Quick Reaction: Raptors 103, Pistons 89

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the affable Argentine. Ilyasova was eating his lunch, he didn’t have much utility on offense, and he’s just too slow for some matchups. It’s probably time he shift to the bench.

What is it about the Pistons? Does he get up for the Drummond matchup? Is Drummond just THAT bad defensively? Valanciunas is shooting something like 60 percent against Drummond in his career and added in a few nice passes, some heady defense, and terrific work snuffing out the pick-and-roll. Really encouraging game.

Truly terrific outing, especially since he started out really slow. Dominated the entire second half, hitting an array of different shots and breaking down the defense to get the ball swinging around the perimeter. Took a phenomenal charge on a Baynes dive. Sneaky lil’ fella.

Quietly put together a nice all-around offensive night. Morris did a much better job on him than expected, and DeRozan responded by setting up teammates. Didn’t have a great night in man defense but nobody on the Pistons felt much like scoring or letting Morris work the mismatch, anyway.

It took him 38 minutes but he finally got on the board as a starter. Did a really nice job staying tight on Johnson and making life difficult for him, denying the ball and then forcing it out of his hands. The lack of offense (one point in 43 minutes now) is a minor concern but at the same time hardly his fault.

Came into the game, missed a look at the rim. Human Victory Poutine.

The zero-rebound thing is a weird occasional Patterson performance. Tonight, it was a case of him sticking to fours outside, and he did a great job closing space on Tolliver and chasing Ilyasova around. Feels like he shoots 240% with Lowry and -14% without him but I looked the numbers up and that is not the case.

There is no longer a grade that can accurately capture Ross’ performance. He earns a TJ+ for this one. Great shooting, mostly solid shot selection, some excellent instinct plays on defense, and a terror in transition. Believe.

Came in, the crowd roared, missed a shot. Dat smile, tho.

Came in, grabbed a rebound, missed a shot. It’s really hard to give grades for these short appearances.

Surprisingly had a tough time on his own glass with Baynes, who is relentless and attacks the offensive boards in opportune ways, sensing the lack of crack-down when Biyombo helps on a shot. Nothing to dislike here, just a quiet night.

Came in, got a rebound, missed a shot. Did every one of the D-League Detachment have an edict to do just that?

Another really solid game. His team defense is unmatched and he fights through screens and recovers so quickly and so well, it’s tough to ever get more than an inch off his hip. When his funky drives are resulting in makeable layups, he can be a near-perfect backup point guard. Now, if he’d get the confidence to knock down some of those threes he passes up in favor of a reset.

Any complaints? Probably not, right? A couple of really nice play calls, smart rotations that were largely unobjectionable, a nice game plan for Drummond once again, and a clear edict to put Johnson in uncomfortable defensive positions at the two. Coaching’s much easier when your team plays this well, I’d imagine.