 | Raptors | 105 | Final Box Score | 109 | Nets |  |
 C | O. Anunoby37 MIN, 10 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 4 +/- OG was solid defensively against a rangey Nets team, but the offensive production just wasn’t there tonight. He looked dejected in the second half after a game where he struggled to find a rhythm offensively, outside of a late but crucial three. Luckily he won’t have too much time to stew on tonight’s performance, as the Raptors face the Heat in Miami tomorrow. | ||||||||
 B+ | S. Barnes36 MIN, 17 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 7-14 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 2 +/- Scottie had a rough first half, but really turned things up in the latter half. He continued to show progress off the bounce and his playmaking is still a welcome addition. He continues to play well off Pascal, and found multiple buckets by cutting off the ball. | ||||||||
 A+ | P. Siakam37 MIN, 37 PTS, 13 REB, 11 AST, 0 STL, 15-21 FG, 2-6 3FG, 5-9 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 2 +/- Through two regular season games, Pascal has looked like one of the best isolation scorers in basketball. If he’s not blowing by defenders in transition he’s hitting tough contested jumpers, or finding open teammates. He looked absolutely unstoppable tonight, and if he keeps this up, he’ll be well within convention for another All-NBA bid. | ||||||||
 D+ | G. Trent Jr.36 MIN, 14 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 6-16 FG, 2-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -9 +/- It was the tale of two halves for Gary. He shot the lights out in the first quarter but shot them out of the game in the second. The Raptors are a drastically different team when Trent Jr performs well, and that showed tonight. | ||||||||
 A- | F. VanVleet38 MIN, 18 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST, 4 STL, 7-11 FG, 4-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Guarding Kyrie Irving seems like a nightmare, but Fred made Irving work for everything tonight. He wasn’t as assertive offensively in the first half but became much more aggressive in the second half. | ||||||||
 C+ | P. Achiuwa17 MIN, 4 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-6 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, -8 +/- A pretty quiet game from Precious tonight in a game where some pop off the bench was desperately needed. His defence was solid and he contributed on the glass, but nothing really noteworthy otherwise. | ||||||||
 B- | C. Koloko20 MIN, 1 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- The rookie found minutes early once again amidst absences from Birch and Boucher and continued to show promise. His presence around the rim and on the glass is immediate when he checks into the game. While the jump shot isn’t all there yet, he’s shown a willingness to take them when he’s open; a promising sign going forward. | ||||||||
 C | D. Banton13 MIN, 4 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/- It was a pretty unremarkable game from Dalano tonight, who saw limited run even with the injuries to Toronto’s bench. | ||||||||
 Inc | T. Young06 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 4 +/- Thad barely saw the court tonight, so there wasn’t much to take from his game tonight. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- With both Boucher and Birch out with injuries tonight, we saw continued run from Koloko. The rookie has looked pretty solid in his minutes so far. It’ll be interesting to see what Nurse does with his minutes once those bigs return.
- Trent didn’t play his best game tonight, but something to keep in mind is his improvement when it comes to finishing at the rim. He was one of the lease efficient scorers from the rim last season according to Cleaning the Glass. An improvement there will give the Raptors an edge, in particular when the shot is falling.
- We’ve seen a return to the Nurse rotation of last season with all five starters playing over 35 minutes on the first night of a back to back. It’s still early, and the Raptors are facing injuries right now, but it’ll be interesting to watch going forward, in particular as the Raptors bench players return from injury.
