Quick React: Toronto Raptors 102 – Lakers 93

Kobe Bryant brought his farewell tour group to the ACC and while he had his moments it was the home town Toronto Raptors who registered the win 102 - 93

December 7, 2015 Tamberlyn Richardson

Los Angeles Lakers

93

Final
Recap | Box Score

102

Toronto Raptors

	Luis Scola, PF 17 MIN \| 0-3 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 2-2 FT \| 1 REB \| 2 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 2 PTS \| -9 +/-Poor performance from the Big who has often brought the intangibles early this season (maybe he’s tired). Made a nifty one handed catch – pass in the first quarter which wasn’t relevant other than it highlighted for me the fact the squad needs to focus on increasing ball/player movement.
	Terrence Ross, SF 39 MIN \| 8-12 FG \| 4-6 3FG \| 2-2 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 22 PTS \| 0 +/-Wonder if his eyes lit up at the prospect of facing Lou Williams. Something was definitely inspiring to him as he posted arguably his best quarter of the year right from the tip: 13 points, 2 rebounds, steal. Through the next 2.5 quarters he went into hide and seek mode finally reappearing in the second half of the 4th quarter. I wonder if he’ll need to register back to back efforts like this or if this one productive night will allow Ujiri the ability to trade him Regardless of my comment above his grade was earned on this night and showcases how frustrating Ross is to the fan base because it was so easy for him to achieve this result.

	Bismack Biyombo, C 29 MIN \| 4-8 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 7-11 FT \| 13 REB \| 0 AST \| 0 STL \| 2 BLK \| 0 TO \| 15 PTS \| +10 +/-Without DeMarre Carroll or Bebe available it was a given the Raptors would need “the others” to step up, it’s just we were expecting it to be players like Ross, JJ, Powell and Patterson. Color me surprised Bismack got busy on both ends. Forget the blown bunnies and just pat him on the back for giving full effort. If you’re asking why Ross and Biz get approximately the same grade it’s because Biyombo brought the effort throughout the game (Ross for just 1.5 quarters) and Biz had the double-double
	Kyle Lowry, PG 38 MIN \| 9-19 FG \| 5-11 3FG \| 4-4 FT \| 7 REB \| 6 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 27 PTS \| +6 +/-Needs to be in the MVP conversation.. WHY? Because he makes the plays that either: stop the team from falling too far behind, holds opponents at a distance or pushes Raptors over the top. It was clear he was doing what needed to be done vs an inferior club on 2nd night of back to back. Have to admit even I was surprised by his 19 points with 5 of 8 from three in first half. He scored that 19 so easily I didn’t even notice he hit that many More than his short hand with DeRozan I’m loving his chemistry with Joseph. I’m pretty sure he’s earned the whistle from the zebra’s by now, I wish they would just smarten up.
	DeMar DeRozan, SG 35 MIN \| 7-14 FG \| 0-1 3FG \| 2-3 FT \| 5 REB \| 6 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 2 TO \| 16 PTS \| +7 +/-Not sure what the heck he thought he was doing taking super long 2’s (that looked like 3-Point shots). I mean maybe he figured he could practice vs Lakers but cut it out DD. His lack of free throws tells me either he’s tired, hurt of playing soft. Take your pick. (and I’m not usually tough on him). In the end his stat line reads nice and warrants a higher score than I originally was going to give him. Still I expect more from DeRozan than I do from Patterson or Johnson so they earn a higher grade. I will give him kudos for playing his hero aggressive on defense early, but overall I felt he could have lowered the boom and helped Lowry/Joseph et el end this one early. DD dialed in the 2-way effort on this one until the final half quarter.
	James Johnson, PF 17 MIN \| 2-3 FG \| 0-0 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 0 AST \| 2 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 4 PTS \| -2 +/-Was playing well, then lost track of his man and Casey yanked him … big surprise. Hey, when you are short handed the dog house isn’t quite as deep so we saw more of him in the second half. He did his job.

	Patrick Patterson, PF 29 MIN \| 1-7 FG \| 0-4 3FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 2 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 2 PTS \| +16 +/-Despite going 0-4 in first half he was team high plus +11 on the floor. And maybe people might not agree but I’ll take a game high plus +16 along with all the intangibles he brought tonight. Though I’d like him to score a consistent 10 ppg it seems he has turned a corner and looks much more confident. More than anyone on the team I think the home stand could help him especially if there is a commitment in practice to working on ball movement and swinging the ball to an open wing for a 3 point shot.
	Cory Joseph, PG 31 MIN \| 3-7 FG \| 0-2 3FG \| 8-10 FT \| 2 REB \| 2 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 0 TO \| 14 PTS \| +16 +/-Danced Julius Randle out of his knickers! Speaking of zebra’s what the heck does Joseph have to do to buy a whistle from them? Love this kid!
	Dwane Casey Again the start was an issue though they finished the quarter strong. His line-ups were sufficient but I would have liked to see him call out the team on their lack of effort on a couple occasions tonight.

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