Recap: 3 Takeaways From Raptors Falling To Pistons

The Toronto Raptors lose a close one to a feisty Detroit Pistons team, 123-114.

Immanuel Quickley impresses

Immanuel Quickley continues to solidify himself as the Raptors starting point guard of the future. Despite this performance coming against the Pistons, Quickley put up 25 points. While shooting inefficiently with a 7-for-20 outing, but asserting himself after missing extended time is impressive. Going back to his New York Knicks days, Quickley was known for his scoring and that is desperately needed to accompany Scottie Barnes. To have Quickley step up as sometimes the No. 1 option, it provides some diversity for the Raptors offense going forward.

Bench depth emerging

Toronto’s bench has been subpar up to this point of the season. Injuries have plagued the Raptors this year, but it is not an excuse for the lack of production from the bench. However, Chris Boucher is seemingly upping his trade value after falling out of the rotation. Putting up an efficient 14 points on 5-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. The same can be said for Bruce Brown as he returned recently from a nagging knee injury. Brown put up 14 points and five rebounds on 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point distance. Although it may not be perfect, having at least two players step up to accommodate the starters would be ideal moving forward.

Defensive struggles

The Detroit Pistons are not the team they were last year. With more veteran pieces surrounding Cade Cunningham, the Pistons are starting to play winning basketball. Tim Hardaway led Detroit with 27 points, drilling 7 three-pointers in eight attempts. If the Raptors want to have a serious defense, they cannot have role players lighting them up 27 points. Then Tobias Harris chipped in 17 points and Malik Beasley put 18 points. If Toronto wants to leap, there needs to be some sort of resistance on the perimeter. Frankly, their starters do not have the necessary toughness with Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett and Quickley being up and down defensively. Head coach Darko Rajakovic may need to develop his starters into taking pride in stopping their man. Rebuilding teams tend to be invested in offense, but defense is something the Raptors hang their hats on. Hopefully, progress is made through this year to get back to their roots.

Next up

The Raptors return to Scotiabank Arena to take on the Warriors to kick off a mini two-game homestand.