Quick Reaction: Raptors 112, Thunder 102

He hit a pair of threes, looked to be in a great rhythm on offense, and even got up for a dunk. I’m starting to wonder if 20-25 minutes might be the right amount for him to get the most out of him on a nightly basis. Nice to see a bounce-back.

Probably the quietest night he’s had in terms of impact and standing out, but he played within himself, didn’t make many mistakes, and contested well when forced to. Rookies are going to have ups and downs.

Probably his worst game so far, but the degree of difficult was huge. He still protected the rim fairly well and had a nice soft finish at the other end, but he’s understandably going to have some off nights. Nogueira getting the second-half start could be a sign the backup center spot remains fluid when Valanciunas returns.

A rebound shy of a triple-double despite tweaking an ankle and taking a knee to the unmentionables. I know he shot 6-of-20, 30 percent, including 1-of-9 inside the arc, and that shooting stretch is mildly concerning, but it’s really hard for me to not rave about how he ran the team, how much he got teammates involved, and how well he recognizes how to maximize his output when he doesn’t have “it” on offense.

What is there left to say at this point? In the words of Paul Flannery, it’s time to stop thinking about the WAY DeRozan scores and marvel at HOW he does it. And yes, some of his selection is questionable, but the team needed a lot of this for long stretches (and his defense wasn’t a major issue thanks to Andre Robertson, save for one bad backdoor cut).

DeMar DeRozan: 9th player since 1963-64 to get six 30-pt efforts in his team's first 7 games of a season (1st since Bernard King in 1990-91)

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) November 10, 2016

“What would the Raptors offense look like if Carroll and Patterson were knocking down their threes?” Counter-question: How would Raptor fans value Patterson if his threes were steady instead of high-variance (as most threes are)? He’s good, man, and he’s improved as a passer, too.

He was a plus-31 in 29 minutes. All plus-minus caveats aside, but that might actually understate how important he was in this one. Finishing, providing a lob threat, hustling for loose balls, and doing just an admirable job of contesting Westbrook north-south or at the rim. I’ve been trying to tell y’all there’s a real player here beneath the inconsistencies.

He’s still finding his way at the offensive end, which is a little surprising given how steady he normally is. But the defense? Goodness. He shouldn’t be able to defend the players he defends the way he defends them with the size disadvantage he has most times.

Happy for the dude to get his first NBA run, however brief.

Not only did he do a good job defending Westbrook on post-ups, he even seemed to be earning some respect through the process (they work out together a bit in the offseason). This was probably a cool night for him, and he responded well.

I have zero complaints. This team was missing four players, three of them rotation players, on the road against a very good team, and the team got contributions from everyone who was called on. The preparation and readiness of the young players has been massive and is a credit to both the players and the entire coaching staff. The defense has been unexpectedly ahead of schedule. And even with DeRozan’s dominance dictating some things about offensive flow, the Raptors are adding fun wrinkles to their pet sets (and the ball movement tonight was great).