 | TOR Raptors | 102 | Final Box Score | 110 | DAL Mavericks |  |
 C+ | P. Siakam41 MIN, 15 PTS, 3 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 6-24 FG, 2-10 3FG, 1-3 FT, 1 BLK, 5 TO, 3 +/- This was probably coming for him, he’s been powering through exhaustion for a couple of games now, and he just hasn’t had much rest. He played 167 of 192 minutes for the Raptors over the last 7 days, playing point guard sometimes, center other times, and being expected to carry the offense for most of it, and that was going to catch up with him. He didn’t have it tonight and the Raptors couldn’t find anywhere else to go to get that offense, so he had to keep trying. | ||||||||
 B+ | O. Anunoby32 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/- He struggled a little bit with the Doncic assignment in the first quarter, with Luka scoring 14 relatively quick ones and making it look easy, but Luka didn’t hit another field goal until late in the fourth quarter, and OG was a big part of that. Wasn’t an exceptional night but it was good to have him back after the scary looking eye injury against the Clippers. | ||||||||
 D | M. Gasol26 MIN, 6 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1-7 FG, 1-2 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -13 +/- Really rough one for Marc. He turned down a lot of looks that were good, and forced some terrible ones that he probably didn’t need to take. Just a tough night, and they could’ve really used a good one from him. | ||||||||
 A | F. VanVleet39 MIN, 24 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 8-18 FG, 4-11 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -22 +/- Fred was one of the only guys who really did have it for the Raptors, and he tried to get them back into this game and nearly succeeded, but ran out of steam towards the end, which is understandable. Had a really nice offensive game though. | ||||||||
 A | N. Powell32 MIN, 26 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 9-15 FG, 6-8 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 1 +/- Norm shot the lights out in this one and really had a good scoring night when they needed it. Definitely had some tough moments as well, with some unnecessary turnovers and a missed bunny late, but was a positive on the whole. | ||||||||
 A | R. Hollis-Jefferson25 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 4-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -8 +/- Rondae has been so good for the Raptors since being brought into the rotation with other guys out, and had another really good one here. Was active on the boards, solid defensively, and scored inside. He’s a limited player but he did the things the team needs him to do really well. | ||||||||
 A+ | M. Thomas17 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 12 +/- For a few minutes in the second quarter it looked like this was going to be the Matt Thomas game as he exploded for 10 points and made it look easy. Was a huge part of why the Raptors had their chances to win this game, and did exactly what Toronto needs him to do. | ||||||||
 B- | T. Davis16 MIN, 2 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Davis has been really good as a rookie on this trip, and he’s adjusting more and more to NBA defenses and making the plays to get his teammates easy buckets. Could’ve used some of his own shots going down in this one, though, but he was otherwise solid. | ||||||||
 B | C. Boucher12 MIN, 3 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- Boucher’s 12 minutes weren’t bad, they just weren’t really impactful and although it’s not entirely fair to expect him to always be that in such limited minutes, it was needed in this one and he didn’t have it. | ||||||||
 B+ | Nick Nurse It’s not really on Nurse that he’s been forced to ride Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet so hard over the last few games and they burnt out late in this game. This roster wasn’t built to absorb injuries like they’ve had to, and coming away with the split in four road games since Ibaka and Lowry went down is admirable. Would’ve been nice to get this one as well, but he’s been good more than not and it’s hard to fault him for not getting one that was tough from the outset. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- The Raptors are tired, and there isn’t much rest coming. Only have two rest days coming up once in the next 9 games, and it’s probably safe to assume they’ll be without Ibaka and Lowry for all of those. That’s going to be tough, especially with the wear showing on the guys they need already.
- It’s easy to put this one on Siakam, who definitely needed to be better for the Raptors to win, but they have to find a way to reduce his burden too. He can’t be expected to be the solution in the rebounding game, where he struggled, to be one of the most impactful defenders, and to carry this offensive load, every single game.
- Back home for Charlotte and Orlando this week, and four of the next five overall, and hopefully that can help rejuvenate a team that clearly needs it.
