The Toronto Raptors played in their dress rehearsal against the defending champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, but they lost 122-120.
The Raptors, for most of the game, played with their primary rotation for the season, so it gave the team the best idea yet of how they will look going into the regular season. Here’s a look at the winners and losers from the matchup.
Winner: Scottie Barnes
Barnes was brilliant on both ends of the floor throughout the game, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He led the team with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-5 from downtown. While he got into some foul trouble throughout the night, he also had 4 blocks on the defensive end.
The team is going to rely on him as a small-ball center throughout portions of the season. This was proof that he can compete with the best big men in the league, including Karl-Anthony Towns.
Winner: Jamison Battle
The Raptors played most of their main rotation against the Knicks, and Jamison Battle saw 14 minutes of action, scoring 10 points off the bench.
Battle was on the fringe of the rotation throughout last season, but this is a sign that Toronto is going to rely on him early in the year instead of rookie forward Allen Graves, who did not play. Graves should get a lot more action tomorrow night when the Raptors face off against the Detroit Pistons in the preseason finale.
Loser: Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl did not look up to par in his 26 minutes of action. He was unable to keep up with Towns when he was matched up against him, and that could be an issue down the line. The Raptors don’t have many other options at the centre position, so they need to ensure he can compete. If this game was any indication of how the regular season is going to go, it represents a need for an upgrade.
Loser: Ja’Kobe Walter
While Walter shined in the previous meeting against the Knicks, he struggled with his shot at Madison Square Garden. In 19 minutes of action, he had just four points on 1 of 6 shots, missing all three of his attempts from beyond the 3-point line. He was a team-low -16 and was not as productive as we have seen from him throughout the preseason.
It’s just one off night for Walter, so there shouldn’t be too much concern because the body of work has been strong up until this point. He will go into the regular season hoping to put this performance behind him.
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