 | BKN Nets | 116 | Final Box Score | 103 | TOR Raptors |  |
 A+ | K. Birch32 MIN, 13 PTS, 14 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-9 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-4 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Kyle Lowry said that he’s trying to get Birch paid this summer and that’s clearly on the big man’s mind. He got his first double-double (including 9 offensive boards!!) as a Raptor and at this point, I feel like he has the starting center position locked up. | ||||||||
 C | P. Siakam35 MIN, 10 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-16 FG, 0-5 3FG, 6-6 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -9 +/- Siakam’s hot play as of late was extinguished in this one. He was definitely aggressive, attacking the basket and continuing to shoot, but nothing was falling. | ||||||||
 B+ | F. VanVleet42 MIN, 11 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 4-17 FG, 3-12 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -17 +/- Freddy was struggling in this one too. His shots weren’t falling but his defense was never in question. Although you won’t see it in the boxscore, him bodying up KD was marvellous and he locked up Kyrie who shot missed 10 of 13 shot attempts and only scored nine points in total. | ||||||||
 A | K. Lowry37 MIN, 24 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 8-14 FG, 6-9 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 4 TO, -4 +/- Lowry played the role of scoring machine tonight but it wasn’t enough to overcome Brooklyn. He’s obviously developed chemistry with Birch but with the way he played, the big man’s payday isn’t the only one on his mind. | ||||||||
 A+ | O. Anunoby31 MIN, 21 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 9-15 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-1 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- OG’s offensive game is blossoming right now and if there’s only a handful of reasons for optimism, this is one of them. Not only was he putting work in by scoring, but he also tied his career-high in assists. | ||||||||
 A- | M. Flynn20 MIN, 13 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 4-8 FG, 1-5 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/- Another bright light for Toronto this season. He’s really starting to come into his own and even with the L, Flynn made every minute count. Definitely a key-rotational player moving forward. | ||||||||
 B- | Y. Watanabe18 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 2-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -13 +/- Definitely had an impact on the game, relative to the minutes he played. Over the next four games, Toronto will need Yuta to come in and spark the offense if it’s slumping. | ||||||||
 B | F. Gillespie11 MIN, 2 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/- Gillespie is playing meaningful minutes ahead of Aron Baynes, who hasn’t played at all since April 10. He had three fouls but this wasn’t going to be an easy game for him anyway. Thursday will be the end of his second 10-day and the Raptors need to decide whether he stays the course or not. | ||||||||
 C | S. Johnson7 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- Played solid D in the seven minutes he played but with a limited offensive arsenal, Stanimal just doesn’t have much else to offer. | ||||||||
 B | D. Bembry4 MIN, 1 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- Now that Toronto has Birch and Gillespie, Bembry hasn’t played much. Of course he’s returning from injury but like Johnson, he’s very limited in what he does on offense. | ||||||||
 | R. Hood0 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- | ||||||||
 B+ | Nick Nurse Credit Nurse for trying out a three-point guard lineup in crunch time with Lowry, VanVleet, and Flynn with under three minutes left. However, more height might’ve helped down the stretch as Jeff Green got away with some easy buckets. Biggest question is how to get the most out of GTJ if he starts Birch. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- CAREER NIGHT FOR BIRCH: Khem Birch is exactly the jolt of energy Toronto needed. His offensive rebounds were crucial for the Raps not falling too far back. His O-boards were also huge for some of the leads. He didn’t get much of an opportunity in Orlando but now that he’s a Raptor, he’s getting more than enough. Someone’s going to pay him in the offseason and it might not be Toronto
- THREE GUARD LINEUP: Lowry-VanVleet-Flynn in crunch time was new. I had a chat about this with someone the other day and I could see it working without stunting Flynn’s development. I just don’t see this as a starting lineup.
- BUILD TO BREAK: The way this team loses is so stressful. The game is usually never out of hand and if it is, they seem to rally back in the last five minutes. But, Toronto has massive issues finishing games. Not a great start to a stretch that includes the Nuggets, Jazz, Lakers, and Clippers.
