The best part of Scottie Barnes’ night, his first in front of the home faithful in the regular-season since March 1, played out in the moments leading up to the ball getting tossed.
As his customary on opening night and when the season’s home finale gets staged, a member of the Raptors organization is asked to take the microphone and address the crowd.
With the franchise celebrating its 30th anniversary Wednesday, it was Barnes’ turn to take the mic.
“What’s up Toronto? We’re so excited to be back. On behalf of my teammates to be in front of the best fans in the league. Let’s go!”
He beamed, flashed an authentic smile and looked quite dapper sporting the Raptors’ iconic purple colours on a night when purple was the predominant theme.
Then the game began.
It’s too bad they actually had to play a game on a night when Damon Stoudamire, the first franchise face, was feted at mid-court during a timeout.
Then came Jerome Williams’ turn to bask in the glory, his time in Toronto celebrated when he stood along the baseline before he would toss souvenir balls into the stands.
It was a night of nostalgia, the first of many this celebratory season, a night when a game would be lost, which will be quite common this season, a night when Barnes’ smile would turn into a frown.
The visiting Cavaliers threw different bodies at Barnes, went with a zone in the opening half, and frustrated a player so much will be riding on as the Raptors try to move forward from the remnants of last year’s 25-win season.
His first basket came on an out-of-bounds play when Cleveland’s defence was non-existent.
A skip pass to Chris Boucher highlighted Barnes’ court vision.
Late in the opening quarter, Barnes was charged with a dubious foul on the perimeter trying to guard Donovan Mitchell, who proved quite challenging for the Raptors.
There were .6 seconds left when Barnes picked up the foul with Mitchell getting off his shot.
Mind you, it was the right call because Barnes did make contact on the follow through.
After the game’s opening 12 minutes, the Raptors were competitive in trailing 33-32.
Three rotation players in RJ Barrett, Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown were each unavailable.
The Cavs, despite Darius Garland getting into early foul trouble, had too much size.
The game began to turn in the second quarter as did Barnes, whose frustration seemed to mount with every miss and every foul.
The way the first half closed out encapsulated Barnes’ frustrating evening.
When he had his shot blocked, the Cavs pitched the ball ahead and scored on an uncontested basket.
When he turned the ball over, the Cavs parlayed the miscue into another bucket.
By the break, the Cavs were comfortably ahead, 69-49, the game basically out of reach.
Toronto would score a total of 17 second-quarter points.
Other than Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley, no Raptor was competent enough to generate any kind of offence.
Quickley, in fact, headed back to the locker room after he came down pretty hard when he was undercut by Garland attempting to haul down a rebound.
The second half was barley two minutes old when Barnes picked up his fourth foul.
He’ll have to find a way to get used to nights such as Wednesday when playing a superior opponent knowing the Raptors’ bench is suspect, the team’s perimeter shooting dubious and the lack of size will only amount to more lopsided results.
Toronto was on par with the Cavs for one quarter in a league where teams are required to play four.
The lead would swell to 27 points mid-way through the third quarter.
Without Quickley, whose night officially ended because of a right pelvic contusion, the ball was in Barnes’ hands more often.
At times, Barnes forced his shot and too often those shots hit iron.
Anniversary seasons are nice and they do provide some uplifting moments when players come to town to relive the past.
When Stoudamire was interviewed at halftime, his adoration of Toronto was sincere.
When T.J. Ford, another point guard who wasn’t in the same category of Might Mouse, was introduced mid-way through the third period, he flashed an appreciative smile.
At some point, this 30th anniversary celebration will get tiresome.
In some way, it does take attention off the on-court product, which is not good and figures to only marginally improve once all the pieces are healthy and in sync.
When Dick got hacked going to the basket, no foul was called.
Darko Rajakovic called a timeout looking to have the play reviewed.
Unfortunately, challenges are not permitted on a non-call.
One game into an 82-game season and the second-year head coach already had egg on his face.
No one was expecting a Raptors win against a quality opponent such as Cleveland.
Expectations may have been raised the way the Raptors began the night by picking up their defence, picking up the pace on offence and making shots.
Under no circumstance was this sustainable.
There were some signs of encouragement, but the biggest theme involved Barnes.
He’s been anointed the face of the franchise, but on opening night Barnes did not look the part.
In 23 minutes, Barnes was a staggering minus-30, picking up more fouls (4) than makes (3).
The handful of three-pointers attempted would be missed and he only made two trips to the charity stripe.
Trips three and four would be made with 45.6 seconds left in the third quarter.
He buried both as the Raptors trailed 101-77.
On Cleveland’s ensuing possession, Barnes picked up his fifth foul, prompting a timeout and subsequent coaching challenge, only this one was legit.
The call was upheld, the Raptors out of challenges on a sequence that pretty much summed up this lost night.