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[Toronto Raptors]

Toronto Raptors host Washington Wizards, looking for sixth straight win

After winning their fifth straight, and their ninth in the last 10 games on Wednesday, the Toronto Raptors are back at home tonight to play the lowly Washington Wizards for an NBA Cup matchup.

The Raptors have faced one of the league’s toughest schedules to this point in the season, having played just five home games versus 10 on the road. Despite the travel-heavy schedule, they enter Friday’s game at 10-5, good for second in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors are hitting an easier stretch of their schedule that, on paper, gives them an opportunity to build on the hot start they’ve gotten off to.

That stretch starts with tonight’s opponent, the Wizards, who have a league-worst record of 1-13. A Raptors win would be the team’s sixth in a row – their longest winning streak since the 2021-22 season, when the team finished 48-34 and made their most recent playoff appearance.

Toronto will need to ensure that they don’t take things easy against an inferior opponent. A win not only gets them to a six-game streak, but could also clinch their first-ever appearance in the NBA Cup knockout round.

The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on TSN. The Raptors’ rookie Colin Murray-Boyles is OUT (knee). For the Wizards, Marvin Bagley III is doubtful (hip) while Alex Sarr is questionable (toe) to play.

Some things we’re thinking about include…

The Cup​

We’re all still figuring out how much to care about the NBA Cup. But this is the best the Raptors have ever been since the NBA Cup entered our lives, so why not get excited!

With a win, and a loss by the 2-13 Indiana Pacers vs. the 10-6 Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors would clinch their first ever knockout round appearance. They’d also be the first team to clinch a spot this season. Meanwhile, a loss to the last-place Wizards would be doubly embarrassing in this Cup match: The Wizards, at 0-9, are the only team in the league who’ve never won a single NBA Cup game. So while the Raptors look to extend their ongoing winning streak, they’ll also look to avoid letting the Wizards snap their own streak (as well as, of course, the 13-game losing streak they’ve been on since winning the season opener).

The Raptors will mark the fact that it’s an NBA Cup game with an extremely loud, extremely red court covered in the phrase “We the North.”

The Raptors NBA Cup court for this season: pic.twitter.com/f5C9teStt4

— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) October 24, 2025

The beautiful game​

The Raptors are playing beautiful team basketball, and the team’s chemistry has shone through their unselfish play. Against the Sixers on Wednesday they registered 33 assists on 45 made shots.

“We won the game on an assist, that’s a testament to our play,” Barrett said after the team’s win against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. Barrett scored the game-winning bucket off a pass from Brandon Ingram, who found Barrett with a nice look while double teamed.

Meanwhile, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl have found a visible synergy with one another that’s manifested in exquisite interior pass after exquisite interior pass. The big-to-big game has been a delight to watch. Having now played with each other for close to three years, the duo have developed a heightened sense of where the other is – and where they’re going – on the court, which has allowed for some nice no-look passes.

Scottie Barnes throwing dime after time to Jakob Poeltl. Rarely see big-to-big passing like this in the NBA these days but there are some really creative finds here. https://t.co/p2xGzJOAfL pic.twitter.com/SoDhRfCPyS

— William Lou (@william_lou) November 20, 2025

Ja’Kobe Walter ​

It hasn’t been an ideal start to Ja’Kobe Walter’s sophomore NBA season. But Wednesday’s win against the Sixers was a highly encouraging game for Walter, who reached double-digit scoring for the first time this season with 11 points on 4/5 shooting. Importantly, Walter looked confident and decisive.

Walter spoke about that confidence and the role that Darko Rajakovic – an early Coach of the Year candidate! – played in him rising to the occasion.

“Coach was giving me good advice, to not think about anything else, and just play free,” Walter said. “They saw how free I felt in Summer League, and he was just like, ‘It’s just like Summer League. Just play your game.’”

Walter has an opportunity to build off that game and play more like how he did in Summer League – and that opportunity comes against the Wizards, the NBA team that most closely resembles a Summer League roster.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-g...ington-wizards-looking-for-sixth-straight-win

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Raptors rout the Wizards, 140-100, and advance to NBA Cup knockout stage

Break up the streaking Toronto Raptors!

For the first time since its inception two seasons ago, the Toronto Raptors have qualified for the knockout stage of the NBA Cup. The Raptors routed the visiting Washington Wizards, 140-100, in the third game of the round robin stage. Combined with Indiana’s loss to Cleveland, the Raptors clinched first place in Group A of the NBA Cup with one round robin game to spare. Once again, Toronto, who have now won 10 of its last 11 games and currently sit in 2nd place in the East, got contributions up and down the roster. Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each(!) had 24 points and 8 rebounds. Scottie Barnes poured in 23 points on an uber-efficient 10-for-15 shooting, in addition to getting 3 steals. Sandro Mamukelashvili led all reserves — and repeatedly delighted the Scotiabank Arena crowd — with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Immanuel Quickley continued his hot shooting of late with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go along with 7 assists. The starters, including Jakob Poeltl, and Mamu combined to shoot 59% from the field.

CJ McCollum led the Wizards with 20 points. The rest of Washington’s starters combined to also score 20 points, in case you’re wondering about the state of Wizards basketball.

GROUP A BELONGS TO US — ON TO THE NEXT pic.twitter.com/Pj9hdPAYAS

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 22, 2025

Raptors started the game scoring 11 of the first 13 points with relatively little resistance from the NBA’s 29th-ranked defense. Washington’s 28th-ranked offense also proved its ranking, missing 6 of its first 7 shots, before Brian Keefe called the first timeout and his team down 11-2.

Recurring themes from Toronto’s current hot streak — winners of 9 of the last 10 games — were imprinted throughout the first quarter. The team generated 5 turnovers. Brandon Ingram’s had an emphatic block on a Cam Whitmore drive and stole the ball from Kyshawn George like it owed him lunch money.

Ingram gets the steal Mamukelashvili throws it down pic.twitter.com/v5RnapJctS

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 22, 2025

Mamukelashvili reached his quota of exciting the Scotiabank Arena fans with a steal and breakaway layup in the dying seconds of the quarter. Toronto ended the first quarter with a 31-20 lead.

In the second quarter, the Wizards took better care of the ball. Unfortunately for Washington, that didn’t solve its issue with scoring as they missed 9 of its first 12 field goal attempts in the quarter. The Wizards entered the game with a 1-13 record and the offense on display tonight validated the poor record. Offensive possessions had very little ball movement, players staying in one spot, and no penchant to crash the boards. Outside of CJ McCollum, who pitched in with a modest eight points in the first half, the other four Wizards starters combined to shoot 2-for-16(!).

Yet, the Wizards outscored the Raptors 27-26 in the second quarter. Rookie, Tre Johnson, led the way for Washington with 9 points, as he hit all 3 of his three-point attempts. Ingram and Mamukelashvili didn’t help the cause as they shot a combined 2-for-11 in the quarter. Washington’s bench outscored Toronto’s 29-15. Still, the Raptors entered halftime with a 57-47 lead and a victory well within its sights.

Washington was playing without its leading scorer and rebounder, Alex Sarr, who missed his second consecutive game with toe injury. Toronto was without Collin Murray-Boyles for a second consecutive game as well, as he deals with an MCL strain in his right knee.

With “only” a 10-point advantage against a largely inferior foe, the Raptors came out of halftime with some extra juice. Scottie Barnes posted up and scored a couple of times. Ingram had extra bounce in his step as he slithered his way to smooth mid-range buckets. Quickley had a steal and assisted RJ Barrett on a breakaway layup on Washington’s opening possession. By the time Barnes drained his second triple of the quarter, and his 10th points of the quarter, Toronto’s lead grew to 81-64.

Beautiful basketball happens when elite skill meets collective, unselfish play pic.twitter.com/YBWUhnzNMO

— Amit Mann (@Amit_Mann) November 22, 2025

The Raptors kept pouring it on the third quarter. Barnes finished the quarter shooting 6-for-7 and scoring 14 points to go along with two steals. Barrett added 10 points in the frame. Toronto forced 7 more turnovers as they punished the Wizards in all facets, outscoring Washington by 18 points in the quarter. The 48 points Toronto scored in the frame was a franchise record. The Raptors entered the fourth quarter with a 105-77 lead.

Raptors have a 44-point, 45-point, and now a 48-point quarter this season. somehow all of them have been in the third quarter.

— William Lou (@william_lou) November 22, 2025

The Raptors received a scare in the fourth quarter when Ingram rolled his ankle on a jump shot. Bub Carrington, who was defending Ingram’s mid-range jumper, did not give Ingram enough space to land, resulting in Brandon rolling his right ankle when he landed. Ingram was visibly upset as he slapped right foot repeatedly on the ground until he was lifted up. Carrington was charged with a flagrant foul. Ingram was able to take the flagrant free throw before exiting the game…….on his own, without assistance and without limping. Phew!

Ironically, the NBA Cup’s format may have indirectly played a role in Ingram’s incident. With the Raptors already up by 28 points and only 7 minutes remaining, Darko would likely have pulled out his starters but, with point differential a factor in determining seedings, Toronto still had four of its starters in the game.

MAMU WITH THE EXCLAMATION POINT!

Raptors can clinch East Group A with a win

Catch the finish on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/2vQRncl7a9 pic.twitter.com/1kkETeUnNA

— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2025

Toronto entered the game as 14.5 point favourites. In its 31 seasons, the Raptors were a perfect 15-0 when favoured by that much. The 16th win was definitely sweet as Toronto prepares for its first trip to the NBA Cup playoffs.

The Raptors will look to keep the good times rolling when the Brooklyn Nets roll into town on Sunday. After a back-to-back with the Cleveland Cavaliers (and a chance to sweep the season series!), the Raptors play its final round robin game of the NBA Cup when the Pacers visit Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...140-100-and-advance-to-nba-cup-knockout-stage

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets

The Toronto Raptors once again go toe-to-toe with the Brooklyn Nets, this time as the host. With the previous game only 12 days ago going in the Raptors favour, this could be an opportunity to extend their winning streak from 6 to 7. The last time the Raptors had 7 straight wins was Mar 3, 2020 to Aug 7, 2020 during the bubble season.

Since their last meeting, Brooklyn has gone 2-2, now with an overall record of 3-12. One of those wins came against the Wizards (so it doesn’t really count) and the other a surprise against the Celtics, who lost control of the game around the half and never got it back. The Nets are going to try and build on that momentum now as they continue to struggle at the bottom of the Atlantic division.

Despite any mistakes, the Nets were able to hold their own for much of the last game. They outscored the Raptors in the first frame and matched or were within a possession of Toronto’s scoring every quarter except the second. The Raptors were able to create the 10-point margin of victory in that frame. While they can hope for a similar opportunity in this matchup, they can’t expect it.

Brooklyn will expect their starting 5 to be the biggest contributors once again with 4 of the 5 hitting double figures the last time around. Michael Porter Jr. will look to improve his long range shooting, previously going only 1 for 6. He can be streaky at times, but when his shots are falling this could create trouble for Toronto. Claxton and Clowney will look to improve their control of the paint, giving away 13 offensive rebounds in the previous contest.

In the last matchup, rebounding was one of Toronto’s greatest strengths. Finishing the game with 50 and having outrebounded the Nets by 14, maintaining control of the boards was a key to their 10-point victory. Poeltl was responsible for 10 of those, but will sit out this game with injury management, leaving a vacancy that will need to be filled by committee. Ingram and RJ should both look to help, along with Mamu who will be seeing Brooklyn for the first time this year.

Minimizing turnovers again will also play in Toronto’s favour. Despite averaging 14.3 per game (5th in the NBA) they only had 8 last time around. Shead and Quickley had both done well this season as ball-handlers, and have helped set the tone for good passing. If they can take care of the ball again this game, it will be another way for them to prevent more Brooklyn possessions.

The other challenge will be managing load, with this being the first in a back-to-back home-stand. On Monday, they’ll face a much tougher opponent in the Cleveland Cavaliers, and will want to preserve some energy for that contest. Handling business early and building a lead that allows them to greater utilize the depth of the bench tonight could help keep the winning streak alive even longer.

Where to watch

Tune in to Sportsnet at 6pm ET!

Probable Starters

Toronto: Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Ochai Agbaji

Brooklyn: Nic Claxton, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Terance Mann, Egor Demin

Injury Report

Toronto: Collin Murray-Boyles (Questionable: MCL sprain), Jakob Poeltl (Out: Injury management)

Brooklyn: Nic Claxton (Probable: Elbow sprain), Egor Demin (Probable: Jaw soreness), Haywood Highsmith (Out: Right knee surgery), Ben Saraf (Out: Ankle sprain), Cam Thomas (Out: Hamstring strain), Nolan Traore (Out: G-League), Danny Wolf (Out: G-League)

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-game-previews/48648/preview-toronto-raptors-vs-brooklyn-nets

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Raptors’ resilience tested in clutch win over Brooklyn

Sunday evening’s Toronto Raptors game had a few implications. It was the second game of a four-game homestand, the first night of a home back-to-back, and a chance for the Raptors to win their seventh game in a row. Even better for their chances was the fact that they were playing the 3-12 Brooklyn Nets, even if they had just won against Boston in their last game.

Before the game, Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic made it clear that they do not let things like their opponents’ records to change their strategy. “We are playing in the best league in the world,” Rajakovic said,“ We respect [our opponents], and we will go out there and compete to the best of our ability.”

The Raptors were missing Jakob Poeltl, on rest to manage for the first night of the back-to-back. He has struggled with a back injury this season, and keeping him out against Brooklyn was more of a precaution.

It seems like this current Raptors team is answering so many of the questions held onto them in the first weeks of the season. Any doubts on them have been essentially eradicated as this team has found its footing in the NBA this season. They are proving themselves league-wide by being one of the top teams in their conference and also being the first team in the league to clinch a spot in the NBA Cup knockout rounds.

Struggles are still going to come, though, as was represented in this game against the Nets. The Raptors have four games in six nights this week, and this is the first game in a back-to-back. RJ Barrett went out in the third quarter and was soon diagnosed with a right knee sprain, making him miss the rest of the game. Barnes and Ingram both had slower games through three quarters, making it so the Nets were always right there behind them.

Yet, even amidst struggle, this team is still incredibly fun to watch. It was a fantastic clutch-game performance that bolstered the Raptors to their seventh-straight win, proving this team is the real deal even when it takes a little longer to get there. Toronto got the win 119-109 over Brooklyn.

It was the bench that really held the Raptors together for a lot of the game, with Ja’Kobe Walter scoring 16 points off the bench through the first three quarters. Until the starters found their rhythm in the fourth, it was really those second-unit guys who held the team up. With Barrett out, Jamal Shead played more in the fourth, and the Raptors went to the two-point guard lineup of Shead and Quickley that has proved to be productive over the past few weeks.

“That’s what we expect from our bench,” said Rajakovic after the game.

The Raptors have been forced to perform in clutch game situations — less than five-point deficits with under five minutes to go — a few times in the past few weeks. Each time, they’ve been able to hold strong. Tonight’s win brings them to 5-2 in clutch games this season. Tonight, it was Immanuel Quickley who showed out in those last few minutes, making several shots that ended up being key to the Raptors’ winning the game.

In the end, all five starters scored in double-digits, leading the Raptors to a win in a game that seemed just a little harder than some of the others they have played in the past few weeks. This resilience is the real test, though, and being able to play through it makes the Raptors tougher.

“I thought [Ingram] made a few key plays there offensively,” Rajakovic said about the Raptors’ ability to push through.

Ingram was not the team’s highest scorer tonight, but he came through when the team needed him. It was Ingram who made the shot to bring the Raptors up 102-100 over the Nets, and then he assisted one og Immanuel Quickley’s shots to pull the Raptors away for good. Ingram also scored his 10,000th career point tonight, making him the fastest player in his draft class to reach that milestone (512 games).

Now with seven consecutive wins in a row under their belts, the Raptors will be tested again tomorrow when the Cavaliers are in town. It will be the second night of a back-to-back for both teams, which brings the chance for… wild hoops.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...o-raptors-brooklyn-nets-game-recap-win-streak

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Brandon Ingram has revived the Toronto Raptors

One thing the Toronto Raptors have proven during this winning stretch of basketball is the fact that this team has depth. That’s been tested during this four-game homestand, as they deal with wear and tear. Last night, it was Jakob Poeltl who sat out because of rest, but RJ Barrett left the game early due to a non-contact knee injury. This caused the Raptors to be short-handed for the second night in a row, as Barrett stayed out of the game against Cleveland.

Luckily, Barrett’s absence wasn’t a detriment, and the Raptors came out on top with a 110-99 win over Cleveland, their 8th straight win. Brandon Ingram scored 37 points, his best performance as a Raptor yet.

Ingram is up to 37 points. It's the most he's scored since *checks notes* Feb. 5, 2024 against… Toronto.

He had 41 points on 21 shots in 30 minutes, as the Pels beat the Raptors by 38 points in NOLA.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November 25, 2025

The good news with Barrett is that his knee injury is just a sprain and doesn’t seem to be too serious. Darko told the media before the game that he had further scans done on it during the day, and that they looked “promising.” Barrett will be day-to-day with the injury.

Still, this injury meant the starting lineup was shorthanded, and there were a few different ways Darko could have adjusted.

First, he could have gone big, subbing in Mamukelashvili or Collin Murray-Boyles for RJ Barrett, but with Barnes and Jakob Poeltl out there, that seems like a weird way to balance out the lineups. The other wya he could have done it was to go small ball — putting in Jamal Shead and starting the two-point-guard lineup that has been working out really well over the past few weeks.

Ultimately, he went with sliding Ja’Kobe Walter into the starting lineup, replacing Barrett with the guy who has been first off the bench in the past few weeks. Gradey Dick and Mamu ended up being the first players off the bench tonight.

One of the most impactful bench players for the Raptors has been Jamal Shead. His impact off the bench has been the x-factor for the Raptors in a lot of close situations. He is also leading in a few statistics when you look at the league-wide bench numbers. Before tonight’s game, he was leading the NBA in assists off the bench.

“We saw the potential last year, it’s been really cool to see it sprout,” Jamal Shead said after the game.

Fun fact: Jamal Shead is leading the NBA with 95 assists off the bench this season.

He has a 4.75 assist to turnover ratio, second-best among all players!

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) November 24, 2025

His assist-to-turnover ratio is also great, not just up there among bench players, but all NBA players. Going into tonight’s game, his 4.8 assist-to-turnover ratio was No. 8 league-wide.

“Jamal is just solid,” said Darko Rajakovic before the game. “He has improved in taking care of the ball, touching the paint, playmaking, and defensive diversity.”

“He’s committed to his role,” Darko said.

Shead ended the game with 9 points, 7 assists, and was +14 in his minutes on the floor. Darko even decided to end with him on the court, running that lineup with him and Quickley.

Raptors were down 50-44 when Shead subbed in and Raptors went double PG at 3:22 left in the 2nd Q.

Raptors end the half up 57-54 after a 13-2 run. They inject so much energy and speed. https://t.co/BgKPFWfzbZ

— Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh) November 25, 2025

Mamu was also fantastic off the bench tonight, scoring 5-8 from the field and was +7 on the court in his minutes. He’s been fantastic, able to score in the paint but also stretch the floor, and assist his teammates. He’s really a perfect player for Darko’s .5 offensive system, someone who can score on multiple levels but also can assist, and will rebound the ball as well.

Overall, though, the key to this game was Brandon Ingram. He was just cooking from the midrange today, and pretty impossible to stop from the elbows. He scored his Raptors record-high 37 points tonight, helping the Raptors in moments of dry spells from a lot of their other options.

He added onto that stat line with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and shot 15-30 from the field and 5-11 from three. These performances from him are just what the Raptors

“I told the team he played great defensively as well,” said Darko Rajakovic about Ingram’s performance tonight. Ingram is known for his offence, and has not really had the defensive prowess as part of his overall game. It was something he specifically mentioned as an improvement he wanted to work on this season, and it’s paying off. He’s rebounding, being active on the defensive end, and got one steal as well. He’s also been sharing the ball a lot, a reflection of Rajakovic’s system.

Mixing Ingram’s star power with that of Scottie’s produces, as we are learning, incredible results. Specifically in late-game situations. Barnes has always been a guy who loves performing in the fourth quarter, and he’s stayed true to that in his 5th season. Mix that with a guy like Ingram, who does better the more he sees his shot go down, and feeds off of his own confidence and the energy in the room, and you get these fun and energetic endings to games.

“The best part of being [in Toronto] is that our coach brings the energy every single day,” says Ingram, joking that Darko “runs into the locker room yelling” every day, bringing that vocal energy and encouragement to everything he does.

Darko specifically mentioned feeling like the team is ahead of schedule when it comes to chemistry and communication. He continued on to say that this is from the character of the players they have in the locker room, and everyone is accepted for who they are.

“You got a lot of unselfish guys,” Shead said, “it’s about winning.”

“I don’t think Darko would let that come into our locker room,” Ingram says after being asked if anyone has been celebrating the winning streak. He said that not one person has mentioned the winning streak. They are not letting their egos take over, focusing on the process, and making sure they do not let up on effort.

The Raptors are now 13-5 on their season, holding their spot in the 2nd place spot in the Eastern Conference. This game also solidifies that they win the season series over Cleveland. Unless these two teams play each other in the NBA Cup knockout rounds or consolation regular-season games, that was the last game they will play against one another this season.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-a...raptors-cleveland-cavaliers-win-ingram-barnes

 

[Toronto Raptors]

The Rap-Up: Rounding into form

When the schedule was released, all eyes focused on the first 20 games. At first glance, it looked….difficult. Again.

Last season, the Raptors had a rough schedule to start the season and ended the first 20 games with only 5 wins. The season prior — Darko Rajakovic’s first with the team — Toronto managed to gut out 9 wins in the first 20.

If the Raptors were going to move past the rebuild phase, something positive had to come out of the first quarter of the season. I remember scanning through the opponents and penciling in 4 victories (Nets x 2; Wizards; and 1 of 2 against the Hornets). With every other game, you could make a case for the opponent coming out on top. Cleveland (x 3) was, and still is one of two favourites to emerge from the East. Atlanta (x 2) was the preseason darkhorse pick, along with Orlando, to crash party. While questions swirled around Philadelphia (x 2), Milwaukee (x 2), and Indiana (x 2), you could also still make the case that each of those teams would still have the best player (and coach) on the floor against Toronto.

The Raptors are currently 7-2 against those East rivals with a chance to finish 9-2 this week.

Toronto’s starters are clicking with Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley all capable of dropping 20 points on any given night. The defense is flying, now up to #6 in the NBA. Darko’s rotation is crystalizing with Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead, Gradey Dick, and Sandro Mamukelashvili bridging the gap for Ingram/Barnes + bench units. The schedule is manageable. Toronto only has 4 road games in December (5 if you count Las Vegas!), with 3 of those games against teams they’ve already defeated (Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Washington).

The Raptors finished the previous two seasons with 14 wins combined over the first 20 games. This season, Toronto is inching towards getting 14 wins at least through the first quarter of the season. Vibes couldn’t be higher in the Six!

If there was a how-to guide to success for an underdog team, the Raptors have completed the first step: surprise everyone with a fast start. The next step would be to take down the big dogs. This week, Toronto takes on the two biggest dogs in the Eastern Conference yard: Cleveland, who they’ve defeated twice already this season, and New York. To successfully pass these tests, the Raptors will have to be at their collective best!

This team pic.twitter.com/2ACFNar2zU

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 24, 2025

November 24 vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Darius Garland is back. Or is he? The All-Star guard returned to the lineup in Friday’s NBA Cup win over the Indiana Pacers. Garland 13 of the previous 16 games for Cleveland, including both matchups with Toronto. When he briefly returned from his toe injury in early November, he was kept out of the second game of a back-to-back. With Cleveland’s sights on a deep playoff run, it wouldn’t surprise me if Garland missed this game since the Cavaliers will be playing the night before.

When these teams last faced each other, Barnes was the best player on the floor. Period. He produced one of the best games of his career with a stat line of 28 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 blocks. It was the first game in Raptors history where a player amassed at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks. If you lower that threshold to 20 points, the only two instances were achieved by Barnes. What a special player!

In that same game, Jarrett Allen returned after missing the first game against Toronto. He, along with Evan Mobley, looked very pedestrian as they combined for 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting. Donovan Mitchell also returned to the lineup after missing the first matchup with the Raptors. His 31 points led the Cavs, but missing 11 of his 18 field goal attempts and turning the ball over 7 times only further aided in Toronto’s 126-113 victory.

Fun fact that may only interest me

The longest win streak either of these teams have had against each other was 10. From 1999 to 2002, Toronto reeled off a double-digit win streak against Cleveland, which included series sweeps in the ‘99-’00 and ‘00-’01 seasons.

Let’s frame that differently. When Toronto last completed a season series sweep against Cleveland — April 4, 2001 — the following Raptors were not born yet:

• Jamison Battle
• Scottie Barnes
• Alijah Martin
• Jamal Shead
• Chucky Hepburn
• Gradey Dick
• Ja’Kobe Walter
• Collin Murray-Boyles

Prediction

Both teams roll into this one on the backend of a back-to-back. Toronto will have the advantage since they wouldn’t have to worry about traveling. Cleveland will be coming off a home game against the struggling/hopeless Los Angeles Clippers. For the Raptors, the motivation is crystal clear: can they sweep the season series against an Eastern Conference favourite?

I originally had Cleveland winning and covering this game but have changed my mind for three reasons. The Cavaliers, again, are dealing with a plethora of injuries (Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Sam Merrill, Lonzo Ball, and Craig Porter Jr. missed Sunday’s game). Toronto’s offense will look much crisper with Jakob Poeltl back in the lineup. If RJ Barrett misses time after spraining his knee during Sunday’s game, the Raptors’ defense will likely improve with Jamal Shead or Ja’Kobe Walter stepping into a starter role (and likely covering Donovan Mitchell). Toronto completes the season series sweep and cover the +2.5 spread.

November 26 vs Indiana Pacers

Two seasons ago, the Indiana Pacers were the inaugural Eastern Conference champions of the NBA Cup.

Last season, the Pacers were the Eastern Conference champions. Period.

This season, so far, Indiana is 2-14, have dealt with a cornucopia of injuries to key players, and currently have the 29th-ranked offense. Raptors fans have recently seen the offenses of Washington, Brooklyn, and Memphis…..Indiana’s is statistically worse than all of them! Oh how quickly things can change in the NBA.

Bennedict Mathurin returned to the lineup last week and help the team double its win total (to 2) with a home win over the Hornets. Pascal Siakam is averaging a career-high 24.8 points per game. Jay Huff is filling the void left behind by Myles Turner, as he currently sits 3rd in the NBA in blocks per game.

These are all nice stories in what’s looking like a lost season. The Pacers’ horrendous start likely answers the one question Indiana had after Tyrese Haliburton: do they go full tank mode this season and return in 2026 with an MVP candidate and a can’t-miss prospect from a loaded draft? With all signs pointing to YES, the next question is when does Indiana start bubble-wrapping Siakam, Mathurin, and Andrew Nembhard?

Bennedict Mathurin isn't known as a passer, but he's assisting his teammates as a cutter

I wrote about how he's reshaping the defense as part of the offense, & not just bending the defense separate from the offense

No Paywall: https://t.co/ncuUgqbfRR pic.twitter.com/oUNy9Mp761

— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) November 22, 2025

Fun fact that may only interest me

This past July, Jay Huff was traded from Memphis to Indiana for a pair of future 2nd-round picks. Last season, Huff broke through with the Grizzlies after a couple of years transferring in and out of the G League with the Lakers, Wizards, and Nuggets’ organizations. He had his two-way contract converted with Memphis and proved his worth amidst an injury-riddled Grizzlies roster. The trade must have been rough news for Huff, but you could see the reasoning from Memphis’ side. With Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and Santi Aldama on the team, playing time would be at a minimum this season.

Huff is certainly having the first (last?) laugh as he continues making his mark in the league.

Memphis’ top two in total blocks — Jackson Jr. (19) and Aldama (12) — have combined for 31 blocks over 32 combined games.

Huff currently has 32 blocks in his 16 games.

Prediction

The Pacers are winless on the road, having lost all 9 of its games away from home. This will be the final NBA Cup round robin game for the Raptors, while Indiana has one more against Washington. Toronto has already clinched first place in Group A but a home game in the quarterfinals is not guaranteed yet. To host a game in the knockout stage, the Raptors will need to have one of the top 2 records in the East. Assuming Milwaukee and one of Detroit/Orlando finish with perfect records in their respective groups, point differential will come into play.

• Toronto: +53 with 1 game to play
• Detroit: +27 with a road game in Boston and home game against Orlando
• Orlando: +20 with road games in Philadelphia and Detroit
• Milwaukee: +16 with road games in Miami and New York to play

Toronto is in the driver’s seat to host a knockout stage game but first need to do what they’ve been doing for the last two weeks: take care of business! The Raptors beat the Pacers and cover the -8.5 spread.

November 29 @ Charlotte Hornets

For all the hype that’s justifiably being thrown at Charlotte and its promising group of rookies, the spotlight was shifting away from the Hornets’ All-Star point guard, LaMelo Ball. Not anymore.

According to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, “LaMelo Ball has grown increasingly frustrated with the organization and is open to a trade away from the franchise.”

Well, that puts a damper on things. Many franchises know the death knell that comes when the face of the team wants out. Whether it’s Toronto and Vince Carter, Miami and Jimmy Butler, or any franchise that rostered James Harden, the strain it puts on the front office to either appease or trade the star is an unenviable task.

For what it’s worth, the team has been competitive, despite the noise off-court. Charlotte had 4th-quarter leads in the final two minutes against Milwaukee, Toronto, and Atlanta. While each of those games ended in losses, the team’s inspired play should be promising news to a Hornets fan base that hasn’t seen a playoff game since 2016.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Whenever I’m digging through stats, I’ll occasionally come across some numbers that are good, but not great. Oftentimes, the difference between ‘good’ and ‘great’ stats is one number/line/game that throws off the numbers. Kudos to NBACentral for highlighting Kon Knueppel’s solid play of late while also adding an asterisk that many people — stats geeks and NBA teams alike — will likely add in their own analyses.

Kon Knueppel over his last 6 games:

28 PTS – 6 REB – 7 3PM
26 PTS – 1 REB – 6 3PM
28 PTS – 8 REB – 7 AST
24 PTS – 7 REB – 3 STL
*********It’s OKC********
32 PTS – 3 REB – 3 AST

(Via @realapp ) pic.twitter.com/LI0RUoT8yH

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 24, 2025

Prediction

The Raptors benefit from not having a Black Friday game because combined with the entire NBA having American Thanksgiving off and the Hornets hosting the Bulls the night before, Toronto enters this game with a rest advantage of 2 days. This game follows the same guiding principle as the previous game against Indiana: take care of business.

Toronto has done an excellent job in making game-to-game adjustments. Heading into this week’s games, the Raptors have won by 28 against Milwaukee, 12 against Atlanta, 13 against Cleveland, and 9 against Philadelphia…..each in the second time facing them. The Raptors should do the same to a Hornets squad that’s a little off-kilter. Toronto beats Charlotte and covers the -7.5 spread.

November 30 @ New York Knicks

With all due respect to the Detroit Pistons, the path to the NBA Finals for Eastern Conference teams is through Cleveland and New York. The Raptors have already opened a lot of eyes by winning (sweeping?) the season series with the Cavaliers. The barometer of success now shifts to Madison Square Garden.

Mike Brown has taken over Tom Thibodeau’s position as Head Coach and, unsurprisingly, the Knicks have looked different this year. The offense, though, looks similar under Brown. New York is still a top-5 offense that limits turnovers, crashes the offensive glass with success, and is led by the dynamic duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The concern is on the defensive end. Brown is in his 11th season as a Head Coach in the NBA. In the previous 10 seasons, his teams have only generated a top-10 defense in two of those campaigns (both headlined by LeBron James in Cleveland). The Knicks have dropped from 12th to 18th in points allowed per possession and are allowing the 5th-worst eFG% in the league.

With Thibodeau out of the picture, minutes distribution has unsurprisingly leveled out. Last season, each of the starters averaged at least 35 minutes per game. Under Brown, only Mikal Bridges (35.3) reaches that threshold. With a deep playoff run expected from this team, it’s no surprise that playing time is being distributed across the roster.

The only players so far this season with A or A+ grades among 2024-25 players in each of our 3PT Shooting, Midrange, Finishing, and Playmaking Talent metrics:

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander
Jalen Brunson
Tyrese Maxey
Austin Reaves pic.twitter.com/Sr2tOVVkEc

— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) November 22, 2025

Fun fact that may only interest me

Let’s play my favourite game: Guess That Team!

Team A: Offensive Rating of 123.0 (1st in the NBA), Defensive Rating of 106.4 (2nd), and Net Rating of 16.7 (1st)

Team B: Offensive Rating of 112.8 (23rd in the NBA), Defensive Rating of 120.9 (27th), and Net Rating of -8.0 (25th)

Team A is the New York Knicks with OG Anunoby in the lineup. Team B is the New York Knicks without Anunoby in the lineup.

Prediction

While Toronto had a significant rest advantage against Charlotte, they will have to flight to New York and play a rested Knicks squad who don’t play on Saturday. This, my friends, is called a scheduled loss.

Don’t get me a wrong. The Raptors are playing like the basketball version of the Toronto Blue Jays, with the power of friendship aiding the team’s hot streak in November. It would not surprise me if Toronto found a way to beat their Atlantic Division rival that’s missing its best defensive player.

But I’ll hedge my bets and predict that New York wins and covers the -4.5 spread.

Last week: 2-2

Season record: 12-5

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-analysis/48646/the-rap-up-rounding-into-form

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Fresh off their 7th straight win, the Toronto Raptors will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back at home. Cleveland is in the same situation, having hosted the Clippers on Sunday but has the disadvantage of travelling afterwards. Toronto will take that and whatever edge they can to close out the sweep against the Cavaliers. Despite the fact that they’ve already beaten Cleveland twice, the Cavs won’t go away without a fight.

Cleveland currently sits 3rd in the East behind Toronto with a record of 12-6. They perform well against teams they should beat, like Memphis, Washington, and Indiana, but have already lost to New York, Boston, Houston, and Toronto, struggling to measure up to other top teams.

Donovan Mitchell is having another all-NBA calibre year, averaging 30-5-5 on 50% shooting from the field. As always, he will be the first point of attack that Toronto will have to stifle. Absent from their first meeting, he answered with a 31-point performance two weeks later. He struggled shooting from long range in that game, but found plenty of opportunities to get to the line. Toronto will have to find a way to limit his scoring without fouling him and letting him get points with the clock stopped.

The pair of bigs in Mobley and Allen are also a tough matchup, averaging 16 rebounds per game combined. They offer rim protection and defence that pose problems for opposing offences and Toronto will have to navigate around on drives.

The key to both of Toronto’s wins this season have been great 3-point shooting and dominance on the boards. The Raptors shot 43% and 39% from long range in the first two games respectively, with Barrett and Battle shining in the first matchup and Quickley, Mamu, and Gradey carrying in the second.

Their strategy should be the same here. Paint points can be hard to come by against the Cavaliers, who rank 9th in the league for points allowed in the painted area. Toronto’s offence usually relies heavily on this, scoring almost half of their points there, but have found other ways to get ahead when needed.

Another thing the Raptors can look to do in this matchup is limit turnovers. Coughing up the ball 16 times in their first meeting and 13 times in their second is well above their average for the season, and they should look to lower that to limit extra possessions for the Cavs.

Jakob Poeltl will return to the lineup after load management who can help match Cleveland’s size, and Mamu has been a welcome sight as a backup big. RJ’s absence will be felt as he went down with a knee injury last night, but with six players in double figures in their last outing, Toronto’s ball movement will allow them to share the wealth and find whoever is open to score.

Where to Watch

Tune in at 7:00pm ET to catch the action!

Probable Starters

Toronto: Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, Brandon Ingram, Collin Murray-Boyles

Cleveland: Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill

Injury Report

Due to their late game last night, neither team has reported injuries as of yet. Most of the recent absences from games have been rest or day to day injuries, but we can be sure of at least two:

Toronto: RJ Barrett (Out: Knee)

Cleveland: Max Strus (Out: Foot)

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-game-previews/48662/preview-toronto-vs-cleveland

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets

Trying to mount the fourth-longest win streak in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors will travel to North Carolina to take on the Charlotte Hornets. Toronto has a rest advantage entering this matchup, sitting the last two days after going undefeated in NBA Cup Tournament play. Charlotte, on the other hand, toughed out a gruelling game against Chicago last night earning their first win in their last eight games.

Since their last meeting, a mere twelve days ago, Charlotte has fallen to 5-14 on the season, dropping games to teams like Atlanta and Indiana in the process. They’ve been struggling to find an identity, and despite strong performances from LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and their excellent rookie selections in Kon Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner, it hasn’t translated into many wins. Now, Brandon Miller has returned from injury, scoring 18 and 27 in his first two games back. This is a welcome infusion of offence for the Hornets, and so far they’re 1-1 since he’s been back.

It’s still unclear who Toronto will have to plan for tonight, with Charlotte waiting to release their injury report. Having just played last night this isn’t uncommon, and they’ve had a track record this year of finding opportunities to rest their stars, especially when they’re not expecting to win. If that’s the case again tonight, Toronto might see more of their bench, with Sexton, Diabate, and Mann being their next biggest contributors this season. It’s not an automatic win in either case, as the undermanned Hornets were able to rout the Bucks a couple weeks ago without Ball or Miller.

RJ continues to be sidelined the hero of Toronto’s last game against the Hornets, but with a next-man-up mentality, they’re still 2-0 since his knee injury against Brooklyn. Although, the one thing they are missing is his 3-point shooting where he sits at a solid 36% this season.

In Toronto’s last two outings, they struggled from beyond the arc. In Cleveland they shot 28% on 36 attempts, and then followed that up with only 19% on 26 attempts against Indiana, leading to their worst offensive performance of the season so far, finishing with only 97 points. Hopefully this is just a small bump in the road, as long range shots account for almost 30% of their total scoring. If they struggle again tonight, it could be another close game against the Hornets.

Unlike previous years, close games haven’t been as worrying for Raptors fans though as Brandon Ingram has continued to be a hero for Toronto this year. In the clutch, he leads the Raps in points per game and minutes played, proving to be a reliable option in those tight situations. If Charlotte is able to hang around tonight, Toronto will undoubtably look to Ingram to help create a winning play.

Where to Watch​

Tune in at 6 pm ET on TSN to catch the game.

Probable Starters​

Toronto: Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles, Immanuel Quickley

Charlotte: Kon Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges

Injury Report​

Toronto: RJ Barrett (Out: Right knee sprain), Chucky Hepburn (Out: G-League), A.J. Lawson (Out: G-League), Alijah Martin (Out: G-League), Jonathan Mogbo (Out: G-League)

Charlotte: Josh Green (Out: Shoulder), Grant Williams (Out: Knee) for sure, the rest TBD.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/general/48717/preview-toronto-raptors-vs-charlotte-hornets

 

[Toronto Raptors]

What made the Raptors’ win streak snap in Charlotte?

Coming back from a massive deficit, the Charlotte Hornets got the better of the Toronto Raptors after an overtime victory on Saturday night. Despite a 30 point double-double from Scottie Barnes and 10 assists from Immanuel Quickley, some sloppy defence in the fourth quarter and the sheer force of Miles Bridges’ 35 points were enough to keep the Raptors at bay.

With the Raps winning the tip-off, Immanuel Quickley set the tone of the game with a three-point play. Toronto opened the first quarter 7-0, and seemed able to score at will. The Raptors moved the ball well, able to both score in the paint and on the perimeter, getting the ball to the open man, with Brandon Ingram going on a tear. Colin Murray Boyles brought hustle off the bench, setting up an interior presence, fighting for boards and loose balls, showcasing real grit. Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel was able to find some good opportunities from long range, and Charlotte was able to go on a 7-0 run before Toronto regained control over the game by the end.

Scottie scored well in the interior off the fast break while being guarded by Bridges, as the Raptors continued to maintain a comfortable lead of around ten points. The bench was showcasing their skills, with Boyles continuing to show off his passing and maintaining an interior presence, while Sandro Mamukelashvili got some nice buckets. By the end of the second, the Hornets had begun digging their way out of the lead the Raptors had created, with many thanks to Colin Sexton’s scoring off the bench, as the Hornets brought the game to within six, 58-52 Raptors. LaMelo Ball, Hornets star, sat out much of the first half. leaving the direction of the game up to his teammates

Ball would announced his presence with a bucket to start off the third. The Raptors showed off their unselfishness in a passing clinic ending with a Ja’Kobe Walter 3, bringing the score 67-56 Raptors. Off of some Brandon Miller free throws, the lead was cut to 3, and after another layup from Miller, cut to one, before Quickley got the Raps some breathing room with a three pointer. Ingram had been putting on a show all night from the midrange, proving yet again why his acquisition was more than worth the pieces the Raptors sent to NOLA. Having someone who’s shifty, and who can score at will when necessary, is still worth so much in the modern game. As the third came to a close, the Raptors picked up the scoring pace, and with a minute left on the clock, were up 7 points, keeping the Hornets from scoring.

As he did at the beginning of the contest, Quickley opened the fourth stanza of the game with a three pointer, bringing the Raptors lead back to double digits. Scottie Barnes remained an interior force, scoring with jump hooks and layups to keep his team ahead. With a little more than six minutes left in the half, Mamushaveli dropped in a right handed finish to extend the lead past 10 points, continuing this war of attrition over the double digit lead. As the clock wound down to four minutes, Miles Bridge continued to fight to keep Charlotte in the game, hitting twenty three points as he finished through contact. With three minutes left, the Raptors maintained a their five point lead, cut to two on a three from Colin Sexton, capping off a 10-0 run for the Hornets. An Immanuel Quickley floater was not counted, keeping the Raptors lead at two as the seconds ticked down. With a minute left, a Sion James bucket tied the game at 100 a piece.

As the fourth quarter ground to a close, a Miles Bridges’ free throw brought the game to within one point, before an intentional foul on Scottie Barnes brought the score to 104-101 with 12 seconds remaining. With Brandon Ingram in front of him, hands by his side, rookie Kon Knueppel let a three fly to tie the game once more. Ingram couldn’t get a final midrange shot to go, bringing the game to overtime.

Scottie started off the last period with a left handed lay, before Bridges dug into his bag and baited for a foul to extend the lead even further, 112-108. With the lead lost, Toronto would not see it again, as Charlotte dropped in point after point, never allowing Toronto the chance to regain their position. With that, Toronto’s hot streak was broken, sending the team limping north to the Big Apple to face off against the New York Knicks on Sunday.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-n...iles-bridges-scottie-barnes-immanuel-quickley

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Raptors lose second in a row to Knicks in preview of NBA Cup

The New York Knicks had an emphatic win against their Atlantic Division opponents on Sunday night, as the Toronto Raptors, down two starters, got an uncomfortable first meeting against their NBA Cup opponents. The Knicks rode the momentum of unstoppable scoring in the first quarter to a victory against the Raps, who despite a strong comeback, were never able to equalize or get ahead of their opponents.

The Knicks began the game by feasting on the perimeter. Miles McBride hit four-threes in the opening quarter. Raptors defence looked a little loose while the Knicks suffocated Toronto. Ingram’s shot wasn’t falling, and as Karl Anthony-Towns muscled his way into the paint through the Raptors double, things looked awkward for the Raps. Off of a time-out, Jamal Shead came into the game, and immediately made his presence known with a drive for two. The Raptors had a great possession, showcasing great ball movement and offensive rebounding with Colin Murray-Boyles taking great care of the ball. Nevertheless, the Knicks’ offence was absolutely overwhelming, shooting at will, and making contested threes as easily as they would open layups. The final Raptors possession of the quarter was punctuated by a CMB slam off a Jamal Shead assist, a small consolation for the Raptors who limped into the second quarter down 19.

CMB did the same thing to start off the second quarter, jamming it home with authority, despite the Knicks’ continued scoring downpour. A trifecta of threes from Scottie Barnes brought the lead to within 15 points, as the big forward dropped in buckets from long range to keep Toronto in the game. Toronto found its footing as CMB pulled in boards, and Immanuel Quickley dropped in buckets from range, bringing the difference to 10 points. Off a Sandro Mamukelashvili free throw, the lead was finally brought down to single digits as the Knicks cooled off and Toronto heated up. CMB continued to be a force in the interior, drawing in rebounds like a black hole, and would finish the game with 8. Toronto and New York played tug-of-war over the lead’s single or double digit status. On Toronto’s last possession, Immanuel Quickley bounce pass to an open Scottie Barnes gave him a two-handed jam to send the Raptors into the half down only seven, an early rout prevented.

Ingram started off the third with a nice layup, as the Knicks started to go to Towns in the painted area, bullying his way to points, with New York no longer as successful from three. Like his teammate in the last quarter, Immanuel Quickley dropped in three threes in quick succession. Finally, off an Ochai Agbaji tip-in, the Knicks lead was cut to a single possession for the first time in many minutes, 67-70. Little by little, the Knicks clawed their way back to a comfortable lead, as a pair of Josh Hart threes sealed the deal, bringing the score to 80-68, Knicks. The boys from Villanova continued to carve out a larger lead, as Hart and Mikal Bridges played a duet on the court, bringing in buckets with ease. Hart would finish the game with a double double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. With less than a minute left, CMB continued to earn his minutes, dropping in two twos in quick succession for his tenth point of the outing. The Raptors would be down 16 heading into the fourth quarter.

A missed lob from Scottie Barnes followed by a Jordan Clarkson dunk was an ugly way to begin the game’s final period, as Brandon Ingram’s three point shooting kept the New York lead from staying at 20 points for long. Ingram led the team in turnovers, with only 14 points, less than five minutes remaining in the contest. The Raptors continued their impotence, unable to get their offence going as the Knicks fought their way back to a twenty point lead. Raptors pulled their starters for garbage time, the gains of the second quarter unrealized. Neither team scored much towards the end, as the game played itself out, the outcome realized long before, a 116-94 victory for the Knicks. New York has set the tone of the season series, which will be duked out again on the 9th of December as a part of the NBA Cup.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...s-lose-to-knicks-scottie-barnes-josh-hart-cmb

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Will the Raptors prioritize momentum or chess match in NBA Cup preview?

The Toronto Raptors conclude the second night of a back-to-back in a fun matchup against the New York Knicks on Sunday.

While their mini two-game road trip got off to a disappointing start with a 118-111 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, everyone will quickly move on if the Raptors can bounce back in this NBA Cup quarterfinal sneak peek.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST on TSN.

This is a uniquely fun situation, primarily because this will be the first meeting between the Raptors and the Knicks this season. With their single-game elimination NBA Cup game slated for Dec. 9, it’ll be fascinating to see how each team approaches the contest.

Both the Raptors and Knicks are likely to do whatever it takes to win, especially in a convoluted Eastern Conference. However, there’s an undeniable amount of strategic common sense for both coaching staffs to hold certain wrinkles back or keep specific counters in reserve.

Outside of the looming NBA Cup narrative, here are three more storylines to consider.

The Brandon Ingram​

Scottie Barnes may be the most dynamic player on the roster, but Brandon Ingram holds the key to how far this year’s team can go. It begins and ends with what Ingram can do on the offensive end. Ingram is “gameplan-proof”. But when he goes cold as he did in the second half against the Hornets, it puts the Raptors in a precarious position.

Things get murkier when Ingram is attempting close to 30 shots in those games. Ingram is averaging 25.3 shots in the last three games. Before that, he was averaging 15.4 shots per contest. The increase coincides with RJ Barrett’s knee injury. Ingram averaged 17.6 attempts while with the New Orleans Pelicans, with his largest volume (18.6) coming during the 2022-23 season.

The shooting slump in Charlotte may end up being a blip on the radar, but while Barrett remains out, it’s vital that Ingram either maintains his efficiency or avoids doing too much to make up for when he’s having an off-night.

We’re close to seeing a mix somewhere on social media of Ingram getting stripped from his blindside near the free-throw line.

Start spreading the news​

The Knicks sit just one game back of the Raptors and it’s primarily because they’ve bookended the month of November with stellar play. After beginning the month as winners of five straight games, the Knicks have their eyes set on concluding November with four consecutive victories.

Jalen Brunson is averaging 32.3 points in their last three victories, which includes a 129-101 win over the Hornets on Nov. 26. The usual suspects like Karl Anthony-Towns and Mikal Bridges deserve the Raptors’ attention on defence, but it’s Josh Hart and Miles McBridge that may surprise fans who haven’t been paying attention to the Knicks.

Hart is averaging a near triple-double over the last three games, with 16 points, 11.6 rebounds, and seven assists. He’s also chipping in 2.6 steals per game during this stretch. McBride is averaging 19 points on 10-of-12 shooting from three over the last two games.

The Knicks are a deep and dynamic bunch right now, and that’s without OG Anunoby.

Stranger Things Happen on Defence in the Clutch​

While fully understanding that it was a single-game sample size, it’s worth pointing out that the Hornets targeted Immanuel Quickley during the late stages of their win. The Hornets attacked Quickley twice in the final two minutes of regulation, but it got worse in overtime.

Charlotte hunted Quickley on the first three possessions of the extra frame. Even with Barnes pre-switching to get in the pick-and-roll on the second possession of overtime, the Hornets ditched their top-of-the-arc action and went straight to where Quickley was.

When the Raptors deployed their typically successful duo of Quickley and Jamal Shead, the Hornets countered by involving both of them in screening actions. The Hornets may just be a poor matchup for the Raptors in these situations because they have strong non-big post-up options like Collin Sexton and Miles Bridges.

It’ll be fun to watch how the Raptors solve this puzzle over the course of the season, especially as teams find innovative ways to keep Barnes away from the action.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-g...ze-momentum-or-chess-match-in-nba-cup-preview

 

[Toronto Raptors]

The Rap-Up: Managing adversity and expectations

Welcome to the second quarter of the season!

Blowing the lead in Charlotte on Saturday, then getting blown out in New York on Sunday should not change your opinion on how the Raptors performed over the first 21 games. By winning 2 of every 3 games and getting the 14th victory two months (or 27 games) earlier than last year, Toronto’s season has been an overwhelming success so far.

In winning nine games in a row, and sweeping the season series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors put the Eastern Conference on notice that they plan on playing games past April.

Now that they’ve exceeded expectations, the Raptors face a new challenge as they embark on the second quarter of the season: managing those expectations. Toronto has done a great job of taking care of business. Whether it’s defeating lottery-bound teams like Washington, Brooklyn, and Indiana, they’ve also capitalized on injury-depleted teams like Cleveland, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.

Toronto can no longer catch teams by surprise. With 4 hungry opponents coming to town, will the Raptors be able to get back to their winning ways?

Now this…is a work of art pic.twitter.com/0MgPvsp4VY

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 30, 2025

December 2 vs. Portland Trailblazers

As far as the first quarter of the season goes, there may not be any team that’s shocked more fans than the Portland Trailblazers. With all due respect to the Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, and even these Toronto Raptors, not a single team in the NBA can hold a light to Portland’s biggest accomplishment so far: the Trailblazers are the only team to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder!

In fact, Portland has also defeated the Warriors (twice), Lakers, and Nuggets already this year. Giant slayers, indeed!

The Trailblazers entered the season with low expectations of making any noise in the West, despite having a very loud offseason. It started with drafting Cedric Coward (a Rookie of the Year candidate) to Memphis for a future first, two future seconds, and a pick they used on Hansen Yang (to many people’s surprise). Shortly after, Portland bought out DeAndre Ayton’s contract, who would then sign with the Lakers. Portland continued to turn heads, this time by trading Anfernee Simons’ expiring contract for 3 seasons of Jrue Holiday. Finally, the Blazers found themselves on the other side of a contract buyout and bringing back Damian Lillard after Milwaukee cut him loose.

After losing its season opener at home to Minnesota, the Blazers found themselves leading the news again. Head Coach, Chauncey Billups was arrested for allegedly taking part in illegal poker operations. In a time when everything old is new again, I still blown away that the term “Jailblazers” has somehow returned.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Two seasons ago, there were only 4 players that averaged at least 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

• Nikola Jokic
• Luka Doncic
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• LeBron James

Last season, there were only 4 players that averaged at least 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

• Nikola Jokic
• Luka Doncic
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Jayson Tatum

This season, there are only 4 players that average at least 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

• Nikola Jokic
• Luka Doncic
• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Deni Avdija

Deni Avdija tonight became the second player in NBA history to score 30+ PTS in each of his first four career triple-doubles.

31 PTS
19 REB
10 AST pic.twitter.com/dllErbbfZN

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) December 1, 2025

Prediction

Another reason for Portland’s success — as far as 8-12 records go — is Jerami Grant. For the first time since he was with the Thunder in 2018, Grant is no longer a starter. Donovan Clingan has taken over Ayton’s vacancy at Center. Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, and Avdija have all remained starters. So, Grant was bumped to make room for Holiday. Jerami has responded with renewed energy and purpose. He leads all reserves in scoring with 19.1 points per game and is one of the early favourites to claim the Sixth Man of the Year award.

While Portland has an impressive resume of victories this season, they’ve come down to Earth lately. The Blazers have lost 7 of its last 9 games and own the 4th-worst offense over the last two weeks. This game in Toronto is the first of a five-game road trip — already Portland’s second road trip of five games! The Raptors get back on the winning track and cover the -6.5 spread.

December 4 vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Before the season started, I was a guest on a Lakers podcast, Lakers Fast Break, to preview the Toronto Raptors. To wrap up the show, and to appease the Lakers-heavy audience, the host, Gerald Glassford asked for my thoughts on the Lakers. With LeBron James missing the beginning of the season, I said the Lakers shouldn’t worry too much if they start slow, because all that matters is that LeBron, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves are healthy for a playoff run and a top-3 seed.

After 19 games, I was surprisingly correct about the ranking — Los Angeles is 15-4 and currently 2nd to OKC. However, there was no slow start because, surprise, the Lakers still have Luka!

Doncic leads the league in scoring with 35.1 points per game, ranks 4th in assists with 9.2 per game, and edges out DeAndre Ayton (8.7-8.6) and leads the team in rebounds. The Robin to Luka’s Batman has NOT been LeBron, but Austin Reaves!

Reaves is 9th in points (28.8), 12th in assists (6.8), and 8th in true shooting percentage (68.1%). Austin is one of only two guards in the top 10 in true shooting percentage — a category typically dominated by bigs — with the other guard, AJ Green, owning a usage percent (13%) more than half the amount of Reaves’ (28.5%).

I’m struggling to think of a better duo in the NBA than Luka and Austin. Possibly because a better duo doesn’t exist. Add in LeBron freaking James, who is still spry, regardless of age or wear and tear, and you can easily see why Lakers fans are in good spirits.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 6 of the 2025-26 season (Nov. 24-30). pic.twitter.com/HMc4gWmWbR

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 1, 2025

Fun fact that may only interest me

For the majority of this column’s existence, LeBron James has been a Laker, which means the Raptors only face him twice a year. I’m not going to scan through 7 years of my archive but it’s probably fair to assume that whenever the Raptors faces the Lakers, this section is occupied by an incredulous LeBron stat.

Today is slightly different, as James’ scoring records have been trending lately.

Cooper Flagg recently surpassed LeBron as they youngest player in NBA history to score 35 points in a game. That seemed like a record that could stand the test of time since high-school-to-NBA leaps were banned.

Giannis Antetokounmpo recently scored his 21,000th point. He then boldly predicted that he could break LeBron’s all-time scoring record in “four, five years.” Maybe the comma was a mistake and he meant “four-five years” because scoring 21,251 more points over the next five seasons means Giannis would have to score 51.7 points per game (while also playing all 82 games in each of the seasons).

Prediction

This is a bad matchup for Toronto. Nobody gets to the free throw line more than the Lakers. Luka (1st) and Austin (3rd) make more free throws per game than anyone in the league. The Raptors, while they’ve toned down their defensive ball pressure of late, are still a bottom-10 team in foul calls. Scottie Barnes may be on his way to his first All-Defense selection, but even he won’t have an answer for Luka. Meanwhile, Reaves will have his way with Immanuel Quickley or RJ Barrett. Lakers win and cover the +2.5 spread.

December 5 vs Charlotte Hornets

The second game of a back-to-back, as well as the final game of a three-games-in-four-nights stretch is typically the most difficult. It certainly doesn’t help that the Raptors have to face the pesky Hornets.

Before the draft lottery, I was hoping, obviously, for Toronto to land Cooper Flagg. Assuming that wasn’t going to happen — the Raptors only win draft lotteries when the draft class sucks — my second wish was to move up and snag Kon Knueppel. At first, it was the thought of having a Dick-Knueppel duo that would break the internet. But as I learned more about each of the prospects, Knueppel really stood out as the future Klay Thompson that Gradey Dick was promised.

This is the third time these teams are playing each other in under three weeks. It’s basically a playoff series. As with any playoff matchup, you get comfortable with the opponents’ players and lineups. One thing I’ve learned is that Moussa Diabate gives my Reggie Evans vibes. I love him.

One thing I have not learned, only solidified what I already believed: I dislike Miles Bridges.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Charlotte and Toronto have always played each other tough. While the Hornets owned the the matchup in the first decade of the Raptors’ existence, it’s been mostly Toronto for the last decade. Charlotte has won the season series once over the last ten seasons against the Raptors…….the championship season, when Jeremy Lamb the Hornets took 2 of 3 from Toronto.

#whoremembers pic.twitter.com/9gpvVKtpNE

— RapsShowYo (@RapsShowYo) November 30, 2025

Prediction

For the second consecutive game, the Raptors are at a rest disadvantage. RJ Barrett may or may not be back. Since returning from his back injury, Jakob Poeltl has sat out one of the games in each of Toronto’s 3 back-to-backs. It’s probably safe to assume Jak will play the Lakers and sit against the Hornets.

Toronto should have taken care of business in Charlotte last Saturday. They won’t make that mistake again. The Raptors win and cover the -5.5 spread.

December 7 vs Boston Celtics

The Celtics are annoying.

Granted, that’s a statement Raptors fans could probably state every time Boston comes to town. But this year’s Celtics a different kind of annoying.

When Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon during last season’s playoffs — followed by the salary-clearing trades of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — the message seemed pretty clear from Boston’s front office: sit this season out and come back stronger in 2026-27.

However — there always seems to be a ‘however’ when the Celtics are the topic of discussion — Boston still has a Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, an All-Defense guard, Derrick White, one of the best coaches in the league, Joe Mazzulla (top-4 in Coach of the Year voting, twice), and the greatest (ahem, only) Portuguese player of all time, Neemias Queta.

They’ve essentially defeated the teams they were supposed to (Wizards, Pelicans, Nets, Grizzlies, Clippers), while maintaining the same identity of launching triples (leading the league in non-corner threes frequency for a third consecutive season).

Fun fact that may only interest me

This is a Raptors-Celtics game, but this section is dedicated to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The preseason favourite to sit atop the East alongside New York has been hit with injuries and currently a pedestrian (for them) 12-9.

Five of Cleveland’s nine losses have come at the hands of the Raptors and Celtics. Cleveland’s worst margins of defeats:

• Loss by 20 to Boston
• Loss by 13 to Toronto
• Loss by 11 to Toronto
• Loss by 11 to Toronto (another one)

Prediction

When the calendar flipped from 2021 to 2022, the Trailblazers moved Anfernee Simons into the starting lineup. He had only started 8 of the first 184 games of his career. From then on, Simons started 205 consecutive games he played in. That streak came to an end when he slipped on a Celtics uniform. The 7-year veteran has come off the bench for each of the 20 games he’s played for Boston……and has performed admirably! His minutes, usage, and overall numbers have generally decreased, but he’s making more out of his time on the floor. Simons’ three-point and field goal percentages are above his career averages, while his Win Shares per 48 are also a career-best. He has essentially replaced Peyton Pritchard (who has replaced Holiday in the starting lineup) as the annoying Celtics guard to come off the bench.

The Boston reserve who will not annoy the Scotiabank Arena crowd is Chris Boucher. Slimm Duck will make his regular season return to Toronto. Unfortunately for viewers at home, this game is not being broadcast on TSN, which means fans will not hear Jack Armstrong scream, “Booonnnnjooouuuuuuuurrrrr!!”

Covering the Raps, I've gotten to watch/tell some of the most remarkable success stories in sports but none were more unlikely than Chris Boucher's. He wrote about his incredible journey in great detail for @PlayersTribune & it's definitely worth your time https://t.co/IBEEZRMfTB

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) October 10, 2025

A team with Boston’s offensive profile should give Toronto fits. The Celtics win and cover the +2.5 spread.

Last week: 2-2

Season record: 14-7

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-a...s-december-1-7-blazers-lakers-hornets-celtics

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Scottie Barnes is a bonafide NBA All-Star

It’s the beginning of a week-plus long home stand for the Toronto Raptors, as they welcomed the Portland Trail Blazers to Scotiabank Arena Tuesday night. After losing in back-to-back games against Charlotte and New York on the road this weekend, the Raptors got the news that Scottie Barnes was the Eastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month for October/November. Darko Rajakovic was also nominated for Coach of the Month, but lost to Detroit’s JB Bickerstaff.

Regardless of those nods, it was time to get to work and kick off a condensed week of games with a good start. While Portland were surely a formidable opponent, their injury luck hasn’t been the best this season. A win tonight was necessary to stop the bleeding from the losses of the weekend and start this stretch with confidence.

i dont even know what else to say besides that scottie barnes is playing amazing every time out on both ends. putting it all together in year five.

— William Lou (@william_lou) December 3, 2025

With the winning streak now behind us (for now?), the Raptors will have a challenging stretch of games ahead of them. Back-to-backs, star players, West Coast teams, and the NBA Cup single elimination round. That’s okay, though; part of growing as a team is learning how to face the adversity that is inevitable in the NBA.

Darko’s Coach of the Month nomination relates back to this, too, given that he is such a great coach to lead a developing team through growth. It’s why he was hired, and it’s why he’s seeing a lot of progress this season. Gone are the tanking days, and now Darko can lead this team to the best of his ability to some success this season.

When Darko was asked about his Coach of the Month nomination before the game against Portland, he didn’t really have much to say about it, but noted that he doesn’t really have many feelings about it. The team is just focused on “getting 1% better every day,” as he put it. That was also the message during their nine-game winning streak — don’t lose focus, don’t let ego (from these recognitions) get in the way of the real work. It’s that humble and connected team culture that is being talked about around the league by guys like Kendrick Perkins and others. Darko doesn’t let anyone get too inflated, but also instills confidence in pride in them as well. Immanuel Quickley said it best after the game, this team thrives on “staying even-keeled.”

A big reason why the Raptors faltered over the weekend is because of RJ Barrett’s absence from the lineup. The Canadian is averaging nearly 20 points a game for the team and brings a ton of physical offence and efficiency to his role. His importance had been emphasized in his absence as he recovers from a minor knee injury and hopes to return during this home stand.

Yet, that means the Raptors are down a starter, and while their top replacements are great defensively, it’s hard to replace that offensive impact.

That’s only hindered the Raptors some of the time over the past week. On Saturday, it was their inability to get anything going in overtime, and on Sunday, they were just overpowered by the Knicks.

Tuesday night’s game was more of an even contest, with the lead flip-flopping more. The Raptors were able to recover from a huge discrepancy in three-point shooting to start the game, and while they definitely let Portland continue to come back, they always recovered. It was easier for them to maintain a 15-point lead in the second half, with their shooting recovered and with Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes both scoring 20+ points in the third. Ultimately it came down to a clutch game situation for the Raptors… again. Feels like a lot of those lately, but the Raptors have a winning record in these situations this season, 7-3.

Scottie hitting every shot, IQ flying around screens for 3s, Jak finishing reverse layups. Life is good in the third quarter.

— William Lou (@william_lou) December 3, 2025

Scottie Barnes, in particular, was proving he earned a league-wide nod this week with his contributions on the court. Barnes has been playing at an All-Star level this season, averaging 19.9 points per game with 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 stocks per game.

“I’ve been guarding the best player [on opposing teams] since middle school,” Barnes told the media on Tuesday.

It was Barnes and Quickley who continued to show up offensively for the Raptors, especially when Ingram sat for a lot of the 4th quarter after rolling his ankle. Despite another clutch game situation for the Raptors, they were able to get the win 121-118 over Portland.

On a day in which Scottie Barnes finally got some long overdue league-wide recognition for his work on D, he was pretty damn special on the other end of the floor.

28 points on 18 shots, 7 rebounds, 7 assists & a +18. Raptors were -15 without him. No other starter better than +7

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 3, 2025

Barnes scored 28 points in the win shooting 10-18 from the field and 3-7 from three, with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. He does everything for this team, and the way he is putting together his leadership on and off the court in his 5th year in the NBA is pushing this team to new heights. If the Raptors keep winning like they are, now with a record of 14-7 on the season, Scottie should already be a lock for an All-Star spot.

“This was a big time win for us, we really needed it,” Barnes said in his post game media session.

The Toronto Raptors play again this Thursday when they welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to Scotiabank Arena.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...-raptors-scottie-barnes-all-star-win-portland

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Can Raptors build on reputation as dominant home team?

The Toronto Raptors return to the Scotiabank Arena for the start of a five-game homestand with a matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on TSN.

A combination of poor shooting and defensive mishaps resulted in the Raptors dropping their last two games against the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets. It’s the first time Toronto has dropped consecutive games since Oct. 24-29.

Outside of this contest being the first meeting between the Raptors and the Trail Blazers this season, here are three more storylines to consider:

Home for the holidays​

With the Raptors hosting an NBA Cup game against the Knicks on Dec. 9, the upcoming stretch will be the first of three five-game homestands this season. The Raptors are 7-2 at home this year. Only four teams (three in the Eastern Conference) have played fewer home games than Toronto this season.

At 7-2, the Raptors have the sixth-best home record in the NBA and the third-best in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors haven’t finished with a winning home record since the 2022-23 season, during which they went 27-14 on home soil.

The Raptors’ home and away splits are fairly comparable despite the difference in the home-win loss columns. If there’s one noticeable thing the Raptors do better in front of their fans, it’s shooting the three-ball. On their home court, the Raptors are shooting 39.7 per cent on 31.9 attempts per game. On the road, the efficiency drops to 33.9 per cent on 32.3 attempts.

Blazers look fun​

For the second straight year, Portland is 8-12 through the first 20 games of the season. While the Trail Blazers are 3-7 in their last ten games, this stretch included opponents in the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There’s enough competitive grit on the roster to suggest their identity lies somewhere in between the slump they’re in now and the team that started 4-2.

Their resurgence begins with Deni Avdija. In his second full season with the Blazers since being traded by the Washington Wizards, Avdija is an early candidate for the Most Improved Player award. Avdija finished with 31 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Thunder’s elite defence in their last game on Nov. 30. It was his second triple-double of the year, which already matches his total from last season. Avdija is putting up career-highs in points (25.8), assists (5.8), rebounds (7.1), field goal percentage (47.6), and three-point percentage (37.8).

After only playing 67 games in his rookie season last year, centre Donovan Clingan had his perfect season snapped when he missed his first game against the Thunder. Now that he’s starting every night, the seven-foot-two big sophomore is figuring out the league. Clingan is one of nine players currently averaging a double-double.

The Austrian hammer​

Clingan is dealing with an illness that appears to be spreading through the NBA, but if he is available, the Raptors will need to check their own injury report. Jakob Poeltl missed the previous game against the Knicks due to load management for his back injury. Anything back or knee-related isn’t ideal for centres, especially for a Raptors team that doesn’t have true big man depth behind Poeltl.

The Raptors are 3-3 without Poeltl and look considerably outmatched against teams with serviceable bigs. Poeltl’s absence takes Scottie Barnes away from what he does best schematically on the defensive end. It also forces Barnes to exert energy and foul capital on the opposing big man.

The Raptors are also 7-0 when Poeltl scores at least 10 points.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-g...ors-build-on-reputation-as-dominant-home-team

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Nitpicking the Toronto Raptors Ahead of Matchup With Los Angeles Lakers

The Toronto Raptors play game two of a five-game homestand against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on Sportsnet.

With over a quarter of the season in the books, the Raptors are 15-7 and second in the Eastern Conference, primarily due to an eight-game home winning streak. Despite the Raptors exceeding nearly everyone’s expectations, there’s sensibility in critiquing the team during their recent run of success.

Outside of Luka Doncic missing the game due to personal reasons, here are three more storylines to consider in the upcoming matchup.

The Offence is a Work in Progress​

The Raptors rank tenth in offensive rating but the offence feels uninspiring, particularly during the most important stretches of games. Toronto has been outscored in the fourth quarter in its last five consecutive contests. Lately, the team looks stagnant on offence, especially as they try to get the ball to Brandon Ingram in his preferred spot in the left corner. Teams have recently shaded coverage from various areas, and it’s often resulted in the Raptors resorting to a ‘break-glass-in-case-of-emergency” type of scramble within less than 10 seconds on the shot clock.

RJ Barrett is still dealing with a right knee sprain, which means the Raptors’ auxiliary options must continue to operate with little room for error. The team was fortunate that Gradey Dick finally broke out of his slump with 14 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 2. It was Dick’s first double-digit scoring game since Nov. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets. The Raptors have to get production from one of Dick or Ja’Kobe Walter until Barrett returns.

Since Barrett went down, Ingram is also shooting 43.9 per cent from the field and 35.7 per cent from three. After averaging a whopping 26.3 shots in the first three games without Barrett, Ingram has reverted to 14 shots per game. There are times when Ingram has looked passive, but defences have done a good job of keeping him out of actions. With teams slowing the Raptors down, they must grow comfortable with playing in a half-court game in preparation for a potential playoff run.

Hollywood North​

Unfortunately, Canadian basketball fans won’t get to see Doncic in the Lakers’ only visit north of the border this year. But for the Raptors defence, it couldn’t have played out any better. Doncic is averaging 35.3 points (career-high), 8.9 rebounds, and 8.9 assists to go with 1.6 steals. His 13 double-doubles currently put him on pace to break his career-best total of 49.

Without Doncic, the Lakers are a tricky team to place. Austin Reaves becomes their best player. The fifth-year guard is having a career year, averaging 28.1 points on 51.9 per cent shooting. Lebron James looks like he’s still easing his way into game shape, but he’s always prone to turning back the clock against the Raptors.

With Jakob Poeltl sitting the game out, it’s DeAndre Ayton who could end up being the matchup’s x-factor. The Lakers are 8-0 when Ayton finishes with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ayton has been recently dealing with a knee ailment.

The League is Taking Notice​

In his fifth season, Scottie Barnes has seemingly put everything together. He’s moving differently than anyone else on the court. It almost always looks like he’s one step ahead of the action.

Barnes is averaging 20.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He’s also notching 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks. But the most impressive element of Barnes’ growth has been his outside shooting. Barnes is shooting a career-high 41.6 per cent on 3.5 three-point attempts. His previous best was 34.1 per cent on 4.9 attempts during the 2023-24 season. He was named an all-star that year. It’s also encouraging that many of his attempts are coming from the top of the arc rather than the corners. If he continues to shoot anywhere near this level of efficiency, he’ll become one of the league’s toughest covers, especially due to his playmaking.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-g...tors-ahead-of-matchup-with-los-angeles-lakers

 

[Toronto Raptors]

‘You can’t control winning’ says Raptors coach as they lose to Hornets

“We can’t control winning,” Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said on Friday evening. On a cold December night, the Raptors prepared to play their second game of a back-to-back, their 5th game in seven nights. Last night’s buzzer-beater loss to the LA Lakers still fresh, it was time to let that go and focus on the task ahead, tonight’s game against Charlotte.

It’s one of those weeks where the grind of an 82-game season starts to settle in. Yet, in more of Rajakovic’s words, “exhaustion cannot be an excuse.” The Toronto Raptors could have used a win, as they attempted to get the edge in their season series over the Hornets. It doesn’t matter what happened last night, it doesn’t matter what next week looks like; it was time to focus on the present moment, this game.

That ability to focus on the present is a skill that will take you far in basketball, especially in a season as long as the NBA’s. Especially when you just lost to the Lakers last night, on a LeBron James-assisted buzzer-beater after fighting your way back into the game. As Rajakovic put it, you need to focus on what you can control — it’s a skill that most people need to work on, NBA player or not.

In Darko’s eyes, you can’t control whether you win or lose a basketball game. There’s always going to be factors — like the referee’s calls, or the shot not going in, the opposing team stealing the ball — that his team simply cannot control. If you focus too much on winning instead of focusing on what you can control, like your effort on the court, you’ll get away from the small things that actually do control results.

“If you put winning as your primary objective and goal, then you’re losing focus on details,” Rajakovic said. “You want to have your focus on execution, on preparation, on things that you really control. We control how we’re gonna get involved [in the game].”

Eventually, those small details add up. That’s the “1% every day” mentality that has been the basis of Rajakovic’s coaching philosophy since the moment he stepped into this role.

“You have to be present,” Immanuel Quickley said tonight, “because it’s a process, it’s a journey.”

So, what are the things the Toronto Raptors can control?

The biggest, most obvious one is their effort on defence. That’s something that Scottie Barnes does so, so well. When he’s out there leading the defensive effort, it looks like he sees the game in slow motion. So much so that Barnes is able to direct his lineup like he’s the conductor in his own basketball orchestra.

When he’s playing defence, Barnes focuses on doing whatever he can to help the team in that moment. It’s on instinct — does the team need a body on help side? Where are the holes in their shield? At what precise moment does he need to make the leap to block, so that he has the best chance of stopping the play but avoiding a foul?

“The [raw] talent is there for sure, but talent without work is nothing,” Rajakovic said Friday about Barnes’s defensive IQ. “He’s really diligent with studying the film. Sometimes he fails, but the beauty of Scottie Barnes is that he figures it out for next time.”

That helps when you’re playing a team for the third time this season in December, like the Raptors were the Hornets on Friday night. The first time, the Raptors won in clutch time at home; the second time, the Hornets won in overtime at their own arena. The tiebreaker was either team’s for the taking, and tonight it was Charlotte that took it in a 111-82 blowout to a gassed Raptors team.

"Physically, we were worn down. I'm proud of them, they tried. Not enough in the tank," says Darko.

Says he hopes a day of rest tomorrow will hopefully help. https://t.co/wNtvrTFJ8l

— chelsea leite (@chelsealeite) December 6, 2025

With RJ Barrett still out with his minor knee injury, Ja’Kobe Walter was back in the starting lineup tonight. Jakob Poeltl was back after sitting out last night, and Ochai Agbaji is out due to personal reasons. Despite saying last night that exhaustion could not be used as an excuse, the Raptors looked tired out there tonight. Sure, it’s not an excuse, but it’s definitely one of those uncontrollable factors Darko talked about when you’re playing this many games in a week.

When you’re gassed, it’s hard to get out there and grasp the controllables of a game. You’re not able to jump as high to get a round or be as active on defence. Your shot doesn’t have as much power. It was clear on every front that the Raptors were just running out of steam. The only player who scored more than 20 points in the game was Immanuel Quickley, who (quite randomly to be honest) had his best game of the season with 31 points.

Darko’s words ring more true after a rough night for the Raptors. This game seemed out of their control from the moment they tipped off. Everything from the 10-minute delay due to technical issues inside the arena to the way it felt like clawing up a cliff just to get a shot up.

If you’re going back to that “one game at a time” mentality, this is just a bump in the road. One loss in an 82-game season. Just like they started the day, the Raptors need to wipe this game from memory, rest tomorrow, and reset for Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics. The Raptors are better than their performance tonight, but again, too many things out of their grasp to get the win tonight.

“The only thing we can control is our work,” Darko said after the game. His response to this game is to regroup, rest, and get back to work next week.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...ic-toronto-raptors-charlotte-hornets-nba-game

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets

The Toronto Raptors will be hosting the Charlotte Hornets for their third of four games this season in the midst of a homestand. In the last few weeks, they’ve already faced the Hornets twice, splitting the first two games with each team winning at home.

Charlotte’s record is 6-16, proving how up and (mostly) down their season has been. After managing back-to-back victories, they immediately followed it up with a loss to Brooklyn, one of the worst teams in the League this year. Toronto has had their own share of difficulty recently. Last night, despite double digit performances by seven of the ten players who checked in, a last-second 3-pointer by Rui Hachimura sealed the Raptors fate, now dropping 3 of the last 4 games.

The Hornets will look to capitalize on Toronto’s down turn, especially with a rest advantage. Their injury report is fairly extensive, but some of their personnel are questionable or probable. Depending on who suits up, this game could look very different. Losing Collin Sexton is already disappointing for them, as he played exceptionally well down the stretch in the last outing against Toronto, forcing overtime and helping facilitate scoring in the extra minutes. LaMelo, Miller (when he isn’t injured) and Kalkbrenner have been fixtures, together contributing 46 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists per game. If any or all of them are missing, Charlotte will have to rely on rookie Kon Knueppel to continue to carry the offence and Moussa Diabete to help control the paint on both ends.

The Raptors are going to want this one, probably a little bit more than others. Answering their last loss, and also their loss to the Hornets will be on the agenda. Rather than keeping the score close, as was the case in two of their recent losses, Toronto will look to build a comfortable lead. BI will need to improve his shooting efficiency this time out, shooting less than 50% from the field and going 0-6 from long range last night. As a whole, the Raptors were shooting well, but throwing bricks at that clip, especially in close games can determine the outcome. They’ll have also improve their free-throw shooting. Only 81% is unfortunate, and the four they missed could’ve been the game against the Lakers.

On a more positive note, with the continued absence of RJ Barrett, Ja’Kobe had the opportunity to have one of his best games of the season so far last night. Scoring 17 points on efficient shooting and adding a couple boards and assists as well showed his potential for a bigger role.

Where to Watch​

7:30 pm ET on TSN

Probable Starters​

Toronto: Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Ja’Kobe Walter, Immanuel Quickley

Charlotte: LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabete, Sion James

Injury Report​

Toronto: Not yet submitted.

Charlotte: LaMelo Ball (Probable: Wrist sprain), Pat Connaughton (Out: Calf strain), Josh Green (Out: Shoulder surgery), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Questionable: Ankle contusion), Tre Mann (Questionable: Knee soreness), Brandon Miller (Questionable: Shoulder subluxation), Drew Peterson (Out: G-League), Collin Sexton (Out: Quad strain), Grant Williams (Out: Knee surgery)

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/general/48797/preview-toronto-raptors-vs-charlotte-hornets

 

[Toronto Raptors]

LeBron’s streak ends, but Raptors lose to Lakers by buzzer beater

One of the most interesting games in the Toronto Raptors calendar — LeBron and the LA Lakers in Toronto. It comes at a pretty inconvenient time for the Raptors, honestly. Thursday’s game was their 4th game in 6 nights, the first in their second back-to-back of the week. The Lakers also had a bit of bad luck to overcome, given they were missing Luka Doncic, who is currently in Slovenia for the birth of his second child.

Yet LeBron was playing, which isn’t always the case for the Lakers’ sole trip to Toronto in a season. On Toronto’s injury report, Barrett was joined by Jakob Poeltl, who opted to sit on the bench tonight and play tomorrow, giving his back an extra day to rest.

In a packed week for the Raptors, a game against the 15-5 Lakers isn’t exactly optimal, especially missing Barrett and Poeltl. Barnes can definitely give James a hard time, assisted by the rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, who entered for his first minutes of the game to block the legend on a drive immediately. Still, it wasn’t even halfway through the first quarter before Scottie was noticeably a little gassed, getting back slowly after defensive possessions or staying in the backcourt entirely and letting his teammates operate. That didn’t stop him from a monster stat line tonight, though.

When asked where his innate ability to react quickly on defence comes from, Scottie said after the game that he is always “trying to play defence as best as I can.”

“I’m trying to help the team [on defence] in any way I can,” he said, “whether that’s trying to guard help side, no matter what it is, I just focus on that area.”

“A slight lag” is a good way to describe the way this game felt to start. From both sides, given the fact that the Raptors held LeBron James to just 4 points in the first half. While LeBron wasn’t cooking as usual, the Raptors couldn’t fully capitalize and get ahead, either. Without Doncic, it was up to Austin Reaves to carry the offensive load for the Lakers, while their big man Deandre Ayton, was getting what he wanted under the rim, given Poeltl was absent.

In the end, the Raptors did hold LeBron to just 8 points total in the game, breaking a years-long streak of scoring at least 10 points in every game he’s played in. He didn’t really care when asked about it after the game by the media, especially since his team got the win in the end. While LeBron wasn’t getting the points himself, he did dish it out very well, ending the game with 11 assists, including the one on the game-winning shot.

LeBron James' streak of 1,297 games with 10+ points is over.

He was held to under 10 points for the first time since Jan. 5, 2007.

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) December 5, 2025

In the second half of the game especially, the efforts of second line guys were evident. Players like Ja’Kobe Walter, who has been subbing in for RJ Barrett while he sits with his minor knee injury, or Collin Murray-Boyles, who had maybe his best game of his rookie season, showed out. As for the Lakers, it was an effort largely dominated by Reaves, who ended the game with 44 points on 13 for 21 shooting.

The Raptors pulled out their gritty style of ball in the fourth quarter, with Scottie Barnes going nuclear on both ends of the floor. He continues to just do everything for this team, bordering on a triple-double tonight, missing just one assist to get him there. It was these efforts that allowed the team to go from being down 10+ to nearly sending the game to overtime, and the game ended on a buzzer-beater.

It was yet another clutch game situation for Toronto as well, something they are getting used to. Unfortunately, tonight, it did not go in Toronto’s way, like it has the majority of the time this season. In a thrilling end-of-game situation, the Raptors lost the ball while tied, leading to a wild Lakers possession to win the game 123-120.

An unfortunate loss for Toronto, especially given they have a game tomorrow against Charlotte.

As we like to do here, though, let’s keep in mind some silver linings. Apart from Scottie, it was a good offensive team effort from everyone. Every starter scored in double digits, with Barnes leading at 23 points, Ingram just behind with 20 points, Walter with 17, and Mamukelashvili and Quickley with 13 each. Barnes filled out his stat line with 11 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 stocks, shooting 8 for 16 from the field.

Jamison Battle is another player who has been taking advantage of his minutes on the floor and scored 10 points on 4 for 5 shooting from the field. As the Raptors head into more condensed games to end this week and head into next week, being able to stretch the rotation and depend on guys like Battle will help them in these clutch situations. Hopefully, they end up with more wins than losses, like tonight.

When Darko Rajakovic was asked in his postgame presser about how the team deals with the exhaustion of playing so many times in one week, he responded that they can’t “use that as an excuse.”

“This is the pace of the NBA,” he said, “there’s another game tomorrow. You just have to get ready and go.”

Go, they will, as they play Friday, Sunday, and then Tuesday in their NBA Cup quarterfinal game. Barrett is day-to-day and could make a comeback at any point, which the Raptors would happily accept. Fresh legs at this point would be welcome.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...aptors-la-lakers-scottie-lebron-reaves-streak

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Raptors recover from rough first half, not enough to overcome Celtics

A lot can change game to game in an NBA season. For the Toronto Raptors, there was a bit of a pattern over the weekend. It started when they played the LA Lakers on Thursday night, losing by a buzzer-beater shot assisted by LeBron James. It wasn’t necessarily a bad loss, but after the game, Darko Rajakovic was adamant that exhaustion from a busy schedule cannot be an excuse for not giving 100% effort.

Then came Friday night’s game, less than 24 hours after Darko’s comments about effort and exhaustion. The Raptors looked truly gassed on the court, losing a rough game to the Charlotte Hornets. After that game, Darko was a little less lenient in his stance on being tired. He said after the game that he was proud of his guys for truly trying, but that they were tired. Maybe not an excuse for losing that badly to Charlotte, but definitely a factor in their performance.

The Raptors then had just one day off before they were back for an early afternoon game on Sunday. Darko was asked about exhaustion again, this time as it pertained to Brandon Ingram’s sudden decrease in output. Again, Darko’s stance lightened, saying he was feeling the fatigue, it looked like we were feeling the fatigue (funny but true), and clearly, the team was too. They had to push past it, though.

The team’s philosophy is all about being 1% better every day. When Darko was asked what 1% better looks like today, especially after a game like Friday’s, he talked about the conversations the team had today. There was no time for practice or even a shootaround between games, given that the NBA calls for a mandatory day off after back-to-backs and today’s game was so early. Darko did say that the team had a productive film session on Sunday morning, focusing on the little improvements they could make to improve from their performance on Friday night. What else can you do when RJ Barrett is still out, and there isn’t really time to make other adjustments?

Tired or not, the Raptors’ start against the Celtics was not good. They were not taking care of the basketball, racking up turnovers and not making the shots they were getting. Three of those early turnovers were on Ingram alone, and the Raptors were lucky that those only resulted in 4 points for Boston. It got uglier fast, though, with the Celtics shooting the Raptors out of the building and the Raptors themselves not doing much defensively to stop them.

“I think we got back to ourselves in the second half,” Jamal Shead said after the game”. “That wasn’t us in the first half, no excuses for that.”

Toronto was not able to match the physicality of the Celtics, unable to keep up with their 56.6% shooting from the field in the first half (compared to the Raptors’ 46.7% shooting), and had double the amount of turnovers in the first half as well. Gradey Dick played 7.5 minutes in the first half, making zero shooting attempts in that time despite the Celtics cooking the Raptors on perimeter shooting.

Raptors are being outscored 14-2 on the break and 15-2 on the offensive glass. Celtics have made more 3-pointers (12) than Toronto has attempted (10). pic.twitter.com/UStJHCUY04

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 7, 2025

In the third quarter, the Raptors came back with a little more intensity, bringing the game back within 6 points by the end of the quarter. There was more effort being put into defence, Ingram had recovered from his rough scoring drought from this week, and both Agbaji and Mamukelashvili were providing good contributions off the bench.

Suddenly, it was a game, and the Raptors were switching leads with the Celtics. As usual, Scottie Barnes came alive in the fourth quarter. He’s been playing at an All-Star, hell, even All-NBA level this season, but he just hit another level in the fourth quarter. As Darko put it earlier this year, “Scottie turns into a monster in the fourth quarter.”

Ingram got going in this game as well, better than he has all week. He scored 30 points on 11-for-20 shooting and didn’t get any additional turnovers in the second half.

"Some days I just want to be at the gym, but I also know I have to take care of my body. It varies, but it's more cold tubs, more massages, more rest, more film. Trying to prepare as best I can for game time."

-Ingram on what he's doing to stay healthy this season

— chelsea leite (@chelsealeite) December 7, 2025

Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Some really frustrating no-calls on the Celtics mixed with some really bad offensive decisions from the Raptors led Boston to extend the lead yet again. Toronto did a good job on defence down the stretch, though, and overall, the game didn’t end as badly as it started. Hard to recover from playing so poorly in the first half. It was nice, however, to see them be able to turn things around midgame instead of giving up. They need to work on making that something that doesn’t have to be done, though.

Boston took this game 121-113, their fifth consecutive win and the Raptors’ third consecutive loss.

“They were not the same guys [from the first to the second half],” Darko said after the game. “I demanded more urgency from this team.”

“We need every single player on this team to step on the floor and contribute,” he continued, when asked about how they are managing with injuries and absences, but also with fatigue and varying output from players in this stretch.

The more we see this team play 1) without RJ Barrett and 2) without a solid backup big man who is 7-feet tall, the more you see the cracks. They aren’t bad overall, but without a backup big (especially with Poeltl still recovering/struggling with his back), you can’t compete with bigs like Boston’s Queta. Then, with Barrett, you don’t have a guy who can get physical and get a few quick buckets when you need them.

“Barrett is incredibly important to this team, but he’s not here; we need to figure it out without him,” Darko said about missing Barrett’s output on the court.

Darko did say we would get an update on Barrett tomorrow. He’s been around and walking, so hopefully the update isn’t terrible. He’s been, funny enough, poking his head into the media room after games to say hello, but knows he can’t say anything about his condition. That’s how you know a guy really misses playing: he wants to come say hi to the media.

I really don’t think this team is bad. Maybe they aren’t 2nd in the East good, either, but it’s not the time to catastrophize. It’s time to make a plan to improve these subtle missing pieces. Get a backup 7-footer, get Barrett healthy, maybe try to figure out the shooting situation — but that doesn’t feel like a pressing matter if the real problem is missing Barrett. Wait until he gets back, see if his absence is truly the problem it seems to be, and go from there.

“Never get too high, never get too low,” Shead said after the game about how the team stays positive through these stretches of ups and downs.

They’ll need that mindset as they look ahead to the NBA Cup QFs game against the Knicks on Tuesday. When asked how you look forward to that game after some losses, Ingram said he’d tell the team to remember how they performed against the Knicks the last time. If you remember, they lost (pretty badly), and Ingram thinks that keeping that in mind will motivate them to do better on Tuesday.

Shead says they need to go into the game with a chip on their shoulder, with something to prove. They know they have what it takes to get some good wins (that win streak was good for confidence as much as it was for their record). It won’t be easy, especially if Barrett is ruled out again.

The Raptors aren’t counting themselves out yet, though.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...-raptors-boston-celtics-scottie-barnes-ingram

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Preview: Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics

Already this season the Toronto Raptors have seen some hills and valleys. A 9-game winning streak has turned into dropping 4 of the last 5 games and scoring a season-low in their most recent outing against Charlotte. Now, in the midst of their home-stand, they need to see if they are able to stop the bleeding, especially before they enter Tournament Cup play.

This will be their first of four matchups against the Boston Celtics this season. In 116 total games against each other, the record sits 73-43 in Boston’s favour. The Celtics have won 11 of the last 12 as well.

With deep playoff runs and a championship under their belt, the Celtics struggled with injuries last year, making some notable changes to their roster in the last two years in an effort to regain dominance. They don’t quite have the same firepower though, and as a result, sit behind the Raptors in the standings at 14-9, due mostly to a slow start to the season. Recently, they’ve found their rhythm, going four in a row and winning 10 of their last 13 games, including contests against the Lakers, Knicks, Cavaliers, and Pistons.

Jason Tatum is still recovering, meaning they’ve had to lean on former finals MVP Jaylen Brown to lead the charge. He’s having one of the best seasons of his career to date, averaging 29-6-5 while shooting almost 50% from the field and 35% from long range. Payton Pritchard has also stepped up in a big way, contributing 17-4-5. Derrick White, Anfernee Simons, and Neemias Queta have all been important role players as well. Former Raptor Chris Boucher will be back for the first time as a Celtic in a regular season game, as he made an appearance in the preseason back in October. He’ll undoubtably receive a warm welcome, although unfortunately Boston hasn’t provided him with the best opportunity, appearing in only 8 games and averaging only 2 points and 2 rebounds per contest.

Despite the change in personnel, Boston’s strength has still been long range shooting. They sit third in the league on attempts per game at 43, and first in makes at almost 16. They’ve also proven to be an excellent offensive rebounding team, averaging 13 per game to sit in 6th for that metric. They’re able to space the floor and get opportunities for shooters, and when they don’t make the shot the first time, effort on the boards provides second and third chances.

This is where Toronto will have to stop them. With the exhausting stretch of games the Raptors have played lately, it seems like there hasn’t been enough gas in the tank. Rebounding, defence, and off-ball movement are all largely about effort, meaning that whatever fumes are left will be needed today. Still missing RJ and the possible loss of Quickley will both be another challenge, ultimately leading to the question of who will step up.

Scottie is the obvious choice, currently having a career year in points, steals, blocks, and all three shooting % metrics. His defence has also been integral for Toronto. Ingram is the next option, but has struggled with his shooting in the last few outings, scoring only 7 points in the loss to Charlotte. In reality though, Toronto plays better when they’re playing together. Still second in the league for assists with 30 per game, their highlight plays of the season have all been the result of extra passes and phenomenal ball movement. They will need everyone to find a way to contribute today even if it’s just chipping in a few points or a momentum-shifting defensive play.

The New York Knicks are looming in their quarterfinal matchup for the tournament, and Toronto will likely want to have a feel-good win under their belt before facing the second-ranked team in the East. It shouldn’t be surprising if they come out as a unit, moving the ball, getting big stops, and having just enough to get themselves a win.

Where to Watch​

Tune in at 3:30pm ET on Sportsnet.

Probable Starters​

Toronto: Jakob Poeltl, Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Jamal Shead, Collin Murray-Boyles

Boston: Neemias Queta, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, Jordan Walsh

Injury Report​

Toronto: RJ Barrett (Out: Knee sprain), Jamison Battle (Doubtful: Ankle sprain), Immanuel Quickley (Questionable: Illness)

Boston: Ron Harper Jr. (Out: G-League), Max Shulga (Out: G-League), Jayson Tatum (Out: Achilles repair), Amari Williams (Out: G-League)

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/general/48811/preview-toronto-raptors-vs-boston-celtics