Quick Reaction: Raptors 113, Celtics 97

Blow the man down! The grades will be coming soon, so make haste! TOR Raptors 113 Final Box Score 97 BOS Celtics B+ O. Anunoby15 MIN, 7 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, 9 +/- The fouls man, the fouls. The reffing was wild,…

Blow the man down! The grades will be coming soon, so make haste!

TOR Raptors113Final
Box Score
97BOS Celtics

B+
O. Anunoby15 MIN, 7 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, 9 +/-

The fouls man, the fouls. The reffing was wild, to be sure. He only played 15 minutes and I was pretty happy with his performance. Disappointing that he didn’t get more minutes, because this seemed like it could’ve been a slump buster.

A+
P. McCaw43 MIN, 18 PTS, 7 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 8-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/-

Without question the best game he’s ever had as a Raptor. Heavy off-ball movement on offense and kept finding the right man with the ball. The ball usually sticks in his hands, but there was none of that tonight. Maybe this is the McCaw Nurse & co. were seeing in practice.

A+
S. Ibaka30 MIN, 20 PTS, 10 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 9-14 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/-

Locked Kanter down in his minutes and that seemed to be a huge bellwether for where the game went. Terrific offensive punch on the short-roll and he even mixed in a triple. Great stuff.

A+
K. Lowry39 MIN, 30 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 10-17 FG, 5-10 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 6 TO, 9 +/-

His ability to conjure winnable minutes out of himself + any warm body is remarkable and he did just that with the 905 crew tonight. He was also gunning from downtown and did a terrific job of digging in and providing help on defense. Hit massive triple after massive triple. KLOE.

B+
F. VanVleet37 MIN, 18 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 5 STL, 5-19 FG, 4-9 3FG, 4-5 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 16 +/-

A tale of two halves. Pushed his luck trying to get to the basket early when the offense was leaning on him to create a lot. But, the second half provided the Raptors with a sterling spot-up option and he was good mixing in playmaking when attacking closeouts. He brought it back in a big way.

B
T. Davis22 MIN, 7 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-5 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 10 +/-

Always loved his ability to help out on the glass and that aspect of his game is ever-present. McCaw’s work on ball allowed Davis II to get after it defensively and try to hunt shots behind the arc. No complaints here.

B
R. Hollis-Jefferson19 MIN, 3 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/-

FOULS MAN THE FOULS. The duo of OG and RHJ fouling out in just over 30 minutes combined is something I don’t think I can remember seeing. Pretty wild stuff. He was fine.

A
C. Boucher16 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 19 +/-

His proclivity to dive to the rim with abandon is an overwhelming positive when juxtaposed with Ibaka’s love for the pop or short-roll. It adds another dimension to the offense and really allows Lowry a different look at a shifting defense. His length and energy has been big for quite a few games in a row.

A+
O. Brissett15 MIN, 4 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 7 +/-

Grading with a curve, obviously, but his energy and tenacity was a huge bump for the team tonight and watching him succeed in any capacity is peak fandom. He defended like a madman and really showed off a compete level on that end.

A+
Nick Nurse

So, the McCaw thing paid dividends huh? The quick pull of Ibaka so he could match minutes with Kanter was terrific, and marching out Brissett to bang around with the Celtics plethora of wings was inspired.

Things We Saw

  1. It’s crazy to see how much of a change there was in this game compared to Christmas, but the Raptors really locked down the glass on their own end. Terrific performance from the team as a whole.
  2. There are very few words left for what Kyle Lowry is to the Raptors and what he’s able to keep doing. Continue to love and appreciate KLOE. Please.
  3. The reffing was super funky and I’ve never really seen anything like it. Madness. Absolute madness.