Raptors basketball is back!
Zarar and Adon on Rap Up duties tonight:
 | 76ers | 107 | Final Box Score | 123 | Raptors |  |
 A | P. Achiuwa25 MIN, 13 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 6-9 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0- FT, 2 BLK, 4 TO, +6 +/- I’m starting to worry less that he’s only 6’9″, mostly because he’s stepping back for threes, turning away guards and centers at the rim and going coast-to-coast. Drummond was a tough matchup in some cases but overall Precious is surprising Miami fans right now. | |
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 A | O. Anunoby25 MIN, 21 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 7-12 FG, 3-3 3FG, 4- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +1 +/- He picked up where he left off which is continuing to elevate his game with no sign of a ceiling in sight. He’s an all-rounder in all respects and has developed a poise beyond his years. Tonight we saw the three, the drive, the step-back, the ball handling and the defense. | |
| https://twitter.com/raptorsrepublic/status/1445185805731962884 | ||
 A | S. Barnes25 MIN, 13 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL, 6-10 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2- FT, 2 BLK, 4 TO, +19 +/- Look at that assist count. He playing point-forward in the first quarter and held his own even with guards swiping away at him. No surprise that he was active defensively but what is a surprise is how confident he is in taking his shot – there’s clearly marching orders to shoot. | |
 C+ | G. Dragic16 MIN, 8 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-7 FG, 2-5 3FG, 0- FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, +8 +/- Came off the bench and could never get in rhythm, but did combine well with Svi for some nice backcourt moments. Probably was wondering why the hell he even checked in. | |
 B | F. VanVleet23 MIN, 8 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL, 3-11 FG, 1-6 3FG, 3- FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, +2 +/- The shot was short and looked a tad bit slow overall. But, didn’t let the ball get stuck when he had it, and seems to be relieved at the perimeter ball-handling and passing options the Raptors seem to possess. It’ll allow him to play off the ball more which is probably how he likes to mix it up. | |
 Inc | I. Wainright2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- We’ll see more of him next game. | |
 A | Y. Watanabe17 MIN, 10 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 4-7 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0- FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, +17 +/- He’s knocking down his open threes and was part of the key second quarter run which put some distance in the game. The D on the team is contagious enough where he’s in a defensive stance far more than he usually was last year. | |
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 D+ | F. Gillespie7 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Hmm…outmuscled by Drummond early on and never found his rhythm and could never catch or hold on to the ball. | |
 A- | J. Champagnie22 MIN, 17 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 7-12 FG, 2-5 3FG, 1- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +16 +/- Likes to spot up but at the same time is a threat to drive. He made me think how the Raptors don’t really have any one-dimensional players on the roster. Even when you go this deep you have a guy who is a multi-threat. | |
 B- | M. Flynn13 MIN, 6 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/- Didn’t play the first half and came in when the game was at a different temperature than his shot. Missed some clean looks and never figured out where he fit into the pace of this game. | |
 A+ | D. Banton24 MIN, 6 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1- FT, 2 BLK, 5 TO, +9 +/- This man looks mature, poised and purposeful in his actions. He ran the point forward to perfection and was fully aware of his teammates positions at all times. He’s comfortable bringing down the rebound and working his way from there, and his teammates are comfortable with him handling the ball. His floater, finishing and passing was sublime. I’m more excited about him than anyone. | |
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 B+ | S. Mykhailiuk23 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 4-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 4- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +18 +/- Ran the point and hit his shots. Did miss the roll-man on a couple occasions but on the plus side his shot looks good and he’s not giving much up on D. It’s going to be tough to crack the rotation but he can build on this performance. | |
 Inc | I. Bonga6 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +4 +/- He was there. | |
 A+ | Nick Nurse Clearly went for the length experiment early by benching Flynn and opting for a Barnes, Banton and Yuta combo. He’s going to experiment the hell out of this lineup and nothing is off limits. We’re going to see some weirdly good stuff this season. It’ll be entertaining. | |
Things We Saw
- As Alvin Williams said, this was a game where a lot of guys with similar skill sets played with each other. That’s a big positive.
- Awesome to see fans in the stands. Raptors basketball is back!
- A warning sign: we had no answer for Drummond early on – his physical presence was too much for Guillespe.
