Raptors film room: Ja’Kobe Walter goes off and Markelle Fultz makes his debut

Ja’Kobe Walter had a standout performance against the lowly Utah Jazz to cap off what has been an elite month of basketball from him, plus Markelle Fultz made his debut for the Toronto Raptors.

I break it all down here:

Here’s Louis Zatzman on the game:

Similarly, Ja’Kobe Walter was dynamite. He was hunting space around the arc when he didn’t have the ball so he could get up triples. He’s been hot from deep, but more than the makes tonight, it was impressive to see his volume. He attempted four triples in the first half, many of them out of movement, relocations, and other beneficial vehicles. He hit a moonball from the corner in the third quarter that once upon a time was a Fred VanVleet special. But like Murray-Boyles, he’s firmly in the rotation. He’s been hot, and he stayed hot, but he didn’t show anything he hasn’t had to this point.  

Until the third quarter! Early in the third frame, he drove a closeout and threw a live-dribble pass to a cutter mirroring his steps on the other side of the lane. It was a ho-hum play that led to a quiet layup, but it was the type of progressive moment that Walter has shown little of to this point in his career. It, more than any other moment against the woeful Jazz, was a moment of real progress.

Obviously, Barnes succeeded whenever he wanted. He scored efficiently, picked the Jazz apart with his passing, and dominated defensively. He found RJ Barrett on cuts, in the dunker spot, for a series of layups. His jumper was great from the mid-range, and he even drilled a pull-up triple to beat the second-quarter buzzer. All together, his effort in perhaps 15 minutes was on its own was enough to win. He did what he should, and there’s no real lesson to be taken there. And it really wasn’t Barnes who was Toronto’s best; Barrett went berserk as a versatile scorer, hitting from deep, in transition, and in all ways.

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