 | Amir Johnson, PF 20 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 3 TO | 9 PTS | +30His contributions don’t show on the box score as well as Jonas’, but he was impressive in his own right tonight, making smart decisions on the pick and roll and blocking Milwaukee’s athletic lineup when they did manage to get by their initial defender (he had 3). In an night of scoring, he didn’t stand out, but was a big part of the Raps breaking out to an insurmountable lead. Shocker. |  | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SF 24 MIN | 5-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 13 PTS | +34Like most of his teammates, his shot was automatic tonight, but I’m particularly impressed with how he handled the length of Giannis Antetokounmpo on both ends of the floor, using some crafty dribbling to create separation on offence and working hard for positioning on defence pre-pass. |  | |||||||
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 21 MIN | 6-7 FG | 6-6 FT | 12 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 18 PTS | +20You could tell he was relieved to have to battle with the Bucks’ skinny (albeit athletic) front line after having to handle Z-Bo and Marc Gasol on Wednesday, and he responded by dominating the glass. He had 12 boards in 21 minutes and played the kind of tough-nosed game we need to see from him against the association’s top teams. That said, a great game to get his mojo back. |  | |||||||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 26 MIN | 6-10 FG | 5-7 FT | 9 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 20 PTS | +32Absolutely dominated the game for stretches in the first half, and didn’t play late as the game was already decided before the 3rd quarter even began. Took a charge with the team up 30, which is basically him personified. | | |||||||
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 29 MIN | 1-8 FG | 5-6 FT | 5 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 7 PTS | +36Had a tough time getting going tonight against the Bucks’ length. His game is a lot more predicated on one-on-one situations than the rest of the Raps, so it may have been a bit of a case of this not being a favourable matchup, or it may have simply been a bad game. That said, if you’re going to have an off night, tonight was the night. Did a good job contributing in other ways, which has been a promising sign from him so far this season. |  | |||||||
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 22 MIN | 1-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +25Didn’t hit early, so the team stopped looking for him. Why wouldn’t you, with everyone else scoring at will? | | |||||||
 | Bruno Caboclo, SF 12 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -3I admit the A+ is a homer grade, but I’m pretty sure I blacked out when he threw down that alley-oop. Proved that he can shoot at the NBA level if nothing else, hitting a couple threes, and added a huge block for good measure. The fan base is absolutely enthralled with this guy, and it was great to see him have a solid debut. | | |||||||
 | Chuck Hayes, C 13 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | +15He came, he saw, he played good defence and hit a runner. That’s a runner more than anyone expects from him. Keep doing your thing, Chuckster. | | |||||||
 | Lucas Nogueira, C 9 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-2 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | -7Played in a weird garbage time lineup (Fields/Bruno/Vasquez/Stiemsma/Bebe) in the fourth with the game out of reach, and got his feet wet by grabbing some boards and scoring his first NBA points on an alley-oop from Vasquez. Looked uncomfortable with the ball, but it was his first game. Welcome to the NBA, big man. | | |||||||
 | Greg Stiemsma, C 11 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -1Got in in garbage time, hit a shot, grabbed some boards, and fouled some guys, as advertised. |  | |||||||
 | Greivis Vasquez, PG 26 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +13He, more than anyone else, needed a game like tonight to get back on track, and he made some excellent decisions with the ball all night, finding open looks for himself and creating easy ones for his teammates with some great passing – getting the two Brazilians their first NBA points in garbage time on some gorgeous alley-oops. Here’s hoping this is the start of a turnaround for him. | | |||||||
 | Louis Williams, SG 19 MIN | 7-14 FG | 3-3 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 22 PTS | +18In a night filled with impressive performances, his was probably the most impressive. Absolutely dominated the game offensively, hit not one, but two buzzer beating 3s (at the end of the first two quarters) and managed the offence extremely well, getting the bench unit out in transition and putting away the game early. Well done, Lou. Well done. | | |||||||
 | Landry Fields, SG 9 MIN | 4-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -7What can I say? Apparently his time to shine is when you’re up 50 against the Bucks. That dunk off a missed Nogueira free throw was pretty. | | |||||||
 | Dwane Casey Not much to critique here seeing as the game was out of reach halfway through the second, but he got Bruno in there for 12 minutes. On a night where nobody deserves a bad grade, how can you give the coach one? | | |||||||
Three Things We Saw
- This was absolute, total domination by the Raptors. The 41-point margin of victory is the largest in team history, and they supplemented that with a plus-20 rebound differential, which is far more important moving forward.
- The Bucks took a beating tonight, so it’s hard to get a feel for them as a team from this game’s performance, but I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more from them soon. They’re young, clearly athletic, and got some good stuff done in transition, particularly in the first half when the game was still somewhat up for grabs.
- Yes, this is just an early-season blowout against an expected non-playoff team, but enjoy this one, Raptor fans. A huge win, a 6-1 homestand, the best record in the conference, 8 points from Bruno, and Cleveland coming up tomorrow night. This, friends, is as close to basketball nirvana as it’s gotten here in a long, long time.
