 | Philadelphia | 105 | Final Box Score | 113 | Toronto |  |
 B | D. Carroll23 MIN, 10 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-11 FG, 2-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/-Started the game out strong with 7 quick points which was encouraging, but the defense wasn’t impressive as Carroll lost Luwawu-Cabarrot and other Sixers for 3’s on multiple occasions. Meh. | ||||||||
 A+ | S. Ibaka28 MIN, 24 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 11-17 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 6 BLK, 0 TO, 11 +/-Easily his best game as a Raptor (albeit against the Sixers). I liked the team’s aggressiveness in getting him the ball early and continuing to give him touches against the weaker rookie Saric. Oh and the 6 blocks don’t hurt either – Serge’s defense made me think this was 2012 and he had an OKC jersey on. | ||||||||
 A- | J. Valanciunas28 MIN, 14 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 7-9 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 12 +/-With Ibaka getting a ton of touches, there weren’t really any plays for JV (what else is new), but he continued to play big inside with 8 rebounds, and 3 on the offensive glass. | ||||||||
 A- | D. DeRozan31 MIN, 17 PTS, 1 REB, 9 AST, 0 STL, 6-11 FG, 0-0 3FG, 5-5 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 7 +/-Had a passive game, quite literally. Facing double teams galore, DeMar had 8 assists in the first half; I counted at least 4 to Serge alone. Given the style of this contest and the opponent at hand, I liked DeRozan’s approach and the intent to get everyone involved. | ||||||||
 A- | C. Joseph32 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 4-9 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 15 +/- A typical Joseph performance in Lowry’s absence. It was a complete game for CoJo, who forced nothing offensive. He hit an open 3, took advantage of a couple of open lanes to the hole, and mixed in 6 assists to keep the offensive rhythm going. | ||||||||
 B | D. Wright27 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 1 +/-Showed his usual shiftiness and knack for the drive-and-kick. His finishing ability still needs some work, evidenced by a few more missed layups and takes to the rack, but no big deal. What a luxury it will be to have a third-string card like Wright in Casey’s pocket when Lowry returns. | ||||||||
 A- | J. Poeltl20 MIN, 12 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 5-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-4 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/-Had the usual peculiar fouls on defense, but his opportunistic play on offense continues to add value to the Raptors’ interior punch. I love his ability to roll to the rim on pick-and-rolls and his catches around the rim. | ||||||||
 B- | N. Powell20 MIN, 10 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 1 +/-Forced his game a bit, similar to what we’ve seen over the past couple of games. Not that it’s worrisome, but it’s a bit disappointing that we haven’t seen more consistent production from Powell, especially against sub-par opponents. He came on strong late in the game to hit double digits in scoring. | ||||||||
 B+ | P. Patterson17 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/-With his early/mid-season struggles seemingly behind him, Patterson has rounded into a more steady and consistent form. As long as he continues to hit a good portion of his 3’s as he did tonight, the Raptors should be in good shape. The defense could’ve been better, but that could literally be said of any Raptor tonight. | ||||||||
 A | F. VanVleet12 MIN, 7 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/-Searching for some defensive tenacity, Casey brought in VanVleet in the opening minutes of the fourth. And of course – he hade an immediate impact just 1 minute after entering the game, with a hard drive, a steal, and a pull-up 3. Casey was able to buy some valuable minutes out of VanVleet, who provided some additional rest for CoJo late in the game. | ||||||||
 B+ | P. Siakam3 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/-Garbage time. | ||||||||
 A- | Dwane Casey The defensive energy to start out was clearly not there, but it got stronger in the second and fourth quarters. I liked the call to go to Serge early to take advantage of the Saric matchup, and as the game wore on, it was clear that Casey pushed the necessary buttons. Bringing in Fred VanVleet to start the fourth quarter was a good call as well. | ||||||||
THINGS WE SAW
- It’s the Sixers – whoop-de-do: Coming in with a 28-48 record, and decimated with injuries across the board, Philly really really stinks. I really expected the Raptors to put away the Sixers much earlier than they did, but you’ve gotta give credit to the Raptors for never letting the Sixers really take any control (Philly never led after the first quarter).
- Power Serge: After missing his first 5 shots, Ibaka completely took the game over after that point, going 11 for his next 12. It’s amazing to think how far this team has come since starting Pascal Siakam in those opening games. Having a consistent third option offensively (and at the Power Forward spot) just may be the thing this team needs to get to the next level in the Eastern Conference.
- Ball movement: For the isolation-heavy Raptors who average just over 18 assists on the season, the 24 assists tonight was impressive. Again, this is probably just an “against the Sixers” stat, but this is the kind of game that could perpetuate the offensive rhythm that the Raptors are creating.
- Standings watch: With the Sixers in town tonight, it was pretty hard to keep my eyes on this one, with the Cavs in action currently in OT against the Pacers, and the Wizards just tipping things off against the Warriors. A Wizards loss would mean the Raptors take a full game lead for 3rd in the East standings (effectively a 2-game lead as the Raptors hold the tiebreak).
