Overreaction: Raps 106, Pacers 99 (CJ Miles Revenge Game)

• We Won This Game When: CJ Miles came alive with his 3pt bombs in the 4th
• Turnover Machine: The starting lineup of DeRozan/Ibaka/Lowry had 8 turnovers in the first half, while the Pacers only had 3. Jakob Poeltl had 3 turnovers of his own in the first half alone.
• Should We Be Concerned: The Raptors' haven't fared well whenever a team brings the physicality to them, and the majority of their losses came from those game plan.
• Is It Worth It: The Pacers came in hungry, physical, and really tough but at the expense of two of their players getting injured (Miles injuring the same ankle twice and Bogdanovic).
• Tim Duncan Bunnies: JV had a million rebounds, but a lot of them were from his own misses, a few times more than once in one possession.
• Hot and Cold: CJ Miles continues his weird starting cold and getting hot at some point.
• Throwback Thursday: As an old school head, I love watching Al Jefferson operate in the post.
• Road To The Six: It looks like Malcolm Miller will become the first Road To the Six convert. Tonight, his defensive prowess was on display.
• Missed Opportunity: Sad to hear Norm Powell coming down with an injury. 
• Difference Maker: Siakam's stats might not look impressive, but his activity in the 2nd half was a huge factor for their turnaround
• Riding the Hot Hand: DeMar DeRozan missed the majority of the 4th period as Casey rode CJ Miles until he got injured with 4:14 left in the game.
• Floor Leader: Kyle Lowry's effort to get every loose ball possible is admirable, but seeing him clean the floor several times while risking injury isn't just something I'd like to see at this point.

Overreaction: Raps 103, Hornets 98

We won the game when: With about 5 minutes left in the game and up by 2 (88-86), the Raptors tightened up their D and made some clutch plays. A back to back trifecta by Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and an And-1 by DeRozan shortly thereafter gave us the cushion that we need to win the game.
Miller time: Malcolm Miller got the start instead of Norman Powell. He missed a couple of shots and looked completely not in-sync with the starters, which is to be expected.
JV3: It's been a while since he hit 2 in a game, and it's great to see those shots go down for him.
The struggle is real: Norm got his chance to play late in the second half, and it was disappointing.
Ibaka and his old bones: Ibaka started off hot and went cold in the 2nd half. It feels like this is starting to be a trend.
Slumping bench mob: Offensively - we haven't seen them put on the jets on anybody lately.
Jak with an off-night: Need to fact check this, but the Hornets might be his Kryptonite.
JV's revenge: JV finished with 18pts, 13rbs, 2blks -- with key rebounding effort in the clutch, completely outplaying Dwight Howard.
4th quarter slump: The Raptors are only scoring 20.5 points in the 4th on their last 4 "close games" which is not a good thing.

JV w/ the perfect celly. @BMO Game Highlights: https://t.co/6NqvY6uRpP pic.twitter.com/AgJJSzcGsW

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 5, 2018

Overreaction: Raps 102, Wiz 95

• We won the game when: CJ Miles hit that corner 3 fading to his left, which is really hard to do especially for a left-handed.

Unconscious pic.twitter.com/Bpyv5jZPUG

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 3, 2018

• Shut up and dribble: Kyle Lowry with a boneheaded move by getting T'd up in a close game.
• National TV jitters: The starting lineup looked very stiff and very much under the spotlight, as the Wizards tried to run away with the game in the 1st quarter, opening up an 18-4 lead.
• Mobile Center: Jakob Poeltl provided what JV and Ibaka couldn't do: quick rotation, a better "show" on PNR, active hands with the deflections, and interior defence, to a point where he's never too late to recover.
• Miles' spacing effect: the interior was so wide open when DeMar operated for that rever layup. The Wizards couldn't afford to leave their man to double DeMar.
• DeMar's passing effect: DeMar was routinely passing to the open man the entire game (even though they were not hitting them) was also a big factor on that clutch reverse layup by DeMar. He's never been this open in any of his clutch drives.

That boy clutch. pic.twitter.com/W520WS5Dui

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 3, 2018

• Slumping Powell: OG got the night off due to his sprained Ankle, and Powell failed to capitalize on this opportunity. He looked tentative, out of sorts, and his defence did not deter Bradley Beal from having a good game.
• Miller time: Miller got some non-garbage time burn midway through the 2nd quarter - He hit a corner 3 but looked a bit lost on the offensive end, as it looked like he didn't know where to position himself to space the floor as the play unfolds.
• Bounce Back: JV had a nightmarish 1st quarter but came back to redeem himself in the 3rd quarter. However, his defence (help and in pnr action) got him riding the pine in favour of Poeltl.
• Bebe sighting: Bebe got some burn because JV got into foul trouble in the 1st half, and he came in ready. He provided quality minutes, netting 4 points -- including an And-1 (FT did not go in), and he's got an uncredited block.
• No heavy lifting by the All-Stars: Lowry and DeMar did not have to go the extra mile to get the W, and that's a good thing.
• There's an app for that: Noah Basketball and Noahlytics looks like a bust, judging by the way the Raptors shot the 3 tonight.
• Shot-ready: How good was CJ Miles tonight? His shot preparation before catching and all the way to the release is so good. So damn good. I'm out of words. (Bonus: Listen to his SoundCloud below).

Prospect Report: McKinnie and Miller shine while we learn more about Malachi

Last week, the Raptors 905 played 3 games: the team took a loss against (Markham's) Xavier Rathan-Mayes and the Westchester Knicks; cruised past Jeremy Evans and the Erie BayHawks; and punked Wisconsin Herd's green bin collection of Brandon Jennings, Ricky Ledo, Joel Bolomboy, and a random Plumlee.

Over at RaptorsHQ, I wrote about how Alfonzo McKinnie and Malcolm Miller are thriving post-Bruno, and we are getting more and more sample size of what Malachi Richardson can do.

Prospect Report: The Malachi Richardson Experiment Begins (Feb 12-18)

For those who don't know, I contribute at RaptorsHQ, mainly covering the Toronto Raptors' prospects (assignees, and two-way players) while they are playing for the Raptors905 team. I look at how these players perform during the week, provide some insight regarding what's trending up/down regarding their development, and some random things/tidbits that I liked during that stretch.

For example, last week, the Raptors905 played against Maine Red Claws (Boston Celtics affiliate) and the Windy City Bulls (Chicago Bulls affiliate), and I wrote about how Lorenzo Brown went down with an injury, Alfonzo McKinnie stepped up big, Malcolm Miller's got a lid on that basket, and Malachi off to a slow start.

Please check out RaptorsHQ, it's part of the SB Nation, and there are a lot of excellent content (and writers of course) about the Toronto Raptors.