Nothing has gone the Toronto Raptors’ way this season, but the much-awaited return of Immanuel Quickley could mark the beginning of a turnaround.
Prior to their January 1 game against the Brooklyn Nets, Quickley had sat out all but three of the Raptors’ 33 games in this campaign. Unsurprisingly, Toronto found itself with a 7-26 win-loss record following the first two and a half months of the regular season, including an 11-game losing streak heading into their Brooklyn match.
Quickley returned to face the Nets after missing 22 consecutive contests with an elbow injury and was immediately reinserted into the starting line-up. He struggled initially, missing his first three shot attempts in the first quarter, before hitting a step back jumper to cap off the period.
From then on, it was as if Quickley had never missed any time. He put up 10 points and five assists in the second quarter alone then kept it going in the second half. At one point in the fourth quarter, Quickley recorded four consecutive assists in as many possessions for the Raptors in the midst of their game-deciding run. A few plays later, he hit a three-pointer from near-half court to cap off a 25-6 barrage from Toronto that gave them a 20-point lead, 119-99.
The Raptors went on to take a 130-113 win that snapped what was almost a month-long winless spell. Quickley finished with 21 points, three three-pointers, four rebounds, 15 assists, and only one turnover in 32 minutes. His presence was felt throughout their win as he helped facilitate much better ball movement for Toronto–something that they have sorely lacked in his absence.
The rest of the Raptors thrived in Quickley’s presence, particularly Scottie Barnes who was finally relieved of the additional ball-handling duties that he had to take on during his absence. Barnes scored 33 points on a highly efficient 14-of-18 field goal shooting to lead the team in scoring. Aside from Quickley and Barnes, four other Raptors scored at least 11 versus Brooklyn and two more chipped in with seven apiece.
With Quickley now back in the fold, Toronto is in a strong position to make a push up the East standings. They are only seven games behind the Chicago Bulls for the conference’s last play-in berth and with more than half of the season to go, anything is still possible. The Raptors do have a tough schedule right in front of them, with their next four games against four of the top five teams in the East, though with Quickley back in action, they should have, at the very least, a puncher’s chance of pulling off an upset in each of these games.
