 | TOR Raptors | 111 | Final Box Score | 113 | CHA Hornets |  |
 B | P. Siakam29 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 5-9 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 6 +/- It wasn’t a bad game from Siakam by any means, and 14 points on 9 shots is something you live with, but we’ve come to expect more from him and the team could’ve used him being a more assertive presence during a lot of stretches tonight. Charlotte did a pretty good job taking away his space though. | |
 A+ | K. Leonard32 MIN, 29 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 12-18 FG, 1-5 3FG, 4-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Really, really easy 29 points for Kawhi tonight, and about the only thing you can knock him for is the wedgie on his game winner attempt late. As he’s said, he treats the regular season like practice, and his offense was that easy tonight. | |
 B | M. Gasol27 MIN, 6 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 11 +/- Marc was +11 in his 27 minutes, and it’s hard to say he was bad, he was just really passive, again. Needs to find his moments to be aggressive and needs to make his presence felt more often. Had a nice defensive game though, and the starters were good for the Raptors. | |
 A+ | K. Lowry36 MIN, 16 PTS, 5 REB, 11 AST, 0 STL, 6-13 FG, 2-8 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 15 +/- The Raptors lost the 12 minutes Kyle didn’t play by 17 points, so it’s hard to pin this one on him in any way. Hit some huge shots, had some brilliant assists, and generally looks more like himself heading into the playoffs, which is great to see. | |
 B | D. Green19 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- Danny was pretty solid in his limited minutes tonight, and it’s not entirely clear why they were so limited. Could be that the Raptors are just saving his energy for the coming postseason games, but he has to play more than this when the team gets there. | |
 A | F. VanVleet31 MIN, 12 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3-4 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, -4 +/- Fred was great when he was out there with mostly starters around him, solid keeping Ibaka involved, and struggled otherwise in the all-bench lineups. Those groups won’t likely be seen much in the playoffs, so that’s not a great concern. | |
 A- | S. Ibaka21 MIN, 20 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 10-15 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, -10 +/- The scoring and rebounding is fantastic to get from Serge, but at the same time, it felt like Charlotte got to the paint a little too easily with him out there in this game. | |
 C | N. Powell20 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -6 +/- It’s not entirely clear whether Norm will be a significant part of the playoff rotation, and sometimes it’s hard to tell whether he should be. It was rough tonight, with him not finding many ways to keep himself involved and providing a positive contribution. Needs to bring that to be seeing time on the floor in the postseason. | |
 C+ | O. Anunoby16 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- Great to see OG back from his injury troubles, and he had some great defensive moments tonight, but his offense wasn’t there yet. Perhaps it’s just readjusting to the game after missing some time, but he needs to find that again. | |
 D | J. Lin10 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -11 +/- It’s not great for Lin lately. He isn’t really scoring, and his defense isn’t a positive, and it’s just hard to find the contributions that he is making. | |
 B | Nick Nurse The starters came out looking fantastic, he showed some interesting lineups to end the halves and generated a big run at the end of the first half, and the bench was sloppy. Things we all know about the Raptors at this point in the season. The outcome didn’t matter though, and it’s hard to really knock him for not going all out to win a game in this situation. Kept the minutes low, for the most part, and the lineups he’ll need in the playoffs are playing well. | |
Things We Saw
- Jeremy Lamb heroics again. Hit a bunch of huge shots in the fourth, including the eventual game winner, and he seems to have the Raptors number this season.
- The Hornets wanted it more in this one, and sometimes that’s all it takes. Charlotte has to win out to stand a chance of making the playoffs, and when one team needs a game that badly and the other team isn’t invested in the outcome, it’s hard to balance that.
- One would have to imagine that the Raptors have a picture of what their playoff rotation will be, and what they used tonight wasn’t it. A lot of the bad minutes are lineups that shouldn’t see time in significant games, which is a good thing for Toronto, because the other lineups were mostly really good.
- Two left for the Raptors, and there is one outcome of slight significance. This loss keeps it interesting between Toronto and Golden State for who would have home court should they meet in the Finals, if you’re looking for a reason to watch the last two games.
