Raptors short on roster magic
Orlando sweeps season series behind Banchero
They fought hard, but the Raptors were once again overmatched in every facet of the game and dropped a 111-96 decision against the Magic in Orlando on Sunday night.
The loss was Toronto’s seventh straight, the longest active losing streak in the NBA. It also completed a sweep of the season series by the Magic over the Raptors, who continue to battle a string of injuries in the late stages of a lost campaign.
They lost the front end of this home-and-home series on Friday in Toronto, mainly because of a glaring lack of size and interior defence.
The Magic, who scored 52 points in the paint Friday, took advantage of the same situation Sunday and notched 60 points from that area.
Also like Friday, the depleted Raptors managed to keep things close in the first half, and led briefly in the second quarter.
But Orlando responded and led by as many as 16 points midway through the third, when Immanuel Quickley committed a turnover that turned into a three-pointer by Orlando’s Jalen Suggs.
From there, the Magic were never threatened.
The Magic appear to have flipped a switch this season behind Paolo Banchero, drafted first overall in 2022 and blossoming into an allaround talent in his sophomore campaign.
The 21-year-old has suited up for 66 games and leads the team in the major offensive categories with 22.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 34.9 minutes per game. On Sunday, he scored a game-high 29 points. Frontcourt teammate Franz Wagner added 22 points and nine assists.
Sitting fifth in Eastern Conference at 40-28 with 14 games left before the playoffs, the Magic are poised to finish with a winning record for only the second time since 2011-12.
The Raptors, now 23-45, have been heading in opposite direction. Following two mid-season blockbuster trades that fundamentally altered the course of the season, a series of injuries made a bad year worse and forced head coach Darko Rajakovic to throw inexperienced players into major roles on a nightly basis.
All-star Scottie Barnes and big man Jakob Poeltl are still recovering from hand surgeries and there is no timetable for their return, while RJ Barrett is away indefinitely after the death of his younger brother Nathan.
Youngsters Jordan Nwora, Jontay Porter and Jahmi’us Ramsey (who is on his second 10-day contract) have seen a significant increase in minutes, in addition to trade deadline addition Ochai Agbaji, who has started for the past eight games. Nwora had a team-high 18 points and added seven rebounds. But scoring was scarce for the Raptors on Sunday.
This past week, Rajakovic talked about the importance of experimenting with those players in different roles down the stretch.
The Raptors will play six of their next seven games at Scotiabank Arena, with the 38-28 Sacramento Kings in town Wednesday followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 47-20 Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. That learning process isn’t about to get any easier.