 | Raptors | 87 | Final Box Score | 103 | Pistons |  |
 B+ | P. Siakam41 MIN, 23 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 8-17 FG, 1-2 3FG, 6-9 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/- Missed some bunnies he would like to have back in the first quarter. Had a nice block and a couple of buckets to close out the second. Continued with tough finishes in the third which included probably his toughest basket of the season, just flipping it over his head. Single handedly dragged the Raptors to within striking distance. The fake comeback yes, but noteworthy. The best Raptor on the court by far. | |
 B | O. Anunoby37 MIN, 16 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 5-14 FG, 3-7 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -8 +/- The one guy who had his shot going early. At one point, the Raptors were 4-17 from the field but OG was 3-3 (all threes). More than half his shots since he returned from injury are from behind the arc. Slowed down in the second half. | |
 C+ | S. Barnes33 MIN, 8 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 4-13 FG, 0-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- The Raptors desperately needed someone outside of Fred, Pascal and OG to initiate offence. Naturally Scottie would be that next guy but he has low key hit the rookie wall lately. Was invisible for long stretches in limited minutes from his return but I did like him looking for his shot later in the second half. The best Scottie play of the night was him missing a transition layup, beating a Piston to the loose ball, and tipping it to Fred for three. | |
 Inc | K. Birch4 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Isaiah Stewart was out hustling Birch in the first few minutes and then he caught a bad break getting popped in the nose. His minutes had been steadily climbing to the mid 20s recently so that sucks. | |
 B- | F. VanVleet42 MIN, 24 PTS, 5 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 6-21 FG, 6-14 3FG, 6-8 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/- Fred didn’t shoot well but all of OG’s early buckets were thanks to him. Ended up with a double double and made some threes to make the fake comeback interesting. Not a Freddy All-star type night though. | |
 C+ | C. Boucher25 MIN, 10 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -7 +/- Began the game with two ugly plays, one counting for a turnover, and the other basically his fault that led to another. Couldn’t do anything against Trey Lyles in the second quarter. Had a good stretch in the third, knocking down a three then getting a tie up under the rim. | |
 D | P. Achiuwa25 MIN, 4 PTS, 8 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- Took one of those “Why Precious?” shots on the baseline. Tunnel vision on a very predictable fastbreak charge that everyone saw coming. Just allergic to the pass. Cojo cooked him on a jumper but at least that’s a guard. I’d like to see a broadcast where they don’t have to tell Precious to make an IQ play. This is harsh and he’s young so obviously give time to grow but for the time being those plays are quite annoying. | |
 D | Y. Watanabe8 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Yuta looks like he’s going to need some time coming back from protocols. Just not the same guy right now. His shot is off and the Raptors need spacing. | |
 C+ | J. Champagnie12 MIN, 0 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/- Every Champagnie stint comes with an offensive rebound. It’s a package deal with him. That’s all that stood out though. Like basically every other Raptor reserve, be couldn’t knock down the open three. | |
 Inc | M. Flynn1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- It’s probably not a good thing when Nurse is looking for anyone to do anything and he doesn’t look your way. Until the last minute that is. | |
 D | D. Banton6 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/- That was an ugly backcourt turnover late second quarter when the Raptors were searching for the exact opposite. | |
 C | S. Mykhailiuk7 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/- He keeps getting chances. Jumped the passing lane for a steal. Missed one of those rhythm open threes that Svi simply needs to make in order to be on the court. | |
 D | Nick Nurse At some point it has to be a pride thing right? Can’t let the old boss keep showing you up. Can’t come out sluggish every time against a team that is in the running for back to back #1 picks. Nurse tried different guys for some sort of spark, playing everyone but Flynn. He tried going zone but nobody could grab a rebound to close out possessions. 28 percent shooting in the first half. Just woof. Bland offence. Putting a lot of blame on Nurse because Detroit shouldn’t be doing this so frequently. Five losses in a row? Wire to wire? Nurse’s disbelief at Ed Malloy being caught on the mic late fourth was hilarious. Left Fred and Pascal in too long, game was pretty much done and Milwaukee is waiting. | |
Things We Saw
- DWANE CASEY: I made a joke a few days ago that the Bulls beat Detroit by 46 because Casey was already game planning for the Raptors. But seriously it looked like it. Maybe put a non-Raptor clause in his contract? Look at those aggressive traps vs Pascal in the first half. I’ve seen my share of Pistons games. That isn’t normal behaviour. By the way the Pistons are 5-3 in 2022.
- SECONDARY SCORING: It’s an ongoing problem when Gary Trent Jr. doesn’t play. Really miss his shot creation so that the burden isn’t on the big three to do everything. Then look at the bench. 46-16 Pistons. **Pretends to be shocked** Will this be addressed soon via trade?
- CADE: Really impressive all-around game. Bothered Fred both on and off the ball. Showed off some strength in his finishes. Made the dagger three, and remember he closed out the game in Toronto. The early season slander was dumb.
- CANADIAN CONTENT: Mentioned this earlier but Lyles was just backing down the little ones and scoring at will. Cory Joseph had a runner from three (late shot clock start anyone? that wasn’t two seconds) that really broke the Raptors back. They had just cut the deficit to nine and after that, Detroit found themselves back up 20.
