 | Raptors | 113 | Final Box Score | 145 | Jazz |  |
 D | R. Barrett30 MIN, 4 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-9 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 2 TO, -16 +/- It took seven games, but Raptors fans finally saw a less-than-awesome RJ Barrett performance. He started 0-7 and had two turnovers after 24 minutes and Rajakovic astutely looked elsewhere for some production. He did go 2-2 in the second half and hit a nifty step-through shot but that ‘Star J’ from the last couple of games wasn’t there tonight. Now the big question is, will it chalk up to just an off night, or is it the start of a major rough patch that Knicks fans kept lamenting about? | |
 B+ | P. Siakam30 MIN, 27 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 8-14 FG, 5-6 3FG, 6-8 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -23 +/- Early on it felt like Pascal Siakam’s one-game absence with back spasms was not enough rest for the all-NBA forward. He looked tight and started 1-3 through nearly 20 minutes of play. Not sure if it was Icy-Hot, Voltaren, or what, but Siakam came out of the break on a mission, scoring 15 in the third quarter alone. He was one of the only players to show any signs of a pulse in the second half. He’s also been LIGHTS OUT shooting the three lately, the best stretch of his career. | |
 D | T. Young12 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- It was Thad Young’s third consecutive start at centre and it looked like tonight might’ve been the end of that experiment. In fairness to the vet, he wasn’t the only one that was getting handled by the Jazz’s giant big-man duo of Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler, but he looked especially small tonight. His lack of minutes seemed to be an indication of just that. His effort was there like usual, but there was just no impact being drawn out of those stints. | |
 B- | S. Barnes28 MIN, 19 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 6-13 FG, 2-4 3FG, 5-11 FT, 3 BLK, 3 TO, -21 +/- This was a weird, but overall positive Scottie game. The best way to exemplify that was with a sequence where he missed two free throws, got his own rebound, and then backed up and splashed a three. He clanked his first couple of attempts from deep but got into a groove eventually and was one of just two Raptors to find any success at the rim. On defence he continues to be all kinds of special as a roaming help defender. The less he has to guard shifty guards, the more he can swing and block three-point shots like he did tonight. | |
 C- | I. Quickley25 MIN, 15 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 3-3 3FG, 4-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -28 +/- Immanuel Quickley was great to start the game. He hit a DEEP triple for the team’s first basket and was perfect from beyond the arc. However, he just couldn’t get any penetration towards the basket. He tried weaving around Utah’s tall trees in the paint but had little success and subsequently had a hard time creating much for others either. That doesn’t even go into the defence which felt pretty non-existent most of the night. | |
 B | J. Porter31 MIN, 9 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 3-8 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, -23 +/- Jontay Porter might’ve won himself the fill-in starting centre spot tonight while Jakob Poeltl remains out. The two-way big continued doing a little bit of everything and like every other game, it started with his defensive effort. He was one of the only Raptors to show anything defensively on the night, notably, he had erased a Jordan Clarkson layup attempt in the second quarter. He did well enough that Rajakovic chose to give him the starting nod coming out of halftime and Porter made the decision pay off. He was dishing the ball effectively, staying active on defence, and his shot started to fall. His strengths may be quiet, but his weaknesses are silent. | |
 D | G. Trent Jr.22 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-6 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- Gary Trent Jr. had put forth some great performances as of late but tonight was not one of those. His shots felt like they were out of rhythm, something he had been doing well with in his recent positive stretch, but outside of a three he hit in the third quarter, he was practically invisible. Also, where has pesky and gets a lot of deflections GTJ gone this season? | |
 C- | D. Schroder23 MIN, 12 PTS, 0 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 4-9 FG, 4-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -9 +/- A relatively decent showing as Dennis the scorer off the bench, but it would’ve been ideal to see him somehow get more out of the other bench guys. Granted, that’s a tall task most nights, and especially tonight. Even in some of the three-guard lineups he was playing with, his impact just wasn’t there tonight. | |
 C- | C. Boucher12 MIN, 7 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/- It was weird that Boucher only got on the floor once before garbage time. Hard to gather much from his minutes. Granted, his slim frame probably wouldn’t have faired any better against Utah’s bigs but for him to practically fall out of the rotation in this game is perplexing. Especially on a night when everything else felt flat, an energy guy like Boucher might’ve added a jolt. | |
 Inc | G. Dick12 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -8 +/- It was basically all in garbage time as Darko brought in all his reserves not long after putting Gradey Dick in. I’d caution anyone to overreact to his stats and minutes combination tonight. Not great, but he was willing to shoot and wasn’t looking lost out there. Baby steps. | |
 Inc | J. McDaniels08 MIN, 15 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 7-10 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Garbage time. | |
 Inc | G. Temple07 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -8 +/- Garbage time. | |
 C- | Darko Rajakovic An overall flat game from the team. Kudos to Rajakovic for trying to shake things up in the second half and going with GTJ and Jontay Porter. However, the lack of pressure at the rim on both ends and just lackadaisical defence through the lane felt like something that should’ve been addressed and it wasn’t For what it’s worth, without much frontline depth, he didn’t have many options to work with. | |
Things We Saw
- Jakob Poeltl, the big Austrian is missed dearly. Toronto was minus-21 on rebounds and minus-26 on points in the paint. Darko’s first comment postgame was along the lines of “we miss Jak.”
- Some really weird numbers tonight. For one, 80 bench points given up by the Raptors were the second most in franchise history. How many would believe that in a game where Toronto drilled 17 threes on a 50 per cent clip, they’d lose by 32?
- Do three losses in a row constitute a reverse pizza party? Do the players have to buy Darko dinner now? Raptors finish their West coast trip with a 2-4 record, 15-24 overall.
