He had an impressive performance without Scottie Barnes playing, but the coach's claim implies that he anticipates more of these types of games to come.
Immanuel Quickley and the Toronto Raptors recorded their fourth win in five games, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 122-94 on Sunday at Fiserv Forum. Playing without Scottie Barnes, who was out due to an undisclosed personal reason, Quickley took over the offense, contributing 32 points and nine assists on 11-for-19 shooting, including five threes.
His outstanding performance was necessary for a struggling starting lineup; Quickley and Ingram accounted for 56 of the starters’ 78 points. All three of the other starters, including Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett, and Ja’Kobe Walter, were unable to record double-digit points and shot a combined 8-for-24 from the field.
Toronto Raptors guard/forward Brandon Ingram (3) and guard Immanuel Quickley (5) | © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
After leading the Raptors' offense to a second-straight road win, head coach Darko Rajakovic had immense praise for the former No. 25 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
“This is going to be my 29th year of coaching, and Immanuel Quickley is one of the most consistent workers that I’ve been around,” said Rajakovic. “It is amazing how detailed he is about everything. Not just work on the court, but his recovery, and lift[ing weights], and nutrition, and a lot of stuff that he has really, really dedicated to all of that. I never doubt that at some point, he’s going to find amazing performances, and even more than that, more consistency. I don’t think that he’s even close to [his] peak as a player. I think that there is another layers to him, and I can see him constantly getting better and improving for us.”
While it’s obviously encouraging to hear the head coach compliment one of his players to such a grand extent, Raptors fans should truly hope that he is correct. Quickley is capable of doing great things in this league, but the key to his unprecedented future is improving on his lackluster consistency.
The sixth-year point guard out of the University of Kentucky has been quite a polarizing player for the Raptors this season. His best moments include nights like this, where he is clearly the best offensive player on the floor, hitting shots from everywhere regardless of the defense and distributing the ball as well as anyone in the league. Specifically, he won Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier this season after multiple big performances, one of which was the most efficient 40-point game in the modern era.
Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (5) | © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
However, his low moments, which unfortunately are not few and far between, include being a complete no-show on the offense, supplying no help to the two All-Stars in the highest-pressure moments. He was one of the main pieces involved in trade discussions before the Feb. 5th deadline due to his lack of production compared to his steep contract. Although he wasn’t traded, the Raptors simply need better consistency from him if they want to have a chance at making real noise in the postseason.
Toronto is now 2-0 after the All-Star break, and it seems the Raptors are trending at just the right time. They currently sit as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference standings, and their upcoming schedule is something of concern, given their history this season. Five of the next seven games will come against top-10 teams in the NBA, and to this point, the Raptors possess a 1-13 record against such teams, outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers.