That’s 3 in a row, ladies and gents.
 | Raptors | 96 | Final Box Score | 104 | Cavaliers |  |
 B+ | P. Siakam41 MIN, 24 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 8-22 FG, 1-4 3FG, 7-13 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- A hard charging performance that really impressed in a lot of spots. So much attention, so many blown opportunities by teammates. Hast to be better at the charity stripe, though. Flat out. I don’t envy the position he’s being put in game in and game out. He was top-5 in double frequency coming into this stretch and one would have to assume he’s been doubled more than any other NBA player over the past week and a half. | |
 A- | C. Boucher36 MIN, 21 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 3 STL, 8-13 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, +6 +/- What more could you want? The range payed off on defense as he got steals and changed a few shots at the rim. Gave an offensive bump the team desperately needed. He did his part. | |
 A- | S. Barnes42 MIN, 19 PTS, 12 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL, 8-14 FG, 0-2 3FG, 3-6 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -2 +/- A lot of really impressive isolation buckets against his draft nemesis: Evan Mobley. He made quite a few good reads in the open court as well, supplying teammates with buckets. A bit of pop on defense, a lot on offense. Good game from the young fella. | |
 B+ | K. Birch26 MIN, 5 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, +20 +/- His best defensive game in some time, and with a better shooting performance from a couple of the guys, his short-roll passing worked out better. This was a really encouraging stretch of hoops from him, even if it’s unspectacular. | |
 B | G. Trent Jr.38 MIN, 19 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 7-19 FG, 2-8 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, +6 +/- In a similar spot to Siakam, although not nearly as severe. He’s being asked to create more than he’s capable of, and you just have to make peace with the outcome. He’s gotta hit more of the c&s jumpers, though. He’s still spending too much time overpursuing on defense, but that’s been the case all year. | |
 F | T. Young14 MIN, 0 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -17 +/- Blown bunnies, blown rotations. Can’t have it. | |
 C | P. Achiuwa21 MIN, 8 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 4-10 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -28 +/- Tough game for him, but genuinely liked the offensive pop. When the team had nowhere else to go and guys are sitting at 0-3 and 1-5 from the field, Achiuwa punching in 4-10 shots is fine. The defense was underwhelming, which isn’t often the case, but he’ll patch it up. | |
 Inc | Y. Watanabe4 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Got a blow in. | |
 Inc | D. Banton9 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/- A classically Banton performance of late. He’s tied to how much chaos his lineups cause and you never know whether that will be reflected in his box score numbers. | |
 Inc | S. Mykhailiuk3 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- Missed shots. Tough showing. | |
 Inc | A. Brooks5 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Hey, new guy. | |
 B | Nick Nurse Rode with Birch for longer than I would’ve, and that paid off. The team is getting subjected to so much zone, and there’s no practice time, and they don’t have shooters. I don’t know what the fix is over this stretch, or if there is one. | |
Things We Saw
- The Mobley-Barnes matchup was a blast on some possessions. Can’t wait to see more of this as we strut into the future.
- Oh, how much fun it is to watch a back-stop like Allen do work. Your guard gave up a blow-by and your center just erased it without requiring a bunch of rotations and dig-downs? Outrageous.
- Death by Lauri is tough, but death by middling efficiency Lauri is tougher. This team can’t score.
