GRADING THE RAPTORS: Immanuel Quickley makes his mark vs. Grizzlies

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Break up the Raptors! Wait, they already did that, and it appears to have worked.

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This looks like a completely different team on and off the court after the big deal with the Knicks. The vibes are good and, more importantly, the on-court fit seems way better.

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Wednesday’s big 116-111 win in Memphis was another example. Let’s see if they can keep it going.

Here’s the report card:

IMMANUEL QUICKLEY: A

Didn’t see player of the game coming after the first few minutes of this one. Quickley looked lost, making a couple of mistakes on offence and defence and couldn’t hit a shot to start, but took off from there. He outplayed Ja Morant, repeatedly punished the Grizzlies from deep and got after it on defence. Decent in his debut, Quickley took it up a notch against Memphis and showed glimpses of new possibilities for the Raptors. He’s the fastest Raptor to come around in years (TJ Ford?) and shoots like Kyle Lowry. Not bad.

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PASCAL SIAKAM: A-

Other than the odd sight of Siakam not handing out a single assists (just the fifth time that has happened over the past five seasons) and some foul trouble, it was another Siakam clinic. Once again, an opponent could not slow him down no matter what they tried and even with two previous defensive player of the year winners (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marcus Smart) trying to defend. He tamped down the three-point attempts (just two, making one), but was money from mid-range and got to the line.

JAKOB POELTL: A-

The Poeltl resurgence continued. He looks different with this configuration: More confident, more reliable (other than a lot of missed “bunnies” from in tight) and most notably, like an absolute wall defensively. Poeltl blocked five shots, discouraging a Memphis team that loves to drive to the hoop at all turns, had a game-high eight rebounds and set great screens all evening, resulting in open shots. Poeltl had six screen assists, leading to 14 points. He also contested 16 shots, more than double any other Raptor.

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SCOTTIE BARNES: B+

Two dominant quarters, an off fourth and an OK one for Barnes. The adjustment right now appears hardest for Barnes, who isn’t initiating anywhere close to as much as he was when Dennis Schroder went to the bench before the trade. Quickley is going to help Barnes, but right now Barnes is fading a bit more into the background than a franchise player in waiting should. Maybe it gave Barnes more energy defensively because he was a monster against Memphis on that end.

DENNIS SCHRODER: B

Give Schroder an A- for offence, C- for defence in this one to arrive at this grade. He wasn’t his usual pesky self defensively, but did mostly good things at the other end. Schroder had five assists, zero turnovers, got to the free-throw line and generally made the right decisions (he’s always going to take some shots and miss open teammates that will make viewers and teammates alone shake their heads — like Chris Boucher fairly did at one point).

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RJ BARRETT: B-

Barrett was better in Game 1, but still was solid in Game 2 as a Raptor. He has been better than advertised defensively and has been a threat from outside. If Barrett continues to hit threes at anywhere close to a clip in the 37% range, the Raptors will be thrilled. He’s finding his fit, but Barrett is a talented player who seems to be boosted by coming home to the Raptors.

JONTAY PORTER: C+

The young big man didn’t look out of place and that’s a nice compliment considering his lack of NBA experience. Porter is versatile and can cover a lot of ground defensively. He’s got an outside shot too, but wasn’t able to show it in his debut. It’s time Toronto’s developmental system hits another double and Porter could be the guy.

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CHRIS BOUCHER: C+

Boucher could have sulked when Darko Rajakovic called on Porter before him, but instead came in with his usual energy and produced. Boucher was particularly sharp on the glass, collecting eight rebounds in 13 minutes, three of them offensive. I’d like to see Boucher stay, but given his age, he might be a sneaky trade candidate. He could help a playoff team looking for a bench spark.

GARY TRENT JR.: C

Trent didn’t really stand out either way. His defence was probably ahead of his offence, which isn’t the usual way, but Trent was quiet on the attack. On paper, he should be effective alongside Schroder off the bench, but it will probably take a while before they find their chemistry.

INC: NONE

THREE STARS

1. Immanuel Quickley

2. Pascal Siakam

3. Ja Morant

HM: Jakob Poeltl, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, Scottie Barnes.

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