Growing pains are to be expected with a new group, however, the Toronto Raptors suffer an embarrassing 108-100 loss to the banged-up Memphis Grizzlies. Toronto never led in this game as Memphis displayed more effort from start to finish, creating the separation between the two teams.
Toronto’s lack of height continues to prove costly despite the Grizzlies being without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Derrick Rose and more. Although all the attention was on Jaren Jackson Jr., it didn’t matter. In the first quarter, the Defensive Player of the Year tallied 16 points and a career-high six steals. His presence was felt on both ends of the court and set the tone for the rest of his teammates. Jackson would go on to finish with 27 points, four rebounds, five assists, and six steals.
He wasn’t alone in his heroics as he was joined by multiple teammates with offensive contributions. Vince Williams had a great outing with 18 points and 10 rebounds, showcasing tremendous tenacity throughout the entire duration of the game. Luke Kennard was huge with 19 points including a barrage of three-pointers in the second quarter.
The only real contributions Toronto received were from RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes. RJ led all scorers with 29 points along with eight rebounds. Scottie finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks on the night. Besides those two, offense was a struggle for the Raptors.
Immanuel Quickley had easily his worst game as a Raptor with just eight points on 3-13 shooting from the field. He did finish with 10 assists but turned the ball over four times. These are growing pains that are to be expected from a young guard in an increased role.
The Raptors made multiple efforts to cut into the lead but the effort level wasn’t close to the output that was shown by the Grizzlies. This group has suffered some bad losses this season against the lower tier of teams in the league and this cements another one. Toronto drops to 16-28 on the season and suffers their third straight loss. They will get some rest before facing off against the Goliath known as the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, January 26 at 7:30 PM ET.
