 C | P. Siakam8 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/-Had a couple of nice buckets in the first half, but had nothing special to offer on the defensive end, with some weak rotations, and missed assignments in just 8 minutes of action. The Raptors obviously can’t rely on Siakam, but strong play at this position certainly wouldn’t hurt. | ||||||||
 C- | D. Carroll23 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0-4 FG, 0-3 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/-A very quiet night offensively for DC, who was trying to remain active defensively but was still beaten on many close-outs and in the mid-range guarding Paul Millsap and Mike Muscala. He seemed tentative and like he was rushing his shot a little bit, leading to an 0/3 night from deep | ||||||||
 B | J. Valanciunas26 MIN, 11 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 5-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 3 +/-Got dominated for most of the night by the Dwight Howard matchup, leading to rebounds given up and silly fouls. He did mix in some strong takes on the offensive end, which was encouraging, but the defensive shortcomings inside for the Raptors simply cost them the game. | ||||||||
 A | K. Lowry37 MIN, 27 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST, 9-16 FG, 6-8 3FG, 3-6 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 17 +/-Had an aggressive first half, continued his hot shooting from deep, and added the offensive punch needed to keep the Raptors in the game for several pockets of the game. If it wasn’t for Lowry’s hot shooting, the Raptors wouldn’t even have sniffed this thing in the fourth quarter. Lowry is now 51 for his last 83 attempts from deep. | ||||||||
 A | D. DeRozan37 MIN, 34 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 15-26 FG, 0-0 3FG, 4-6 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -8 +/-Had a tough shooting first half where he seemed to force the issue, leave his feet for passes, and turn the ball over – due to the length and defense of Bazemore and Sefolosha (5/13 shooting in the first half). But his quick 6 points to start the second quarter was huge in getting the Raptors back into the game, leading to another 30+ scoring night to close it out. | ||||||||
 A- | P. Patterson35 MIN, 10 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 18 +/-Was probably the only Raptor that had anything to offer defensively, and it didn’t hurt the three-point stroke was falling as well for Patterson who was +18 in 35 minutes of action, and a key cog in the comeback to start the second half. In the end though, none of that really mattered – the defense was just that bad. | ||||||||
 B+ | C. Joseph27 MIN, 17 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 7-12 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/-Had some strong and nifty takes to the hoop, and was turn-over free, with strong play in the closing minutes in the fourth quarter. Typical Cory Joseph night, but the defensive struggles still made him a –8 for the night. | ||||||||
 B | T. Ross22 MIN, 10 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 4-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/-You could tell Terrence wanted to contribute tonight, but with Atlanta’s defense suffocating Raptor drivers on most possessions, it led to less drive-and-dish opportunities for Ross who normally capitalizes easily on Lowry, Joseph or DeRozan dishes to the perimeter. | ||||||||
 C- | L. Nogueira14 MIN, 3 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -13 +/-A tough night defensively for Bebe as well, as guarding Howard made him commit a ton of fouls, and give up critical offensive rebounds. I’m comfident he can bounce back defensively, but at this stage of his career and with his level of strength, guarding physically imposing bigs makes Nogeuira a fouling machine | ||||||||
 C | N. Powell12 MIN, 1 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/-Not much at all from Powell tonight in 12 minutes of action. | ||||||||
 D | Dwane CaseyGame preparation and readiness was a clear issue tonight as the Raptors came out absolutely flat defensively, allowing 35 points in the first quarter alone leading to an 8 point deficit to start the second quarter. The Raptors went small for many pockets of the game, but still suffered numerous blow-by’s in addition to being carved up inside. Leaving Bebe in the game against Howard also cost the Raptors big time. | ||||||||
THINGS WE SAW
- Defense getting shredded: The Raptors defense tonight was well…abysmal. In what’s been a questionable year for the defense already, tonight was likely rock bottom for the Raptors thus far, as they went on to allow a season high 69 points for the Hawks in the first half on 56% shooting. The Hawks finished with a whopping 62 points in the paint, fueled by Dwight Howard’s 27 points and 15 rebounds. No matter how good the Raptors have been recently on the offensive end, that’s just inexcusable.
- Defensive rebounding: Even on the possessions where the Raptors forced a miss, it was a massive struggle for the Raps to close out defensive possessions, giving up 15 offensive rebounds to the Hawks. And most of those rebounds led to efficient looks for the Hawks, who imposed their will on the inside via Dwight Howard.
- Reliance on backcourt: The Raptors once again had to rely on the scoring and usage of DeMar and Kyle who scored a combined 57 points and played a combined 74 minutes. In a game where the Raptors get schooled on their home court, it doesn’t help that their two best stars had to be utilized this much.
