Raps take advantage of a Nets team in disarray

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If you could ignore the fact that the opposition was the picture of a team in disarray, Thursday’s Raptors’ win was something to cherish.

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But it was almost impossible not to see the visiting Brooklyn Nets as anything but a team unsure of the direction they were headed, from an interim head coach in Kevin Ollie trying on the head coaching reins for size to its highest paid player in Ben Simmons still struggling to impact a basketball game in a meaningful way.

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The Raptors, to their credit, showed much more energy and emotion coming out of the All-Star break than they did going into it and that primarily why they spent all but a few seconds of the night in control of the their 121-93 win.

Simmons, who has struggled to even get on the court since his return to Brooklyn, played 21 minutes and contributed two points, four rebounds and four assists in his first game since head coach Jacque Vaughn was let go by the Nets.

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Simmons started the game but was ineffective for the bulk of the night.

Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas, the two former Phoenix Suns, were the lone members of the Nets to have much of an impact at all. Bridges had 21 points while Thomas had 19. No one else in the lineup even got into double-digits.

Toronto’s success was rooted in its three-point game, where Toronto shooters were good on 14-of-31 attempts from behind the arc, led by a 5-for-8 night from three for point guard Immanuel Quickley and a 5-for-7 night from Gary Trent Jr.

Quickley finished with 24 points but had significant company in the big-point night from both Trent Jr. with 25 and Scottie Barnes, who finished with 18.

But this was far more about an opposition that still seems to be reeling from the somewhat surprising decision to part ways with Vaughn without a real replacement in mind. No offence to Ollie but if the intention was to move him into the head coaching role, they would not have attached the interim tag to his appointment.

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Toronto shooters spent the night unguarded beyond the three-point line and facing little to no resistance in the paint for much of the night. Defensively, Ollie has his work cut out for him.

If the Nets were counting on a lift from Dennis Schroder’s return to Toronto, they were left wanting.

Schroder, who was the return along with Thad Young in the Spencer Dinwiddie (almost immediately waived by Toronto) trade at the deadline, did not have the feel-good comeback game you sometimes see in a player who suddenly finds himself on the move.

Schroder got into some early foul trouble and didn’t chip in with much of anything when he was able to stay on the court. With his shot not falling, Schroder barely attempted a shot in the second half.

The Raptors came out hot from distance, hitting on 8 of their first 14 in the first half that gave them an 11-point lead going into the locker room.

It was Toronto’s first win in four games after losing their final three heading into the All-Star break.

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