Quick Reaction: Trail Blazers 101, Raptors 99

POR Trail Blazers

101

TOR Raptors

C+	O. Anunoby30 MIN, 8 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -9 +/- Sound defense, not enough offense. Basketball can be a complex game, but sometimes it’s as simple as considering whether a player did enough on one side of the ball to win. OG’s potential is incredible, but in order to tap into it, he needs to become more confident and fluid with his offense. Just wasn’t there tonight.
B-	R. Hollis-Jefferson25 MIN, 8 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 4-13 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Second, third, even fourth chance points. RJH’s persistence in following up his habitually poor first touch is impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, it’s his inability to convert on those first looks, that makes him tough to keep on the floor.
A-	S. Ibaka32 MIN, 17 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 7-12 FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, -10 +/- Serge was everywhere tonight. He did a good job of filling the offensive void left by his ailing teammates, and made positive contributions on almost every offensive possession that he was on the court for.
A	K. Lowry38 MIN, 24 PTS, 4 REB, 10 AST, 0 STL, 7-23 FG, 4-16 3FG, 6-7 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -7 +/- Lowry, as he always does, did an excellent job of initiating offense and setting the tone for Toronto early on. Any time he had a chance to push the ball up the court, or let an open 3 fly, he took it (16 times, actually). He is the stout, fiery engine that makes this Raptors team move, and was a couple centimetres short of canning a game-winning triple.
C-	P. McCaw36 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 2-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- McCaw continues to play heavy amounts of minutes, without much to show for it. Going 2-8 in 36 minutes makes giving more minutes to guys like Brissette, Thomas and Davis a no-brainer.
B+	O. Brissett23 MIN, 12 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Osshae Brissette laced em’ up for the 905 Monday night and went to bed Tuesday with a 23 minutes of great NBA basketball under his belt. Brissette is showing huge strides in his development since the beginning of the season and did an excellent job converting his looks and being a pest on the defensive side of the ball.
B-	S. Johnson17 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 7 +/- Johnson played more minutes than he has all season. He didn’t play himself off the court, complimenting the second unit well while they were out there. But he didn’t exactly give Nurse a reason to start him next game either.
A	C. Boucher16 MIN, 12 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-4 FT, 3 BLK, 1 TO, 8 +/- Slim Duck showed out tonight. Only finished with 12 points, but Portland felt every one of them. The Montreal-native went on his own 7 point run to sustain the Raptors lead for the second unit in the 4th, and contributed an immense amount on the defensive side of the ball.
B+	M. Thomas15 MIN, 8 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 2-6 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 7 +/- Shooters shoot! Matt Thomas is known for his buttery smooth stroke, but he did more than that tonight. He was active on the defensive glass and made some smart decisions with the ball in his hands apart from making shots. Great work in limited minutes.
C	T. Davis8 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- One of the lowest minute total all season from the undrafted rookie. Likely a product of matchup issues, but he didn’t really get the opportunity to make an impact in this one.
C+	Nick Nurse Led for all but 17 seconds of the game. Having an advantage on the scoreboard is great, but it really only matters what numbers are up there at the end of the game. Toronto led by 14 at one point late in the 3rd quarter; to allow their opponent back into it in the time that they did is a real shame. You can sprinkle blame on a lot of people tonight but you’ve got to reserve a healthy amount for the Raps Head Coach.