Toronto Raptors may have lost to Houston, but it was Ja’Kobe’s night

Ja’Kobe Walter scored 27 points in the Raptors’ 114-110 loss against the Houston Rockets, a career-high for the rookie.

The Toronto Raptors played their last home game before Christmas tonight as they welcomed the Houston Rockets to Scotiabank Arena. It was the first time since he left in free agency that Fred VanVleet actually played on the Raptors’ court, and the first time back for Dillon Brooks since the Olympics.

The Raptors also ended up late-scratching RJ Barrett due to illness, the same reason he missed Thursday’s game. So, the Raptors started Barnes, Mogbo, Walter, Gradey, and Agbaji.

As I (Chelsea) was sitting with the media ready for the game to start, I said something along the line of “this might be rough” — and may have reverse jinxed the Raptors? They went and took the lead in the first quarter off of a 14-0 run from Ja’Kobe Walter, which was fun.

Overall it was a pretty close game through three quarters. Scottie Barnes did not score a single point until the 5:20 mark in the 3rd quarter, ending the night with 6 points — not something we are used to seeing from the All-Star.

The Rockets pulled ahead in the fourth quarter, giving the performance that I predicted to start. It was nice to get a delay in that fate. Still, it was Houston that came out victorious in this game. The Rockets are 3rd in the Western Conference with a record of 19-9 after this win.

The Raptors on the other hand have now lost 7 games in a row, their record now at 7-22. They currently have the 4th best odds in the 2025 NBA Draft, and at this rate, a shot at getting the no.1 pick come June.

They’ll play again tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, before having two days off for Christmas.

With that, lets look into some key factors in tonight’s game:

Ja’kobe’s Big Night

The rookie Ja’Kobe Walter had a great night, starting with a 14-0 run to start the game off. He scored the Raptors’s first 14, making 4 buckets from distance in the first 4 minutes of the game.

He then went on to score a career-high 27 points,

He ended up being fouled out with about 3 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but was walked off to roaring applause from the crowd in Toronto. The rookie not only earned his start tonight, but probably another start tomorrow night unless RJ Barrett makes a return. He might, considering the game is in New York, but Walter should still get minutes.

Fred VanVleet playing double agent?

Fred VanVleet had a rough night of shooting, going 1-10 from the field and scoring just 2 points total in the game. Could be some first game back jitters? VanVleet was injured the last time the Rockets played in Toronto.

He did have 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 5 assists, but his 0-5 attempts from distance was definitely not the VanVleet Toronto is used to seeing.

I did make a joke online that maybe, just maybe, he was intentionally missing in hopes of a Toronto win. That would not be like him at all, but who knows, maybe he is still rooting for the Raptors like that.

Calling all SheadHeads

Another rookie that had himself a night was Jamal Shead. He came off the bench to score 11 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals. He shot 5-7 from the field, but was also a beast defensively. He was active, hustling, cutting on plays, moving off the ball. It was a night of high level basketball from the rookie.

It looks like the trips down to the 905 are doing him well, as they did for Gradey last season. While the Raptors’ record may not be the hype, the way these young players are developing surely is. It’s a good sign for down the line what Walter and Shead are displaying now.