Quick Reaction: Raptors Show A Lot Of Heart And Soul Beating Pistons

He had a monster game on the glass with seven rebounds in the first half. He also did a great job holding Josh Smith to 10 points. But a lot of the great things Amir Johnson did don’t show up on a stat sheet.

Ross started the game 0-5 from the field before finishing 5-13. While his shot isn’t falling right now, he’s finding a way to do other things like grabbing six rebounds. He also had a monster +/- score of +19. Side note: I loved the cojones he had in the third quarter to follow up a missed three-pointer by draining a three on his very next touch.

For the past few games I had been pleading for Toronto to give him more field goal attempts. Tonight they did and he went 6-11 from the field with 17 points. He blocked two shots and altered countless others. Strong effort on the defensive end and on the glass.

Another MVP-calibre night for Lowry where chants of “M-V-P” rained down on him when he went to the free throw line. What really impressed me is that Lowry realized Jonas Valanciunas could have a big night against Detroit’s bigs so he fed him the rock early and often.

His fall in the third quarter was scary as he went head-over-heels. He was down on the court for a long period in what was a scary play. Hopefully he’s back soon because watching his reinvention this month has been fun to watch.

Typical game for him where he won’t show up in the stat sheet, but he did all the dirty work Toronto needs from him. Another solid game despite limited minutes and touches.

He had a dunk of the year candidate when he gave Andre Drummond a nasty facial. Drummond didn’t like it, and on Johnson’s next touch he delivered a nasty forearm shiver. Props to Johnson for keeping a cool head.

It was a rare night where his shot wasn’t falling in the first half, so he hit teammates with good passes and made an impact on the defensive end. Impressive adjustment during the game for Patterson to find ways to help out when his shot wasn’t dropping.

Chuck Hayes had five points by halftime and the line of the night: “I come into games and mess things up.” He messed things up good late in the game when he got into the grill of Andre Drummond while sticking up for his teammate.

Vasquez appears to be in a shooting slump this month (39% from the field heading into tonight’s game) so it was great to see him share the ball and get teammates open looks. The fact he dished out four dimes while only attempting six field goal attempts was a good ratio for him as he battles through his shooting slump.

Lou: Lou Williams came into the game and scored four points in his first 1:30 of playing time. He finished with 15 points while going 4-8 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arc. He continues to be much-needed instant offence for Toronto.

One of the things that stood out was how he and Greivis Vasquez helped James Johnson keep his cool late in the fourth quarter. Strong game plan from Casey which saw Jonas Valanciunas get a decent amount of touches.