 | Raptors | 101 | Final Box Score | 104 | 76ers |  |
 B | O. Anunoby41 MIN, 13 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 4-10 FG, 3-7 3FG, 2-4 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -25 +/- Played his way into this one. Well, his very first defensive possession blew up Embiid as a roller from out of position. The dude just solves problems on that end, and Toronto has a lot of problems for him to work on. But the entire offensive package was a little rusty early, and he was a little slow recognizing passing windows. He warmed up and hit a couple long bombs, which was crucial. Made nice and quick decisions in the second half. Even popped in a drive and push shot, which is sort of a new one for him, but looked quite smooth. Mostly, just great to have him back. | ||||||||
 A | P. Siakam48 MIN, 38 PTS, 15 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 13-27 FG, 3-8 3FG, 9-11 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, 3 +/- Phenomenal game. Just, wow. One of the best of his career. Unbelievable first touch, spinning around Embiid in isolation for a layup. Cooked him later in transition. (Well, scored on him, it wasn’t really a cooking.) He was more methodical than he’s been in recent games, particularly in that middle of the floor that he so loves. Trusted his counters. His jumper was smoother than it’s been in recent games from the midrange and deep. His pull-up triples in the second half were life-giving. Phenomenal passing once he drew the attention. Some really life-saving defense, too, especially as a rotator early to take away the rim. Also: He let Embiid know the flopping was irritating, and Toronto went on a nice run in response. | ||||||||
 B- | J. Hernangomez14 MIN, 7 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-4 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- Some up, some down. On the plus side, he’s solid. Cut well, passed well, defended well. He doesn’t pop on the box score, and he’s not super athletic, but he’s positionally solid. He rotates early. On the negative side, he’s not really that big, and it’s not his fault, but the Raptors started him instead of a center. The second half started better, not by virtue of missing Hernangomez, but simply because Khem Birch is a center and started instead. | ||||||||
 F | S. Barnes30 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-9 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- Was benched until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. On the whole, it was not a good game for him. He was in tough guarding Embiid early, which is an unfair ask of him. Committed a pair of fouls in the first three minutes. In the second quarter, he threw some ridiculous(ly bad) passes in transition, including a touch lob to Anunoby that had been a lob to him. You would think they were on a five-game winning streak based on the level of focus and attention displayed by such a callous possession! His on-ball defense was par for the course, or, in other words, miserable. He faked Embiid out of his shoes with a one-hand gather in the third quarter, and he put in some crucial points in overtime. | ||||||||
 C- | F. VanVleet41 MIN, 9 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-15 FG, 2-11 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 6 +/- He missed some really, truly, largely, massively important triples in the fourth quarter and overtime. Yet he was still crucial and had to be on the floor. So, up and down, I guess. But man the Raptors needed those threes from him. Was aggressive driving early, but the results were iffy. He committed some sloppy turnovers looking to pass and sort of not realizing where he was. Looking significantly more confident in his jumper. Unfortunately, the results didn’t follow the confidence. His defensive precision was better than it has been recently, and he was a particularly good tip of the spear for the zone; there’s a reason Toronto won his minutes. Then Embiid flopped directly into his knee, and VanVleet limped off the court. (He returned to play the second half.) | ||||||||
 C- | M. Flynn19 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -6 +/- If the jumper isn’t falling, he isn’t contributing enough. He fouled on the drive and wasn’t Toronto’s best defender. Offensively, he did throw in a nice drive with a floater off the glass. | ||||||||
 B+ | K. Birch23 MIN, 2 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- Early minutes, and he went into a bunch of handoff action before throwing away a kick out pass because he didn’t look. When a team’s in a slump, the vets have to be solid. Just doesn’t give enough on offense. But he was by far Toronto’s most physically punishing option defending Embiid, and he didn’t back down an inch in the paint when the two of them were jostling for position. That outweighs all the other stuff. To that point: when he started the second half, Toronto benefited from it. | ||||||||
 A | C. Boucher30 MIN, 13 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 4-6 FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- Killer. Aggressive going to the rim. When he didn’t do it with the ball, he did it without to attack the offensive glass. Even tossed in a zone-breaking flash-middle-and-toss-in-a-floater in the third quarter. Defensively, he locked in in the fourth, even drawing a charge on Harden when Flynn doubled way way out of position. Also a stepback triple from the corner? Yessir. Then he threw in a high-low pass as a second-side driver, which, unbelievable. Hugely valuable. | ||||||||
 B | T. Young19 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 4-7 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- Not really his matchup on the defensive end. Didn’t have the muscle to wrestle with Embiid, and Toronto kind of needed him at center. On the other hand, some awesome offensive rebounding. | ||||||||
 B | Nick Nurse The Raptors sat Siakam and VanVleet together (at the same time as the Sixers sat Harden and Embiid), and I get the inclination, but Toronto got absolutely shelled. He adjusted in the second half simply by not sitting Siakam. But that’s the thing – Toronto needs to play its stars big minutes. Nurse isn’t stubborn; at least in this one, the team wasn’t able to win otherwise.) Nick can’t shoot Fred’s triples for him, and he can’t guard the ball for Scottie. So, you know, hard to say. | ||||||||
Things We Saw
- The Raptors look like a functional team with O.G. Anunoby in the lineup. At the very least.
- A ton of turnovers on the offensive end to start the game. Just, so many problems popping up even as Toronto solves a different issue. The half-court offense was so much better early with Anunoby back, so Toronto turned the ball over and gave up transition points. They should have been up when the teams first made subs. They weren’t. Where’s the desperation/
- The Sixers missed a ton of open triples in the first quarter, which allowed Toronto to win the period. In the second quarter? Pascal and Fred sat, and the Raptors gave up 17 points in 3 minutes. Truly awful stuff, especially for a team that’s supposed to be desperate for a win.
- Okay, more Siakam: He was Toronto’s best defensive rebounder in this one, too. He stole some boards that were out of his zone. One of those proper “I’ll do whatever you need, on either end, in any facet” type of superstar games. Truly miserable the team couldn’t put one in the win column given Siakam’s game.
