 | CLE Cavaliers | 113 | Final Box Score | 133 | TOR Raptors |  |
 B+ | O. Anunoby28 MIN, 12 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 6-9 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 9 +/- Given the stellar shooting of his teammates, Siakam, Norm and Lowry specifically, OG didn’t need to force much on offense vs the Cavs. He made some aggressive moves to the cup when Cleveland’s rotations were slow and played excellent perimeter D. His rebounding was also predictably great. | ||||||||
 A+ | P. Siakam36 MIN, 33 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 13-24 FG, 5-8 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 16 +/- Siakam is the best basketball player on this team and he showed us why on Monday night. Exhibiting a buttery smooth stroke from deep, supreme body control in transition and a calming offensive release valve for his teammates. A sizzling all-around performance from the reigning MIP. | ||||||||
 A- | M. Gasol27 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 4-9 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 19 +/- Looking at his stat line, you might say “meh”. But if you watched this game, you’ll know that Big Spain had a very positive influence on his team’s result. He played superb defense, was active on the glass and kept his head up at all times, initiating offense like a quarterback peering down field. +19 sounds about right. | ||||||||
 A | K. Lowry37 MIN, 20 PTS, 4 REB, 11 AST, 0 STL, 6-13 FG, 3-7 3FG, 5-8 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 13 +/- He’s not back to being the Kyle that Raptors fans are used to, but things are definitely trending in the right direction. Lowry did an excellent job of controlling tempo, finding his teammates and knocking down open shots, en route to his first double double since coming a back from injury. | ||||||||
 A+ | N. Powell36 MIN, 26 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 11-15 FG, 4-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 16 +/- Norm was aggressive early, made his 74% of shots and dunked a basketball so hard that somebody needs to be arrested. As he continues to get starters minutes, Powell has relished his opportunity – tonight was no different, as he played the Wade to Siakam’s Lebron in a stellar offensive effort. | ||||||||
 B | P. McCaw22 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-2 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- McCaw hit his open three’s, played great defense, and made sound decisions when he had the ball in his hands. Didn’t wow us in any real capacity, but he sure didn’t hurt his team either, who got 22 good McCaw minutes on Monday night. | ||||||||
 B+ | S. Ibaka20 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 6-10 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-3 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 0 +/- A quiet 14 points for Serge in this one as his teammates did most of the heavy lifting in this one. Can’t ask for more from an efficiency perspective, as Ibaka seems to be finding his groove for the first time since coming back from injury. | ||||||||
 B | T. Davis19 MIN, 7 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 9 +/- Gave the Raptors some solid minutes and didn’t make many mistakes. Made a couple great stops in transition. | ||||||||
 B- | C. Boucher13 MIN, 7 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 5 +/- Boucher made the Cavs feel his length on the defensive side of the ball, but he had a couple instances where it didn’t look like he was fully in control of his body. The Montreal native still seems to be searching for his identity on an NBA basketball court. | ||||||||
 A | Nick Nurse Nurse played an uptempo style of ball all night long, and kept a tight rotation which saw his starters play heavy minutes. When a team wins by 20 and breaks out of their recent shooting funk, there’s not a whole lot to complain about. A well managed game for the most GIF-able coach in basketball. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- Dare I say Kyle Lowry…is…back?. Granted, this performance did just come against a team ranked in the bottom three of both offense and defense, but 20 & 10 is encouraging no matter who it comes against. He said a couple games back that he just needed a bit more time to get back to being himself, looks like we’re almost there folks.
- The Raptors played at an unusually fast pace tonight, but perhaps thats what this team needs to get into the habit of more often if they’re looking to avoid falling into ruts. Generating offence in the half court, especially against good teams, is a concern for this group. Nice to see Nurse adjusting for that and playing at a tempo which is conducive to fast break points and a high assist total.
- That Norman Powell dunk. Early candidate for dunk of the year and a runaway for most electric slam of the Toronto Raptor’s season. Kevin Love just texted Kate Bock how happy he was he didn’t jump. Sheeesh.
