These games… are something.
 | Toronto | 93 | Final Box Score | 91 | Orlando |  |
 A- | P. Siakam34 MIN, 15 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 7-11 FG, 0-2 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 1 +/- In a close race with Ibaka for the Raptors most consistent player. Where would the Raptors be if they couldn’t expect 14+ points on 65-percent + shooting every night? Siakam had another good game, and it seems like he’s this player now. | |
 B- | K. Leonard30 MIN, 18 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 8-16 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/- Never shot ready. When the ball hits him he enters a 3-second long triple-threat regardless of anything else. If ball movement earns him some space, he lets the defense catch up. His lack of passing ability doesn’t jive very well with the team’s MO, but hopefully there’s some progression coming there. Luckily a sub-par game from him is still good. | |
 B+ | S. Ibaka30 MIN, 14 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 7-15 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 2 +/- His scoring on the short-roll or the pop is far too important to this offense. That being said, he’s been fantastic at it, and his play did a lot for the Raptors down the stretch. Liked his job on the glass tonight. | |
 C | K. Lowry32 MIN, 9 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 3-8 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -6 +/- Shot selection needs to be infinitely better. One shot that wasn’t (!) a 3-point attempt, and overall 33-percent from the field won’t cut it. Looking towards Nurse to engineer some looks for our guy, but Lowry needs to be much better than this. | |
 C+ | D. Green34 MIN, 13 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 5-13 FG, 3-9 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/- Usually diligent when chasing players around screens, but Fournier had him in a maze tonight. His worst defensive game as a Raptor, but hey, he hit from downtown 3 times, and he hit the game winner. Basketball is funny. | |
 C- | F. VanVleet26 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 1-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- Ineffective. Whatever happened in Chicago didn’t carry over in the slightest. His shot is part of the missing link in this offense. | |
 B | J. Valanciunas21 MIN, 8 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 3 +/- One of his best games defensively this year. Had a short stint eating the glass with Ibaka that was important to the outcome of this game. The team might’ve given him a couple more touches with everyone else bricking tonight. | |
 B | L. Brown20 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 2-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/- Best game of the year, all things considered. The scoring punch he provided at the start of the game ended up being worth a lot more than anticipated. | |
 | D. Wright13 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 5 +/- Wasn’t able to create out of the ‘pnr’ on a night when the Raptors were begging for help on offense. A very calm night for Wright. He’s at his best when there’s a bit of chaos to his game. Tonight was mundane from #55. | |
 B+ | Nick Nurse The return to the JV-Ibaka front-court was smart, and I liked that a lot. The start of the game seemed to have more structure with a lot more play-calling than we’re used to. Staggered Siakam with the bench in the 2nd which was nice, too. I don’t have any problems with his rotations, and he’s not responsible for the lack of 3-point prowess right now. | |
Things We Saw
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic wrote a great piece on expected 3-point percentage and the Raptors. It’s stupid, and wrong. The Raptors haven’t shot above 30-percent from downtown in the last 5 games, it’s a problem. (The piece is great, go read it.)
- The JV-Ibaka front-court was a welcome sight with no wing players to call upon. The Magic are a good team to break this out against, and I hope we see more of this while the Raptors fight the injury bug.
- Lowry’s play isn’t acceptable right now. His game is extremely limited, and this can’t be maintained going forward. If this continues, there’s going to be a losing streak at some point in the near future. The Raptors own the league’s best record, but there’s a lot of work to be done re: Lowry. I’m not heaping the fault on him, we just need his game to flourish for this thing to work.
