Takeaways from the Raptors’ heartbreaking loss to the Nuggets

Denver Nuggets 127, Toronto Raptors 125 (OT)

Scottie Barnes is simply a mismatched killer.

The Raptors keep finding ways to put Barnes in mismatches and against a Nuggets team as shallow as this one seems to be, Denver had no answers. He repeatedly backed down smaller defenders, reaching his post move for switch floaters, scoring 16 of his points (21 points) Monday night in the paint.

It was a pass from Barnes on a pick-and-roll with Jakob Poeltl to Gradey Dick that left Toronto with a nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. He followed up moments later with a full-court alley-oop that pinpointed Ochai Agbaji and then capped off his stellar run in the fourth quarter with a LeBron James-style transition block on Christian Braun.

Barnes’ three-pointer over Braun with two minutes left gave Toronto a 10-point lead, but Denver wouldn’t go away. The Nuggets managed to erase everything in the final minutes, taking advantage of a layup by Jamal Murray to force overtime.

“He’s a big, tall guy who can handle the ball, who looks for mismatches, who can put the ball downhill, who can find open teammates, who can post, who can play in the midrange, who can ISO.” Nikola Jokic said about Barnes. “He’s a really good player.”

When Denver sent help to Barnes, the All-Star forward showed his prowess as a playmaker. He threw a mind-blowing no-look pass to Ochai Agbaji, cutting in from the corner for a stunning third-quarter slam that put the Raptors up 11 after Denver had cut Toronto’s lead to just five minutes earlier. It was the second of two no-look passes Barnes threw after connecting with Mogbo on a no-look pass in transition in the second.

Barnes recorded a career-high five steals on Friday, including a fourth-quarter steal off Aaron Gordon, carrying the ball the other way in transition before being fouled by Russell Westbrook in what was ruled a flagrant. The moment sparked a brief skirmish that led to a double technical as Barnes and Gordon I had to be separated after some pushing and shoving..

“Scottie defended himself the way he should,” RJ Barrett said. “I was there with my good shoulder. But yeah, we don’t back down from anybody. So it’s good to see that.”

A stellar night for Barnes was only marred by a Injury that he suffered in the last minute. when Jokic inadvertently hit Barnes in the right eye with an elbow while trying to grab a defensive rebound. Barnes remained on the ground during the next possession and had to be carried to the locker room.

RJ Barrett hasn’t missed a beat.

The Canadian forward returned from an AC joint injury to make his season debut Monday night and looked as good as he did late last season in Toronto. He came out in attack mode from the start, scoring nine of Toronto’s first 13 points and forcing Denver to burn a timeout just four minutes into the game.

Barrett is still not 100 percent. Every time he went out, he went to the bank and was immediately greeted with a shoulder pad and continues to work his way back. But on the court, there were no signs of any trouble for the 6-foot-7 forward.

When driving downhill, it is difficult to stop. He got Toronto’s offense going early and held the Raptors to a 13-point lead in the third quarter after grabbing an offensive rebound and hitting a clutch 3-pointer.

Down by two, Barrett had a chance to win the game for Toronto in overtime, racing down the court in the final seconds before hitting a slightly contested three-pointer that would have given the Raptors the lead. The shot didn’t fall and Denver grabbed the rebound to escape with the victory.

“I feel comfortable making that shot. I’m happy with the shot I made. That’s who I am,” said Barrett, who finished the night with 20 points in nearly 29 minutes. “That’s what I’ve always been. I’ll shoot again. But I don’t know. That’s RJ Barrett.”

So far, this 2024 draft class is shaping up to be pretty good.

It’s a small sample size, of course, but Jamal Shead and Jonathan Mogbo look like contributors to the NBA and maybe even more than that. That’s before Toronto even takes a look at first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter, who is headed to the G League to continue his rehab process ahead of his NBA debut.

Shead is simply relentless on both sides of the ball. He’s tough fighting through screens and has no problem taking on opposing guards and pressuring the ball all over the court. He and Mogbo managed to kill 13 seconds off the shot clock simply by being active on defense, responding all over the court and jumping into passing lanes.

“One thing I like about the rookies on our team is that they are fearless,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. “They are not afraid of the moment. They are not afraid to step on the court and play hard. And when you play hard and when you have your heart in the right place to play on a team, good things happen.”

This is how Shead and Mogbo have played until now.

Shead committed an offensive foul in the first half, taking a nasty shoulder from Aaron Gordon and ducking his head repeatedly, driving to the rim to score eight points on Monday.

“That’s the best weapon he has. He’s going to be disruptive on defense, he’s going to do a good job protecting all the elite players in this league,” Rajaković said. “There are no easy nights and no off nights, and he’s learning what it takes to do that every night. He was very, very pleased with the effort he was putting in.”

Mogbo clearly jumped ahead of Bruno Fernando in the rotation pecking order and was chosen as Toronto’s backup centre, even against a struggling Jokic. His cutting has proven valuable in limited minutes so far and his versatility is a trait the Raptors will lean on even more in the future.

The Raptors will hit the road and head to Charlotte for a one-game road trip against the Hornets on Wednesday at 7 pm ET.