Samson, Sahal and Oren on Rap Up:
 | Mavericks | 103 | Final Box Score | 95 | Raptors |  |
 B- | P. Achiuwa33 MIN, 10 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 4-9 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, +3 +/- Precious is a beast when running in transition or exploding to the rim off of a short roll. Although I appreciate the ambition, just because your coach trusts you to put the ball on the floor and create doesn’t mean you HAVE to do so. Achiuwa needs to do a better job of recognizing his limitations. | ||||||||
 A | O. Anunoby32 MIN, 23 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 9-15 FG, 5-9 3FG, 0- FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, -1 +/- OG got off to an incredibly hot start, keeping it simple early on by getting to the paint and not settling for jumpers. It is unfortunate that foul trouble derailed what would have likely been a career night for Anunoby. In the minutes he did play, he guarded the other team’s best player and ran the game offensively… what more could you ask for? | ||||||||
 B+ | S. Barnes30 MIN, 17 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 6-12 FG, 0-2 3FG, 7- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +7 +/- It is difficult to properly assess Barnes’ performance considering he spent most of the game dealing with a hamstring injury. He also got into foul trouble early, and his minutes took a hit as a result. Despite the adversity, Scottie brought his usual defensive intensity and shot the ball with confidence. Not bad for the first back-to-back of his career. | ||||||||
 B+ | F. VanVleet39 MIN, 20 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 8-17 FG, 2-9 3FG, 5- FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, +5 +/- Fred is still looking to facilitate, and the team is much better when he fully buys into this mindset. The shooting numbers aren’t as bad as they seem, as Fred is often the guy who is tasked with bailing out faulty possessions with end-of-clock heaves. | ||||||||
 B- | G. Trent Jr.36 MIN, 12 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-14 FG, 2-6 3FG, 4- FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- Trent was engaged defensively tonight, but was unable to get his shot to fall consistently. His newfound defensive intensity will likely keep him in the starting lineup, but the Raptors desperately needed more out of Trent offensively tonight…What a strange 180. | ||||||||
 C- | C. Boucher8 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 0-5 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0- FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Boucher is good for at least one terrible contested heave per game. These are fine when the Raps are winning, but absolutely backbreaking when Boucher is 0 for 5 and the Mavericks are putting together a run. | ||||||||
 B+ | K. Birch18 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -14 +/- The French connection between Birch and Boucher continues to develop. They seem to be tied together rotations-wise, and look to find one another quite often. Birch was the better of the two tonight, setting good screens and providing the Raps with some much needed energy on the glass. | ||||||||
 C | G. Dragic14 MIN, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -16 +/- Most people definitely expected Dragic to bring it tonight, considering he has been heavily linked with a move to the Mavericks. Although it seemed as if Goran was engaged, his performance was pretty lacklustre. If this was his try-out for the Mavericks, I’m not sure they’re interested. | ||||||||
 B- | D. Banton8 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- Dalano didn’t really contribute anything of note offensively, but was a pest defensively using his length to close out on shooters and fill up some passing lanes. | ||||||||
 A- | S. Mykhailiuk19 MIN, 7 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 2-5 FG, 2-5 3FG, 2- FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -11 +/- Svi hustled hard, chasing down rebounds and fighting on defence. After being slapped in the face at the end of the first half, Svi came back with a bit of a vengeance in the third quarter. Mykhailiuk is determined to earn some more minutes, and likely deserves them going forward. | ||||||||
 B | I. Bonga3 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0- FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +2 +/- Bonga did a good job when forced onto Luka Doncic as a result of OG’s foul trouble and Scottie’s injury. It’s entirely possible that we see a lot more of Isaac in these types of situations, especially with Boucher struggling. | ||||||||
 B | Nick Nurse It is a shame that Toronto’s wings got into foul trouble so early, because it seemed as if Nurse’s defensive matchups gave the Mavericks some real trouble. Offensively, I’d like to see the Raptors put a bigger emphasis on attacking Luka. If you don’t tire him out by making him play defence, Doncic will take over a game. Tonight he did just that. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- The first half is what the offence looks like when the Raptors actually hit their shots. We all knew eventually the that the shooting would regress to the mean, but just when it seemed as if things were back to normal the Raptors went ice cold in the second half. This has to improve eventually, right?
- One of the unintended benefits of playing so much zone defence is that, offensively, the Raptors seem very comfortable picking apart zone defences. The Mavs tried to go zone a couple times off of sidelines-out-of-bounds plays and the Raptors dismantled it with ease. I can’t imagine Toronto will be seeing a lot of zone this year, even with their occasional shooting woes.
