 | Oklahoma City | 123 | Final Box Score | 102 | Toronto |  |
 D+ | D. Carroll15 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -13 +/- A basic non-factor. It was good to see Carroll back and healthy but it was awful to see him struggle. He played just 15 minutes and took all of three shots. His chases out to the perimeter were slow and he repeatedly lost his man before Casey saw enough and pulled the plug. | ||||||||
 C | S. Ibaka27 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-11 FG, 0-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -27 +/- This should have been a huge game for Ibaka against his former team but he started off just 1-7 from the field and didn’t hit a single three all night. A lot is being asked of him on offense with Lowry out and the Raps’ shiny new toy is showing some inconsistency. | ||||||||
 C- | J. Valanciunas17 MIN, 7 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/- The good news? JV led the team in rebounding again. The bad news? He had five rebounds. He was hounded early by Steven Adams and it was clear OKC’s big man was in his head from the opening tip. When Valanciunas mentally checks out of a game it’s almost impossible to get him back into attack mode. | ||||||||
 B | C. Joseph30 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 5-8 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -30 +/- Joseph played 30 minutes in a blow out which either means he was one of the only players who showed up or Casey just wanted to leave him out to dry. We’ll choose to believe the former as CoJo was decent tonight on offense and did his best to control the runaway freight train that is Westbrook. He was visibly frustrated with his teammates on a few occasions tonight and that level of vocal leadership will need to continue down the stretch. | ||||||||
 B- | D. DeRozan29 MIN, 22 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 8-14 FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-7 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -25 +/- DeRozan was his typical self on offense tonight and shot over 50 percent from the field with six of seven from the line but with the way he was getting broken down on the perimeter it was that much harder for the Raps to defend the paint. The 29 minutes are probably a blessing in disguise as he’ll need to be good to go tomorrow. | ||||||||
 C+ | N. Powell22 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-12 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Powell missed eight of the 12 shots he took tonight and all you need to know is that almost all eight of those were inches away from going in. He continues to leave balls literally hanging at the rim after making a gorgeous first move and it’s got to be messing with his head. He slammed home a dunk with the score way out of reach in the 4th and his 13 points don’t reflect just how wild he was with the ball in his hands tonight. Love the energy, hate the result. | ||||||||
 D | P. Patterson22 MIN, 3 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 0-4 FG, 0-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/- Patterson was ice cold tonight and didn’t make a single shot from the field. He’s expected to make more of the infinite open threes he gets and while the little things he does continue to help the team his shot needs to start falling or the Raptors essentially start playing with four men on offense. Someone help him. | ||||||||
 B | D. Wright20 MIN, 10 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 4 +/- Casey went to Wright to try and stop the bleeding, or at least spark a comeback and while the youngster showed some energy in getting to the rim he was still just two of six from the field. Still, there were some good signs outside of garbage time and we’d like to see Casey use him before things get out of hand. | ||||||||
 B- | P. Tucker18 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- Not even Tucker could help slow down Westbrook or Oladipo and he looked tired during stretches when the score got out of hand. It’s not easy to keep up with the triple-double machine from OKC regardless of who you are but Tucker is going to be relied on as that key stopper and the defense wasn’t all the way there tonight. | ||||||||
 C- | J. Poeltl17 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, -11 +/- Poeltl looked absolutely lost on defense trying to help contain Steven Adams and his two rebounds are evident of just how timid he was on the glass tonight. He shot the ball well in his few attempts and he’s still just a work in progress. | ||||||||
 B | F. VanVleet12 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 2-4 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- Came in for garbage time and provided some energy but the game was a long time gone by then. | ||||||||
 A- | P. Siakam6 MIN, 7 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-3 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 10 +/- Siakam has looked great with the 905 recently but he just wasn’t part of Casey’s plans tonight. He made all three shots he took in garbage time and may have earned himself a quicker look down the bench. | ||||||||
 C | L. Nogueira6 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 10 +/- A non-factor with the exception of a block in garbage time. #FreeBeBe | ||||||||
 D+ | Dwane Casey Got worked over by all the inside sets the Thunder were running through Westbrook and had no answer to all the points OKC scored in the paint. The decision to start Carroll was also curious and he’ll have a tough press conference tonight. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- Westbrook is a literal maniac. He finished the game with more assists than the entire Raptors’ team and collected his 34th triple double of the season. The Raptors’ offense is going to struggle without Lowry but it was flat-out scary to see how lost they looked trying to contain Westbrook.
- Ibaka as the second option. Revenge games can be fun and Ibaka probably loves going against a team he spent so long with but using him as the immediate second option early to DeRozan just didn’t work and the Thunder guarded him tight from the get-go.
- Carroll is a problem. His inconsistencies are maddening and the lack of offensive threats or any semblance of creating his own shot is a real issue with this team struggling. Casey has to make a firm decision soon on where his minutes lie.
- The arena was quiet. This is supposed to be one of the best days in sports but maybe the Leafs’ playoff push and March Madness kept everyone in front of their TVs. You could hear a pin drop and that was before this was a blowout.
