BeBe and the Raptors put on a pre-season clinic in Detroit to save us from the colossal disappointment that was the Toronto Blue Jays game tonight. With the gut-wrenching spectacle of postseason baseball behind us – it’s time to focus on gettin’ buckets!
 | Toronto | 103 | Final Recap | Box Score | 92 | Detroit |  |
  | D. Carroll 26 MIN | 1-8 FG | 1-3 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +12 +/-Yikes. Carroll’s boundless energy was the only positive in his game tonight as he continues to shake off the rest from a lengthy absence. His close-out defence on the perimeter was appreciated – and the 26 minutes was a good sign of endurance, but his shot was off in a major way. He knocked down just one of his eight field goals (at least it was a three?) and never made it to the line. If the Raptors want to take another step this season – Carroll is going to have to find his touch on the offensive side of the ball. | |
  | P. Siakam 25 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 1-3 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 7 PTS | +1 +/-Another productive outing for the big man, and the 25 minutes were another indicator of Casey’s confidence in his rookie. Siakam battled for boards, showed off his length, and finished well at the rim. His confidence on offense will take a long time to match his confidence on defense, but the skills are there for a long, productive season. | |
  | J. Valanciunas 28 MIN | 2-8 FG | 0-0 3FG | 5-6 FT | 12 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | +5 +/-JV continues to baffle. His line looks decent, with the exception of his field goal percentage (25%), but there’s an energy lacking. Despite the 12 rebounds, he seemed to get bullied when he attacked on offense, and fell quickly out of any scoring plans once Lowry and DeRozan started cooking. He played off the ball well, and set some beautiful screens for his guards, but until JV becomes more assertive with the ball in his hands, he’ll continue to frustrate fans. | |
  | K. Lowry 29 MIN | 8-17 FG | 5-8 3FG | 6-6 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 27 PTS | +11 +/-Despite the Blue Jays failing to reach third base once all afternoon – Kyle Lowry had no problem racking up the triples. He looked in all-star form with five buckets from beyond the arc, and was pulling up, attacking, and passing at will. Him and DeRozan combined for 19 points…in the first quarter, and continued to trade shots. He was perfect from the line, and even got into it with Stanley Johnson. Lowry is more than ready. | |
 | D. DeRozan 24 MIN | 10-18 FG | 1-3 3FG | 5-7 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 26 PTS | +11 +/-DeMar started off sluggish. He settled for a few long jumpers in the first before watching Lowry go to work and thinking “Hey! I know how to do that!”. So he did. DeRozan attacked the rim, taking on multiple defenders, and knocking down any open looks he had. He was still just 1-3 from three point land, but at this point in his career its unlikely that part of his game is going to take off. That’s fine as long as he’s getting to the line, knocking down his free throws, and playing with that All-Star attitude. | |
  | P. Patterson 20 MIN | 1-5 FG | 1-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +3 +/-A disappointing performance for Pat-Pat in a good spot. His energy was awesome (because it always is) but his shot looks broken in the makeover. He was just 1-5 tonight, but did knock down a three. If even one of him or Carroll can provide that tenacious energy while ALSO scoring, this Raptors lineup becomes that much deeper. Until then, we’re left with what-ifs. | |
 | L. Nogueira 18 MIN | 4-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | +11 +/-OH BEBE. If any of you watched this game, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when I say the Pistons announcers basically thought Noguiera was a basketball god descended from the heavens. At one point, one of the broadcasters exclaimed “ONE THING I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THESE RAPTORS WAS THAT NO-GARRA-KID BOY HES LONG BOY HE CAN PLAY” and if that doesn’t tell you about his game then I don’t know what else can. Read his line – he was fantastic and the backup center spot is all but his. | |
 | J. Poeltl 5 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | +2 +/-Not much too see here – the Ninja Poeltl played just five minutes, and showed a decent touch at the rim on his two buckets, but really, five minutes is five minutes. He’ll get some more run eventually, but it looks like he’s lost ground on Noguiera. | |
 | C. Joseph 24 MIN | 4-7 FG | 1-1 3FG | 1-1 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 10 PTS | +7 +/-Joseph’s excellent preseason continues. He captained the ship when Lowry sat, and worked well when they were together. He still eats up a lot of clock trying to facilitate the offense, but there’s few better back up point guards in the league at this point, and he’s only getting better. | |
  | F. VanVleet 15 MIN | 0-4 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -9 +/-Yikes. Freddy had a shot to really solidify that 15th roster spot tonight with his 15 minutes…and did literally nothing with it (okay he got a steal). He looked timid tonight after his recent explosion, and had trouble creating his own shots when the other reserves were out. The final spot is still likely his, but tonight was a wasted opportunity. | |
 | D. Crawford 9 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +5 +/-Same deal as VanVleet – Crawford did nothing with his limited run, and that’s fine. Nine minutes is only nine minutes, and at the very least, he was a +5, unlike VanVleet (-9) – still would have liked to see more aggression from him, | |
 | N. Powell 18 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -4 +/-Stormin’ Norman was more of a light breeze tonight. The 18 minutes were still nice to see, and his athleticism is borderline shocking sometimes. If he can find any semblance of consistency with the ball in his hands, the minutes will fall into his lap. His three assists showed a better understanding of the offense, and the excitement should be high for Powell for the upcoming season. | |
| Dwane Casey Casey distributed minutes well tonight, and his trust in Nogueira to have a big game was probably his best decision of the night. He was engaged, managed his starter’s time on the court, but still pushed them to play hard. His energy and professionalism was evident in Lowry and DeRozan’s play especially, and helped calm down Kyle when he got into it with Stanley Johnson. | |
Five Things We Saw
- The emergence of BeBe. Did he shock the world with his line? No, but I implore each and every one of you to get your hands on the minutes he had tonight and you will salivate with the potential. The Pistons broadcast team said it the best “HE’S JUST SO LONG” And he is! This doesn’t confirm his back up role, but it’s the closest thing to it.
- Kyle Lowry ready to GET.IT.DONE. His little scuffle with Stanley Johnson was evident that Lowry is ready to pick up where he left off…which is also unfortunately concerning. The “out of gas” cliche is more applicable to number 7 than almost anyone in the NBA – here’s hoping Casey can manage his minutes and still win games.
- BUCKETS FROM DEEP. Fine, there were only nine, but the Raps shot 42% from beyond the arc, (mainly thanks to Lowry) but the shots were well selected, and often resulted from beautiful ball movement around the perimeter.
- Boards baby. The Pistons are no joke when it comes to rebounding, and while Andre Drummond still got his (13), Toronto out-rebounded Detroit by ten on the night, and thats encouraging given their field goal percentage.
- Making the most of your chances. The Raps had 21 points (TWENTY ONE!) off of turnovers tonight compared to the Pistons five. They pushed the ball down the court, and showed the hustle of a team thats been here before.
