Quick Reaction: Raptors 93, Nuggets 112

Forced some turnovers early, which seems to be his modus operandi of late. He’s not quick by any means, but he’s so smart at recognizing a chance to trap, cut off space, or make a well-timed reach.

Left the game with a sprained ankle, which stands to make things difficult for the Raptors moving forward. Played quite poorly before leaving, taking a few silly gambles and getting bled on back-door cuts.

Looked gassed pretty early in each stint, struggled with the super-active Jokic, and did a pretty poor job setting screens. Thought his team looked him off with good post position a couple of times, but it wouldn’t have made a great deal of difference. This was a bad one.

I generally try to avoid playing doctor and there are any number of things that can go into a bad couple of games. Still, after playing 41 minutes through a sprained wrist Tuesday, Lowry has shot 7-of-27 in the two games since, scoring 28 points with two assists. With a short night Monday and three days of rest coming up after Thursday, hope for a return to the regular Lowry form next week, if this is actually a matter of wrist/fatigue rather than just a bad couple of nights.

Waste of a solid night on offense, though he was fairly willing to give those points back at the other end. When he dished four dimes in the first, it looked like the ball might move well for the team, but then nobody else could score and the entire offense was DeRozan getting to the line. He does that well, but it wasn’t enough.

Got into it with Mike Miller, which is probably worth a higher grade. Hit the glass well. He’s still shown so little at either level to suggest he has an NBA skill that warrants playing time.

Passed up a few open looks and still managed to go 1-of-5 from outside. Wasn’t the greatest of nights for the reserve group, and his cold shooting on largely open looks contributed. Tried to move the ball well, at least.

Brought some nice energy initially, making a few plays on defense and sticking a couple of jumpers. Had a ridiculous ball-fake in transition that led to free throws, too. Lost the shooting touch outside the line and didn’t bring it as well on the defensive end in the third quarter.

Thought he’d be really up for an opportunity when the other centers weren’t doing a ton but slipped into a bit of a disinterested demeanor late. His length creates issues and he’s a smart, heady defender. Unfortunate they didn’t look his way on the roll a little more.

Didn’t play horribly outside of a brutal three-minute sequence in the second quarter where he went Full Biyombo on the offensive end. Liked the move to give Nogueira a look early in a lost game just to see what he could offer, and that’s not an indictment of Biyombo, I don’t think.

Hit a pair of threes! That’s something he’s been flashing at close to a league-average clip in the D-League and would represent an important development in his game, particularly if he gets comfortable pulling up.

Couldn’t help Lowry get the offense going when his lead guard needed a pick-me-up. Offensive malaise isn’t entirely on him but this was disappointing given how well he’d played, with or without Lowry, in the four games leading up to this.

Asking him to take a few threes was somewhat unfair given his game, but they’ll need him to do that if he’s going to fill in for Johnson. Had a woeful time finishing but his energy and defense are palpable. I’m not discouraged.

Not sure any of this can really be hung on the coach. Almost to a man, the team played poorly. He tried going to the bench early, he tried dusting off Powell and Nogueira earlier than he normally would to spark things, and he conceded the loss in a fairly timely manner, sitting Lowry and DeRozan late. He also got T’d up, a rarity, for whatever that’s worth. I don’t think a 25-point game falls on the coach. If they come out flat again Tuesday, then sure. But don’t try to use this as a jump-off point for Casey hate when he had, like, 1.5 players playing well.