Grading the Raptors vs Magic: Put this one in the unwatchable category

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The coin flipped on the Raptors in Orlando, going from being the aggressors and the dominant team in a home win over Detroit to having their lunch handed to them and being thoroughly outclassed by the Magic.

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If we were grading solely on defence, the entire Raptors roster would find themselves at a D- grade or worse.

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Here’s a look at how each individual fared in Tuesday’s 126-107 embarrassment.

B

Dennis Schroder

A really good shooting night but like every other member of the visiting team, a ton of uninspired play defensively. Schroder’s shooting kept the Raptors in a game they had no business even being close, making all four of his threes and leading the team with 24 points. But his point of attack defence was atrocious, and that went for everyone else in the lineup.

B-

Pascal Siakam

Saved his individual night with some really nice inside passing, finding Jakob Poeltl early on to offset the overall defensive malaise. Siakam adjusted well to all the attention the Magic were giving him on drives, finding teammates for dump-offs and some nice no-look passes at the rim. His eight assists were twice as many as anyone else on the team.

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Jakob Poeltl

The only other half-decent night by a member of the Raptors. Poeltl was rolling to the rim, catching and finishing early. He was rebounding the ball well, finishing with 10 boards to match his 10 points. Defensively he spent the night trying to re-direct attacking Magic players who were already going downhill at near full speed having encountered little to no resistance on the way to the hoop.

C-

OG Anunoby

This one was baffling. Frist time in ages we’ve seen Anunoby physically dominated in a game and unable to steer opponents where he wanted to direct them. It was just one play but losing a battle for a loose ball to Jalen Suggs left us speechless. Anunoby had a much better night offensively, bouncing back from a 2-for-11 night with three makes from distance and a 50% night overall from the field, but this was not vintage Anunoby at all.

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Scottie Barnes

On the numbers alone Barnes should have a much higher grade but he’s a victim of the high standards he has set for himself here. Fourteen points, eight boards and four assists isn’t nothing, and the three steals were impressive but six more turnovers on a night where the turnover game sunk the Raptors and just an inability for one of the few times this year to impose his will on the game obscured any good moments he had.

D

THE ENTIRE BENCH

Normally we break this up and hand out individual grades but the reserves, primarily the first five off Rajakovic’s bench last night – Jaden McDaniels, Otto Porter Jr. and Garrett Temple are excluded having only been involved in mop-up duty when the game was out of reach — were collectively awful in this one. A lot of it had to do with the energy and physicality their Orlando counterparts brought to the court, but this felt like a year ago when the bench spent so much time playing the role of anchor for this team.

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Outscored 50-20 (again excluding the mop-up crew minutes) the reserves somehow managed to look even worse than the starters did on the night. Precious Achiuwa had a decent enough line with five points, four assists and six rebounds but turned it over three times on his own so, like Barnes, mitigated a lot of the good he did. Gary Trent Jr. is still trying to find his shot after a bout with plantar fasciitis. The same goes for rookie Gradey Dick minus the injury excuse.

THE OPPONENT GOING FORWARD

It’s was A’s across the board for Orlando on Tuesday night. The Magic have been in rebuild mode for what seems like forever but if Jamahl Mosley can get this kind of defensive buy-in on a regular basis, the Magic are a definite playoff team with a chance to knock off a higher seed. The Magic toyed with the Raptors all night and did so without two presumptive staters in the lineup in centre Wendell Carter Jr. and point guard Markelle Fultz. If this team can get healthy and avoid any long-term injuries, those days of picking in the lottery are long gone.

THREE STARS

Paolo Banchero

Jalen Suggs

Dennis Schroder

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