 | New Orleans | 126 | Final Box Score | 110 | Toronto |  |
 A | P. Siakam28 MIN, 22 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 8-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 4-4 FT, 3 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- One of the lone bright spots for the Raptors tonight was Siakam, who’s aggressiveness was good to see, he hit a couple of threes again, and he played some fantastic defense on Anthony Davis. Wasn’t a presence on the boards, however, and they needed him there tonight. | ||||||||
 B- | K. Leonard34 MIN, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 7-20 FG, 1-6 3FG, 5-5 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/- Despite the 20 points, this wasn’t a great game from Kawhi. A step slow defensively all night, and the offense was simply brute forcing points more than excellence, and it’s his efficiency that separates Kawhi. | ||||||||
 B | S. Ibaka27 MIN, 19 PTS, 14 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 8-16 FG, 2-6 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- He was mortal offensively, which is a big downgrade from the Ibaka of recent games, but more than that, he just wasn’t as crisp as a help defender, wasn’t there quite as quickly, and the Raptors got punished repeatedly for that. | ||||||||
 D | K. Lowry33 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 11 AST, 0 STL, 1-9 FG, 0-6 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -17 +/- Kyle got abused by Jrue Holiday, at both ends of the floor, over and over again. His own offense was taken away, and he wasn’t an effective defender. Did have 11 assists again, but it didn’t feel like he made an impact in this one. | ||||||||
 C | D. Green23 MIN, 3 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-4 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- His shot wasn’t there for him, but like Ibaka, it was more the lack of a defensive presence. E’Twaun Moore got what he wanted when he wanted it tonight, and Green wasn’t his usual dependable self. | ||||||||
 B+ | O. Anunoby24 MIN, 17 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 3 STL, 6-13 FG, 2-8 3FG, 3-5 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -9 +/- Another bright spot for the Raptors was OG, who just kept fighting at both ends of the floor to try to get the Raptors back into the game. Missed six of his eight threes, which is probably more than he should be taking in a single game. | ||||||||
 C | F. VanVleet22 MIN, 10 PTS, 0 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/- The box score looks nice, but Fred wasn’t himself. Just didn’t have it at either end of the floor, and the team could’ve used a big game from him. | ||||||||
 B+ | D. Wright16 MIN, 10 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-5 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/- Delon was his usual pesky self, and created a few swings that kept the game close, but didn’t have enough help. Good to see him looking healthy. | ||||||||
 C+ | J. Valanciunas15 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -5 +/- His two assists were huge, and he had some big rebounds, but his defense was lacking tonight and that kept him from getting more minutes. Needed to be more involved offensively when he was out there. | ||||||||
 B | C. Miles8 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/- Hit his first three, was looking a little more bouncy, and then left the game with what they’re calling an adductor strain. Hopefully he’s back to healthy soon enough. | ||||||||
 D | L. Brown7 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 1 +/- Was given CJ’s minutes after the injury, and he just can’t fill that role. Missed two threes that he didn’t need to take and had a brutal turnover at a crucial moment. | ||||||||
 Inc | M. Richardson2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- | ||||||||
 C | Nick Nurse It’s not on Nurse that the team missed so many good shots tonight, but he also didn’t have the answers and his rotations were questionable, as he stuck to his lineups rather than adjusting to where the Pelicans were giving them trouble. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- These nights happen. Simple as this. You aren’t going to win every game, and the Pelicans are a tough opponent that needed a win. You move on to the next game and learn from where you struggled. That said…
- The Raptors have been playing sloppy in a lot of recent games, and they’ve been getting away with it due to some dominant stretches of play that saved wins. That didn’t happen tonight, and hopefully they learn the lesson from that.
- 72 post points for New Orleans is simply too many. They hit some tough shots, but more often than not, the Raptors simply didn’t box out a man on the offensive boards, or didn’t rotate over to help quickly enough, and they were repeatedly punished for that.
