Spicy P.
 | Phoenix | 109 | Final Box Score | 111 | Toronto |  |
 A | P. Siakam33 MIN, 10 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- Was the Raptors best player by far in the first half, posting up Booker regularly and passing well when the double would come. Hit the game winner in a terrific dash to the rim, and wow, he’s got a lot in his bag. All-Star and MIP. | |
 C+ | D. Green26 MIN, 9 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Pedestrian game from Green tonight. Booker shed him fairly easy on the screens tonight and that might be a consequence of last night’s game in Boston. | |
 A- | S. Ibaka31 MIN, 22 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 11-19 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-2 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 1 +/- Even though Ayton’s box-score is pretty loud, Ibaka did a great job on him on the defensive end. On the other side of the floor, Ibaka embarrassed him, his diving and popping left Ayton guessing all night. Converted his rim-runs and found himself open jumpers. | |
 B | F. VanVleet31 MIN, 15 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 6-11 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- Monster first half. Was decisive and aggressive attacking off of pin-downs and DHO’s. Had a quiet second half as CJ Miles and Wright stole a bit of minutes toward the end. Good bounce-back from that Celtics game. | |
 B+ | K. Lowry40 MIN, 16 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL, 4-15 FG, 2-10 3FG, 6-9 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 11 +/- 2-10 from three and still uber-effective. Few players dominate a game in so many underlying ways. He was incredible finding Ibaka in his spots tonight, and was involved in most every loose-ball situation. The shot still has to come, but he’s bringing it everywhere else. | |
 C | N. Powell21 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 7 +/- With Wright, VanVleet, and Miles all having fairly good games, Powell received fewer (for you, LeeZ) ball handling opportunities in this one. Had a couple frustrating TO’s, but it’s clear that this won’t ruin his mojo going forward. On to the next one. | |
 B+ | D. Wright19 MIN, 10 PTS, 1 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Kelly Oubre brings out the best in Wright, it would seem. Oh so shifty tonight, putting the Suns on skates multiple times. Nice to see him working his creativity back onto the floor. The bench loves his drop-dribble cross-court passes, and so do I. | |
 A | C. Miles17 MIN, 13 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-7 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 5 +/- Regression isn’t always bad. Maybe he’ll start trending upwards. He deserves to see his shot go down and the Raptors needed every one tonight. Good stuff from Miles. | |
 B | G. Monroe11 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, -4 +/- Was a big presence on the court in his minutes. Made good on most of his attempts in the paint and held it down in the first half especially. Not a super friendly whistle, but he spelled Ibaka well tonight. | |
 C- | P. McCaw6 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -10 +/- Pretty clear he’s not familiar with the offense or defense just yet, but he’s got tons of range on the defensive end, and there’s plenty of time for him to find his form. Glad he got some run even if it was largely underwhelming. | |
 A- | C. Boucher5 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 5 +/- His short stint was a huge piece of the game. That dunk provided a buffer for the scrambly threes the Suns hit towards the end. | |
 A- | Nick Nurse Happy he gave McCaw an extended run tonight. The offense was super crisp in the first half, and loved the decision to clear out for a Siakam game winner. Don’t think he’s responsible for the general malaise the Raptors showed in the second half. | |
Things We Saw
- Oubre had a monster game tonight with Kawhi sitting this one out. It goes to show how much of a vacuum for domination that position is, and how lucky we are to have a top-5 player in the league, especially at that position.
- Ayton is massive. His effort looks pretty terrible for long stretches of the game, but his length and girth grants him proximity to rebounds and opportunities he has no business getting. Ibaka did a terrific job denying him scoring opportunities tonight.
- A running joke within RR is that I look like I’m 17 years old, so it’s alarming that a 6’6” Devin Booker looks younger than I do. When he wears that headband and pushes his ears out sideways he looks so funny.
- Siakam getting a clear-out “Win me this game” opportunity is so f****** cool, man. He killed it, that was so much fun.
