This sucks, man.
 | Magic | 103 | Final Box Score | 97 | Raptors |  |
 A+ | P. Siakam40 MIN, 34 PTS, 14 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 13-20 FG, 2-3 3FG, 6-8 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -2 +/- I have no clue what else you could ask of him, outside of demanding that he suddenly become a killer pulling up from 3 to punish these sinking defenses. He found his way to efficient offense and drove as much of the Raptors offense as was possible. Most of his teammates aren’t showing up. | ||||||||
 C | S. Barnes38 MIN, 10 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 4-15 FG, 1-5 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2 BLK, 3 TO, -8 +/- The length bothered him, and he’ll figure out how to navigate these types of defenses as times go on, but the limited offense mixed with the overzealous defense was a tough sell. He was pretty bad in this game, despite a couple nice plays made. | ||||||||
 D+ | K. Birch9 MIN, 1 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/- He’s just not bringing anything that the other bigs don’t. The screen setting, the little floaters, none of it matters as much or has been as successful. These are bad, bad performances. | ||||||||
 A | M. Flynn39 MIN, 20 PTS, 3 REB, 8 AST, 1 STL, 7-14 FG, 4-7 3FG, 2-4 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Great to see some of the shot-making obviously, but the progression of his reads have gotten better over this stretch of games. What a meaningful thing to happen for his career. | ||||||||
 D+ | G. Trent Jr.27 MIN, 4 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-12 FG, 0-9 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -12 +/- A shooter who isn’t making shots. He is a streaky guy, so you have to hope he fixes this up and comes out ready on Sunday. Just a really tough stretch. | ||||||||
 C- | T. Young15 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- Came and banged around on the boards, but had a tough time trying to make a big impact. | ||||||||
 C+ | C. Boucher20 MIN, 7 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Honestly thought he did a pretty good job in this one. He was proactive when cutting, and did more or less what was expected of him on both ends. Didn’t save lives tonight, but he was okay. | ||||||||
 C+ | P. Achiuwa23 MIN, 11 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 4-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Centimeters away from brilliance on a lot of his drives to the rim. But, as is the case with anyone during this offensively starved stretch of games, I don’t mind someone trying to do something. With VanVleet and Anunoby back in, dial it back a bit maybe, but he’s providing scoring pop where there is none – even if it’s a tad inefficient. Not his best defensive game, though. | ||||||||
 C | Y. Watanabe12 MIN, 3 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, +6 +/- HUGE block. Man, he has a penchant for those. Hit a triple, that was nice. Still pretty muted, though. | ||||||||
 Inc | J. Champagnie1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +3 +/- hey! | ||||||||
 Inc | D. Banton1 MIN, 3 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, +5 +/- hello | ||||||||
 C | S. Mykhailiuk16 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- Hit that tough push shot in the lane, but over pursued defensively above the break, and under-rotated below it. Tough game. He’s gotta let those 3’s fly before the Raptors get healthy if he wants a rotation spot. | ||||||||
 Inc | Nick Nurse The only thing I can really fault him for is not starting Precious. But, his team is as limited as they come in the NBA. He can’t coach made jump shots out of Gary Trent Jr. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- Trent Jr. had a miserable streak of shooting to close out last season, and it came right after his immense 17-19 shooting game. This is (at this point) part and parcel of who he is. It’s just a shame that it’s come with OG and Fred out.
- Man, Suggs had a hell of a game. Barnes still looks much better in the short and long term, but good on Suggs for bringing some serious punch.
- 7 double-digit scorers vs. 4. It’s tough to overcome.
