Raptors go wire to wire in cutting down the host Brooklyn Nets​on March 27, 2025 at 2:21 am

Tipoff turned into tank-off Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the New York City borough where the likes of Jay-Z and the late Notorious B.I.G. called home.

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Other icons from the music and movie industry hailed from the area, which was transformed into a glorified hoops battleground pitting the visiting Toronto Raptors and host Nets.

A game would be played because the NBA schedule mandated it, but the biggest game involved lottery balls to determine which team would benefit from the coming draft.

By far the best news to emerge was the simple fact the Raptors have nine remaining games before the regular season comes to its merciful end, including a return visit to Brooklyn on April 6.

Brooklyn entered the night having lost seven of eight, including four in a row.

The night ended with the disinterested Nets losing their fifth in a row as the Raptors were well deserving of their 116-86 win.

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Toronto never trailed and was barely threatened in improving its record to 26-47.

The Raptors haven’t been as porous as the Nets, particularly of late, and would begin the evening by taking a quick 15-6 advantage.

Once again, the Raptors played hard, which has come to define this season, despite the losses, under second-year head coach Darko Rajakovic.

Unless something dramatic happens, which seems unlikely, the Raptors, Nets and Philadelphia 76ers will be jockeying for lottery balls in the five through seven slots.

While things could change, it seems the Raptors are destined to have the seventh-best lottery odds.

In the NBA, the more teams lose, the better their odds.

This year, the coveted prize is Duke’s Cooper Flagg.

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During the Tampa Tank, the Raptors ended with the fourth overall pick and used the slot to select Scottie Barnes, who has become the face of the franchise.

Barnes set the tone right from the jump against the Nets, engaged, energetic and efficient in imposing his will on the game.

Once his teammates followed Barnes’ lead, the Raptors played well by sharing the ball and defending.

Much like they did Sunday against the visiting San Antonio Spurs, the Raptors decided to give Jakob Poeltl, Toronto’s starting centre, and Immanuel Quickley, the team’s starting point guard, the night off.

Unlike Sunday’s meeting against the Spurs, the Raptors decided to bring their best effort.

For much of the season, the Raptors were competitive until crunch time when lack of execution led to losses, the ideal scenario for a rebuilding team.

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There were stretches during the season when the Raptors weren’t competitive resulting in blowouts.

The loss to the Spurs was among the season’s most embarrassing setbacks.

In fairness, the Raptors bounced back the following night to beat a woeful Wizards team in Washington.

Before they even took to the court at Barclays, the Raptors were busy on the roster front by signing Cole Swider to a 10-day contract from the G League.

Swider’s arrival came at the expense of centre Colin Castleton, whose second 10-day deal had expired.

Swider, a forward who played his college hoops at Villanova and Syracuse, made his Raptors debut in the opening period, a stretch that saw the Raptors extend their lead to double digits.

Turnovers were forced, shots made and a defensive intensity established as Toronto led 32-18 after the opening quarter.

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In other words, it was the complete antithesis of Sunday’s no-show.

About the only thing the Raptors failed to execute in the opening 12 minutes was their three-point shooting.

Whether it was draining shots or defending with any purpose and engagement, the Nets were horrible.

When the second quarter began, the Nets were much better, which isn’t saying much given how poorly the home side played in the first quarter.

Barnes was the lone starter on the floor when the Nets drew within five points.

The visitors would regain their double-digit lead, in part fueled by Swider’s sweet jumper.

Up next for the Raptors is a home date Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets, who aren’t very good.

Ditto the 76ers, who will play host to the Raptors Sunday night.

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The Raptors should win both games, but will paradoxically see their lottery odds diminish.

These have been, suffice to say, strange times as the end draws nearer.

One of the bright spots has been the play of rookie Jamal Shead, who got the start at point guard in Brooklyn.

Fellow rookie Jonathan Mogbo looked very good in the opening half by scoring 12 points in 11 minutes as the Raptors took a 62-45 advantage into the break, while Orlando Robinson, who started at centre, was very efficient and dominant on offence.

Jamison Battle put together another solid night, including hauling down a career-high 10 rebounds.

One of the most awkward and troublesome trends has been how front-line players have either been ruled out for reasons that highlight tanking or having active players buried on the bench down the stretch in winnable games.

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The league has a problem and tried to address player participation by introducing a 65-game minimum for making an all-NBA team, while establishing that threshold in maximizing earning potential.

Recently, the Utah Jazz, who are in contention for the first overall pick with sadsacks such as the Hornets and Wizards, were fined US $100,000 for violating the league’s player participation policy after failing to make leading scorer Lauri Markkanen available.

No such fines have been levied against the Raptors, who are nine games away from executing the ethical tank.

Increasing their lottery odds will be difficult because the Raptors’ remaining opponents are not good.

Washington proved it and the Nets only magnified Toronto’s end-of-season easy slate.

The Raptors played together and they clearly played the right way in each win.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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