Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Quick Reaction: Raptors 122, Trail Blazers 128

Inconsistent performance from the Raptors, who fell short of a comeback in a loss to Portland.

Toronto122Final
Box Score
128Portland

B-
P. Siakam25 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 3-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 3 +/-

Very poor start from Siakam tonight, forcing the issue a little too much early on, leading to an unnecessary offensive foul and losing Myers Leonard on a few occasions. Found a bit of a rhythm with two threes late in the first quarter, but forced some shots above the break and the Raptors needed better effort on the glass and defence.

B-
K. Leonard38 MIN, 28 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 8-18 FG, 4-7 3FG, 8-10 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -1 +/-

I have no idea how to evaluate this game from Kawhi. He started slow, with sloppy turnovers and poor shooting, but the fourth quarter was as dominant as it gets. He was hitting everything, including big step-back threes. Then he committed a terrible turnover by failing to inbound the ball in time. Just a weird game.

B
S. Ibaka35 MIN, 18 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 8-12 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/-

Serge’s mobility caused some issues for Nurkic when the Raptors attacked with movement, but Ibaka equally struggled with the size and physicality when battling down low and on the boards. Had a few good swats/altered shots when Blazers guards got past the Raptors perimeter options.

Picked up a tech to help create a 4-point play by the Blazers as the Raptors were trimming into the Blazers lead midway through the third quarter.

B+
F. VanVleet38 MIN, 21 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST, 0 STL, 7-11 FG, 3-5 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 3 +/-

Turnovers were an issue early on and the main culprit was Steady Fredy. Lillard guarded him very closely and he had no desire to go after Nurkic if he got to the paint. The story flipped in the third quarter though as Fred went mini-supernova. He was hitting triples, got to the rim for some tough buckets, and drew an and-1 from Lillard. The Raptors needed someone to step up and Fred took the reins for a good stretch.

A+
D. Green36 MIN, 19 PTS, 11 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 6-9 FG, 5-7 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/-

So simple. So smooth. Was the most consistent Raptor on the night, hitting his shots and getting to the glass in help scenarios. Should have been targeted for more attempts with how his shot was falling.

The 17 points is nice, but grabbing a team best 10 rebounds shows that Danny was bringing it.

C-
C. Miles20 MIN, 13 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 5-10 FG, 3-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/-

Early in the second we saw these four plays involving CJ, almost entirely back-to-back:

1. Was blown past by Stauskas.
2. Missed a push shot on an ugly dribble drive.
3. Got a steal for an open bucket in transition.
4. Drained a triple.

That’s the type of season CJ is having. For everything positive he has done he seems to equally take something off the table.

D+
O. Anunoby19 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -15 +/-

Hit a corner three the moment he touched the floor, and caused a handful of disruptions with his length, but otherwise was a bad night from OG.

D
D. Wright17 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -16 +/-

Delon’s game is understated and it’s easy to take for granted many of the simple ways that he contributes. Other times he just feels absent and tonight was one of those nights.

D+
G. Monroe13 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -11 +/-

For a low-post scorer it’s surprising how often he just gets stuck picking up his dribble on the back-down and trying unsuccessfully to pivot out of it. I expected him to be a viable option tonight against a big body like Nurkic but for the most part looked out of place.

Monroe seemed to be unaware of anything that was happening away from the ball, including being 20 feet away from Zach Collins who drained an open 3, and forgetting to box out on multiple occasions. If not for some tough buckets late in the third quarter this game would be one to forget for Moose.

C-
Nick Nurse

Missed shots and turnovers aren’t on the coach, but there was a lack of effort that has to fall in part on Nurse. Raptors came out sluggish in both halves of basketball with the Blazers clearly setting the tone when it came to effort. Yes, it’s easier to get up for a game when you’re playing the league’s top team, but this was a disappointing effort after coming off two great team wins.

In the final two minutes the Raptors gave up multiple run-killing triples after needlessly doubling the ball handler. This is also on Nick.

Things We Saw

  1. If you made it this far you’ve read the name Nurkic repeatedly. The Raptors really missed Valanciunas tonight as both Ibaka and Monroe had little answer for the Blazers in the post.
  2. Lillard was a problem. |Had a very quiet 24 points but much of the chaos the Raptors defence found themselves in was caused by Lillard working around a a variety of screens. The dude is good.
  3. The Blazers bench cooked the Raptors. Extra crispy.
  4. Some nights teams just hit shots. Portland hit a lot of them.