Rough rotations, rough play, and hungry fists.
How Hungry Are You — For My Fists?
— Sean Woodley (@WoodleySean) March 12, 2019
 | TOR Raptors | 101 | Final Box Score | 126 | CLE Cavaliers |  |
 C+ | P. Siakam29 MIN, 15 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 6-13 FG, 0-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -15 +/- Super quiet second half. Was hamstrung by his foul trouble and couldn’t find his looks in the half-court. First disappointing game in some time. | |
 A- | K. Leonard31 MIN, 25 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 11-19 FG, 3-8 3FG, 0-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -8 +/- The Cavs didn’t have anyone to throw at him in particular and he was pretty sharp creating for himself. No complaints about his overall floor game, save for a couple potential passes he looked off. | |
 D | M. Gasol22 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-1 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, -11 +/- The scouting report was out on him in this one. The Cavs sat on the cutters when Gasol got his elbow touches, and they forced him to create offense for himself, which usually ended up with him passing out. He’s clearly reluctant to grind in the paint on offense right now, hopefully that changes as we inch closer to the playoffs. He was bad on defense tonight. | |
 A- | K. Lowry30 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 5-8 FG, 4-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -14 +/- Sucks to waste a good Lowry game, and he was good. Lots of effort at the point of attack on defense (which was unique to him) and he was aggressive getting into the heart of the Cavs defense. He also shot the ball well, can’t complain. | |
 C | D. Green20 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/- With so much disfunction from the Raptors tonight, a role player like Green isn’t going to bust the game open. The Raptors struggled to run a coherent offense and he got lost in the shuffle. | |
 B+ | O. Anunoby26 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/- Genuinely liked his game tonight. Liked the physical defense he played on the perimeter, and he was aggressive on offense. We’re still waiting for him to piece the 3 major facets of his game together (Rim-running, 3-pt shooting, and defense) in consecutive games, but this could be a good step forward. | |
 D | J. Lin21 MIN, 8 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-9 FG, 1-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/- He was bad, man. No silver lining for his play right now as he struggles to find any rhythm as a pseudo-lead guard off the bench. The compete level on defense is of little consolation, and it doesn’t distract from the fact that he looks really inept running the offense. He’s capable, just in a funk. His game will be very happy to have Fred VanVleet back. | |
 C- | P. McCaw19 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Somewhat similar to Green, in that there’s only room for him as a complimentary piece, and there was nothing of note to compliment tonight. Had a nice steal and run-out where he found Gasol under the rim. | |
 D | N. Powell19 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -18 +/- Volatile. He scored a couple easy buckets when he beat the Cavs defense up the floor, but when the ball was in his hands it was abject horror. Pretty shaky defense as well, which is something he’s definitely in control of. | |
 Inc | S. Ibaka17 MIN, 8 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-3 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- He was actually far and away the best big besides Kevin Love in this game, but he got into a fight, which is wild. Hopefully his suspension is short, because I’m not thrilled to see the pick n’ roll decimate Gasol and Boucher for an extended period of time. | |
 Inc | M. Miller4 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Keep shooting it man. Want more minutes for him. | |
 C | Nick Nurse I wish I knew how much responsibility coaches bear for slow starts and all that. I guess he’ll catch flack regardless because the team was bad, and giving up that many points to a bottom ranked defense is abysmal. Ugly game. | |
Things We Saw
- Gasol was dropping really low on defense all night. The Cavaliers treated the middle of the floor like a safe space and were able to find the open men from there. I know it’s just the Cavaliers, and obviously Ibaka (who was much better defensively) didn’t care much for this game, but Gasol is supposed to have the savvy to find the most efficient middle ground and he didn’t tonight.
- As was expected, the Cavaliers won, as Kevin Love (the real reason for the Cavaliers playoff success) snuffed the Raptors out. This will be a big step for Siakam’s career, when he can adequately defend the larger men of his position. It’s nice to see Love healthy again though, as he’s by all accounts one of the nicer guys league wide.
- This was an absolute stinker. I’m just happy we’re past the trade deadline so none can be suggested. This is not a look into who the Raptors are, their potential remains just as high, but it seems like 60 wins is slipping away rapidly. Not fun.
