 | PHX Suns | 104 | Final Box Score | 100 | TOR Raptors |  |
 A- | P. Siakam37 MIN, 26 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 8-17 FG, 0-6 3FG, 10-11 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 3 +/- The three wasn’t falling, but Siakam was aggressive getting into the paint for the second straight game. Finished well inside and continues to develop as a secondary facilitator of the offence. Spent a lot of time having to deal with Deandre Ayton. Obviously undersized for that matchup but options are limited. | |
 A | O. Anunoby38 MIN, 15 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 5-12 FG, 2-6 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- OG hasn’t skipped a beat since his return after missing 6 games. Knocked down open shots and continues to expand his overall offensive game, especially showing physicality scoring inside. Did his usual thing playing defense on multiple Suns, including helping Pascal battle Ayton in the paint. Great defence on Devin Booker, which should have been the stop of the game if rebounding wasn’t such a massive weakness for the Raptors. | |
 B | F. VanVleet39 MIN, 22 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 8-18 FG, 6-15 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 5 +/- Did a nice job making threes to keep the Raptors afloat in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Would like to see Fred be a little more selective on the break. Tends to torpedo his way into the paint regardless of defence or teammates on the wing. Doesn’t really help his inside percentages. | |
 B | G. Trent31 MIN, 8 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-11 FG, 0-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Struggled with his outside shot in his Raptors debut, but you can see his ability to create a fluid shot for himself from midrange. Trent is not just a 3 and D guy. Did a good job defending Chris Paul in crunch time. Had a chance to put the Raptors up 1 with a transition three, but it was all glass. | |
 B- | K. Lowry34 MIN, 11 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 4-12 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -13 +/- The GROAT struggled with his shot early, but you knew Lowry is going to be an impact late. Spent a lot of time guarding Devin Booker and made a few key plays to cut the lead to a one possession game. | |
 B- | R. Hood18 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Hood will be a decent experienced option off the bench. Likes to iso sometimes which is how he got his first Raptor basket on a post up. | |
 B- | A. Baynes14 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- Provided decent minutes. Yes he will miss layups here and there and the open three the defence provides him on purpose doesn’t fall often, but the energy was there. | |
 B | M. Flynn14 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -7 +/- Provided a nice spark off the bench in the first half. Also defended well. Wonder if he will continue to get minutes will a full bench intact. | |
 B- | C. Boucher11 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-3 3FG, 1-1 FT, 3 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Boucher has been reliable off the bench for the majority of the season but he is in a rare slump. As a result, his minutes are starting to fall into the teens as well. Did make a couple of buckets in the fourth. 3 blocks in only 12 minutes though. | |
 B- | Nick Nurse Didn’t waste any time getting the new guys acclimated, partially out of necessity. Boucher has been struggling a bit, but he should have earned enough trust to still get minutes in the 20s. Baynes should not be playing more than Boucher. | |
Things We Saw
- REBOUNDING / INSIDE DEFENCE: True centres like Ayton llck their chops going against the Raptors undersized lineup. The Suns outrebounded the Raptors by nine, none bigger than Ayton’s massive offensive rebound with 10 seconds left in a two point game. Phoenix scored 58 points in the paint, which ties the Raptors season high for an opponent. The last glimmer of hope to have ANY resemblance of paint protection is the buyout market. It’s tough to have such a glaring disadvantage, which disappointingly wasn’t addressed at the trade deadline.
- DeAndre’ Bembry and Paul Watson Jr didn’t play due to health and safety protocols. You hope that everything is OK with them, and this doesn’t start another wave of guys being held out. Unfortunate especially for Watson, who had recently cracked the rotation and tied his career-high of four made threes vs Denver.
