Overreaction: Game 39/82 - No Show/Good To See You, Deebo

The Raptors no-showed one of the biggest games of their regular season. With all the lights, media, hype, etc. focused on the Raptors and the Spurs, majority of the Raptors let Kawhi down. Siakam showed up, and tried his best, but he's best at when he's somewhat under control. Same thing can be said with Moose. When you ask him to do more than the little things that he can do, it's not a good thing. Serge Ibaka, FVV, Delon Wright, Danny Green, OG Anunoby all no-showed and were disappointing at best last night.

Are they being too soft because of their friends?

Playing Deebo and Yak for the first time, there's a lot of emotions going on that might have taken some of the Raptors out of their game. It's evident - the start of the first and third quarters were a disaster. It's up there as one of the worst games I've ever seen for the Raps.

JV said in the summer that they need to learn how to put foot on the neck or something along that line. In this case last night, the Raps need to set aside any emotion about the game and just be professional and try to win the game.


Take away the first quarter brainfart, and you have a game where you can count on Kawhi to try to win. Unfortunately, that's not how it goes.

The Raptors PG - FVV and Delon even up to now still cannot execute the offense. Delon at least was not getting killed on the defensive end. Either way, all they did was pound the ball too much to get the offense going.

Nick Nurse should take some blame too, as he was front and centre on how Danny Green and FVV were crapping the bed last night, it should've been a quick hook when you have decent players that can take the minutes (Wright and Powell).

There were a few bright spots on a forgettable game, such as:

CJ Miles hit a rhythm 3. It was wide open, yes, but it was at least 1.5ft away from the 3pt line and he made it easily. Small victories.

Chris Boucher, my son, came in and did what I expect him to do: Hit his 3s and block/alter shots. He finished with a team high +9, to go along with 1 3PM, 2Reb, 1Blk. Heck, his 3PM made pop call a timeout.

As mentioned earlier, Moose came in to battle. Unfortunately, he felt compelled to do more than what's expected from him, and that's where his issues came up.

Can we finally say that Norm Powell is back? Can we say that the GoDaddy curse is lifted? How long before we officially lifted JV's curse label? When he's in control, he's a big time role player.

I'm not disappointed about the loss, I'm disappointed about the effort. Or lack, thereof.

All in all, I'm happy for Deebo. Just like coach Casey's win in Toronto, he could not have scripted this better. This is probably the only acceptable L in the Raptors history.

Overreaction: Game 36/82 - Thank God We Got Kawhi as a Throw-in

I guess before I go on and on about the Heat game, I want to address the lack of overreactions for games 34 (W @ Cavs) and 35 (L @ Philly). The reason behind that is because the Cavs were the Cavs, and the Philly is a schedule-loss based on the injuries that are plaguing the team right now.

Hey, wasn't that a really good comeback, or not?

The way the Raptors, especially Kawhi and Pascal Siakam started, I was ready to go with "Oh, must be the hangover" excuse.

If there's any confirmation that I was looking for that the Raps would take an L last night, it was Serge Ibaka who came out with his vintage garbage game. He was totally outclassed by Hassan Whiteside on both ends of the floor.

Whiteside or most traditional bigs would almost always be a bad matchup for Ibaka. He's just smaller - Ibaka's listed at 6'10" which makes him around 6'8.5"-6'9" range, compared to Whiteside's listed at 6'11.5" if not 7' in most sites.

Speaking of Whiteside, Greg Monroe came in and provided excellent minutes against Whiteside. He just isn't that great against players of similar size and with comparable size. Especially if they have some offensive skills.

Here's a big challenge for Fred VanVleet. What does he do when his teammates, especially Kawhi and Serge are struggling? In the first half, FVV looked as if he's overthinking the situation when this happens, it's written all over his place and it says something like "What would Kyle do in this situation?"

I don't know what's real and what's not -- the last time the Raptors and the Heat played a close game, and I'm not even talking about that stupid Dwyane Wade game where we let him do as he pleases because it was his farewell tour, but it's either one of the following could be true:

• Nick Nurse and the Raptors defended well what Spoelstra wanted to do for the last possession;
• Spoelstra doesn't have a true point guard that can run the plays and he was stuck with giving the ball to Wade or Justice Winslow to do something.

Speaking of Winslow, I'm really impressed with his transformation this season. We've seen some signs of life last year, but this year he could be a candidate for MIP. He's fixed his body, looking much leaner and athletic. His handle looks better (hey, he can use his off hand to dribble now!), but most importantly, kudos to whoever fixed his shot. It looked totally different from how he shot a few years ago.

There was a big discrepancy in FTM (Raps 19/23, Heat 6/12). Those missed FTs for the Heat definitely affected the game, as some of those misses came in the fourth quarter. I think I even saw Whiteside shoot an airball. What's surprising is the Raps got 23 attempts, and the Heat only got 12. I was not looking at the stats during the game, and with how much Kawhi and Nurse were pissed off about the lack of calls, I would have thought that it was the opposite.

Going back to Moose, I'm really impressed by what the bench provided last night. OG's lockdown defence, Moose containing and keeping Whiteside busy, Delon Wright showing the tip of the iceberg with what he can do, and Norm Powell with his 3rd straight good game. This group kept that Raptors afloat in the first half, preventing the Heat from running away with a blow-out, and continued the comeback that the starters initiated in the 3rd quarter. No CJ Miles last night, and understandably so. Powell had 5pts and 3 assists, which meant that he was directly responsible for creating 11 points in 16 minutes. In fact, Norm, Delon, and OG had at least the same # of assists as FVV.

Another game that Kyle sits with an injury, and I'm starting to get a bit concerned. Is this the type of injury that would linger on and off the season? If yes, why are we being stubborn with letting Kyle play meaningful games in October/November/December like the one in Philly if he's not 100% (or even 90%)? Now what? He'll miss the next 3 games so that he can get aggressively treated so that he can play against his best friend Demar next week?

Speaking of Kyle and DeMar:

Lastly, how about Nick Nurse and his adjustments? He doesn't get a lot of credit, but his 3rd quarter adjustments this season are really on-point. The sub pattern, zone defense, taking advantage of mismatches. He's damn good.

Overreaction: Game 31-32 - Limping To The Finish Line

I've consolidated Game 31-32 (@Blazers, @Nuggets) as they both have the same narratives, such as:

• The game is on the road
• No Lowry
• No JV
• Kawhi's back
• Both losses

The Clippers are crying foul/tampering after seeing this picture

What a tough 10-game road trip, the travel, the occurrence of the games (every other + b2bs), the injuries. Thank go the Raptors are coming back home and won't be playing 'til Wednesday. A few observations from the last two road games:

• I'm done with CJ Miles. I hope that the Raptors can find him a new home this upcoming trade deadline. I like the guy, he's a really good vet, but we need someone better than we can count on to hit those open shots.
• The bench worked really hard, but there's just no scoring talent with that group. Moose, Lorenzo Brown, OG if you pair that with Miles who can't shoot and Delon at times, it'll be really hard for that group to score, especially for a team that's top 5 on defence.
• Speaking of Lorenzo Brown, I'm probably one of the few people in the Raptors blogosphere that knows what he's capable of, but man, oh man, he just hasn't shown enough to justify his roster spot. He's playing with zero confidence and walking on egg shells, afraid to make mistakes. He's actually brought more stuff on D with the Raps than what he's done at the 905.
• I think CJ McCollum's foul on Pascal Siakam was dirty. Had it was the opposite (Pascal fouling McCollum the same way and McCollum taking a hard fall) Siakam would've been tossed, if not fine. It's just a very irresponsible way. Also, like I mentioned previously with Draymond, CJ's starting to have his collection of "greatest hits." Maybe he's not the goody-two-shoes that we think he is.
• I don't know what's happened recently, but Fred VanVleet is back, and maybe even better. This back-to-back games just shows the Raps fanbase the difference between Delon and FVV if you play them separately.
• Should Kawhi be flailing or flopping everytime he drives? Because he's not getting the foul that he deserves. Denver's Craig should have fouled out before the end of third quarter last night, with all the grabbing/impeding/pushing that he's doing. Good for Nurse to stand by his guy.
• I'm a bit disappointed but not surprised with the minutes that Chris Boucher got vs Denver. I doubt Nurse would play Boucher ahead of Moose, and he'll definitely not get rotation minutes on a tightly contested game for his first game. I just hope they did this (getting his feet wet) against the Blazers.
• I do expect Boucher's minutes to creep up, especially if Siakam misses another game or two. However, Siakam or not, I expect Boucher to get some look every game, especially if Moose is playing bad.

Overreaction: Game 25/82 - Raptors lose to the Zebras

The Raptors had a bad game tonight - Poor perimeter shooting in the first half, and they didn't get their shit together on defence until the bench (OG Anunoby, Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet, CJ Miles, JV) showed them that it's possible. The Raptors had their chances, but the Referees are undefeated all season.

Ok, the referees were bad, but it wasn't the main reason they lost. A lot of reasons, really.

• The Raptors went 3/22 behind the arc in the first half. Interestingly, I was at the Raptors905 game yesterday, and the sauga boys shot 3/19 in the first half, however, they clawed back and were down 2 at the half. The difference? Defence. The Raptors905 played better defence to close the half, and the Raptors didn't.
• Fred VanVleet is really struggling and Delon is starting to look good shooting behind the arc. Delon should shoot 3-4 of these on a nightly basis, and maybe more as I'd rather see him try to make that trifecta than snake around contact with an improbable shot.
• Speaking of Delon, FVV wasn't bringing anything and he gets to stay for crunch time minutes? WTF Nurse?
• Crunch time,  seconds to go, down 1. Why the eff did they elect to shoot back to back three-pointers on a broken play. The first shot, I'd understand, but the second shot? I know Danny Green is money and he's wide open, but the whole damn lane to the basket is pretty much open for a layup.
• I hate to say this, but Kyle Lowry is slowly playing himself out of an All-Star berth. He's the second best player on the team, and he's playing really well as a facilitator, but he can't just have 5 points for the game.
• Edit #1: so I rewatched the game again. Ibaka needs to control his emotions, not only did he take himself out of the game, but he also made errors that were costly.
• Edit #2: uncharacteristic tons of FTs missed
• Edit #3: unforced turnovers and missed bunnies were so frustrating to watch
• Edit #3: gotta give credit to Nurse for utilizing a Siakam postup to get the defence misdirected and getting the ball to Kawhi for a clutch basket.
• Edit #4: FVV doesn't deserve his crunch time 4Q minutes right now.

Overreaction: Game 23/82 - So You're saying You need 2 of the Top 5 players to Defeat the Raptors?

What a classic game, and for Raptors fans, this game will be added to those "way back" games that NBA TV Canada would play throughout the summer.

• It's amazing watching Pascal Siakam's development and last night couldn't have played out any better for him. I also love how he's getting crunch time minutes right now, because he'll need these reps if we want him to close games in the playoffs. Boy, did he showed up in OT.
• I'm officially jumping off the #JVHive, I'm done watching him struggle in PNR situations where he basically can't close out and it almost always end up a mid-range shooting drill.
• Excellent job by Danny Green and help defenders on Klay Thompson - he finished the 4th Quarter and OT going 1-9.
• I know Nick Nurse wanted to give the bench the reps, but games like last night should warrant a shorter leash. They were not productive at all -- to a point where they're playing worse than most of the Warriors reserves. Worst of all, their defense sucks.
• Speaking of the bench, there's a bad chemistry going on between Fred VanVleet and Jonas Valanciunas. FVV struggles to get the ball to JV on most of his penetrations. My take here is that:
• FVV doesn't have the passing savvy like Kyle Lowry. For example, Lowry would pass to his guys, but the pass would force them to get to the sweet spot, whereas FVV would wait for JV to get to his spot before he passes the ball
• FVV needs spacing on his dribble penetration, and JV does not read the situation well and would often be either out of position or get in the way of FVV
• Ok, up 3 with seconds to go Warriors ball. Sam Mitchell would've intentionally fouled to get the ball back.
• Delon Wright's been shooting pretty well around the perimeter for the past few games, he should just keep shooting them rather than turn down a very wide open 3 and go kamikaze for a kick out.
• Hot-take-ish here, but coming into the game, I had a feeling that Lowry will have a bad shooting night - and boy, he almost crapped the bed in the 4th.
• Speaking of Lowry, the Raptors need to develop Siakam and OG at a rapid rate, as they need a dedicated secondary scorer outside of Kawhi. Lowry is starting to become more and more unreliable in games like this.
• I listen to podcasts all day, and I listen to all of the Raptors podcasts. However, Friday morning will be reserved for Warriors podcasts, drinking in all the denials and silver linings that they will make of this game.
• got someone to delete their tweet
• Last year, the Raptors played the dubs twice. Both games, the Raps came back and almost got the W. The opposite happened last night. The difference? Our new acquisitions: Kawhi and Danny Green.
• The Warriors will definitely miss Kevin Durant next season, coz that guy ain't staying
• Am I the only one not scared of Boogie Cousins? If anything, if he's healthy -- he'll be the Raptors trump card LOL
• So someone on twitter tried to sandbag the Raptors W by bringing up that their team is composed of G-Leaguers. I can't believe that I made that person upset enough to delete their posts by using Lorenzo Brown and Chris Boucher as a counter argument.

Overreaction: Game 22/82 - First Signature Win

The dinos came back after being down 17, and out-grit and out-grind the Memphis Grizzlies.

• Nick Nurse flexing his coaching chops in the second half. A few things worth noting:
• Shortened rotation in the second half: no CJ Miles who was a defensive liability, JV only played 7 minutes, who was struggling last night
• man to zone defense switching
• Having at least one of Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard at all times to ensure offensive stability and still kept them fresh (Lowry had about 5 mins and Kawhi 4 minutes of rest in the second half)
• Played VanVleet off the ball for spot up shooting
• The bench mob redeemed themselves - although it was really a Kawhi/Lowry + Bench lineup. The all-bench lineup of CJ Miles-JV-Delon Wright-FVV-OG Anunoby coughed up 4 turnovers in 5 minutes in the first half, which sucks because they were actually shooting it well, going 6/7 FGM/A including 3/3 from the perimeter.
• FVV was excellent tonight - and he was back playing what he does best - hitting his perimeter shots with the occasional opportunistic drives to the basket.
• Crucial part of the 3rd and 4th quarter: When the starters came out, and it became Kawhi/Lowry + Bench lineup. The starters got the lead down to two, but the offense sputtered a bit especially when it was Kawhi+Bench. However, the defense was more than good enough to hold their own and more, and they rewarded Nurses's trust.
• It's really great to see the offensive minded Lowry back, shades of 2016 Kyle Lowry for sure. If the Raps have any aspiration of being the last team standing in the East, they need more performance like this from Lowry.
• For the first time this season, Kawhi's play in the entire second half looked like he's really now part of the team. When news broke that we are getting Kawhi, last night's second half was what I had in mind on how Kawhi would play with his teammates.
• I'm realy impressed with coach Bickerstaff's reclamation project in Memphis, and if the Clippers weren't enjoying their early success, maybe they would get more mainstream buzz.
• Mike Conley is no longer on my top 10 lefty NBA players after making more right handed floaters last night than his lefty shots.

Overreaction: Game 21/82 - Dwyane Wade's Farewell Tour

I don't know what kind of nonsense coach Pop is talking about questioning Kawhi's leadership attributes. Personally, neither Kawhi nor our boy Deebo that he got are real leaders. Why? Because this guy is the real leader:

Kawhi's finally part of Lowry's entourage. Oh, he's definitely staying now. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/GlKvjKN0ZK

— JD Quirante (@jdkeyrants) November 24, 2018

• Kawhi looks like he's getting closer and closer to his old form. It's two straight games now where Kawhi's asserted his will not just defensively, but offensively. Can't wait until we get to see this guy 100%
• Speaking of Kawhi, he forced a lot of issues in the fourth quarter - he's either trying to get the dagger or he's trying to get more crunch time reps. They looked ugly for the most part in the 4th quarter.
• Dwyane Wade looked great and he dropped 35 points making people like me nostalgic and remember how good he was.
• Speaking of Dwyane Wade, Delon Wright really need to stop playing like the little bro and start taking what he deserves. He was too soft on Wade the entire night - too respectful on defense, and was not trying to take advantage of an obvious athletic and physical edge he's got over an ageing Wade. Between him and OG, Wade found a way to lube up his joints and start cooking.
• I don't care what other people say, Pascal Siakam is the MIP
• During the TSN broadcast, Leo Rautins pointed out that CJ Miles looked great shooting 3s off the bounce. I'm not sure if this is true, but it's worth looking into.
• Is Kyle Lowry better than our CFL quarterback? he was throwing those bombs from far away
• Should teams start defending Lowry as if he's Steve Nash? he's starting to look more and more like Steve Nash right now.
• Going back to Wade and Kawhi, it was a really nice gesture of Nick Nurse for him not to put Kawhi on Wade -- that is, until late in the fourth when the nonsense needs to be stopped. Wade was quickly put back where he belongs - the bench.

Overreaction: Game 16/82 - The Streak Goes On (Rant Post)

Hey, at least they didn't choke like the last game, eh?

• Honestly, Kyle Lowry is playing a well-rounded game, bringing in the intangibles, getting his teammates into scoring opportunities. In a way, he's playing like Jason Kidd in his later years with the Nets. However, on a roster like this, Lowry can't be the fourth highest scorer on the team AND also shoot horribly. 3/12 and 1/6 from deep? This is unacceptable. His presence needs to be felt throughout the game and respected as a scoring threat, otherwise, it will be the same old Raptors again.
• I'm a #JVHive but I'm really sick of all the wide-open midrange shots that opposing teams are getting via JV PNR. Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum got going because of those free shots that JV is giving them.
• What's up with the perimeter bricks being thrown around these 3-game losing streak?
• Fred VanVleet - 2/12
• Kyle Lowry - 2/15
• Kawhi Leonard - 1/11
• OG Anunoby - 4/16
• Can Nick Nurse come up with crunch time plays where at least 1 off-the-ball person can be a threat to score?
• With the way Lowry et al are shying away from scoring and just be happy as a facilitator, I would nominate to put Chris Boucher on the floor -- at least this guy won't have any conscience jacking up those shots (and they may go in too!)

Overreaction: Game 12/82 - Raps had the Kings' Heads Spinning

1st Quarter

9:27  What's up with the slow starts recently? Opened up with a miss, a couple of turnovers, and an Ibaka miss. Lowry bailed the team out with a buzzer beater 3.

7:13 Transition basket off a miss. I thought Lowry was passing to Kawhi who was really fast to the offensive end. Well, Pascal was faster.

6:42 Plenty of sloppy plays on both ends for the Raps. Teams are starting to make business decisions about shooting with Ibaka in the vicinity. Speaking of Ibaka, I wonder why it wasn't JV that started with WCS on the floor? Maybe Nurse is thinking that JV can match up better the Kings' backup Cs?

4:48 Raps struggling. Bogdanovic is back, this is great for me, he's on my fantasy team.

3:29 Fox's speed is a problem. Pascal over Bjelica mismatch will be there all day. Kawhi's timing looks off. Danny Green should not be allowed to have more than 5 dribble and steps combined.

0:00 Lowry does not like Mason III. Interesting sub pattern here. Siakam left around 8mins, only to come back for the last minute to replace Lowry. Kings' bench sucked, so the Raps find themselves up 3 at the end of the quarter.

2nd Quarter

8:47 Siakam looked so confident right now. Bagley's only going two ways: left and extreme left.

6:55 Nurse is pushing the right buttons right now. Taking advantage of all the mismatches on the floor. I really like this young Kings core, and if they don't eff this up, they could position themselves well in the next few years.

5:18 Kawhi getting these superstar calls (valid calls) got the Kings into the penalty early. The Kings kids are playing at an all-time high confidence. Even Dave Joerger thinks that WCS vs Ibaka is an exploitable matchup. Raps up 10 all of a sudden.

3:20 DeAaron Fox will be a problem for the league if he can consistently knock that long ball.

2:19 Danny Green finally warmed up, hitting back to back 3s.

1:37 did OG make a no-look steal?

3rd Quarter

8:32 Another slow start, giving up 6pts and putting up nothing. What do the Raps do? go back to the mismatch. Siakam's making Bjelica cry. Also, here's my updated top five lefty right now:

1. James Harden
2. Joe Ingles
3. Ben Simmons
4. DeAaron Fox
5. Manu Ginobli (I refuse to think that he's retired)

6:00 Nurse calls a timeout. Kings make a run, Raps only up 7 via Buddy Hield and a 4-pt play off a Lowry foul and a fastbreak alley-oop dunk from Hield to WCS. Raps just racking up turnovers. Very sloppy. Time to put JV in?

4:13 Kawhi and Lowry restored some order.

0:53 Lowry+JV pnr why isn't this happening often? Bagley not only cannot defend, but he also can't box out either. Looks like Lowry's 10+ assist streak will be over tonight

4th Quarter

9:00 Kings bench made a push as the Raps got sloppy again. Raps still up 10. Surprised that they went away from Siakam.

7:33 Raps bench settled down. They went back to Pascal again and they're back up to a comfortable 14pt lead. Kings called for a timeout to put their starters in -- will we see Lowry and/or Kawhi again?

4:52 Kawhi went back to work, but JV's just gonna keep missing or turning them over. 8-2 run with the Raps still up 7. Sloppy defence and sloppy finishes.

2:43 Kawhi and Serge with clutch 3s. Lowry takes a charge. Pascal connects with Lowry for a transition dunk. Raps up 14. This game's pretty much over.

Parting Shots

It's really fun to watch Danny Green chase faster guys, yet he gets there pretty much on time all the time. It's way different from how Norm Powell is chasing his man. Very efficient, reading where the guy is going.

I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like OG had a "no-look" steal w/o diving for the ball. Insane.

Divac's Picks:

2015 - WCS

2016 - Bogdan Bogdanovic, Skal, Papagiannis, Malachi Richardson

2017 - DeAaron Fox, Frank Mason, Justin Jackson, Harry Giles

2018 - Marvin Bagley, Gary Trent Jr

Either Vlade's getting better or he's a volume shooter.

Overreaction: Game 11/82 - NBA does not want Ibaka to win the MVP

1st Quarter

12:00 No Kawhi, what a bummer, but I wasn’t surprised. Raptors will come into the game playing with house money. Maybe a schedule loss today? I’m pretty sure they’ll try to see how far they can go.

11:17 3 TOs in a row. Not a good sign.

10:00 Ibaka’s help-D is just so much better than JV. While JV’s got 2 blocks already, JV’s always half a step slow on his help D.

8:50 5 TOs already. Raptors look lethargic on both ends of the court.

7:15 JV3 of course. Kidding aside, Raptors showing some life

5:36 early sub-in for the bench. FVV and Ibaka for JV and OG who did not have it for tonight.

4:29 timeout Utah. Raps got back to within 3 (17-20) behind Pascal+Serge+Lowry. Interesting move: OG for Danny Green. Not the usual Miles/Powell. hmmm.

2:44 Raps up 1. Ibaka might be the next former OKC to win the MVP. Lowry with a stupid 2nd foul on a three-pointer. Would like to see a Delon-Exum matchup at this point.

1:56 Another interesting sub. Danny Green back in for Lowry. CJ Miles finally in for Siakam.

0:00 Raptors close out strong. Ibaka not gonna miss anymore. CJ’s defence is still a lot to be desired.

2nd Quarter

9:46. Ibaka still on his MVP campaign but picked up his 3rd. CJ Miles showed some life. Finally, Powell for Green but what a luck, looks like he dislocated his shoulder.

7:30 Raps down 6, slipped a little bit on defence and also JV with the missed bunnies. Lowry back. Good to see FVV hitting his threes.

6:49 Utah calls a timeout after OG’s transition 3. Raps down 3. Love how the team’s intensity goes up when Kyle is on the floor. MVP?

5:05 Raps back up 1 on Lowry and FVV’s strong coast to coast flex-your-muscle layups. Should be both and-1s.

3:30 it took the refs the entire 1st half until they realized that Gobert’s been illegally screening all the time. Also, Siakam is really good on the open floor.

Raptors finished strong on Lowry+Siakam brilliance. Siakam’s growing before our eyes. Greg Monroe looked like he’s been on a bulk up meal-plan.

3rd Q

8:42 Raps start strong, and are up 20. Hooomannn, this team is good!

4:37 Raps still up 18 but we’ve seen a few bad Siakam plays. He’s still rough around the edges, but the good plays are outnumbering the bad ones right now. JV did a great job being big vs the Jazz big men. Lowry and co need to step on the gas and go for the kill. They can’t have a drawn-out game on the 2nd game of a back-to-back.

1:05 Lowry got T’d up after Lowry won’t stop yapping as he was fouled (no-call) again with the defender taking his landing spot. Of course, Ibaka came back and hit a few shots. Raptors gave the physicality and defence back to Utah and gave them some more. Impressive.

4th Q

10:33 Ibaka with back-to-back fouls. Not good. Was looking to see him go 10/10 FGs tonight.

9:08 FVV seems to be on a mission to force his way all the way to the cup. Pretty ballsy of Nurse to leave Ibaka with 5 fouls. I don’t know what the ref is seeing but the Joe Ingles bumped into Favors. Monroe in.

7:22 Monroe is just too slow. Don’t want to see Monroe and CJ Miles together on the floor if it’s not garbage time. Refs just gonna keep making whistles against the Raps.

5:30 left and the Jazz bust out Udoh and Thabo. This game is over.

Parting shots:

• For some reason, the refs keep missing the 3-in-the-key call on Jazz bigs all the time. They’re on the paint for  5 seconds!
• The Raps as a whole brought the physicality and defence back to the Jazz, but Kyle Lowry set the tone for them.
• Rubio’s got one of the most punchable face on the NBA and for some reason, I felt good seeing him take a Delon Wright shoulder on his face. I don’t even hate the guy.
• Coz I'm a lefty baller, Joe Ingles is my fave lefty player and it's not even by default. He's pretty good.
• It took at least 10 games before we got to see the brilliance of FVV and Delon Wright as their usual selves.

Overreaction: Game 9/82 - Bare Minimum

• The lack of production off the bench is killing the Raptors. OG, CJ Miles, FVV, Delon Wright didn't have anything in the first half, and Norm Powell didn't shoot enough.
• The defence in the 1st half looks like last year's defence, which is bad.
• Pascal Siakam got 15 rebounds against the 76ers, and to see him only have 1 rebound in the first half is not acceptable.
• I lost track, but there have to be at least 6 three-pointers that went in and out
• I don't know about you, but I feel the same when OG+Kawhi team up on a fast break and when Kyle+FVV team up on their own fast break.
• I almost forgot that the Suns have Josh Jackson. With limited playing time and a drastic haircut change, he looks like one of their typical scrubs.
• The Raptors had FVV-Powell-OG-Miles-Ibaka late 3rd/early 4th. I caught myself saying "Thank god Ibaka's there to provide veteran leadership and scoring." OMG
• The bench performance in the 2nd half was probably the closest to last year's bench mob in terms of production and cohesion.
• Kyle Lowry really does not respect Canaan's offence, he let the dude go off for 19 points
• Kyle, Kawhi, JV came in the 4th with 5 mins to go up 18, and their subpar defence and offence saw their lead to go down to 13 and Nurse had to call a timeout.
• Uh-oh, Kawhi heading back to the locker room. Not good.

Overreaction: Game 8/82 - It's not Rebound-ball

• A bit of a nitpicking here, but Kyle Lowry needs to stop hunting for assists sometimes because the shots are right there
• I don't know how many games has it been, but even though the Raptors are winning, it feels like they are losing the rebounding battle on a nightly basis
• I don't want to write anything new about CJ Miles because there's nothing new to write
• Pascal Siakam's starting to break out. I don't know how this will affect OG's playing time, but we have too many decent young players, and at least one of them need to step up and become good or even better
• Just imagine how this team will look once FVV, OG Anunoby, and a healthy Delon Wright are back in the lineup. Speaking of Delon, it's good to see him start to look like his old self.
• Again, a couple of major difference between Nurse and Casey - Nurse will get Malachi and Brown some reps that they need, and CJ all the rope to get out of his rut
• I guess no matter how much weight JV loses, his heavy feet will always be a weakness when teams utilize Cs to get their three-point shooters open
• I love how simple Kawhi's game is offensively, yet he would easily get 20-25 a night. We're not even seeing those games where he would force 2-3  turnovers leading to his fastbreak points.
• Norm Powell is quietly putting together a decent showing offensively, however, he still struggles to chase guys off the ball. He needs to watch how Danny Green -- someone who's way slower than him -- chases guards off the ball. It's not just about sprinting. He keeps getting caught on those screens as if he really didn't see them coming. Maybe he didn't.
• From what I've heard from my friends, certain employers in the middle east region would hold the passport of their expats as part of their employment agreement. Is this what Masai is doing?
• For the road - Raptors won despite getting pummeled on the boards -- As Raptors legend Andrea Bargnani once said "It's not rebound-ball, it's basket-ball"

Overreaction: Game 7/82 - The Curse Is For Real

What a bummer. No Kawhi. No Giannis. No FVV and no OG. Did I expect the Raptors to win? To be honest, no. But I expected them to put themselves in a position where they have a chance. A chance that never happened. The Milwaukee Bucks pulled away in the 2nd half and the Raptors' wheels fell apart. Admittedly, I was barely paying attention to the game, as I spent pretty much the entire game carving our jack-o-lantern pumpkin with my little one.

• 22 points on a 10/16 shooting for Pascal Siakam. Is this his career high? He looked great playing extended minutes, and I really hope that he can sink at least 1 of every 4 threes that he would hoist up. While the box score only shows 2 assists, he had a few situations where the receiver did not finish, and he has at least 2 hockey assists.
• My Serge Ibaka apology streak just won't end. I've been eating crow when it comes to Ibaka-baka-baka as I've written him off this season. Now, he looks like he's an important cog for this Raptors team.
• CJ Miles' Go-Daddy curse is back, and this time it's worse. If he's not bricking shots, he's turning the ball over. You know it's bad if you played worse than Malachi and Lorenzo Brown.
• Kyle Lowry's shooting went back to earth, and what an unfortunate time for it to happen. It also didn't help that the Bucks defense focused on contesting his shots and making him more of a passer. I doubt that will be the case next game.
• Is it just me or Norm doesn't get the ball a lot whenever he's on the same floor with Ibaka? Norm posted a modest 2/3 FG tonight, yet as a starting SG, he should have been more aggressive and have more shots than that.
• Defense needs a lot of work - whether it's switching or just plain communication. It was terrible tonight.
• I know this is Delon's 1st real game, but at his age and given he's in his contract year, I expect a jump in terms of what he can bring to the table - and I'm still waiting.
• I love that Nurse is willing to enable and empower his non-starters, giving guys that are on the end of the bench to build up confidence. Malachi played decent tonight, hitting a 3, playing good positional defense a few times, and showing more effort and defensive awareness than before.
• Is it Casey or.... Well, let's look at this. Lowry's hit a new gear, DeRozan is flourishing in San Antonio, Alfonzo McKinnie is playing really well for the dubs, and the Raptors offense looked better and different from Casey's tenure. Ibaka and JV had been great for the most part. Was Casey holding them back?

Take That for Data - Individual Defense

Through 6 games, I was under the impression that Kawhi’s covering the opposing team’s best player - which is typically the volume shooter on the team. Surprisingly, Danny Green is contesting an average of 15 shots a game — and defending them admirably by giving only 36.7% of those shots. Eye test suggests the following:

• Kawhi is shutting them down in some possessions;
• Opposing players are getting Kawhi switched out of them.

Other observations from the data:

• Opposing players are attacking Fred VanVleet at a higher rate but surprisingly not that successful (41.9%).
• Eye test that says Serge Ibaka is defending the basket much better can be affirmed by his 35.2% DFG which is pretty good since he’s mostly defending near the rim.
• Siakam is a monster, yielding only 29.8% in 9.5 shots defended per game.
• Green, Ibaka, VanVleet, Lowry, Kawhi, Siakam so far are our best defenders based on these stats (highest DFG% is Lowry at 42.9%), which makes the switching on defence easier to execute since there’s no  major weak point. Heck, even JV and OG are 50% or under.

Overreaction: Game 6/82 - "The Lorenzo Brown Game"

• What a fourth quarter for our 4th PG Lorenzo Brown. I was ready to write him off after the third quarter. I went to the garage to get my groceries during the intermission, feeling a bit down because the closing lineup blew the lead, and not really looking forward to Lorenzo Brown play the beginning of the 4th. Lo and behold, I came back a few minutes into the fourth quarter and the Raps were up 10 again. I had to re-start the 4th quarter because I literally missed something amazing, which is, Brown, playing like the G-League version of himself.
• Serge and Kawhi got too trigger happy in this game -- I thought that both players had at least 3 shots where they could've moved the ball to an open teammate.
• Kyle's evolving into a much more complete, efficient version of himself. Looking at the games this season, it looks like the game is coming to him very easily -- he's pretty much cruising along that 3rd or 4th gear and still end up as the teams top 2 if not top 1 player on a nightly basis. This is without him going super-Saiyan mode that we're accustomed to in the past.
• I'm really impressed by Siakam's court vision. He finished the game with 3 assists - which should've been 6 or 7 if the recipients did not screw up their bunnies. Siakam needs to be more of a threat as a scorer and it should open up more passing lanes for him if he can do that.
• It's great to see CJ Miles play like his old self tonight. His 10 points tonight might be the most in-rhythm streak of points he's had this season.
• Could be just me, but I cringe every time Kawhi would get whacked and end up on the floor, which is what happened several times tonight.
• Six games in and we still haven't seen FVV and Delon Wright share the floor. I'm really intrigued how the bench rotation and what the actual product on the floor would look like once Delon and FVV are back and healthy.
• I saw a few posts on twitter about Celtics' DEFRTG. I don't really care who's number one. As long as the Raps are in the top 10 and winning with some sort of defensive showing, that's all I care at this point. I'm more interested to see whether the Raps have holes on their defense -- i.e. last year, even though the Raps are top 5 in defense, the defense is weak when it comes to the LeBron/KD/Giannis type, and JV was just a 1/5 PNR nightmare on defense (for our team). I see some slippage on defense every now and then like what happened tonight, which is just a bunch of guys getting accustomed with each other.

Overreaction: Game 5/82 - Even the "Floor" is high

• Probably the sloppiest the team have ever been defensively and offensively, yet the bare minimum is enough to make the game feel like the Wolves don't pose a threat
• I'm very satisfied with how Nurse is handling the JV/Ibaka utilization. Not just on who's starting, but also how they're utilized on the floor. Ibaka just needs to avoid getting the ball not on scoring position around the perimeter with the clock winding down, as it's a disaster waiting to happen.
• A little bit confused why Siakam did not see a lot of time in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th. OG had a shaky first half offensively but was really great defensively the entire game. Nurse probably went with as many people that can defend Jimmy Butler as possible.
• I've seen all of Lorenzo Brown's games with the 905 last year, and what I can guarantee is that the Brown that we're seeing with the Raps is not the same MVP Brown. It feels like he's trying to play too nice, trying too much to fit into the system, to the point where he loses his offensive identity. Brown is a really good PNR/PNP shoot-first guard, and he can be dangerous from the mid-range onwards. What he's not --- an outside threat -- especially pulling up for 3pt shots off the dribble. He's also not the type of player that would always kick the ball out on a PNR/PNP situation. Lastly, he's not an offensive stopper at his position.
• It's great to see Norman Powell's confidence slowly come back, and I hope he can continue his upward trend.
• Lastly, Kawhi is good, really good. so damn f***** good. damn.

Overreaction: Game 3/82 - KLOE forever

• First off, I really don't get how former all-stars get these "studio analyst" jobs with ESPN or other media and at the same time be clueless about almost everything? T-Mac was recently quoted saying Lowry's gonna have to carry a big load because the Raps got no bench. Very disappointing for a former Rap. No wonder he got dissed on the Sportsnet hype video.
• Despite being relegated to the bench, I'm really impressed by how Siakam played tonight. Now, if he can just don't get too excited and not spin too fast that he loses control of his shot.
• Happy for Norm -- he had a bad 1st half and a really positive 2nd half. Nurse asked him to do what he's good at: his fast-twitch muscles to push the pace and to quickly get up and snatch the rebounds.
• Danny Green had no legs to his shot tonight, but man, he's good at predicting the movement of his man, and it saves him the unnecessary movements, and also take away some moves and limited the blow-bys.
• OG Played well for the most part, except for his ticky-tack fouls.
• The way FVV is playing right now makes me think of a "what if FVV did not get injured on the last game of the regular season last year?" Also thank god nobody outbid us for his services.
• The Go Daddy curse is for real. I hate to see CJ Miles struggle like this -- to a point that he's hesitating on the open three-point shot.
• It looks like the pre-Magic Ibaka is back. After a shaky first game, his next two games were really awesome. He is really a C on this modern NBA age.
• John Wall played ok despite being too hungover the night before.
• The Wizards imploded in the fourth, and it's only the game 2 of the season. They haven't even had Howard yet, and they haven't even turned on each other.
• I don't know how good Scott Brooks is as a coach, but it's not working out for him with the Wizards.
• Going back to the Raptors, what a game for Nick Nurse -- he was able to flex his coaching chops when it came to in-game adjustments, game management, and his ATO/OOB plays were solid.
• Lastly  - Kyle Lowry is the best point guard in the East. Quote me, @ me, fight me, whatever. Kyle Lowry is the best point guard in the East.

Overreaction: Game 2/82 - Who's the best team in the East again?

• Kawhi scares me, and the man is hella rusty.  Just imagine if he's back to form.
• Siakam got the start again, this time with Ibaka. He had his moments, but it wasn't a good game for him. Still a work in progress.
• Speaking of Ibaka - I apologize to #mafuzzy #aveclasse Serge Ibaka. I was expecting a good game from him based on the opposing team, but I was not expecting him to be REALLY GOOD!
• OG had a lowkey good game - 9pts on 4-6 shooting with one 3pt make, but he was part of the stifling closing 5 for the Raps.
• I really feel that FVV is over-dribbling at times -- and I think that's mainly because the players were too slow to go through their offensive sets. Once they get more reps, I expect the ball to stick less and see a much more fluid ball movement.
• Long shot, long rebound. At least, that was ingrained to me as a wannabe baller growing up. Yet the Raps can't figure that part out. Two games in, and they're bleeding offensive rebounds. If it weren't for those miscues, they would be blowing the Cavs and the Celtics out of the water.
• Kyle Lowry is at his best when he is the best role player on the team. He was all over the floor tonight, and it was a good thing. He had enough to come up with the clutch shots late in the game.
• If I am those other GMs, I'd monitor the Jaylen Brown situation closely. I thought he played well enough to close the game yet Brad Stevens went with Scary Terry.
• I actually downplayed the importance of this game when I was asked by my friends and coworkers today - I told them that hey, Kawhi is still getting his conditioning, Hayward and Kyrie are coming back from surgeries, and these two teams won't look the same 2 months from now. But damn, it felt like a playoff game tonight.
• Are we still doubting Nick Nurse? I know it's only 2 games, but these are 2 games that looked drastically different from what we've seen last year -- and he's pushed the right buttons on key situations.
• It'll be fun to rewatch the game again tomorrow!

Overreaction: Game 1/82 - Linear Champs

• Kevin Love got that moneybag yet he still can't afford a good barber. Fred VanVleet got less money yet he looks like he gets a fade every day.
• Earlier today, I think it was Eric Koreen who had a bit of AMA on The Athletic, and I asked on the last minute: "Is there a path for Pascal Siakam to have a breakout year?" I was hoping for one, but not expecting one. Siakam made a huge stride tonight.
• I tweeted this earlier, but the entire game felt like how the bench mob played last year.
• Only true Raptors fans know that Kyle Lowry actually took a step back, instead of NBA media's belief that Kyle regressed last year. Keep flexing that muscle boi.
• Kawhi looked rusty, but Nurse was more than willing to give him his reps and all the minutes to get his conditioning back.
• The first two games of the NBA is more than enough of a justification for the Suns to fire their GM.  Terry Rozier yesterday, Fred VanVleet today. Damn Van Fleek is good.
• I'm in my mid 30s, and I definitely feel what Ibaka went through today. There are days where my body feel so stiff, that I need a WD-40 on every joint of my body. I would do 1 good thing for every 5-6 bad things.
• I tweeted earlier, if Kawhi and OG are on the same side of the floor on defense, we should call that side the "weak side" because that's where the offensive team would be the weakest. If Ibaka is in the area? Might as well call that the Bermuda Triangle.
• Congrats Nick Nurse on your 1st NBA head coaching career win. as a tribute, here are some of the differences had Casey coached the game tonight:
• Ibaka and JV would have started together
• Norman Powell would have gotten the short end of the stick, as the bench mob would have FVV, Miles, OG, Siakam, Monroe
• FVV would not have left the court in the 2nd half
• Siakam won't see crunch time minutes
• Monroe, instead of JV would get that Ibaka breather in the 4th quarter
• Won't call the timeout when Clarkson scored 3 straight buckets with the score 90-81. Instead, would wait for the Cavs to get more momentum

Overreaction: Raps 117, Magic 104

• We won the game when: Pascal Siakam pressed the R2 button the entire 4th quarter
• A good sign: OG's 2nd straight game where he was not invisible on offence
• Should we be concerned: OG went down with a mild ankle sprain

OG Anunoby sustained a sprained right ankle and will not return tonight at Orlando. @Raptors

— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) March 1, 2018

• Partners in crime: Pascal and Poeltl provided excellent 2 way play the entire game and shut down the Magic in the 4th
• Should we be concerned 2: When CJ Miles is not hitting his shots, he looks like a liability out there
• Powell with a dozen of donuts: Powell played 10 uneventful minutes with zeroes across the board
• Misleading stat line: The Raptors only committed 12 turnovers, but it felt like they committed way more than that
• An Exercise of patience: excellent job by DeMar DeRozan not forcing the issue and trusting his teammates
• An exercise of patience 2: Kudos to coach Casey for letting the bench mob work through their struggles in the 2nd half and not putting Lowry/DeRozan til halfway through the 4th. Great learning moment and more tight game reps under their belt.
• Friends forever: It's very touching to see the Raptors holdovers go meet TRoss and our father Bismack Biyombo after the game