Takeaways from Raptors Narrow Loss to Hornets

Charlotte Hornets 138, Toronto Raptors 133

It’s refueling time.

No one wanted to do this this early in the season. The hope had been that Toronto would see Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett grow together this year as this young core developed for the future. But with Barnes sidelined for the time being due to an orbital bone fracture, the writing is on the wall.

The good news is that this year’s draft class is packed with talent, from presumptive No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg to Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey and a host of other highly touted prospects. With any luck, Toronto should have a pretty good shot at drafting one of those top players and beginning their climb to the playoffs next year, with Barnes and another top player leading the way.

But for now, it will probably be quite tough.

Toronto is playing a lot of strong teams to start the season and it’s hard to imagine the Raptors getting many wins against those teams. However, Wednesday’s loss could be big as this season comes to a close, as Charlotte should be back in the mix as one of the worst teams in the league competing for lottery odds this summer.

It’s the RJ Barrett show now.

With Barnes out and Quickley still dealing with his pelvic injury, the Raptors are relying on Barrett to step up and fill the void left by Toronto’s top two offensive engines. Early on Wednesday evening it looked a bit awkward at times. Barrett struggles to make buckets from a standstill, but when he goes downhill he is difficult to stop.

He found Jakob Poeltl for an alley-oop pick-and-roll in the first quarter and found Jonathan Mogbo with a smart dump-off pass for two in the second quarter. It was part of an eight-assist effort from Barrett, one shy of his career high.

Barrett finished the night with 31 points on 10-for-18 shooting. He hit a pair of big threes in the fourth, cutting Charlotte’s lead to just five in the final two minutes. He had 17 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.

Five missed free throws by Barrett and 10 misses at the charity stripe for the Raptors burned Toronto, which couldn’t quite make up the difference as Charlotte converted the free throws down the stretch.

Raptors coach Darko Rajaković went out of his way earlier this week to call out Gradey Dick’s shot selection. It wasn’t terrible, but there were times early this season where Dick was a little too aggressive against tough defenses.

“Gradey is the type of player he needs to find his moments,” Rajaković said Monday after Toronto’s loss to Denver. “There will be games and nights where teams are so focused on him and he could maybe get three points in the first half. He has to stay patient and make good decisions.”

Dick responded against the Hornets.

The second-year sharpshooter looked great, helping Toronto get out of a 23-point hole in the first half with a flurry of jumpers in the second quarter. It was the kind of showing the Raptors hope to see more of from Dick as he develops into a better-rounded offensive weapon. He knocked down mid-range jumpers with ease, weaved past off-ball screens to set up his shot and stepped into the paint to complete the contact.

He cashed in a mid-range jumper midway through the fourth quarter and set a new career high for his 26th point of the night, finishing the game with 30 points on 11-for-17 shooting.

Dick’s role will increase in these games with Barnes and Quickley sidelined and if Wednesday’s game is any indication of things to come, this will be a healthy development opportunity for the 20-year-old shooting guard.

To some extent, turnover was to be expected.

This is a young team that is still getting used to each other, and the losses of Barnes and Quickley have left the Raptors short of reliable ballhandlers. But it’s a little worse than expected.

Toronto came into Wednesday night leading the league in turnovers per game and the Raptors undid that against the Hornets. Seven first-quarter turnovers for Toronto turned into easy numbers for Charlotte, which quickly opened up a double-digit lead. When the Raptors climbed back, it was another bout of turnover trouble late in the third that squandered the lead for Toronto. Four turnovers in the final three minutes of the quarter allowed Charlotte to go on a 12-0 run and regain the lead entering the fourth.