The Toronto Raptors fell flat against the Orlando Magic 106-97.
Defensive struggles
The Raptors might want to take a page out of the Magic’s book when it comes to building a defensive identity. The Magic have been without their two best players in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but have not missed a beat thanks to their impressive defense. They have multiple two-way rotation players who compete hard. Toronto’s roster needs to showcase that. The Raptors got simply outmatched and outplayed by a shorthanded Magic team that just wanted it more. The Raptors have been unorganized defensively and slow getting back in transition. With the Raptors roster nearing full strength having bad defensive lapses is inexcusable.
Quickley poor outing
After returning from injury Quickley got back on track in a big way against the Brooklyn Nets. However, against the Magic he struggled to find his groove. He scored 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting from the field and 1-for-9 shooting from three. Quickley is still trying to build chemistry will Scottie Barnes. Darko Rajakovic said Friday that the team’s shootaround focused on structuring the offense around Quickley and Barnes playing off each other, per Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose. It will take time to build that connection but having Quickley and Barnes develop a solid two-man game will be important. Barnes had a better peformance than Quickley in this one scoring 20 points on 9-for-19 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds. He came alive in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough.
Rotation changes
Jamal Shead has overtaken Davion Mitchell as Toronto’s first guard from off the bench in the last few games. It’s been thanks to his steady playmaking as the rookie has done a good job running the offense with the second unit. Meanwhile, it appears Chris Boucher has fallen out of the rotation again. He played just 5 minutes against Brooklyn and did not play against the Magic in this one. With Boucher being the odd man out, a trade for him does seem imminent.
Next on tap
The Raptors will have two days off before wrapping up their three-game homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 6. This will mark Gary Trent Jr.’s return to Toronto.
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