 | Luis Scola, PF 26 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -9 +/-Relatively quiet game by Luis, but did well to score down-low on a few dissective passes from CoJo and DeMar. Outside of that, he struggled to score outside the paint. Interestingly, he was double-teamed every time he touched the ball in the first quarter, and was unable to find the open man at the corner three. |  | |||||||
 | DeMarre Carroll, SF 28 MIN | 1-8 FG | 0-3 3FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | +3 +/-Out-of-character game from DeMarre. He struggled from the field – fine. His offensive inefficiency was something, but he also struggled on the defensive end – losing Beal often and getting switched off his man easily. Carroll is a huge difference-maker when he’s on. The Raptors’ inept perimeter defense could’ve used a better effort from him tonight. |  | |||||||
 | Bismack Biyombo, C 35 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 16 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 4 BLK | 2 TO | 0 PTS | +5 +/-I’m struggling to rate him. On one hand, he is an offensive zero – and that is the most polite way of putting it. He still can’t catch the basketball, and should – at no point in time – receive the ball in the post and be expected to score. On the other hand, he is in God-mode on defense. What a beast. 4 emphatic blocks. #RimProtector #GimmeDat. Also of note: He just dominated the glass with 16 rebounds. |  | |||||||
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 | Kyle Lowry, PG 34 MIN | 9-19 FG | 6-11 3FG | 3-4 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 6 TO | 27 PTS | +6 +/-He’s an all-star. Put the team on his back once again. | | |||||||
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 38 MIN | 9-21 FG | 2-3 3FG | 3-4 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 23 PTS | +3 +/-His stat sheet in the points column won’t look bad, but the rest of his line is uninspiring. DeMar took too many bad shots – which is dumbfounding considering how great he is at scoring from the mid-range and in. He got to the line just twice tonight, and above all, his perimeter defense was atrocious, seemingly getting blown-by on every defensive set. Also, at one point, he passed it to Biyombo in the post, but to his feet. Who gives him the green light to do these things? As Blake Murphy says, Bismack has feet for hands, so imagine what his feet are. But hey, he did dish out the the game-winning assist. Take a C. | | |||||||
 | James Johnson, PF 5 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | -1 +/-He provided some nice minutes in his limited time on the court, including some nice drives to the basket. |  | |||||||
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 20 MIN | 2-4 FG | 2-3 3FG | 1-2 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | -4 +/-One of PatMan’s better games this season. His contribution was a huge reason why the bench kept the Raptors in this game. Nice job on the glass too. | | |||||||
 | Terrence Ross, SF 20 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-2 3FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 4 PTS | -1 +/-The same old Terrence we’ve seen nearly every game since his new contract was signed. He didn’t do anything particularly worse than anyone else. His three turnovers were right on par with DeMar’s 4 and Lowry’s 6 TOs. But there is a certain lethargy about T-Ross. |  | |||||||
 | Cory Joseph, PG 34 MIN | 4-6 FG | 1-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 9 PTS | +8 +/-And finally, we get to talk about the star of the night. After each game, I say to myself, there’s no way I could like this kid more than I already do. False. I said it again tonight, over and over again after he was providing the spark off the bench when the Raptors were struggling heavily. After his game-winner, I’m certain that this dude is now officially my favorite player in the league. Thank you Gregg Popovich, thank you 6ixGod. God bless the mother that gave birth to you. |  | |||||||
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 | Dwane CaseyThe Raptors for nearly 48 minutes, were playing long-ball iso early in the shot clock, which was a huge reason they shot just 33% in the first quarter. Surely somewhere he should have emphasized a more tame game where the Raptors could run plays in the half-court set to get DeMar slashing into the paint which would have led to higher percentage looks. Having said that, the Raptors held the Wizards to just 32.9% from the field. And Dwane did draw up a wide-open three for CoGod to win the game. | | |||||||
Four Things We Saw
- The Raptors and Wizards combined for 14/42 from the field in the first quarter (33.3% each). The overall difference was that the Raptors – over time – started hitting their shots and had their shooting percentage climb to 43%, while the Wizards’ FG % actually dropped even lower.
- What is it about this Wizards’ team that makes the Raptors’ perimeter defense look so fragile? If Washington shot just marginally better, they could have routed the Raps’.
- Huge factor in the struggle tonight despite the win: The Raptors got to the line just 14 times. On a typical night, the Raptors would quietly have an extra 10 or so points just from DeMar’s ability to get to the line alone.
- Two reasons why all Raptor fans will be smiling in their sleep tonight:1) John Wall missed two free-throws in the clutch
2) Bradley Beal got shook
