  | P. Siakam 11 MIN | 0-4 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -11 +/- Probably his roughest stretch of the season in the first half, playing a bit scattered on the defensive end in the pick-and-pop and blowing a transition layup. These games will happen, and he’s still showing more good than bad. | |
  | D. Carroll 23 MIN | 4-7 FG | 0-2 3FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | -10 +/- Another quality game in which Carroll finished in the 20-25 minute range. He’s starting to look comfortable on the offensive end again, which is encouraging. The Knicks should be a nice test for his defense. | |
  | J. Valanciunas 21 MIN | 5-8 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 12 PTS | -9 +/- Clearly a bit of rust here, Valanciuans struggled to help with Kemba Walker and Cody Zeller in the first half but at least made some hay on offense. He was a bit more active to start the second, which was good to see. Not sure if him sitting late was a minutes limit or a game-flow call. | |
  | K. Lowry 36 MIN | 7-16 FG | 2-8 3FG | 3-3 FT | 8 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 19 PTS | +11 +/- Hard to hang Walker’s big night on Lowry when he was clapping back pretty well and forcing Walker into some degree-of-difficulty makes. And one of the four fouls that sat him early in the third was the tickiest of tack. Absolutely took over for a stretch when he decided he wasn’t losing this game in the fourth. | |
  | D. DeRozan 36 MIN | 14-26 FG | 0-1 3FG | 6-7 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 34 PTS | -13 +/- What is there even to say at this point? Where is this offense without him? How do you defend him right now? Is there a shot he can’t hit inside the arc, a defender he can’t get over or beat to the rim? My man. | |
  | P. Patterson 33 MIN | 2-10 FG | 2-7 3FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | +10 +/- Weird one for Patterson, who continued to be pretty cold from the floor and didn’t have his strongest defensive night but hit the offensive glass at key times and was a big part of the Raptors’ strong first-half ball movement. Seems he’s a mixed bag every night so far this year. | |
  | T. Ross 20 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-1 3FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | +3 +/- Came in in the first half, got hot, the team went on a run. Came in in the second half, did not, the Hornets went on a run. A positive impact overall, but it’s telling that Powell got the call for the bulk of the fourth once again. | |
 | L. Nogueira 27 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 10 PTS | +12 +/- Got the nod ahead of Poeltl, which most saw coming. Played down the stretch over Valanciunas, which probably few expected. He had some short, iffy stretches but also continued to flash some nice rim protection instincts and passing on offense. Apparently a plus-minus god now. | |
 | C. Joseph 25 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-3 3FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +2 +/- Didn’t do as good a job as you’d expect on Walker, but part of that was Walker just being ridiculous. Contributed more on offense to help make up for it, including a pair of threes and some clutch free-throws (although he missed an outlet before getting fouled). And his fade stays on point like a No. 2 pencil. | |
 | N. Powell 10 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +10 +/- Break glass in case of emergency. The closer. Whatever. Powell is finishing pretty much every game for the Raptors right now and may wind up with the biggest gap in 1-3Q minutes and 4Q minutes in history. He turned Nic Batum into Treveon Graham with his ball-denial. | |
 | Dwane Casey Unless you have an issue with the center rotation, there’s probably not a lot to complain about here. Eventually, he might need to find a way to get Powell some earlier minutes, but I love that he’s not afraid to go to a cold bench player later over his established rotation guys. Would like to find a way for the team to perform better in third quarters, a long-time issue for this club. Maybe he’s too chill at halftime? I doubt it, but it’s a weird multi-year phenomenon. | |
Five Things We Saw
- The Raptors were up by 14 at half, on the road, even though Kemba Walker had 21 points on 7/10 shooting and at one point railed off 11 straight. Non-Walker Hornets shot 20 percent in the first half, so other than some issues with a tough guard in the 1-5 pick-and-roll (not exactly Valanciunas’ specialty matchup), the defense was better early than the halftime score might suggest (I also had it at 50 estimated possessions, so 88 points per-100, a great mark).
- Giving up 38 (THIRTY-EIGHT!!) in the third, however, is completely unacceptable. I don’t care how hot a team gets, or how much Kemba Walker is cooking, you can’t turn in a frame this poor at the defensive end. This was up there with Q3 against Denver and take-your-pick from the Sacramento game for the team’s worst quarter of the season.
- OK, so as bad as that was, there’s a ton of credit due for the 12-0 run late in the fourth to wrestle control back. The defense over those couple of minutes was pristine, and Norman Powell in particular deserves a ton of credit there. Even with the second-half slippage and no MKG, I’m inclined to call a win in Charlotte with 113 points against the No. 2 defense a quality win.
- The Hornets hit a bajilion threes. I’m not sure if that’s going to be an issue for the Raptors again this season – their defense has been better so far – but it certainly was tonight. Some of them were impossible looks, but Marvin Williams and Frank Kaminsky enjoyed a lot of space to let fly. The defensive rebounding was also suspect, especially when the primary rim protector had to help on a drive and his man wasn’t picked up.
- DeRozan is the first player since Michael Jordan in 1986 to score 30-plus in 7 of his first 8 games. This is just an unbelievable stretch of play, and it’s been a damn treat to watch, especially once you get past the bit of dissonance that comes with some of his shot attempts (including FOUR of his insanely clutch pull-ups in this one). Please don’t ever, ever chill.
