Raptors wrap up pre-season with a hard-fought road loss to Detroit Pistons

Five exhibition games in the books, five days to get ready when the contests turn meaningful, and the Raptors might be collectively high-fiving when all is said and done.

Of course, the NBA road is long, but plenty will be at stake for the Raptors when the 2026-27 schedule opens Wednesday night against the visiting Chicago Bulls, knowing Kawhi Leonard is back and will be around beyond this season.

Toronto’s fifth and final pre-season tilt played out on Friday night in Detroit, a game in which the Raptors’ primary eight-man rotation sat out. No Kawhi, no Scottie Barnes, no RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley or Jakob Poeltl — the Raptors’ starting five-man unit — nor their three primary reserves in Jamal Shead, Collin Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Bryant.

Against the Pistons Toronto went with a starting unit of Alijah Martin, Jaden Bradley, Nimari Burnett, Allen Graves and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Wins are losses don’t amount to anything in the pre-season, but they are nonetheless kept for posterity. With that in mind, Toronto lost 129-125 to the host Pistons and ended its pre-season with a 2-3 record.

The following are three takeaways:

GRAVES GETS THE START

The Raptors used their first-round pick this past June to select Graves with the 19th overall selection. Friday night, he appeared in his second exhibition game, while making his first start.

Graves, who had been nursing a groin issue, is a 6-foot-8 small forward who is in line to backup Leonard. He possesses the requisite size and length to potentially emerge. When that time eventually arrives remains up in the air given that his path to earn minutes, especially meaningful minutes, isn’t clear.

The Raptors started well against the Pistons and actually led early.

One unforced error played out on a back cut when Graves failed to secure the pass. On another sequence, his mid-range pull up failed to drop.

When he got to the line, he made the first attempt, hitting iron on the second.

Graves’ activity was on full display when he read the play properly and scored on a put-back dunk.

It should be noted the Pistons did not have a single body on Graves. He did have bodies around him when he scored after hauling down an offensive rebound.

Graves came off a screen on Toronto’s first possession in the second half, but missed his three-pointer from the top of the circle, his fourth straight miss from distance. A fifth missed shot from beyond the arc would follow.

Overall, Graves went 4-for-13 on the night, while recording eight rebounds.

MARTIN MAKES HIS POINT

Martin was one of the best players, at times the best, during stretches on Friday.

He looked to score and showed no fear in attacking the basket when open lanes were presented.

There should be some kind of role for Martin, who never takes possessions off and who never backs down from any challenge.

He netted 15 points in 13 minutes against the Pistons, making all six of his free throws. In the opening half, Martin had three turnovers, while recording zero assists.

Malachi Smith was equally aggressive in looking for his offence, scoring 11 first-half points in 13 minutes off the bench, ended the night by recording a game-high 24 points.

Jackson-Davis made all 15 of free throws until he missed on purpose late in the game en route to a 20-point effort.

MOTOWN MADNESS

The Pistons’ 60-win season earned the club the No. 1 seed in the East, fueled by the emergence of Cade Cunningham into an all-NBA point, a former first overall pick taken in the same 2021 class as Barnes.

Detroit’s post-season run was brief, a combination of poor shooting and the sudden disappearance of Jalen Duren. The big man recently signed a five-year, $200-million fully guaranteed contract, which should, in theory, make him happy.

Signing Duren did force the Pistons to part ways with Isaiah Stewart. And while another key piece in Tobias Harris left in free agency, the Pistons added the likes of Isaiah Joe, John Collins and Taurean Prince.

The Pistons will be hard-pressed to be among the top four teams in the East, but Cunningham’s presence should be enough to help solidify, at minimum, a playoff berth.

Detroit begins its season Tuesday against Boston at Little Caesars Arena in an oddly scheduled 3 p.m. tip to accommodate an NBA triple-header for one of the league’s TV partners.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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