 | Brooklyn | 113 | Final Box Score | 132 | Toronto |  |
 C- | D. Carroll29 MIN, 18 PTS, 11 REB, 0 AST, 7-16 FG, 3-10 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 14 +/- I have no idea what to say about Carroll. He was there. Is that enough? He lost Bogdanovic a few too many times when going under a screen. He wasn’t shy in taking shots, but did not shoot well. He also got a double-double by doing a great job on the boards. Carroll wasn’t bad tonight…but other than rebounding he also wasn’t great. I expect more from him overall. | |
 A | L. Nogueira30 MIN, 10 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 5-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-1 FT, 4 BLK, 2 TO, 13 +/- I love that Bebe is not only part of the rotation, but that he gets thrown in as a starter occasionally when needed. He creates some fun options with his athleticism and length. Bebe challenges everything at the basket and came up with a few excellent blocks. A solid game all around. | |
 B- | J. Valanciunas25 MIN, 14 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 4-9 FG, 0-0 3FG, 6-6 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 5 +/- Add two more victims (Brook Lopez and Justin “I Wish I Was Ryan” Anderson) to the list of players who have been burned by Jonas’ pump fake. It wasn’t the prettiest game for Jonas, but he once again did a great job grabbing rebounds and didn’t let Lopez cause much damage. | |
 A | K. Lowry36 MIN, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 8-14 FG, 3-7 3FG, 1-2 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, 20 +/- Some great passes into the post where only a Raptor big could get it, including a lovely sequence in the first half that saw him grab his own rebound, run to the three point line, fake the shot, and throw up a perfect alley-oop to Bebe. While DeRozan kept the Raptors in it during the third, Lowry took over in the fourth. He also blocked Brook Lopez, which was so satisfying to watch. | |
 A+ | D. DeRozan30 MIN, 28 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 11-22 FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-8 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Didn’t look to dominate early. Stepped into more of a facilitating role and allowed the front court to go to work. Hit Bebe for an early alley-oop, then followed it up soon after by kicking it out for a three from Carroll. Felt like DeMar scored whenever he looked to do so. He started looking for it more in the second half and scored 19 in the third quarter alone. | |
 C+ | T. Ross31 MIN, 12 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 5-11 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 25 +/- I wrote some terrible things about Terrence Ross during the first three quarters, most of which was insults about my decision to move back to Ross Island a few weeks ago. Then the fourth quarter happened and he made my heart swoon again. Terrence Ross provides me with joy and makes me hate myself at the same time. | |
 B+ | C. Joseph22 MIN, 16 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST, 7-7 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 21 +/- Cory looked very comfortable with his shot and with running the offence. He finished 7-of-7 from the field, which is…*pulls out calculator*…very good. This comfort did not seem to translate to the other side of the court. Where has Cory’s defense gone? Why is he regularly losing his man off the ball? | |
 C+ | N. Powell13 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 2 AST, 2-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Norm stepped onto the court and immediately hit a three to break a 24 all tie. Was hoping that he would help to turn the tide off the bench as he has so many times, but it wasn’t there tonight. | |
 B- | P. Siakam11 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- After three straight DNP-CDs Pascal Siakam returned to the line-up. Some solid energy (including a great block while guarding a driving Randy Foye. Yes, Randy Foye is still in the NBA), but I punished him a little because he blew a beautiful halfcourt alley-oop that would have made me smile during some dark minutes. | |
 B+ | J. Poeltl8 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Got a bogus foul called against him roughly 4 seconds after entering the game. Brook Lopez is a tough match-up for anyone, but Poeltl handled himself well. He didn’t jump wildly at fakes and pivots, but moved his feet well to contest. That in itself is a huge accomplishment. We continue to see some nice hints at the player he could become. | |
 B | F. VanVleet3 MIN, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 2-4 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Came into the game with 3:24 remaining. Nice to see VanVleet get some burn before he becomes the fourth point guard on the depth chart with the return of Delon Wright. And yes, getting up four shots in 3 minutes is excellent. Shooters shoot. | |
 Inc | B. Caboclo2 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- We got two minutes* of the human victory cigar! How sweet it is! *He didn’t do much though. | |
 B- | Dwane Casey Shout out to Casey for not killing anyone during the first three quarters. I don’t want to blame him for the Raptors struggles in guarding the three point line, but I still will. Thankfully he did keep DeMar’s minutes down, so that’s good. | |
Things We Saw
- I understand why fans get a vote for the All Star starters. It adds value, and I do like that fans have a voice in a game that really only exists for the fans. With that said though, I hate that I have to listen to Matt Devlin yell “HASHTAG NBA VOTE” 40+ times a game. It ruins every fun play for me. Thankfully he has toned it down compared to previous years.
- The Nets are no longer worth swearing about in front of a large public crowd. They are the worst team in the NBA at the moment and don’t control their own first round pick for the next two drafts. With that said they work hard and are well coached. I also love me some Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Between him and Caris LeVert they have some fun pieces to develop despite the train wreck that they will be for the foreseeable future.
- I watched the whole game and all I remember is Brooklyn taking open three pointers. I’m going to see it in my nightmares tonight. Did they score is any other way?
- I give Delon Wright the win over Jared Sullinger in the Battle of the Bench Bling. He had a great diamond “55” necklace, while Sully’s was more understated.
