 | Utah | 97 | Final Box Score | 93 | Toronto |  |
 C | S. Ibaka30 MIN, 10 PTS, 10 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-10 FG, 1-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -9 +/- Serge got the double double, but this just didn’t feel satisfying. He struggles helping the helper on defense at times, and the Jazz punished that by forcing the Raptors center to help and then using that to generate looks for Gobert and offensive rebounds. Also, the Raptors could’ve used him hitting a couple from outside. | ||||||||
 B+ | O. Anunoby17 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 3 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- OG really took the matchup against Donovan Mitchell to heart, and although Mitchell finished with a fairly efficient 26, it seemed like most of those were when he got away from OG, who defended him pretty well. Also had a fantastic tip dunk. Wasn’t on the floor for the closing minutes, which was surprising given how much everyone else struggled against the Jazz rookie. | ||||||||
 A+ | J. Valanciunas27 MIN, 28 PTS, 14 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 12-16 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 4 BLK, 1 TO, 4 +/- What a performance, and against one of the best defensive centers in basketball. Jonas dominated this game from start to finish, and punished the Jazz constantly. Also had crisp defensive rotations. He was the best player on the floor most of the night, and the line would’ve been even more impressive had he not been forced to leave early in the third quarter with foul trouble. He also hit two threes, for the first time in his career. | ||||||||
 D | K. Lowry35 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 2-13 FG, 0-6 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 5 TO, -6 +/- There is no way around the fact that this was a very disappointing effort from Kyle. He’s coming off a fantastic week when he looked like his old self, and in this one he struggled everywhere. His defense was lacking, his shot wasn’t falling, and his decision making was questionable at best. He simply has to be better. | ||||||||
 C+ | D. DeRozan37 MIN, 19 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL, 7-23 FG, 0-1 3FG, 5-7 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -7 +/- Let’s start with the good: Had a thunderous dunk in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors build a short-lived lead, established Jonas consistently, even late in the game, when Jonas was beasting, and he controlled the game with his passing for long stretches. The negatives though, are there. He struggled to score and forced some tough jumpers late, and his defense was an issue tonight. Both of the Raptors All-Star guards simply have to offer more resistance to their matchups, as they frequently get caught giving up line drives. | ||||||||
 C | J. Poeltl21 MIN, 4 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 5 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Mixed bag for Jak, who had five blocks tonight and defended the rim well. He helped on driving Jazz players frequently and managed to shut down several drives given up by his teammates. On the other hand, he really struggled to deal with Gobert’s strength, and allowed Rudy to affect his offensive game, missing several shots that he has shown he just shouldn’t miss. | ||||||||
 B | D. Wright19 MIN, 5 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 2-6 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/- Delon was good tonight when he was out there, and gave the Raptors a great stretch to retake the lead to start the fourth quarter. Not sure why he didn’t get more minutes in this one given how well he played, and also not sure why he was on the floor late in the game if the Raptors weren’t going to run the offense through him. He really doesn’t give a lot off the ball on offense, even though he did hit a three tonight. | ||||||||
 D | F. VanVleet18 MIN, 3 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Not the night for Fred. Utah throws a lot of length at you at all five positions, and Fred simply had no one to guard. He ended up defending Mitchell for several possessions that resulted in easy buckets for the Jazz. He also didn’t have enough of an impact on offense to make up for those struggles. | ||||||||
 C | P. Siakam18 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/- Pascal has to get better at helping the helper on defense. The Raptors gave up a lot of easy buckets in the paint when the center had to help and Pascal didn’t rotate over to cover the paint. | ||||||||
 B | C. Miles17 MIN, 10 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- CJ hit his shots tonight, and that’s really what he’s out there for. Was a big part of the good fourth quarter minutes for the team. | ||||||||
 C | Dwane Casey Casey did a lot of good things to establish Jonas while he was rolling tonight, but also had one of his more questionable Xs and Os games of the month. Too many minutes for Fred when he had no defensive assignment, not enough Delon before the fourth quarter, and the last couple play calls were extremely questionable. Also, OG had been the only Raptor to really slow down Mitchell, and spent the last few minutes riding the pine. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- It’s really hard for the Raptors to win games when their backcourt shoots 9-36 and has 7 turnovers. Those guys have to score, despite the success of the new Raptors offense.
- Donovan Mitchell is very, very good. He had a great game and showcased his offensive toolset. The Raptors did him favors with their rotations and assignments, but he also found ways to score in impressive fashion.
- The OVO court and jerseys look really good in play. Beautiful court, and I look forward to seeing it again later in the season.
- Once again, fantastic to see JV dominate one of the best centers in the game. He’s been so good this month and the team has been great at finding ways to showcase him.
