Quick Reaction: Heat 97, Raptors 121

Heat

121

Raptors

A+	R. Barrett36 MIN, 26 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 9-14 FG, 1-3 3FG, 7-13 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 20 +/- Another perfect game. Even though Siakam is gone, he continued to not force his touches. He caught on the move and drove until defenses stopped him. When they did stop him, he either hit a tough push shot over three defenders or made the right pass. When they overplayed his driving one direction, he spun back the other. His skip passes were insane. In the second half, when the Heat were making their run, he was the only one doing anything productive for Toronto. Saved the game, probably, by preventing what would have been the largest comeback in NBA history.
A	S. Barnes34 MIN, 20 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL, 9-16 FG, 1-6 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 5 TO, 5 +/- The usage early was predictably high in the post-Siakam era. He played point, collected touches, and threw darts across the court to start the game. The passing was locked in. He bashed Herro in the post. He swatted Jimmy at the rim. He cut for a dunk. He splashed a triple. The passing, my goodness. His first half was perfection. He vanished for the third quarter, but he was back in the fourth, kicking things off with a driving layup and then a steal. Had a few turnovers, but then closed it out with some tough jumpers. All in all, a great start to the Scottie-as-the-sole-star era.
A-	J. Porter18 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 2-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Really solid defense in his first shift, good positioning and even swatted a shot as the helper. Absolutely drilled his triples, of course. He passes well, too. He missed a handoff opportunity with Quickley in the fourth that would have been an open 3, but it’s good to see him aggressively looking for his jumper.

A+	G. Trent Jr.31 MIN, 28 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 10-13 FG, 8-9 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 14 +/- The jumper was simply fire. He saw open looks, and he cashed them. He didn’t get hunted on the defensive end, and though he didn’t teleport through screens like the best defenders, he didn’t die on them too much either. Progress. Then he went kinda crazy creating his own shots, creating in pick and roll, and altogether just doing great combo guard stuff. His spot-up shooting saved the team in the second half.
B+	I. Quickley30 MIN, 17 PTS, 8 REB, 9 AST, 0 STL, 6-16 FG, 3-6 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- Drilled a triple after ghosting a screen for Scottie Barnes two minutes into the game. Expect to see a whole lot of that in the coming games. And seasons. He also dusted Bam Adebayo from a standstill in the first quarter, leading to a goaltend. He threw some dart passes after drawing two defenders. He blew past primary defenders. The floaters still haven’t come around in Toronto, but he’s been automatic there his whole career, so they’ll start dropping. The grade is basically because I have such high expectations of him already — this was a very good game.
B-	T. Young28 MIN, 5 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2-6 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 21 +/- He really can’t keep up on the defensive end. He has quick hands, yes. But he’s just not able to be in the right position during an entire possession with multiple actions. He rebounded well, and the effort is absolutely there.
B	D. Schroder27 MIN, 9 PTS, 1 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 3-6 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 31 +/- He holds after catching quite a lot, which can kill advantages. But he hit his triples. He had a really quiet game, just letting teammates on hot streaks get the shots up.

A-	G. Dick12 MIN, 6 PTS, 0 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 2-2 FG, 2-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 14 +/- Hit a sidestep triple then got a steal and dimed up Barrett. Then drifted to the corner against the zone and drilled another 3. His second stint saw him commit two quick turnovers (a travel then an illegal screen) and get yanked immediately. Really wild swing between the two stints. But given the expectations, the grade has to be high.
B	C. Boucher18 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 20 +/- Recorded one of his highlight blocked 3s to start the second quarter. He’s always been a great indication of the health of the team — when the context around him is successful, he is successful. When the team has problems, he becomes one of them. He was great in this one, with his energy inhaling rebounds and driving the team forward. That was the first half. In the second half, when the team faltered for a stretch, he wasn’t the solution.
A+	J. Freeman-Liberty02 MIN, 2 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Was aggressive upon checking in, immediately getting up a midrange pull-up. Scored later. Coty wrote a fantastic feature on him earlier in the day, go check that out for a much longer read on his game. This grade is for that piece.
Inc	G. Temple02 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Garbage time.
Inc	J. McDaniels02 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 +/- Garbage time.
A	Darko Rajakovic The Raptors were clearly ready to go, and it seemed like the vanishing of the blade that has been hanging over all their heads with the clear changes that were coming was a positive. Obviously the first half of the third quarter aside, things were good. It’s nice to see a team play hard and smart, rotate correctly, pass quickly, drive the lanes, and hit every shot they throw at the rim. Darko’s not hitting the shots for them, but he did as good as a coach can, I’m sure.