Aye, the Raptors turned the Pistons into shark bait. Made them look the part o’ some scoundrels from Tortuga.
 | TOR Raptors | 112 | Final Box Score | 99 | DET Pistons |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam35 MIN, 26 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 10-23 FG, 6-11 3FG, 0-0 FT, 4 BLK, 2 TO, 7 +/- I wrote in the preview that Griffin has been a tough matchup for him in the past, but Siakam cooked anyone that came near him tonight and did so with relative ease. Less reliance on iso ball, and away more spot-ups and run-outs, two major strengths of his game. He was also really great on the help-side in this game. | |
 A+ | O. Anunoby35 MIN, 19 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 7-12 FG, 2-5 3FG, 3-3 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 11 +/- Killed the Pistons hapless defense early on, cutting to the rim for easy buckets. This was the most dangerous he’s ever looked off of the dribble. That’s a credit to him and a shot at Griffin as well. Looked closer to a third piece offensively in this one, rather than the optimized role player he’s operated as for so long. Awesome game. | |
 Inc | M. Gasol8 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 4 +/- Get better soon, Beer Papi. | |
 A+ | K. Lowry39 MIN, 20 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 5-17 FG, 3-6 3FG, 7-8 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 15 +/- I’ve used this word so many times to describe him, but “pace master” comes to mind. Even as the referees slowed this game to a halt at times, his creation on offense and ability to manipulate the Pistons created countless buckets in the half-court and in transition. Had his finger on the pulse of this game and was masterful running the Raptors offense. His finishing isn’t all the way back, but he’s grifty enough to earn free throws on the inside regardless. Triple-doubles are fun! | |
 B+ | N. Powell33 MIN, 9 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 11 +/- Didn’t maintain his hot shooting from games past, but very rarely forced anything and defended well. It’s really a shame that it looked like he hurt his shoulder, because he’s captured the best form of his career. Hope he’s better soon. | |
 A+ | S. Ibaka31 MIN, 25 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 10-18 FG, 1-4 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 17 +/- An absolute killer. Busted that slump with a bang. Had terrific compete levels on defense and he ate up anyone who tried to stop him on the offensive end. Looked like he did in the playoffs, coming off the bench to eat glass and score with Uber-efficiency. Since Gasol looks like he’ll miss a couple games at the least, it’s huge that Ibaka looks this good. | |
 B- | P. McCaw27 MIN, 2 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Best game defensively this year, to my eye. He did a good job on Rose in particular for a stretch. The shots weren’t dropping, but the ball didn’t stick in his hands. He still has to bring a lot more offensively, obviously. He’s nowhere near Gasol’s level of a playmaker or defender, so the absence of any danger when he has the ball on offense is tough to look past. | |
 C+ | R. Hollis-Jefferson13 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- Tough first half, but was much better in the second half. It’s looked like he’s had a harder time finding his spots of late, and that did continue in this one. The Raptors are playing differently, and I’m sure he’ll adjust. | |
 B | T. Davis12 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 3 +/- I wish that he had more of McCaw’s minutes, I really do. A little sloppy with the dribble, and wasn’t shaping up off of drives as well as usual, but he’s such a good young player. If that dunk (that didn’t get called!) goes down, it’s a 3-4 night from the floor. Just wish he had extended minutes, especially in a game like this. | |
 Inc | C. Boucher6 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Thought he might get a longer run in this one with Gasol’s injury, but Nurse went super small instead of going bigger. Tough break. | |
 A+ | Nick Nurse Reeled the team in after a wayward first quarter defensively, which is nice. I also liked the decision to go small when Drummond was off the floor. The McCaw run confuses me, but he knows much more, and he watches practice. So, I’m just making that known, not punishing the grade for that. | |
Things We Saw
- It is really a shame what happened to Powell. Sports can be so cruel. It takes a long time to find the pace of a game and where you fit in it, Serge talked about how hard it was to find his game again. Powell has put in a lot of work to make it work this year, and I hope he can recapture the same consistency once he’s back.
- Gasol too! I wrote about it in the latest Black Box Report, but he’s a massive part of the Raptors defense and he’ll be sorely missed. Especially with Domantas Sabonis on the horizon.
- It’s really something to watch Lowry operate on offense. The killer outlet passes, the attention to detail with the spacing, and the bounce passes, my god, the bounce passes. As a viewer with the whole floor in front of you, it’s rare that a player sees something you don’t, but Lowry is one of those creators.
