 | Luis Scola, PF 22 MIN | 4-8 FG | 1-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 9 PTS | +12 +/-Dude’s in there for his offense and that’s what he’ll ultimately be judged by. Stretches out in space to the elbow area on every guard drive and if you find him, he’ll knock ‘em down, or at least take a high-percentage shot. Tidy offensive game, including a big three in the third. |  |
 | DeMarre Carroll, SF 33 MIN | 5-14 FG | 1-4 3FG | 0-1 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | +20 +/-Tried to get himself going and missed some pretty clean open looks from three (did hit one). Clearly not at his best and against what New Orleans offers on the wings, doesn’t need to be. Good warm-up game for him to come back and glad he got some shots up. |  |
 | Jonas Valanciunas, C 28 MIN | 8-11 FG | 0-0 3FG | 4-6 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 4 TO | 20 PTS | +16 +/-New bald look saw him be uber-efficient with the ball, and you’ll love this: he was very decisive. Was not ponderous at all with the ball and made his moves quickly against Ajinca, who despite being big, isn’t as agile as JV. Supplied rim protection as well, and the only negative is the four turnovers but that’s just because he finally got some consistent touches. More touches will mean less TOs over time for him as he gets comfortable. |  |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gehUMbHkoRE | ||
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 35 MIN | 4-13 FG | 4-8 3FG | 8-8 FT | 6 REB | 5 AST | 4 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 20 PTS | +9 +/-Toney Douglas was all over him in the first quarter and he did not react well – hurried his dribbles into a defender, couldn’t break away into space, and didn’t have the pressure-release valves available to him. Better ball movement in the second half saw his defender leave him more frequently and he nailed his shots to make ‘em pay. |  |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 35 MIN | 5-12 FG | 0-1 3FG | 5-6 FT | 6 REB | 11 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 15 PTS | +20 +/-Playing point forward for most of the game, and found Valanciunas, Carroll, and Patterson consistently with good passes, who knocked them down. Alonzo Gee gave him trouble early by pressuring him, but he soon eased off and for some reason Eric Gordon was checking him, which DeRozan didn’t have issue getting past. Had a pretty nice dunk. |  |
| ||
 | Anthony Bennett, PF 2 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -2 +/-Isn’t he supposed to be in Mississauga? |  |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 22 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-5 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | +8 +/-Signs of life, especially in the second half. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is a write-off defensively and didn’t come close to contesting a rebound in the first half. In the second, though, knocked down a couple shots and made himself useful. Still, you’re just not seeing an all-around game from him which is what most fans are expecting. |  |
 | Bismack Biyombo, PF 20 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 4-4 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | +3 +/-Did not want to come out to guard Ajinca and paid for it. On the positive side, another strong rebounding game and hit all his FTs. | |
 | Delon Wright, PG 2 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -2 +/-GO Bus for Mississauga leaves at 10:20 PM. Just made it. | |
 | Cory Joseph, PG 29 MIN | 3-7 FG | 1-2 3FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | +11 +/-Only one to handle and protect the ball somewhat well in the first half. Though he’s not quick, he doesn’t appear to have much trouble getting past his man because he, sort of, backs up to build a runway and then bulldozes his way into the paint. Today he picked up an offensive foul doing that, but that is his go-to move when the team needs a score. | |
 | Norman Powell, SG 11 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | 0 +/-He came for a bit in the first half, was late on a rotation and fouled a big. | |
 | Dwane Casey He’s got to fix the slow starts. He should’ve known that the Pelicans love to press and that there needed to be more ball-handling right from the start to relieve the pressure Smith and Douglas were putting on our backcourt. Not sure if having DeRozan handle the rock against their guards was his idea, but it paid off. Kept JV in the game and he produced as expected. | |
Three Things We Saw
- I still maintain that even though the offense looks like crap most of the time, there are right ideas behind it. There’s plenty of elements of a motion offense like flex cuts, down screens, etc., and it’s a matter of time that this gets better.
- Heavy, heavy minutes for Lowry and DeRozan early in the season. Casey has to watch this closely because we’re here for the long run and this bit us last year, and would hate to see this happen again. Carroll played 33 coming back from injury, so I don’t know, seems a bit high.
- No doubt not having Anthony Davis helped, but we’ll take the home win ahead of a pretty brutal 9-day stretch.
