Rap Up:
 | TOR Raptors | 105 | Final Box Score | 116 | CLE Cavaliers |  |
 B- | P. Siakam24 MIN, 9 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 4-12 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/-Dude doesn’t have his legs back under him yet. He started off with a hop in his step, but he missed a lot of buckets up close. Then he got tired, his shot fell off, and that was the end of his night right there. | |
 A- | O. Anunoby31 MIN, 17 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 7-15 FG, 2-6 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 4 TO, -6 +/-I thought he was the best player on the court for the Raptors. He didn’t have a great shooting night from outside, but you can’t hold him to it when he is tyrannical on the defensive end. He ended with four stocks and made Jarrett Allen look small at times. If I would critique him, I would say, perhaps, that he was not aggressive enough on the offensive end. When he chose to, he could get to the rim at will. | |
 B | F. VanVleet41 MIN, 23 PTS, 1 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 8-24 FG, 5-15 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, 4 +/-Right out of the hopper, Freddy was busting his butt. Early on, Sexton was having a lot of trouble handling FVV’s pressure. His touch was missing and did not have an ideal shot selection. Which is disappointing because you have a heat-seeking missile beside you in Norman Powell – GIVE THE MAN THE BALL, | |
 B- | K. Lowry40 MIN, 18 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 5-14 FG, 4-9 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/-He looked slow-footed on defence – like maybe he had one too many inches of Subway before the game. As usual, his leadership was outstanding; he woke this team-up. Especially in the second quarter, when we were falling apart, he kept them afloat ripping off three threes. He was off the court during the big run and when he came back was not all that helpful. | |
 B | N. Powell32 MIN, 18 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 7-16 FG, 2-7 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -4 +/-Normy, my man, lost the Sexton v Powell Main Event. He faded away in the second half shooting 2/7 while Sexton went nuclear. I don’t fully blame Norm here. He’s trying to find his fit after being the go-to-guy for some time. It’s taking longer for him to figure out how Alpha Dog he should be. Until the other guys get their bodies and minds back into the rhythm of things, Norm has got to be a bigger part of the offence. | |
 D- | A. Baynes14 MIN, 4 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 4-6 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -13 +/-I mean four free throws in the first quarter is four times more than he gets a game. So there was that. But he stunk. He was creamsicle sherbert on the defensive end and was getting outplayed by JaVale McGee…. | |
 B | S. Johnson14 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/-Part of the great run. Missed those three threes from the same spot at the top of the arc that would have helped us with the comeback. Oh well, happy to see him get a run. I love him and OG interchangeably causing chaos on the backend. | |
 C+ | C. Boucher13 MIN, 2 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/-He was lackluster. You would have thought he’d be more of an impact with a smaller Cleveland lineup. Instead, he lacked intensity; Nurse elected to pass on him for a smaller, faster lineup. | |
 B | M. Flynn12 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/-Loved his effort early. He replaced FVV to guard Sexton and made him work for at least a bit of it. Also had one sweet little pull-up. Nice to see him find a bit more court time. | |
 A- | P. McCaw9 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/-PATTT is BACK. He had a pick-six and then an And-one. He had another steal and some thoughtful attacks. He has a natural proclivity to attacking and finding the open guy, which a lot of Toronto’s bench lacks. He was also a very fun part of that March Madness rally. | |
 Inc | P. Watson5 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/-One three and nadda else. | |
 B- | Nick Nurse I thought Nick did too little early. He stuck to his regular subbing patterns (Baynes never should have touched the court) and didn’t get Norm involved enough. By the time he realized that FVV and Siakam were not ready for the offensive load, Raps were down big. He did mastermind that great run at the end with that small, athletic trapping line-up. But too little too late. He also nailed another challenge. Woo! | |
THINGS WE SAW
- Collin Sexton went full Alabama in the name of March Madness. He beefed with the whole Raptors team and singlehandedly won it for the Cavs. Love that intensity in the NBA. It’s seldom seen during the season and makes for much better basketball.
- Raps fly to Houston tonight and play a Rockets team on a 20-game losing streak. If we can’t break our losing streak against them, I dunno about anything any more.
- The trade deadline is coming up real fast. Does this losing streak push Masai closer to the “Sell” column?
