté chipped in seven points and nine rebounds while they led the Hornets in plus-minus, plus-23 and plus-19, respectively — earning the pair the right to close out the game in place of starters LaMelo Ball and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

It’s only going to get tougher

After a successful stretch primarily against a handful of cellar dwellers and banged-up squads, the Raptors are heading into their toughest run of games so far this season.

Counting Saturday’s loss, they’ll play seven games in 11 days (including two back-to-backs), which’ll include above .500 teams in the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks (twice), Boston Celtics, and a Hornets team that just evened the season series.

What separates truly competitive squads — like the Raptors have presented themselves as through the first quarter of the season — from flash-in-the-pan crews is the consistency to avoid prolonged cold spells.

Toronto is in one now, and the upcoming stretch of games will require a sustained return to form in order to come out unscathed.

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