Raptors lay an egg, melt down in fourth in Jakob Poeltl’s return to Toronto against Jazz

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An infusion of new, or in this case old, blood didn’t have the desired effect the Raptors were hoping.

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Jakob Poeltl made his return to Toronto and showed enough to confirm that he will make this team better once he settles in, just not yet.

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Poeltl played 17 minutes in his first game since coming over in the trade deadline day deal that sent Khem Birch, a protected first pick in 2024 and two unprotected second round picks to San Antonio.

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Without a practice and having only watched the morning shootaround, Poeltl was not in the starting lineup but he did have an impact when he did get in with six points, two assists and four rebounds.

The Raptors appeared to be on their way to a relatively easy win taking a 13-point lead into the final quarter, but a string of empty trips and  some inspired play inside from the Jazz big men Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler turned the game around in a hurry as the Jazz ran away in a 122-116 win

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The Raptors still had a 13-point lead with 5:17 but the Jazz finished the game on a 24-5 run to put another ugly loss in the books for the Raptors.

The Jazz arrived in Toronto with just nine healthy bodies courtesy of their own moves on trade deadline day and looked ripe for the picking.

The Raptors held a lead for the vast majority of evening but in the fourth quarter saw both their defence disappear and they offence dry up.

The Raptors were good on just 8-of-23 shots in the fourth while the Jazz made the most of their trips hitting 14-of-17 to literally steal this one from Toronto.

Lost in the ugliness was another fine Pascal Siakam performance that included a season-high five three pointers, four of them in the first quarter on his way to a35-point night.

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The Jazz got 23 apiece from Markkanen and Kessler while Collin Sexton chipped in with 22.

Utah’s bench outscored Toronto 34-17.

O.G. Anunoby sat out a seventh consecutive game with a sprained left wrist which allowed Precious Achiuwa to remain in the starting lineup.

Achiuwa had 16 on the night in another solid effort.

The Raptors will take a day to let this one settle and then get ready for the Detroit Pistons on Super Bowl Sunday in a rare 3 p.m. start.

SIAKAM A BELATED ALL-STAR

Siakam was initially denied a spot in this year’s All-Star team but the league made sure the most deserving Raptor is going.

Siakam was one of three NBA players named as All-Star injury replacements by commissioner Adam Silver. He joins Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox as replacement all-stars for the injured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson.

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Joel Embiid of the Sixers, Markkanen of the Jazz and Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies get bumped up to starters with the injuries.

Siakam got caught in a numbers game in the East where the frontcourt is particularly deep. But there was little question that he was deserving of the honour.

Siakam was averaging career highs of 25.0 points and 6.2 assists, along with 8.0 rebounds and 37.5 minutes (first in the NBA), in 46 games this season. He currently ranks inside the top 20 in both scoring and assists, and is the only player in the Eastern Conference averaging at least 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

POELTL MOVE SMOOTHER THIS TIME

The first time Poeltl was traded was so much worse for the returning Raptor.

A first round pick by the Raptors (9^th overall in 2016), Poeltl, like many in the trade that changed the organization forever, was caught completely unaware when he got the call informing him he was part of a package along with DeMar DeRozan headed to San Antonio in the trade that brought Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors.

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Four and a half seasons later the move back wasn’t quite so unexpected.

“There were plenty of rumours,” Poeltl said following his first morning shootaround with his new/old team. “Obviously you never know for sure. I thought there was a chance they would trade me, I didn’t know exactly where. I know there was multiple teams that were interested, but it was still very much in the air. I was a little distracted the last couple of days, but it’s just good to have it over with and I’m glad it worked out this way.”

Poeltl returns to a Raptors team that still has former teammates Siakam, VanVleet and Anunoby.

But instead of taking his old No. 42,, Poeltl decided a new chapter deserved a new number so he grabbed No. 19, a number that has never before been worn in team history.

Poeltl said there was a personal reason he chose No. 19, but he elected to keep that to himself.

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