Quick Reaction, Raptors 123, Spurs 116

One of the most reliable guys on the roster strikes again! What more can I say? O.G. had a consistent flow to this game, hitting threes when needed and providing quality defence. Even when it looked like the team was lacking energy at points, O.G. remained calm and collected and just kept playing his game. He would come up huge for the team with the game-tying floater to send the game to overtime. In overtime, O.G. would continue to hit shots and show up big time for the team.

Siakam got my emotions all over the place. Against, the 76ers wasn’t aggressive, today he was aggressive early but also wasn’t making anything. It looked like he was settling for jumpers instead of getting into the paint, even when Wemby was sitting. He also had consecutive turnovers, it just looked like he wasn’t sure what to do at certain points in the game. Just like the 76ers game, he had to turn it around in the second half and unfortunately, he couldn’t. Practically vanishing in the second half. Siakam would finally hit a three in OT and finally start playing with some energy. However, 5 points in regulation is inexcusable, Siakam must step it up going forward.

Poeltl had a great block right off the bat but was hard to get his offense going due to Wemby in the paint. However, as soon as Wemby went to the bench, he quickly capitalized. Grabbing the boards, tipping offensive boards to others, and even getting that pick-and-roll with Dennis going. Poeltl started to come alive at the beginning of the second, scoring off an easy drop-off dish four straight times. He would come up huge for the team in the late minutes as he would help box out for the big rebounds and make it difficult for the Spurs to inbound the ball to win the game.

This is his team now. Even though Scottie would start off the game slow, he would WAKE UP in the second half with 25 points! Hitting big-time shots and making the right plays. This is what I want to see, a guy who has the “it” factor in the clutch moments and who can lead the team to the win. For example, late in the fourth hitting back-to-back threes, then fighting for the offensive rebound and going up for the dunk. It’s easy to get dejected in when down in games, but it takes a leader to spark energy into the team and get them back into it.

Dennis has generally been impressing me with his game as of late. Just letting the game come to him, either by shooting the open threes, not forcing anything, or finding the open man. I’d like to highlight two back-to-back possessions in the middle of the second quarter. Schroder penetrates the defence and throws a no-look pass to the corner for an open three. Even though it misses, he gets back in transition, gets the steal, and then charges into the paint for the layup. Sometimes it looks like Dennis had the most energy out there. Dennis would continue this energy into the overtime, providing some great on-ball defence for the team and making the right play.

Gary couldn’t get his offence going early on. He started to wake up in the fourth with a layup and some made threes, but I guess better late than never. Hopefully going forward his offence can become more reliable and help elevate the team.

It looks like Dick’s confidence is growing after the last game, not being afraid to pull the trigger on the threes. However, he’s got to start knocking them down. If he can do that, especially with his ability to find the open man, he can really be something special.

Flynn had a solid first half, hitting a three and dishing the ball twice. However, it did look like on points that the Spurs were targeting him on defence, calling an ISO and immediately blowing by him for the layup. He did keep up the high energy going through the second, quickly rotating towards the open man and keeping his feet moving. As the season progresses I can see him getting more comfortable and improving his scoring.

Has to start stepping up his offence sooner rather than later, five minutes played and every shot was a miss or blocked.

Hit his first open three for the team early on, however, I wish the team would’ve passed to him more. Plenty of times he was spotting up wide open and just didn’t get the ball. Otto would also give the Raptors some quality defence late in the fourth, poking the ball lose a few times and clogging up the passing lanes. With Otto also hitting shots in the clutch, Darko should probably look to giving him some more minutes.

Darko had me worried off the bat with the decision to put O.G. on Wemby, I understand the idea, if there are any switches, he would switch onto a bigger defender. However, Wemby was giving O.G. some serious issues, so maybe putting Scottie on him to start would have been better. Darko did coach a good game in the clutch moments, running solid lineups, better defensive schemes and great late-game plays. It’s also great to see him giving Otto some minutes!