 | Toronto | 101 | Final Box Score | 92 | LA Lakers |  |
 A | P. Siakam25 MIN, 18 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 8-10 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 13 +/- Pascal Siakam as a featured member of the offense for the starters is somewhat fun. He was given plenty of chances to make an impact with his scoring, and delivered. Showed great hands in transition getting behind the Lakers defense and scoring. | |
 D | N. Powell21 MIN, 3 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1-8 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 17 +/- I don’t know what to say about Norm. He’s clearly struggling, and it’s affecting every part of his game. Wasn’t hitting shots, and his defense just isn’t what it used to be. There are glimpses of the old Norm, at times, but he needs to find a way to be an impactful player again to retain his starting role. | |
 A | S. Ibaka34 MIN, 18 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 8-10 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 21 +/- This was one of Serge’s best games of the season. Did a good job on the boards, and was one of the few Raptors finding buckets. Had some struggles guarding Brook Lopez, and his defense isn’t quite where I’d like it to be, but he was good tonight. | |
 A | K. Lowry36 MIN, 11 PTS, 9 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 4-14 FG, 3-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 14 +/- I’m sure some people will disagree with this grade, and they have a case. Lowry needs to find a way to score and doesn’t look completely comfortable in the offense right now. Missed some easy shots at the rim, but he came through late with some big buckets and got a triple double, finding other ways to contribute when his scoring wasn’t there. | |
 A+ | D. DeRozan37 MIN, 24 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 9-20 FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-9 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 14 +/- Everyone was cold in the first half, and that affected DeMar too. He was passing almost to a fault during stretches when no one was really scoring, and had some difficult defensive possessions. But what a second half from him. Played his complete game, worked his butt off on defense, and scored huge buckets down the stretch. I was critical of his isolations against Golden State, but here he had the defense at a disadvantage and made it work. | |
 C | C. Miles25 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 2-7 3FG, 1-2 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- First rough night the Raptors bench has really had, and CJ is supposed to be the stabilizing force for the young guys when they start to struggle. The all-bench lineups really had a hard time getting buckets, and could’ve used a big night from him. | |
 B+ | J. Poeltl19 MIN, 7 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -13 +/- While the bench struggled, and Jak was part of that, he had a great stretch to begin the fourth quarter that brings up his grade. Was everywhere defensively and grabbed a bunch of boards, generally causing problems for the Lakers. He struggled tonight with Julius Randle’s bulk, though. | |
 C | O. Anunoby18 MIN, 7 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 2-8 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- OG sometimes looks like a rookie, and sometimes like a seasoned veteran. It’s just his fifth game in the league, so it’s understandable that being the rookie got the better of him in this one. | |
 D | F. VanVleet13 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 1-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -9 +/- Tough night for Fred, who got the call over Delon in the fourth quarter and looked sorely out of place again at times. | |
 C | D. Wright12 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- Delon has been a rock for the team through the early part of the season, but didn’t have it in this one, and couldn’t manage to generate anything for the other reserves. Hope for a better night on Monday. | |
 C | Dwane Casey This was a tough night for the coach. Missing two of his three centers again, he had to work with the rotation to find answers for the Lakers bigs, and there were some good things. Going back to the starters to close the game worked really well, and got them the win. On the other hand, it might be time to go away from the all bench lineups and stagger Lowry and DeRozan in with those guys to avoid scoring slumps when they are on the floor. Also, I wasn’t a fan of FVV getting the minutes beside Lowry instead of Delon Wright tonight. | |
Things We Saw
- This was a case of a Lakers team that made a lot of mistakes throughout the middle of the game and failed to take control of a game that they could’ve run away with. The Raptors showed a lot of toughness pulling out the win at the end, but this game wouldn’t have been there against a tougher, better team to win in the fourth.
- The Raptors came out looking drained tonight. The first half was a slog, and working through that might be good for them in the long run. Sometimes adversity can help teams find their way.
- Three point shooting continues to be a problem for the Raptors. Although they didn’t take quite as many tonight, they also didn’t hit very many of the ones they did take, and only a late flurry from Lowry managed to get the percentage for the team up to 24.1% on the night. Someone needs to find their stroke, preferably sooner rather than later.
