A nice win, devoid of stress.
Rap Up:
 | Hornets | 113 | Final Box Score | 125 | Raptors |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam39 MIN, 24 PTS, 9 REB, 12 AST, 0 STL, 9-16 FG, 1-2 3FG, 5-5 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, +14 +/- Masterful. Knew exactly how he could make the Hornets rotate and picked out his teammates based on that. Be it for spot-ups, screens, cuts – whatever. Pressed forward for his own looks, too. A dominating, All-NBA presence. He also stuck Bridges, Ball, and a few of the Hornets other shot creators on switches. Superstar stuff. Full stop. | |
 A- | C. Boucher30 MIN, 12 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 3-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, +4 +/- Broke up lobs, ran in transition, defended the center spot against bigger players, and didn’t disrupt any of the offensive flow. Terrific complementary game from him tonight next to the shotmaking of the Raptors stars – which is no different than what he’s been doing for nearly 2 months. | |
 B+ | P. Achiuwa25 MIN, 9 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-5 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, +8 +/- Changed quite a few shots at the bucket, hit a couple jumpers to punish the Hornets leaving him open, and didn’t hijack any possessions on O. A quiet game, but a good one. | |
 A | O. Anunoby36 MIN, 24 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 8-14 FG, 3-7 3FG, 5-6 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, +22 +/- An almost effortless positive. He puts in the work, of course, but he can be so quiet and helpful on his way to nice numbers. Had some ugly on-ball possessions, but also had some that popped – a mixed bag like it’s been all year. But, a mixed bag that doesn’t sacrifice anything he’s good at, and the shooting, the finishing, and the defense were all on display tonight. | |
 A+ | G. Trent Jr.35 MIN, 32 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 11-21 FG, 5-10 3FG, 5-5 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +12 +/- Saved difficult possessions on offense, and finished the easy shots that came to him. A huge A+ on that end. He killed it, and did off the bounce stuff when the Raptors asked it of him. The defense was definitely underwhelming, but he’s still working his way back and the Hornets really ping the ball around, which is exactly where he might get lost in the chase. Great game, hope to see more. | |
 C+ | Y. Watanabe22 MIN, 3 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, +6 +/- Still seeing a really low return when teams funnel him to the bucket and had too many turnovers for how low usage he is. Hit a three, though, and played good D. | |
 Inc | J. Champagnie4 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +1 +/- DONNYBROOK! | |
 B+ | M. Flynn26 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 4-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- Boy, he needed this one. Added shot-making pop as a spot-up guy and even stuck a super nice middy. A couple good reads in the open floor. Maybe this will earn him some good will?? | |
 A+ | D. Banton17 MIN, 10 PTS, 1 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 2 TO, +11 +/- As far as I’m concerned, the best game of his young career. Wasn’t dependent on transition, actually made it work in the halfcourt, and helped swing the Raptors back into the positive to start the second half where the team was lethargic. Just made great decisions on ball and the shot-making was there for him too. | |
 A | Nick Nurse Pressed a lot of the right buttons. I hate grading coaches. They deal with variables we don’t really see. Sorry haha | |
Things We Saw
- Super fun to see the Raptors win without Scottie and Fred. They really leaned on a great matchup from Siakam, and he delivered with a superstar performance to guide them through it all.
- Miles Bridges is a guy I’m rooting for. He’s electric, and his game is growing so fast. Not to mention, he joked around and dapped up Siakam after a tough foul and fall – I love guys who can do that.
- Svi is just way out of the rotation now, which is probably deserved. Tough year for the guy.
