As average as the Raptors were in the third quarter of Sunday’s game — and “average” might be a rather optimistic adjective — they saw enough moments at other times to make them feel the path they are on is the right one.
They were practically whole again and snippets emerged of what they may ultimately become: a speedy, athletic, deeper group that can be as disruptive, and as good, as just about any team in the league.
“I think the second quarter … that’s how you’d draw up what it had to look like, we were everywhere,” head coach Nick Nurse said after Toronto suffered its second straight home loss, a 116-103 defeat administered by the Brooklyn Nets.