 | TOR Raptors | 122 | Final Box Score | 117 | ATL Hawks |  |
 B | P. Siakam29 MIN, 18 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 6-13 FG, 0-4 3FG, 6-7 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 9 +/- Siakam was active on defense with one steal and one block, jumping in passing lanes like we are used to seeing him do. Even though his three-point shot wasn’t falling he was able to get to the basket with some nasty spin-moves and could have been even more aggressive. | |
 C- | O. Anunoby21 MIN, 4 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/- This was one of those games where Anunoby was invisible for large stretches. He has just six field-goal attempts for four points while getting zero steals and zero blocks on the other end. | |
 B+ | M. Gasol23 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-6 3FG, 4-7 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -6 +/- The Hawks made Gasol play at the perimeter instead of under the basket as he prefers, which meant he couldn’t have the type of defensive impact we are used to seeing from him. Still, Gasol played well and should have replaced Ibaka before the Hawks caught up. | |
 B- | K. Lowry29 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST, 1 STL, 3-11 FG, 0-5 3FG, 4-4 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 12 +/- Lowry’s shot wasn’t falling in this one but he dished out seven assists and was a +12 on the night, the best +/- of any starter. He only got to the free-throw line four times and should have been more aggressive attacking Trae Young. | |
 A- | F. VanVleet26 MIN, 20 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 4-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 11-14 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- Steady Freddy… The Raptors probably don’t win this one without VanVleet, who guarded Young for large stretches and was super, ultra, insanely aggressive attacking the rim throughout. He was probably too aggressive, having several of his layup attempts blocked, but he got to the free-throw line fourteen times. Nuff said. | |
 A | N. Powell25 MIN, 27 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 7-14 FG, 6-9 3FG, 7-7 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 10 +/- Powell was invisible in the first half of this one before exploding for 27 points in just 25 minutes. He was the Raptors only reliable shot-maker in the second-half and the only reason they pulled away in the fourth quarter. Powell is one of the most reliable Raptors on a night-to-night basis, which is nuts. | |
 C- | S. Ibaka24 MIN, 8 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-10 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 14 +/- Ibaka’s foot-speed makes him a good matchup for the Hawks, but his shot wasn’t falling and he didn’t make enough of an impact defensively to justify playing so deep into the fourth quarter. | |
 B+ | P. McCaw23 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 7 +/- I know how hard people have been on McCaw but I actually thought he was pretty good in this one. He is clearly not an aggressive player and prefers to facilitate, but he had three steals and four assists in this one and didn’t make many mistakes. | |
 B | R. Hollis-Jefferson20 MIN, 7 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-4 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -4 +/- Rondae was everywhere in this one, for better or worse. He picked up five fouls in just 20 minutes but was active on the boards with a team-high 11 rebounds. | |
 B+ | T. Davis19 MIN, 12 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 5-10 FG, 2-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Davis made some big shots in the third and fourth quarter to help the Raptors pull away and is a really aggressive shooter whenever he has a sliver of room. Still, he continues to make mistakes defensively. | |
 C- | Nick Nurse Nurse rolled with the hot hands in this one, but he didn’t really. Powell and Davis were knocking down shots, but I thought he should have brought Gasol into the game for Ibaka much earlier as well as Lowry and VanVleet, who would have been able to find Powell for those shots down the stretch. | |
Things We Saw
- I don’t know what the name of the strip club the Raptors went to last night is called, all I know is that they went to one. The Raptors came out really slow and couldn’t stop Trae Young all game, allowing the hawks to put up 117 on them while they are normally very good defensively.
- Norman Powell has saved the Raptors multiple times this year. He has been one of their most reliable shooters and is becoming a heat-check regular. When he’s going it’s really hard to stop him because he is a great at-rim finisher as well as a shooter. He saved the day against the Hawks.
- Nurse rolled with his reserved a bit too long and allowed the Hawks to catch up. I understand rolling with the hot hands but the only guys that were actually scoring were Powell and Davis. He could have subbed Ibaka for Gasol and McCaw for Lowry/VanVleet much earlier in order to put the game away instead of running his reserves into the ground and allowing the Hawks to make it close.
