Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Quick Reaction: Lakers 92, Raptors 107

Kyle Lowry turned in a classic and OG ascended to new heights.

Kyle Lowry turned in a classic and OG ascended to new heights.

LA Lakers92Final
Box Score
107TOR Raptors

B
P. Siakam37 MIN, 15 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 5-17 FG, 2-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 27 +/-

Frustrating game overall – missed a few gimmes, didn’t get as many calls but it didn’t deter from his defense, especially in the second half. He’s in two places at all times. A George Gervinesque finger roll was thrown in for good measure.

A+
O. Anunoby33 MIN, 23 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 8-9 FG, 3-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 27 +/-

You can sense the transition of belief from suspect to surety – he believes in his skill and when it comes time to demonstrate it, he’s ready. He’s the difference between the Raptors running on a 3.6 engine and a 4.0 engine. There’s nothing that this guy doesn’t bring to the game, and when he shines at any one of those, it’s a thing to watch. Huge D against LeBron early and big finishing late. From three.

B+
M. Gasol25 MIN, 8 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 18 +/-

The line doesn’t look great but he’s the pivot man or screen man in enough plays that he doesn’t need to be. He reads more options in one touch than JV did in 7 years. There are parallel universes somewhere where the other options are being taken. I want to go there. They’ll be equally glorious.

A+
K. Lowry35 MIN, 33 PTS, 14 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 8-16 FG, 5-9 3FG, 12-15 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 24 +/-

The word “zone” is often overused. This was the zone. Whoever created the zone would have had this Kyle Lowry game in mind. He seems to be playing at 1.5x speed and the menu options go up to 5. Inviting challenges from AD, LeBron and Kuzma and hammering home a lasting point.

A-
F. VanVleet40 MIN, 13 PTS, 5 REB, 11 AST, 1 STL, 5-11 FG, 3-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 26 +/-

You just don’t need to worry about him. People who worry about him being a little “slow” in scrimmages need to realize he’s just slow. Slow and very good. He oozes calm on the floor.

B+
N. Powell24 MIN, 8 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-12 FG, 0-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -22 +/-

The confidence is unwavering and confidence is everything. The rest can be sorted out and he’s quickly coming up to speed. Had a huge drive in the fourth where he looped it over a stretched AD – it was beautiful.

C-
S. Ibaka19 MIN, 4 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, 2 +/-

Sometimes you don’t wake up right. Maybe didn’t sleep right and had a miserable day. Messed up the timing on a microwave pizza. Couldn’t find your slippers and then rolled into work. Work didn’t go so well. Sometimes we have tough days.

C-
T. Davis13 MIN, 3 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -15 +/-

Came in early, walked around a little, didn’t find a seam he could attack. Went home.

Inc
M. Thomas5 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/-

Meaningful minutes in the fourth. Nuse is fully confident in him.

B
R. Hollis-Jefferson5 MIN, 0 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/-

Great D overall, except when LeBron put him on his back. But even that was pretty good D, LeBron’s just four people rolled into one body.

Inc
C. Boucher1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-

Could stand to gain some weight. Or lose some. Or stay the same.

Inc
S. Johnson0 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/-

Oh hi there.

A+
Nick Nurse

He has them playing defense at a level that is remarkable and can go on auto-pilot. The communication is crisp and the non-verbal queues are being picked up without friction. Having any permutation of the lineup in this sort of sync is what makes him, him.

Things We Saw

  1. Things we saw, eh? Well, what I saw was a grown man watching something called “seeding game #1” like it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
  2. This game had playoff-level intensity and some serious body-checking and mid-air collisions. This was two teams talking to each other and seeing just what might be down the road. So much of the game is psychological that even though this game is ultimately a formality, something’s going to stick in someone’s mind that it’ll make a difference. Likely positive.
  3. There was a clip of Kuzma talking to his teammates on ESPN where he was surprised by how quick the Raptors get back on D. Make or missed shot, the run back is the same. Part of the Lakers offense is to get easy ones in transition and that is exactly the kind of game the Raptors can be adept at stopping.
  4. There was a moment around the fourth quarter which surprised me because it came earlier than I had anticipated. It was when the Lakers simply gave up. They didn’t bother going at our foul hobbled bigs, and took shots that didn’t force the Raptors to apply themselves.