Longtime readers know how fond I am of bookending as a literary device. You start with one idea and, wherever the flow takes you from there, you eventually find your way back to that initial thought as a matter of emphasis. The Toronto Raptors are apparently quite fond of that narrative tool, as well.
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To call the closing minutes of their 80-79 Summer League victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday a callback to the start of the game is almost comically underselling the issue. The game’s first and final minutes contained a litany of Hornets mistakes, both forced and unforced, as well as a Toronto offence that could only just take enough advantage for a tiny edge. Play this game out differently and the Raptors might win by 20. As it was, it took some end-of-game dramatics to move to 3-1 in Las Vegas.
It started with the type of defensive performance the front office surely envisioned when putting this group together. Malachi Flynn started at point guard and was flanked by four players between 6-foot-5 and 6-9, the shortest of whom, Ishmail Wainright, also happens to be a 240-pound mold of tungsten. There was length everywhere, excellent functional size despite no true centre-sized piece and a good amount of playmaking at every position. Charlotte had no answer whatsoever for that length, versatility and pressure. It took over three minutes for the Hornets to even hit the rim, starting the game with several turnovers and rushed air balls. After 3:53 of play, they finally scored. By the end of the first quarter, they’d crawled all the way to eight points.
The Raptors really didn’t take advantage, building just a five-point lead. The teams combined for 16 first-quarter turnovers and a woeful 5-for-17 mark from inside the arc. It was ugly, even for “seventh day of Summer League” standards. It didn’t take much of a run for Charlotte to grab control because of that, as a 10-0 run and subsequent Scottie Lewis takeover felt almost insurmountable. Charlotte’s lead hovered in double digits most of the way from there, growing as large as 13.
With 5:53 to play, that trademark Raptors defence came back to life. Trailing by 11 at that point, they began a last-ditch comeback. It came slowly at first, with the sides trading turnovers and bad misses. Even a Scottie Barnes block on a JT Thor 3 sprung Dalano Banton for a dunk attempt that Thor would block, a fitting example of the flow of the fourth. Things came together, though. Flynn found Precious Achiuwa over the top on a nice roll to the rim. Later, Achiuwa missed both of his free throws but got his own rebound and drove it for a basket, then finished a Barnes miss on the break. After Justin Champagnie came up with a steal, Barnes found Achiuwa once more, then a Champagnie block led to a Barnes dunk the other way.
Scottie Barnes finishes the breakaway jam to tie it up with 20 seconds to go on NBA TV! #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/pZlNp4zBYl
— NBA (@NBA) August 15, 2021
The game now tied, Lewis made a bizarre mistake on an inbound pass, basically rolling it to Banton. Banton hit one of two at the free-throw line for the lead. Coming out of a timeout, an excellent Raptors defensive possession against James Bouknight resulted in Xavier Sneed driving past a Banton closeout.
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Sneed’s bad night continued from there. While he was on the winning side of a coach’s challenge and thus headed to the line, he may have still been a little tender from a knee he took from Barnes to the unmentionables a few minutes earlier. Whatever the case, Sneed missed both free throws, securing the victory for the Raptors.
It wasn’t pretty. Within that was a lot of effort, identity and defensive intensity, so the Vegas Raptors will take it. And hey, there was some really strong play from most of their NBA hopefuls along the way. Barnes, in particular, had the best half he’s played in the tournament and finished with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. He was everywhere down the stretch defensively, and his burst was back after looking fatigued against Houston. It was really good stuff from the rookie.
Earlier games: Koreen on Scottie Barnes’ debut | Murphy on Precious Achiuwa’s debut | Murphy on Malachi Flynn passing The Test
Injury updates
• Scottie Barnes (left ankle) played despite being banged up a bit in Thursday’s game.
• David Johnson (right shoulder sprain), Matt Morgan (left ankle discomfort) and Ashton Hagans (right ankle sprain) all missed the game.
• Yuta Watanabe continued to be held out of action following his Olympics stint with Japan and limited practice time since returning.
— William Lou (@william_lou) August 15, 2021
Roster and camp battle updates
With Banton signing a two-year contract with a fully guaranteed first year on Saturday, the Raptors’ roster now stands at 18 players. With a number of partial guarantees, there could be quite a camp battle brewing in late September. Here’s a quick rundown:
• Guaranteed contracts: Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Goran Dragic, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Chris Boucher, Khem Birch, Precious Achiuwa, Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton
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• Partially guaranteed contracts: Yuta Watanabe ($375K), Sam Dekker ($350K), Ishmail Wainright ($250K), Isaac Bonga ($200K), Freddie Gillespie ($50K as of Sep. 5)
• Two-way contracts: David Johnson, Justin Champagnie
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 15, 2021
That leaves the Raptors with two open roster spots, either for a few other names to compete or for Exhibit 10s with an eye toward the Raptors 905 roster. The Raptors are technically over the luxury tax with all of these guarantees, which would seem to indicate real confidence in an eventual Dragic deal getting done to shed a little additional salary. They have until Game 82 to get beneath the tax, so there’s plenty of time.
There’s also a chance they roll with just 14 players (plus two-ways) to further duck the tax, especially because every deal except Wainright’s guarantees in full on opening day. That’s a less desirable option.
As for the battles, right now it looks like the five players on non- or partially guaranteed deals will be competing for four, maybe three spots. A Dragic deal, of course, changes things, if it happens before the season.
Scouting notes
• About those guarantees: It has not been a great week for Gillespie. The impressive G League call-up from last season has looked a bit rattled on the offensive end, either rushing shots or losing the handle on passes altogether. Barnes has a tendency to throw some hard and difficult passes, but a centre has to be aware alongside a player like that, and Barnes showed a rare moment of visible frustration after his second quality dump-off for Gillespie went out of bounds. Gillespie has shot 4-for-18 in Vegas and totaled just nine points and one assist over four outings. The 26 rebounds, four steals and five blocks are nice, but he needs to rediscover some confidence around the basket right now.
• Flynn was excellent once again despite a shaky shooting line. He had 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, continuing to shoot the 3 with confidence while supplementing his outside game with sharp pick-and-roll passes and the occasional tough finish. Most importantly for coach Patrick Mutombo, Flynn trimmed the turnovers from four on Thursday to one on Saturday.
Sheeeeeeeeeshhhhh @malachiflynn pic.twitter.com/8kfT17pOkA
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 15, 2021
• Wainright remains downright hilarious on defence. He is a degree of magnitude stronger than just about everyone else on the court, allowing him to rip rebounds away from opposing bigs or stop three-on-one breaks by absorbing a speeding player into his chest for a charge (and making the charge call for himself from on his back). His shooting came down to earth in this one with an 0-for-6 mark on 3s and he committed three turnovers, but it should be clear by now why Wainright is headed to camp with a good shot to make the roster.
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• Something I’ve found encouraging about Banton’s play in Vegas is that he gets better as games go along. Multiple people have mentioned to me just how quickly he picks things up, and you can see that learning happening within games and game to game. To wit, Banton committed two pretty bad charges in a row without noticing a weak-side shooter open for the kickout. On a third, he made a good pass to Champagnie for a look at a 3.
94 feet of Raptors basketball pic.twitter.com/HrMT9OgYZW
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 14, 2021
• Achiuwa was excellent as a rim runner and transition play finisher here, scoring 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Like Thursday, poor free-throw shooting (2 of 8) left an even stronger stat line on the table. The hands and free-throw shooting need improvement; what the Raptors like about him is obvious nonetheless.
• Champagnie didn’t have as sharp a game as he did Thursday, though he had a few high-leverage defensive plays. … Isiaha Mike had another tough one, including three turnovers in nine minutes. … Jalen Adams is a known commodity at this point. That doesn’t make shooting under 40 percent for the tournament any less worrisome for his roster chances around the league.
Miscellaneous
• A sizable contingent of Canada Basketball players, coaches and executives were in Las Vegas this week for a program summit. From Nick Nurse to top U19 players like Zach Edey to NBA names like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the turnout was said to be strong. The message: It’s time for these constant near-misses to change, and that’s going to require renewed buy-in and commitment over the next three years. The next major tournament is the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup, with some qualifier windows before then.
• Jalen Harris signed with Vanoli Cremona of the Italian league Saturday. Harris is disqualified from the NBA this season and can apply for reinstatement per the league drug program next offseason. The Raptors will hold his rights as a free agent if/when he is reinstated.
• New Timberwolves executive and MLB/meme legend Alex Rodriguez was at the game, while Lonzo Ball was courtside wearing a Tampa Bay Rays hat. The Blue Jays can not let this stand.
At 3-1 with a plus-5.3 average scoring margin, the Raptors are in wait-and-see mode for their fifth and final game. All teams will play a fifth game Monday or Tuesday — the Raptors play Tuesday — but the Tuesday pairing and times remain to be determined. Five teams are undefeated as of this writing, so it seems unlikely things will break to where the Raptors are in the championship game. We’ll have coverage of whatever that game ends up being.
(Photo of James Bouknight, left, and Malachi Flynn: David Dow / NBAE via Getty Images)