15 feet of Brazilian wingspan saves the day. Seriously.
 | Amir Johnson, PF 15 MIN | 2-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +6Could not care less about preseason games. Every move was concerted, consciously conserving every ounce of energy on each play. It’s a smart strategy. I’m surprised he even played at all. Good help defense as always, though his feet got crossed up a few times by a smaller and faster player. Sound familiar? |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 20 MIN | 4-12 FG | 2-3 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | +6Horrible first half. It’s obvious that the mandate on the floor is to have him handle a bigger share of ball-handling and creation responsibilities, but he looked miserable. Unsurprisingly, he looked much better in the second half when he had the benefit of more concerted play calls. Snagged two steals in the second half and hit a 360 layup, Swaggy P style. His play deteriorated once more after he got lumped with the third unit dudes. |  |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 12 MIN | 1-2 FG | 1-4 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 3 PTS | +7Working theory: the Raptors are making a concerted effort to keep the ball out of his hands so as to keep his price low when it’s time to talk extensions. Otherwise, they’re just being stubborn in their refusal to find him in the post, let alone in the pick-and-roll, of which has all but disappeared. Strong play on defense, especially as the rim-protecting anchor. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 21 MIN | 3-7 FG | 5-6 FT | 3 REB | 6 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | +2Dude is ready for the season. Stop all this bullsh*t with playing international teams. Even his flopping for free-throw game is on point. |  |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 18 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 6 PTS | +8Is it just me, or is he going to the post needlessly at times? He’s not establishing very good post position, and it opens him up to double teams, of which he does not deal with very well. It seems like he worked really hard on it in the offseason, but quite frankly, it’s just not a very useful tool right now. It could improve with time, but he’s still far more effective when slashing to the basket. |  |
 | Tyler Hansbrough, PF 9 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | +1When he and Patterson are the Raptors’ bigs, they switch so seamlessly. Neither have the length to protect the rim, but putting a body in the way is important. | |
 | James Johnson, PF 19 MIN | 3-4 FG | 4-4 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | 0Strong in attacking the rim to begin the game, but drifted further and further away, until he airballed a corner triple. Solid defensively though. That’s what matters. | |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 19 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -12Loved his energy. There was a stretch in the second quarter where he absolutely dominated defensively. Good energy elsewhere too, though it’s curious that the guards refused to find him as a pick-and-pop option. | |
 | Bruno Caboclo, SF 13 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | +15He, along with Bebe Noguiera saved the day for the Raptors. Threw down a pair of dunks. Seriously, the length is real. Ujiri got us our very own Giannis Antetokounmpo, which is turning out to be all sorts of fun. | |
 | Jordan Hamilton, SF 21 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 5 PTS | -11Continued his strong play, though his game tailed off in the fourth quarter while playing with the other two 15th-man candidates. He deserves that spot, if only to save us from having to ever watch Stiemsma or Cherry play for the Raptors ever again. | |
 | Lucas Nogueira, C 11 MIN | 2-2 FG | 4-4 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | +15Fun observation about Bebe: his arms are so long, he can stop at the nail and create a hedging effect by reaching forward. That’s how long his arms are. This allows him to stay at home while providing a check on the perimeter. Strong interior defense too. Let him be the backup center… | |
 | Greg Stiemsma, C 21 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -13…so that this man isn’t the backup center. I’m not doing this to hate on Stiemsma, who will probably latch on somewhere this season. He’s just not very fun to watch, fouling opponents left, right and center. He’s not really protecting the rim if he’s hacking every dude who comes close to the paint. |  |
 | Will Cherry, PG 21 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 3 PTS | +2Remember Dwight Buycks? This is his long lost twin, only trapped in Julyan Stone’s body. |  |
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 18 MIN | 5-10 FG | 5-5 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 15 PTS | +9Looked much better than he did in previous games. Attacked the basket a few times. Made some good passes to facilitate ball movement and hit a key shot down the stretch. Good to see the ole YOLO once more. | |
 | Dwane Casey He spared us all from watching more of Hamilton, Stiemsma and Cherry blow an easy win by putting in Bebe, Bruno and Vasquez to secure the victory. For that, it’s enough to earn him a B. | |
Five Things We Saw
- Observation from Scott Hastie: Garbage time will be must-watch television with Bebe and Bruno sharing the floor, so get your tickets early for those Raptors-Sixers match-ups, because the 15 feet of length is real.
- Also, nickname idea for Bebe and Bruno: The Wingspan Brothers (y’know, like Splash Brothers? No? I’ll show myself out.) Reader lon66 had the right answer: Reach Brothers
- A very sluggish start to the game, complete with a rash of sloppy turnovers and half-hearted play. Things tightened up as the game went along, but play unravelled in the fourth. Altogether, the Raptors turned it over a grand total of 25 times. Yikes.
- Remember how delay of game was the en vogue point of emphasis last season? This year it’s moving screens and shuffling feet after dodging closeouts.
- One more time for Bebe: He has the potential to develop into a wiry, mobile shot blocker in the mould of Marcus Camby and Tyson Chandler. I know that for every Chandler and Camby there’s a million Loren Woods’s and Patrick O’Bryant’s, but the talent is enough for Bebe to earn minutes. I’d rather bet on potential than Stiemsma’s certainty.
