 | CHA Hornets | 113 | Final Box Score | 116 | TOR Raptors |  |
 D- | A. Baynes4 MIN, 0 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -10 +/- Baynes was -10 in 4 minutes. Need I say more? The Raptors are losing almost all the minutes he plays, and I think it’s time for them to try someone else as the starting center. | ||||||||
 B+ | K. Lowry36 MIN, 19 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 6-13 FG, 3-7 3FG, 4-4 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -9 +/- Surprisingly a -9, Lowry had a great game. He shot the ball really well and found his teammates for open looks, getting 6 assists. He is still not playing like peak Kyle Lowry, but it should come with more reps with the new group of players. | ||||||||
 C | P. Siakam32 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 4-14 FG, 0-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, 6 +/- Pascal was really passive tonight. The Hornets played him for the jump shot, and he could never find his touch on it. He should be more aggressive attacking mismatches, especially if he has a slow big like Biyambo on him. Otherwise, though, his passing is still looking really good and using him as the hub of the offence is generating great looks, especially for FVV. | ||||||||
 B+ | O. Anunoby35 MIN, 18 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 4 STL, 7-13 FG, 4-8 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -10 +/- OG had a fantastic game on both sides of the ball. He had 4 steals, most of them leading to fast break points, and is shooting the ball extremely well. | ||||||||
 C- | F. VanVleet36 MIN, 15 PTS, 7 REB, 10 AST, 0 STL, 4-16 FG, 3-10 3FG, 4-4 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 7 +/- 4-16 from the field is just not good enough, although VanVleet’s defence was great as always in this one and his improved playmaking is nice. He is getting great looks, especially from Siakam post-ups and double-teams, but not converting enough. Plus, he needs to be less selfish on the fast break, passing to bigger, more athletic teammates instead of always trying to do it himself. | ||||||||
 A | C. Boucher30 MIN, 20 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 8-10 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 15 +/- give this man the MVP right now. The leap Boucher is taking from fringe rotation piece to Sixth-Man frontrunner is shocking, but give credit where it is due. I like Boucher coming off the bench, especially until he can figure out how to stay out of foul trouble. | ||||||||
 B | N. Powell28 MIN, 24 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 6-12 FG, 6-9 3FG, 6-6 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 22 +/- Powell shot the ball really well in this one, which was ultimately the difference maker. Still, too many mistakes defensively and three turnovers isn’t good. | ||||||||
 B- | M. Flynn18 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 2-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 11 +/- Flynn continues to take good looking shots and miss them, but he is a rookie and will likely figure it out. His shot looks great. Plus, I love his defence: he has seamlessly fit into Nurse’s aggressive switch-heavy scheme. | ||||||||
 A | S. Johnson13 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-2 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -14 +/- HOLD ME CLOSER, STANLEY JOHNSON! | ||||||||
 B | Nick Nurse a win is a win is a win. The Raptors need to figure out their starting center, because Baynes has been really, really bad and hurts them every start to the game. The Raptors need to be less sloppy and come out to start games/halves better. But two wins in a row is nice. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- This was a nice team effort, with everyone from Powell to Lowry to Johnson contributing. The bench, especially, was great, with Powell and Boucher leading the Raptors to the victory. They straight up out-shot the Hornets, which the bench is going to have to do more this season if they want a chance at winning their minutes.
- Boucher is playing so well. His shot looks smoother and his defense is greatly, greatly improved. Give credit where it is due: he clearly worked on his shot a lot this offseason and made it a priority to jump at less pump-fakes. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he helps the Raptors every night and is a nice change-of-pace player off the bench.
- Siakam has really taken a playmaking role as of late, but I would like to see him be more aggressive against mismatches. That means created mismatches by calling over teammates to screen in the first place, and punishing them by taking a smaller defender into the post and a bigger one (like Biyombo) out to the perimeter. This is how he can get to the line more.
