Painful.
 | Detroit | 106 | Final Box Score | 104 | Toronto |  |
 A | P. Siakam29 MIN, 17 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 8-12 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-1 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Is Siakam going to average 15+ this year? And is this not an obscene embarrassment of riches? The first time this season I’ve seen him and Leonard join forces. Often times this year there’s been a disconnect between their games, but with Leonard active in transition they started working off each other. Shutdown Jackson on a huge possession late in the 4th. A bright spot in a depressing 2nd half. | |
 B- | K. Leonard35 MIN, 26 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 10-18 FG, 0-2 3FG, 6-8 FT, 0 BLK, 6 TO, 1 +/- Bonafide Superstar first-half. Assertive with his offense, dominant on the glass, and hungry in transition. Not to mention he managed to get to every loose ball there was. Got more pick n’ roll possessions tonight and is starting to look more comfortable outside of his ISO possessions. The second half was a completely different story. Was mired in heroball that somehow ended with him dribbling off his foot. Way too many turnovers, had blinders on down the stretch. Disappointing. | |
 B- | J. Valanciunas27 MIN, 14 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 6-12 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 5 +/- More than decent standing Drummond up at the rim, and even though his rebounds were low, he did a decent job clearing room in the paint. Disappointing second half. Really struggled to score when the offense was begging for some life. | |
 B | K. Lowry38 MIN, 14 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST, 0 STL, 6-10 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -3 +/- Sharp. Got greedy forcing some passes, which is reflected in the turnovers, but a good game from ‘KLOE’. Did well getting himself into the paint, and played a complimentary game to Leonard. Down the stretch his passive style was a tad disappointing. Similar to the Pelicans game, he allowed a lot of penetration on defense. | |
 B+ | D. Green20 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 11 +/- Quiet game before he left with the back injury. With the focus on the bigs, who were dominating, he stuck to his defensive principles and didn’t force anything on offense. Perfectly fine, given the playstyle of this game. Hope he’s better soon. | |
 B- | O. Anunoby24 MIN, 7 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 3-12 FG, 1-6 3FG, 0-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Huge dunk. Put Drummond to shame at the rim, and had a sneaky pass to Monroe in the lane. His ever-growing presence on defense is always welcome. Put up a lot of shots, which I’m sure we’ll appreciate much more in games that aren’t this close. | |
 C+ | F. VanVleet23 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 2-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -16 +/- Did well creating for others, but his jump shot is still amiss. He was cold to start last year so I’m not troubled by it, but hoping it comes sooner than later. Was in a tough position a great deal of the night with Wright MIA. | |
 A | G. Monroe21 MIN, 17 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 8-10 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -7 +/- Spectacular game for ‘Moose’. Super active on the glass, and crafty around the bucket. Had surprisingly good timing as the dive-man, and passed the ball like Jokic-lite. Huge game for Monroe, stepping in for the ‘banged up’ Serge Ibaka. A real luxury to plug into the lineup. | |
 D- | D. Wright14 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0-4 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- Big part of the horrible bench tonight. Strange, empty minutes for Wright. A lot of focus on the pick n’ roll tonight and most of those possessions went to VanVleet. Definitely not a game he’s supposed to dominate given the matchups, but would’ve liked a lot more from him. | |
 F | M. Richardson9 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- A shooter, who can’t shoot. | |
 C | Nick Nurse It’s tough to go in on the lineups he chose when there’s so few players to choose from. The injuries are crippling the bench right now. With that said, there’s a lack of creativity in how he’s staggering the lineups. | |
Things We Saw
- Green’s presence was sorely missed in that second half. With Wright horrific on offense, there wasn’t a big guard to contend with Galloway or Jackson. Both of whom dominated the diminutive VanVleet and Lowry. The second game in a row where floaters and the in between game were a massive problem.
- This team is shockingly devoid of 3-point shooting. I don’t want to harp on Leonard too much, but he is meant to be part of the Raptors supercharged offense that shoots the 3-ball well. If he’s not hitting, and Kyle’s not hitting, it’s going to be a rough night.
- This game is an absolute stinker. As the lead whittled away, and Griffin plugged away in the paint, the Raptors needed Valanciunas to pull some weight. Shockingly poor on offense in the second-half.
- Big shoutout to Coach Casey. Helped forge a winning culture, and was by all accounts, a class act. All the best in Detroit.
