Overreaction: Raptors 121, Piss 119. Casey bets on VanVleet.

• We Won the Game When: Amid the confusion and plays/ defence breaking down, DeRozan drove down the middle to draw all the defenders only to find VanVleet for the corner jumper. Impressive confidence.
• Finding Mojo: Norman Powell got the start, and it looks like he got his mojo back. Tonight might be his best game this season.
• Baka: In Japanese = "stupid." Ibaka had a very stupid game tonight.  Missing a lot of wide open shots, fouling instead of defending, and getting thrown out. What a hat-trick.
• On the Decline: Hot take here, but it feels like Kyle Lowry's offensive game is really on a decline. Yes, he's still all over the place getting rebounds, steals, assists, etc. but it's hard to rely on him anymore as a scorer. I don't know and maybe he doesn't know when he'll be able to score. Far cry from the last 2 years when he was scoring at will. But hey, he came alive with 2 4pt plays when the Raptors made a run.
• Bebe #Utilized: Bebe only played a few minutes, but he did a decent job at being a scarecrow in the middle, even blocking Blake Griffin's shot. Hat-tip to the Raptors coaching staff for coming up with a strategy to lead Griffin towards the middle where Bebe's waiting for the block.
• On the Job Training: Pascal Siakam got an unexpected start in the 2nd half since Ibaka got thrown out, and he was put into a tough task trying to defend Griffin who tried to bully him as often as possible. Siakam did an admirable job without fouling a lot and even came up with good defensive stops along the way.
• Nothing Was the Same: The bench doesn't look the same without Siakam and Delon Wright. VanVleet struggled to run the offence, there are less movement and not a lot of opportunities for points off turnovers.
• Hubie Brown Says: Hubie Brown is an institution. If Hubie Brown said it's an offensive foul, it's an offensive foul. I mean, Hubie authored the rules of the game with Naismith FFS.
• Crunch Time Minutes: I thought the way Powell played well enough that he deserved the crunch time minutes, especially with how VanVleet had been playing. Benching him in favour does two things:
• It breaks Casey's philosophy of riding the hot hand; and
• It upholds Casey's philosophy of always playing VanVleet in the 4th.
• DeMarvelous DeRozan: DeMar DeRozan 2.0 was on full display tonight. His mid-range was on point, he got to the line when he needed to, he hit his threes, and more importantly, he was finding his teammates setting them up for an assist, the last one on a VanVleet game-winner.

Overreaction: Raptors 123, Piston 94

• We won the game when: The starters hung it up on the pistons in the 3rd quarter
• A good sign: Kyle Lowry shooting 6-8 from deep, 6-10 overall. Since returning from his injury, he only had 4 games where he had at least 50% FG. Tonight makes it 5 in 18 games.
• Should we be concerned: CJ Miles ain't exactly killing it on the offensive end, and he's looking more and more of a liability on the defensive end.
• Disappointing night: "Hey, you are way better than Drummond" Masai yelled at JV. Drummond is now a 2x all-star, and he's the better player today. Still, I was expecting a better fight from JV.
• Bounce back: Good to see  OG Anunoby bouncing back from a horrible streak of games where he's been producing eggs.
• Bounce back 2: It's garbage time, but good to see Norm looking sharp. Is it time to see him back with the 2nd unit instead of Miles?
• Not going to be intimidated: Loved how Jak, Siakam, and FVV didn't back down from Blake Griffin's bullying.
• Multi-faceted player: back in 2011-2014, if you would tell me that DeMar is capable of getting 20pts without volume shooting AND drop 7 dimes on the same game, I'd say BS. It's amazing that we're currently watching DeMar DeRozan for almost a decade, and his game is still growing.
• Growth spurt: Siakam was thrown into the lion's den last season when Sully got injured. But watching his game grow in the G-League throughout last season, I'm not expecting this rapid development from him. He could be a really important piece for this Raptors' playoff run (and maybe the Raptors future too).
• Flying under the radar: Delon Wright shot almost 29% from the perimeter prior to his injury, and he's now just below 37%.
• Positive aggression: This game might be Jak's best game in terms of showing aggression, power, and excellent motor movement. I didn't know he had those lateral quicks to guard Blake Griffin, and that dunk tho.

REDEMPTION! pic.twitter.com/tOmOHaiGrx

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 27, 2018

• Anger issues up north: I'll shamelessly put my tweet below

Why does Blake Griffin seems to have anger issues every time he's in Canada? If I'm the @DetroitPistons trainer i wouldnt be anywhere near Blake after the game #rtz #WeTheNorth

— JD Quirante (@jdkeyrants) February 27, 2018

• Lost opportunity: I wanted the camera crew to focus Dwane Casey's face as the clock was about to expire and the Pistons still trying to score. I'm almost convinced that he would've said BAMF!
• #BB3: Bebe 3. no need to elaborate. I'm gonna go back to this post and update this with the video.