That’s a tough one.
 | Nuggets | 110 | Final Box Score | 109 | Raptors |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam42 MIN, 35 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 16-22 FG, 3-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -1 +/- Just incredible. Dissects defenses for his own looks, looks for others, and generally, whatever the hell he wants. The Nuggets had no solve for him other than to make him pass, but even that was largely successful. Also had a handful of standout defensive plays. Just tremendous. | |
 B- | O. Anunoby37 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 4-16 FG, 1-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- This was a game where the results really failed the process. Missed a lot of shots that he normally makes, and thought that he generally made good decisions, just wasn’t able to capitalize. Had some great reads on the short-roll, too. Did a great job of agitating Jokic above the break, but obviously couldn’t handle him near the free throw line or below it. | |
 B+ | S. Barnes30 MIN, 17 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 7-14 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-5 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Thought he was quite good, honestly. Flashed into a lot of the weak points of the Nuggets defense to provide help as a release valve and had a really good sense for how to work off of Pascal. Couldn’t hang against Jokic, but why would I blame him for that? | |
 A+ | F. VanVleet38 MIN, 25 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 7-14 FG, 6-11 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -7 +/- This was such a strong performance. None of the Nuggets guards got loose on him, and he played perfectly next to Pascal. Missed an open three, sure, but he nailed the moon shot before that – and was generally really good on offense. He was phenomenal. | |
 C | G. Trent Jr.38 MIN, 11 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 5-12 FG, 1-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -7 +/- The threes didn’t drop, he had trouble scoring outside of transition, and he did a bit too much chasing on defense. Not his best performance, but he’ll bounce back. Tough one. | |
 B | C. Boucher16 MIN, 4 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-3 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +10 +/- This was a game where he was always going to have to do a lot of rotating defensively, and I was pretty happy with how he cycled on the back end. Offensively, he couldn’t find the opportunities for himself. | |
 C | P. Achiuwa11 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +2 +/- Jokic is the exact type of player to mitigate all the things Precious is good at on both sides of the floor. This was never going to be a huge game for him given the matchup, so the fact that he plugged in and played a part in winning minutes is enough, even if it’s underwhelming. | |
 A | K. Birch18 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/- By far his best game in a long time. Made good decisions on the short-roll both as a passer and shooter, and he had the best stretch guarding Jokic. | |
 B | D. Banton10 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-4 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +6 +/- Pretty good. Had a really nice defensive stretch and even gave them a bit of a boost on O. Gotta hit the FT’s, though. | |
 B | Nick Nurse I might’ve liked to see Birch down the stretch, but I understand why he opted for more offense-centric lineups. | |
Things We Saw
- Losing to the Nuggets and Jokic isn’t something that’s hard to swallow – he’s incredible, and they’re a particularly bad matchup for the Raptors. But, the 12-1 run they gave up to a Jokic-less lineup is why they lost this one.
- In a loss, the Raptors still managed to play some of the most beautiful basketball they have all season. Silver lining – if you’re into that.
- Jeff Green continues to be awesome. He’s been such a good role player for so long.
