Quick Reaction: Trailblazers 117, Raptors 119

This is what constitutes a quiet night for Siakam at this point, an efficient 16 points with 4 boards and 4 assists, but he was quietly brilliant at both ends of the floor.

This was Kawhi’s best game in a while. Just ruthless offensively, he shredded Portland’s defense and got whatever he wanted all night, it felt like. Came through with a huge bucket to win the game in the closing seconds after getting the switch to have Dame defending him. Stellar game from him.

Tonight showed why the Raptors made this trade. Gasol facilitates the offense so well, and the rhythm that hasn’t been there for the starters much of the season with Kyle and Kawhi both on the floor was very present tonight. He makes quick, smart decisions with the ball and his presence in the screen game created a lot of good looks for the Raptors. Made the case that he should be the full-time starter in this game.

The quietest of Raptors starters tonight, but Danny hit a huge three late in the game and generally, all night, was exactly where they needed him to be.

Kyle was dominant tonight. His energy paced the game all night long, his shooting was there, and he distributed well, as expected. Made several huge plays down the stretch to keep the Raptors in it. Got called for the foul that set up the free throws that tied the game prior to Kawhi’s heroics, but the replay seemed to show that he didn’t touch Dame, so that one is tough.

The bench had a tough night for the Raptors, and part of that was definitely Norm, who looks like he’s trying to figure out his role once again. Needs to find his confidence again and get back to attacking under control, and bringing the defensive intensity that the team needs from him.

The shots Ibaka missed tonight were all well within his game, and he just has to knock those down. Lin and Lowry did a pretty good job getting him the shots that he wants to be taking, he just couldn’t make them drop.

Lin had a strong start to the night, with a run that he drove in the first half with solid shotmaking and drives to the basket, but otherwise it was tough sledding. Him and Ibaka haven’t quite figured out their chemistry, and need to find that for the bench to get back in rhythm.

Too quiet of a night for both of the bench wings, and OG has shown the ability to be so much more productive than he was in this game. That said, the Raptors bench offense has to do a better job spreading the touches around and getting him involved.

As above, with OG, it was a rough night for McCaw, but he also wasn’t as involved as he needs to be. Hopefully, when Fred VanVleet returns to the lineup, the bench can find it’s rhythm.

Tale of two lineups tonight. Nurse made the right call starting Gasol tonight, and the energy was fantastic from the starters all night long. On the other hand, he couldn’t find a solution for the bench, and in the fourth ended up playing Lowry the entire quarter, which is probably not a good, consistent solution. Needs to figure out his transition lineups and staggering to keep things rolling after he goes away from the starters, but starting Gasol was a step in the right direction.