 | Luis Scola, PF 30 MIN | 6-11 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -12 +/-Made the springy young Bucks use every bit of their length to fight for rebounds but a little exploitable at the other end given the quickness disadvantage. |  |
 | Terrence Ross, SF 31 MIN | 3-7 FG | 1-4 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 7 PTS | +8 +/-Despite a somewhat modest line and an egregious early-fourth turnover, Ross turned in his third consecutive game that didn’t make me rip my hair out. Progress! | |
 | Bismack Biyombo, C 34 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-1 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 4 PTS | +11 +/-Shouldn’t be touching the ball enough to get four turnovers and wasn’t particularly effective as a screener or dive-man. The rebounding was needed but thought Raptors could have gone small late. |  |
 | Kyle Lowry, PG 35 MIN | 5-16 FG | 2-8 3FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 5 TO | 12 PTS | 0 +/-On the quiet side until an enormous bucket late, splitting a double-team to essentially seal the victory. Looked a little tired, reasonable given the minutes load of late. | |
 | DeMar DeRozan, SG 35 MIN | 8-17 FG | 0-1 3FG | 11-12 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 27 PTS | -2 +/-Someone’s jealous of the attention we’ve been giving Lowry for the NBA All-Star Game. Turned in another strong, efficient offensive performance. Low assist total was reasonable given how active Bucks are in passing lanes and with closeouts. |  |
 | James Johnson, PF 11 MIN | 3-4 FG | 1-1 3FG | 0-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 7 PTS | 0 +/-Strong minutes in support where he showed the full Silky: Some nice easy buckets, good man defense, and even a three, but a careless turnover that stood out, too. |  |
 | Patrick Patterson, PF 32 MIN | 3-6 FG | 2-4 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | +15 +/-The line doesn’t pop but Patterson gave some really, really good minutes. Thought this was the best he’s played defensively all season, and he attacked closeouts well to keep the offense flowing. | |
 | Cory Joseph, PG 32 MIN | 4-6 FG | 1-1 3FG | 4-8 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 13 PTS | +15 +/-There really aren’t many more things to say about Joseph. He’s the consummate B+ quick react ranking. He’s so steady and helps get Lowry and DeRozan the ball in more advantageous spots than they would otherwise. | |
 | Dwane Casey I’m not sure the inability to put a team away falls on him – guys have to execute – but someone has to take the hit for another night with an 8-man rotation against a team the Raptors have no business playing their starters heavy minutes against. Otherwise, things were mostly fine. |  |
Five Things We Saw
- Nice to see the Raptors shake off their slow start midway through the first rather than waiting until late in the second as usual. Credit to Casey for calling an early timeout and making quick subs to get things right.
- The Bucks are going to improve a lot as the season goes on, Monroe finds his footing in the scheme, and the young guys improve. I was more down on them than most entering this year but you can see where they’re heading, even if PG is still a huge question mark (ya man lost his job to Ovinton).
- The defensive slippage in the third was hard to explain given how well they guarded the other three quarters and how poorly the Bucks have been playing on offense the last few weeks. Basketball is hard, it turns out.
- Nice to see Raptors 905 shown some love in the crowd. Today’s day game was a lot of fun, even in a one-point defeat. Sucks that the Raptors couldn’t put things away early enough to let Wright and Caboclo do double-duty.
- Sixers are up next…doubt the Raptors will sleep on them given how tight Philly played them in the first half last time and given the near-collapse against Milwaukee. But who knows?
