First sweep in Raptors history. Hell yeah.
 | TOR Raptors | 150 | Final Box Score | 122 | BKN Nets |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam33 MIN, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 9-22 FG, 1-7 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 26 +/- ‘Point Pascal’ was a clear success in this one. Lowry’s injury and VanVleet’s foul trouble necessitated Siakam as the point of attack always, and he responded in spades. Creative off the bounce, manipulative with his mismatches, and overall an absolute menace against the Nets. The bench stole the show in this one, but Siakam was the standout among the starters. Great form as we head into the series against the Celtics. The 3-point shot has to drop a little more often, though. | |
 A | O. Anunoby26 MIN, 10 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, 14 +/- Affecting on defense and clever on offense. He was always in the right spots on the floor in this one. Whether it was a well timed rotation, or a flash cut to the middle of the paint on offense, he found his spots. | |
 A | M. Gasol21 MIN, 9 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- Big offensive plus to start the game, and as aggressive as he’s been all series. Took advantage on the inside, bombed away from downtown, and held up the back end of the defense. A nice relaxed outing for the “Big Boss from Barcelona”. | |
 A+ | K. Lowry9 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 5 +/- Get better soon. Please. | |
 A | F. VanVleet19 MIN, 9 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 2-5 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 21 +/- Very low-key game with the 3 early fouls, but he deserved a bit of a break after busting his hump all series long. The goodwill he earned in the first 3 games and all the seeding games means that this is perfectly fine. Excited to see him vs. Kemba. | |
 A+ | M. Thomas25 MIN, 12 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/- Hasn’t found the space in this series, but I’m happy to see that Nurse is willing to put him out there even if he’s not making it rain. Of course, he made some noise in the 4th quarter, but the majority of his minutes came prior to that. His defense is much better than it was at the start of the year, and it feels like he could pop off next round. | |
 A | T. Davis24 MIN, 14 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 5-10 FG, 4-8 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 12 +/- His game is still super volatile, but this one leaned way more positive. Defensive lapses, insane poster dunks, spot up triples, and probing without the turnovers. Nice game. | |
 A+ | N. Powell24 MIN, 29 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 9-14 FG, 5-9 3FG, 6-6 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 31 +/- The 3-pointer looks as dangerous as ever, and when he puts the ball down he looks like he’s shot out of a cannon. He punched every gap he saw, and when the defense sat back rained jumpers. A nearly flawless game. When he and Ibaka bring this type of game off the bench, the Raptors can’t possibly look like anything but a contender. Awesome game. | |
 A+ | S. Ibaka20 MIN, 27 PTS, 15 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 12-14 FG, 3-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 14 +/- Underrated in last year’s playoff run as he punched up against All-Star bigs and flattened bench bigs consistently. Well, this game looked like that. Potent from downtown, great pacing on the short-roll, and a hound on the offensive glass. Absolutely sterling performance. Well done. | |
 A+ | S. Johnson12 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Garbage time, but a nice stint as point forward running the Raptors through their sets. Cashed a couple triples, including a heat check pullup. Collected some assists. Nice. | |
 A | R. Hollis-Jefferson12 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- Rapid and active in his time on the floor, as always. | |
 A- | C. Boucher10 MIN, 3 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- Got up and down the floor. Didn’t get the run in games 2 and 3 that I thought he might have. We’ll have to see if he can find a sliver of an opportunity against the Celtics. Hopefully Gasol and Ibaka dominate the Celtics, though. | |
 Inc | P. Watson6 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- DUNK | |
 A+ | D. Hernandez0 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Pretend this is Luka Doncic’s grade | |
 | Nick Nurse A well coached series, and another feather in his cap with the sweep. I’m excited to see what he comes up with against Boston. | |
Things We Saw
- The Nets were outmatched from the outset. The one player who drove any type of success for them on the offensive end was Caris LeVert, and what a series for him. He really showcased his ceiling, in what was perhaps a “I’m the piece you put next to KD and Kyrie” pitch to the FO in Brooklyn. Love, love, love his game.
- Lowry’s injury really, really sucks. I hope it’s nothing serious. Even with Fred surging as a lead guard, losing Lowry’s presence would be devastating for the Raptors.
- It will likely come after a Game 1 win against the Celtics if it happens, but keeping the Raptors outside of the top 3 teams in the league is malpractice at this point. The depth, winning fiber in the organization, and standout performances from Siakam, VanVleet, Anunoby are an overwhelming avalanche that will swallow most teams. Defending champs.
- “Attack the title.”
