Samson:
Sahal and Oren:
 | TOR Raptors | 135 | Final Box Score | 115 | CLE Cavaliers |  |
 A- | C. Boucher25 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 4-11 FG, 1-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 4 BLK, 2 TO, 15 +/- He was very good in the pick and roll with Flynn, rolling hard and offering offensive value even when his jumper wasn’t falling. That’s a big step for him and something that has to become more consistent. His defense wasn’t fantastic, outside of some highlight blocks, but the highlight blocks are kind of more important, aren’t they? Three assists is nice, too. All in all, was solid, if not spectacular, and that’s nice to see. Too often he is isn’t solid on his off nights. So a step forward. | |
 A | D. Bembry21 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 5-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-4 FT, 3 BLK, 5 TO, 9 +/- Though he didn’t finish as Toronto’s best player, he dominated the first quarter and almost put the game out of reach on his own. His eurosteps through the lane were completely unpredictable, and at one point he hop-stepped around four Cavs by himself on the fastbreak. He’s so fun. Cut well, picked up loose balls, SWATTED some Cavs from behind at the rim, and just did good stuff. The turnovers were a little sloppy, particularly in the dreadful third quarter, but far more good than bad. | |
 A+ | G. Trent32 MIN, 44 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 17-19 FG, 7-9 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 31 +/- So, uhhh, Toronto may have found a real gem in Trent. When his jumper is falling, as it was tonight, he can hit anything. Like, anything. Flying off pindowns, pulling up, spinning fadeaways in the post, floaters, AN-Y-THING. It was wild. 17/19 is incredible, and one of the best and highest-efficiency scoring outputs I can remember a Raptor having. Topped Norm’s career high (from this season) by one point, which is symbolic. Some nifty hands on defense, too! | |
 A- | O. Anunoby29 MIN, 15 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 5-11 FG, 3-6 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 22 +/- He wasn’t Toronto’s main man tonight, but he did a very good job fading to the edges and letting his hotter teammates go to work. He hit his triples, played his behind off on defense, and was altogether fun. Had a one-dribble-through-his-defender’s-chest power move in the first quarter, which turned into an emphatic dunk. Those plays are about as exciting as basketball gets, man. | |
 A+ | M. Flynn39 MIN, 20 PTS, 2 REB, 11 AST, 2 STL, 8-14 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 14 +/- Best game of his career, which seems like it’s been true in three of his last four or something like that. He is an unbelievable passer, particularly to his bigs in the pick and roll. Beyond that, he hit his pull ups, both from deep and in the midrange, and blew past Cleveland’s dismal defense to get to the rim. Was probably Toronto’s best defender, too, or at least best perimeter defender. Hard to play better than Flynn did tonight. | |
 A | Y. Watanabe22 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 6-7 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- He had a quiet yam through traffic! But was really fun. Hit a spinning, fading, buzzer-beating triple to end the first quarter, and didn’t stop there. Solid defense, great rebounding, and nifty passing. That’s always there. Even better than that, his finishing was sublime, both through and around defenders. That’s something he needs to stay in an NBA rotation, and it was great tonight. | |
 C | S. Johnson19 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- His ball skills aren’t there yet, and some of Toronto’s fading in the third quarter happened with Johnson on the floor. It’s tough to have a negative plus-minus in a blowout, but Johnson wasn’t as hot as his teammates. Still had a highlight chasedown block in transition, which was fun. | |
 A+ | F. Gillespie18 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 3-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 10 +/- His first NBA points in his first NBA minutes! In general, set bruising screens, protected the rim, rebounded, and was opportunistic around the rim. What else do you want from an undrafted rookie big? Really fun start for a young center, and he did his job. Hoping he gets a second 10-day. | |
 C | R. Hood17 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-5 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- He was responsible for Toronto’s first missed field goal late in the first quarter, which almost meant I gave him an ‘F.’ Seriously though, was good to see him back on the floor, and he ended up shooting fairly well after a slow start. Was also part of Toronto’s rough third-quarter stretch, though, which was maybe more negative than positive. | |
 C- | A. Baynes12 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Gillespie may have usurped his minutes, and he offered more rebounding and rim protection on defense and more reliability on offense. Baynes is trying hard, and he seems like a good guy, but he doesn’t seem to have much of a future in Toronto’s rotation, with Khem Birch on the way. | |
 B+ | Nick Nurse Did Toronto run a single play? I didn’t see one. It was basically “pick and roll the Cavs to death” and Cleveland never stopped it, so Toronto never changed the gameplan. They got paint touches at will, passed to shooters, and hit everything they tossed at the rim. That’s not always on Nurse, but it was good to see. Defensively, Toronto had a solid gameplan to limit Cleveland’s guards, and it resulted in a fair number of forced turnovers and forced misses. A solid job by Nurse, if the spectacular was more due to Trent and Flynn. | |
Things We Saw
- A good, old-fashioned blowout. Not much to say about it. Toronto had the game in the bag in the first quarter, making their first 11 (or more) field goals, and the rest of the way was glorified garbage time.
- Malachi Flynn and Gary Trent Jr. aren’t yet a starting NBA backcourt, but they’re both 22 years old, and they’re likely huge parts of Toronto’s future. Trent is a starter, for sure, and he ought to slot in as Toronto’s two-way wing when they go small, even if he doesn’t start due to a numbers crunch behind Fred and Kyle. Regardless of the future, his present is fantastic. And Malchi. Oh man. The passing, the handles, the shooting. We got a taste of what he may end up being as a point guard, and the future is bright with him. Even when he isn’t hitting his shots, he does so much other good stuff. Just a player who contributes across the board, every second he’s on the floor. Every heard of a Raptor point guard like that?
