Quick Reaction: Raptors 99, Rockets 117

Was in a battle with Tate that took a physical toll on him. Tate was taking it on as a personal challenge and Siakam responded individually with a decent stat-line and his usually reliable defense. Then he also had to deal with Woods at times who was having a game. But the overall impact on the game in time of need felt low, and this entire game was a time of need. He doesn’t look bothered enough by the losing sometimes – if he’s the one we’re passing the mantle to, there’s lots of learning to be done and we’re low on vets once Lowry leaves.

He’s taking the shots others are passing up which is just fine by him as he enters his contract year. He’s by far the most aggressive on offense and gets rewarded for it. He’s probably overplaying his role because a great Raptors team doesn’t have Norm as the primary threat. There’s an imbalance that is reflected when he’s scoring that high.

He’s doing the same things he did last year but without the amplifying effects of teammates like Ibaka/Gasol. That’s to be said of everyone but Lowry sticks out because he’s really in that batch of a player – they’re title-chasing, he’s clearly not. He tried to go into KLOW mode but it feels like there’s nobody there he can bounce his energy off and lift the group.

You have to think hard when coming up with a list of things he does. These days that list mostly consists of confusing people by resembling OG from afar. Unless he’s hitting his three-point shot he’s void on offense. Yeah, defensively he’s above average but there are so many holes on that end on the team that even if he fixes his part, there’s no movement overall.

Bombing deep from three is now his preferred option over punching through which means the ball doesn’t move as much. Maybe it’s because the lane is congested or maybe because it’s the lack of pace in his game, which was evident on both ends tonight. He’s not even finding the guys in transition – Flynn and Siakam look more adept at that lately.

He’s improved defensively so there’s progress there. He runs a lot and parks in the corner, but other than that doesn’t present himself much. Needs to read a page of the Norman Powell How-to-Cut textbook.

The guy plays hard, give him that. Woods was not a good matchup for him – he matches him in length and is equally active and possibly just as tenacious at times. The three-point shot wasn’t dropping but you like that it doesn’t affect him on the other end.

Are we showcasing him for a trade? If so, the 14 minutes isn’t helping. I thought he could’ve played more against Houston’s pace and I’m not sure what the criteria is for when he gets to play or not. Tonight just seemed like a game his pace could help with on a back-to-back, instead we saw Lowry/Fred lumber.

Two techs and got ejected. Tried a sky hook. Non-factor.

Haha. That missed dunk.

nice pic.twitter.com/Ueh3uvzpNu

— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) March 23, 2021

I remember one possession with him and he played good D on it. Maybe he got subbed in by mistake.

Is our offense just shooting threes? Was there nothing in the war chest that didn’t rely on those who have departed? Not playing Flynn more didn’t make sense, and then bringing in Bembry after already trying with the variants of McCaw and Johnson didn’t look like much of a strategy. But what can you really do if you look down the bench and you see Aron Baynes? He’s to be blamed for the predictable offense, but man, there just aren’t any big men to run anything significant with. He gets a D for not managing either end of this back-to-back properly.