That wasn’t fun at all.
 | Raptors | 93 | Final Box Score | 125 | Hornets |  |
 D- | P. Siakam27 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3-13 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -29 +/- Fell to the wayside in the early parts of the game and had little-to-no impact before checking back in, dribbling the air out of the ball on a handful of possessions and leading the Raptors into possessions that aren’t typically part of his superb play. Just an absolutely nasty game. | |
 A- | S. Barnes32 MIN, 28 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 13-18 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -24 +/- Worked really hard for his offensive looks. Cut off other guys, grabbed ORBS, carved out space to isolate or post-up. He looked bouncy, explosive – all the good stuff. A really promising game as we head into the final stretch of the season. His defense was really bad, but he couldn’t have saved this game on that end anyway. | |
 C- | K. Birch18 MIN, 1 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -21 +/- Had nothing for Plumlee in this game, or Trez. I do feel for the role player types when the stars don’t have it going, but he didn’t bring enough on the defensive end where he has more control. | |
 C | F. VanVleet29 MIN, 8 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 3-12 FG, 2-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, -40 +/- Hit some shots, but clearly lacked burst. The knee is lingering and he didn’t have the capacity to save the offense on a possession to possession basis. The defense was also worse than usual. Most everyone seemed to be in a post-All-Star malaise and he wasn’t exempt. | |
 C+ | G. Trent Jr.29 MIN, 12 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -32 +/- Quite enjoyed him stretching his legs as as pick n’ roll ball handler in the first quarter, but he was as limited in creation as the rest of the Raptors and the defense was an odyssey as well. | |
 C- | T. Young21 MIN, 5 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-3 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/- Plugged in for a couple nice offensive possessions, but was a bit audacious with trying to land passes and I thought he had a really bad night on defense. | |
 C+ | C. Boucher21 MIN, 8 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -9 +/- Hanging around the rim for dunks and ORBS, it’s a one note performance. What else would you really want when the best players on the team aren’t creating? | |
 B- | P. Achiuwa24 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 3-7 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -6 +/- Got to see some wheeling and dealing from the Rising Stars… star. But, as it often is, there’s a lot of bad mixed in with the good. Still feel that he made his mark in a marginally positive way. | |
 C+ | Y. Watanabe5 MIN, 6 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/- Took some trashtalk from Trez with a smile, canned a three. | |
 Inc | J. Champagnie5 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/- Cardio. | |
 B | M. Flynn12 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +4 +/- Had as sharp a garbage time as you can. Got to spots, hit shots, made plays. Nice run. | |
 C- | D. Banton12 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -1 +/- As per usual when the Raptors are getting waxed, he checks in to play in the press, but tonight it wasn’t successful. No sweat. | |
 Inc | S. Mykhailiuk5 MIN, 3 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/- Canned a three. Hope the fam is okay. | |
 Inc | Nick Nurse There’s nothing a coach can do when the performances are at this low a level. | |
Things We Saw
- JT Thor had a super fun game. Used that length on defense to disrupt, found shots for himself, and looked awesome. Hope his career takes off.
- Trez really dominated the Raptors in this one. There’s few players in the NBA who can detonate on a lackadaisacal team like him and good lord did he ever do it in this one.
- Tomorrow in Atlanta should be really, really interesting.
