They’re PUSHIN P.
 | Raptors | 103 | Final Box Score | 96 | Bucks |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam40 MIN, 30 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST, 2 STL, 11-20 FG, 3-3 3FG, 5-9 FT, 0 BLK, 6 TO, +7 +/- A+++. Outplayed one of the best players in the world. Took heaps of extra attention and turned it into looks for his teammates over and over. Hunted space to score in, and made good on it. Competed defensively. Bent and broke the Bucks defense over and over. He was ELITE. Closed out one of the best teams in the world, and did it on a night where a DPOY was hounding him. TRIPLE DOUBLE. Incredible. | ||||||||
 A | P. Achiuwa39 MIN, 14 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 7-13 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 2 TO, 0 +/- Truly, a terrible offensive start to the game. But, as per usual he brought it on defense. He was picking up Giannis at 3/4 court and still tracking him to the bucket. Switched across actions, brought the intensity, closed out defensive possessions, and walled off the bucket. AND, he hit that banker in the 4th. | ||||||||
 Inc | Y. Watanabe5 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -10 +/- Sorry, mate. Not a good performance to start and Nurse moved away from him. | ||||||||
 A+ | O. Anunoby39 MIN, 24 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 9-23 FG, 3-13 3FG, 3-5 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/- The Raptors saw how much attention Pascal and Fred were getting, so they moved the ball and gave OG a lot of empty-side pnr possessions and he made good on *just* enough of them to validate that decision. It wasn’t a perfect game, but the fact that this former role player can grind out 24 points against a top tier defense and team like this is fantastic. The defense was, of course, phenomenal as well. | ||||||||
 A+ | F. VanVleet42 MIN, 17 PTS, 3 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL, 6-17 FG, 3-8 3FG, 2-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, +10 +/- Made so many good decisions against the blitzes and doubles the Bucks threw at him. Received so much attention that a huge night was almost impossible, but he grinded and made reads on offense to go with his sterling spot-up shooting and defense. Without him at the POA defensively, this game looks so much different. Terrific stuff. | ||||||||
 A+ | C. Boucher36 MIN, 15 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 6-12 FG, 2-5 3FG, 1-2 FT, 3 BLK, 1 TO, +15 +/- What more could you want? Hit threes, ran lanes, defended like hell. He was the perfect bench big tonight. The Treboucher is back! The Siege is on!! | ||||||||
 A | J. Champagnie31 MIN, 3 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, +13 +/- A basketball magnet. Once he figures out how to convert on more of his ORBS he’s going to sleepwalk to double digits as an ancillary guy. It’s no accident. He isn’t on a run of luck. He sees the game in a special way and is creating so many extra possessions for the team. And that triple? Much needed. | ||||||||
 C | S. Mykhailiuk7 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +4 +/- Was solid defensively in his minutes. But a one note performance. | ||||||||
 A+ | Nick Nurse Coaching is all about knowing your players, and he let them play with heavy fouls and heavy minutes on a back to back and trusted that his guys would be there at the end of the game. Good lord, were they ever. Sticking with Achiuwa on Giannis for that long was inspired. They also ran more pick n’ roll than ever tonight. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- This is what I’ve been advocating for, for years. Put Pascal in the pick n’ roll more often, because it’s a viable playtype for him. Tonight is a great example of what he can create and how often.
- The bubbling Portis/Siakam rivalry is only let down by the fact that Siakam is miles better than him. However, Fred yelling “YES SIR!” at the end of the game was the death blow for Portis’ night. Siakam picks up another W in a sea of W’s.
- The combined efforts of Achiuwa and Boucher in this game shouldn’t be forgotten. They’ve combined for incredible defensive synergy for quite a few games now, and they’re starting to look like a real terror as a bench duo. The utmost respect for their performances tonight.
