Overreaction: Game 46/82 - What Point Guard Depth?

• This is the best start I've seen in a while from Kyle Lowry. I'm not talking about running the offense, I'm talking about his aggressiveness looking to score in between setting his guys up.
• Remember that "Scott Sterling" viral videos before? Kyle got banged up today in so many different ways like Scott.
• I really like the energy that  Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright provided when they came in. Their appearance single-handedly cost them the game.
• Fred and Delon could not handle the physicality that Rozier, Smart, and Brown brought, and it got contagious, even the starting unit got affected.
• Siakam is also another guy who couldn't handle the physicality that the Celtics frontcourt brought to them. He could not get his offense going at all.
• Silver lining re: Siakam: His playmaking was phenomenal.
• I like how Moose battled and got some offense in, but man oh man... he's such a liability on defense.
• I love how coach Nick Nurse took the decision making aspect out of Serge Ibaka. Ibaka's basically put in a position where he's only doing one thing in the midrange and in the paint: shoot. If he's in the 3pt line? Swing pass or shoot it. No more playmaking to be done.
• I feel bad for Jordan Loyd. He's getting his NBA days via DNP-CD. At the same time, I don't think he's 100%. Based on what I've seen in the G-League, he's banged up.
• Am I concerned about this loss? Sure, the backup PGs are unreliable, we can't contain Kyrie, and the usual crunch time ISO-ball. But do keep in mind, Moose is playing JV's minutes, and if this is a playoff series, we won't see that much FVV+Delon minutes, especially together.
• I know Kawhi needs his reps in crunch time, but the Raps can't go all-season letting Kawhi cook in crunch time and just have 4 bystanders. They also need reps.

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 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 17/82 - Nurse and the Art of Building a Player's Confidence

Finally, some breathing room.

After a rough 3 game losing skid, the Raptors 905 got back into the winning column. Yeah, Raptors 905 as the majority of the players that were active today have ties with the 905 club.

Confidence

It's obvious that Nick Nurse is trying to rehab his players' performance by giving them the longer leash and empowering them the more that they struggle. Right now, while the intent is good, Kyle Lowry went down with an apparent ankle injury while the team was up 30 in the 3rd period -- all for getting Lowry to shoot his way back into rhythm.

It worked for Ibaka, Siakam, and JV -- it's starting to work for Delon Wright. It was slowly working for Norman Powell.

Nurse is trying to make it work for CJ Miles, Lorenzo Brown, and Malachi Richardson. It looks like Malachi is starting to get there.

Had this been Nurse, CJ would have been in the doghouse after 5 games. Brown and Richardson won't be seeing rotation minutes unless it's really, really bad.

Looking at how Nurse's handling the Kawhi situation - especially the late game gaffes -- it looks like Nurse is doing the same with Kawhi.

Nurse knows that he needs to elevate his team's individual performance to get as deep as possible in the playoffs. Kawhi by himself won't cut it, regardless of how good he is. Kawhi's going to need an army of solid players to play off and play with.

Tonight was a good sign of progression. We saw Kyle got the leeway to get himself out of the slump. Siakam, Ibaka, and JV are playing better than expected. Malachi and Brown started off shaky but was able to shake off the cobwebs and contribute.

Jordan Loyd and Chris Boucher even got some good burn tonight.

Personally, I like the approach, and a team like the Bulls tonight was a good practice run.

Overreaction: Game 14/82 - Outworked, Out-hustled, Outclassed

I missed 1/3 of the game, so I'll have to change the format a bit. I see a lot of post-game coverage talking about good things, so since it's a loss, I'll take my spin on it --- the total opposite. I'm giving the readers 5 bad things instead.

1. Kyle Lowry's passive play: I know Jrue Holiday is a good defender, but he's not a shutdown defender that would make Lowry scoreless the entire game. Lowry took himself out offensively by being too passive, trying to be more of a playmaker especially if his downtown bombs weren't going in. However, games like this where there's a lack of consistent primary scoring (workload shared by Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and Serge Ibaka), Lowry should try to go back to that pitbull Lowry that we're all accustomed to seeing whenever he need some buckets.

2. Ball Watching: We've seen this against the Cavs during the playoffs - The entire team were too preoccupied where the ball is, and they're getting killed by back cuts.

3. Run the Offense: I know Kawhi needs his shots - especially his ISO plays, but it's about time to get Kawhi acclimated to the offence. It's starting to get too predictable whenever Kawhi posts up. More often than not, he's going for his shot. It takes him forever to get set up, and if he gets defended well (by a help defender), the shot clock is fried and a bad shot ensue.

4. Lazy Rebounding Effort: The Raptors as a team tried to compete for rebounds, however, they forgot the first and most important part -- boxing out. There were a lot of situations where they don't even make an effort to box out and just concede the rebounds.

5. Poor Perimeter Defense: Jrue Holiday 29 points? I could somewhat understand. E-Twaun Moore dropping 30? That's inexcusable. The Pelicans are at their best when AD's got help. The formula against AD has always been letting him do all the heavy lifting and take out his teammates. They did neither tonight.

No Game 13/82 vs the Knicks as it was basically Raptors vs Westchester Knicks.

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 10/82 - Starters' Chemistry + Defense FTW (aka Baka is my Father)

I thought I should change up my posts about the game, so I made some sort of a running commentary as I remember to type:

1st Half

• The Lakers started big with LeBron-Lonzo-Ingram-Kuzma-Javale 28-10 start. Interesting strategy, not having pure shooters out there with LeBron and Lonzo being the smaller player on the floor (who's way taller than Lowry)
• Kyle picking the Lakers defence apart early. This is a clinic.
• Lakers went small LeBron-Kuzma-Stephenson-Rondo-Hart and Ibaka just "sonned" them.
• Ibaka 18 points in just over 8 minutes. WTH. Lowry with 9 assists.
• sorry, but Walton is trying to get fired here by fielding Rondo-KCP-Hart-Kuzma-Stephenson with them down 25 with 3mins left in the first half.
• Not liking the defensive effort of the second unit. Allowed the Lakers get some offensive rhythm. CJ Miles. Oh well CJ Miles.
• Lebron started to impose his will when he came in around 8mins in the 2nd quarter. Interesting to see how the Raps respond. Nurse slowly added the starters in.
• Raptors bend but did not bend that much in the 2nd quarter. The defensive intensity went back up when the starters came back.
• Ibaka picked up his 3rd chasing a 3pt shot late in the 2nd. something to keep an eye on.

2nd Half

• Rough defensive trips to start the 2nd half. Ibaka also picked up his 4th.
• Loving Lowry's intensity to keep the crew focused. He refused to let the complacency to sink in and become the norm.
• Ibaka crossed 30pts 4 mins into the 3rd quarter. what.
• Raptors need to get this lead bigger to make this a short night for LeBron.
• Nick Nurse's timeouts are on-point so far. Borderline too early, but so far they're the right call.
• Raptors got the lead up to 24-26, but LeBron started to make a push again. Hitting back to back threes. Nurse with another timeout. Let's see how the team respond.
• Kyle Lowry went to the bench late in the 3rd, really important how the bench who'd start to come in respond and maintain this lead. up 22.
• Bench barely protected the lead with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The offence is dead outside of JV destroying Ivica at every possession that he's got the ball. CJ, Powell, FVV are all cold. The defence is not as good as the starters, even against a crappy lineup of Rondo-Stephenson-Rondo-Ivica-Mikhailuk
• Ingram and Kuzma came in with 7mins left, probably a feeler whether they can get back into the game without LeBron.
• Not liking how FVV and Delon were milking the clock before trying to get the ball to JV
• Lead down to 14 off a Lonzo back-to-back three-pointer. This bench outside of JV is trash right now. If I were Walton I would put Lebron back in there right now.
• Nurse's only bad decision tonight was to keep the bench for too long. I know he was trying to get them more reps, but if they are not playing D, they have to be out of the court.
• Kyle and the starters came back stiff, but after a few possessions and a charge, he's warmed up again.

Parting shots:

• If CJ can't shoot and can't provide a passable defence, he shouldn't be on the court, period.
• LeBron James obv a primadonna trying to make a statement, left the game immediately without shaking hands. This is a protest for sure.
• Kyle Lowry and Chris Bosh talking. Bosh probably wants in on that "Kawhi-home-games-only" contract.
• Excellent defence and chemistry by the starters, horrible outing for the bench players.
• I don't know if Nick Nurse was right on keeping FVV to close the game, he hasn't done much -- if anything, I would have kept Delon Wright because you need defensive closers. The Lakers got their shots too freely in the 4th quarter.

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.

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 4/82 - Four-oh

• Kawhi is starting to look more and more fluid with his moves, and this is a good thing (or bad for the rest of the league).
• I'm eating crow when it comes to Serge. I had really low expectations coming into the season, and I thought that he'll be a liability and a dead weight on the roster. Kudos to Nick Nurse for finding out a way on how to better utilize him.
• How good is Kyle Lowry? I keep telling everybody, he may have taken a step back defensively, but not offensively. Last year, he was basically cruising at 80% for most of the time, and with fewer minutes so that FVV and Delon Wright can develop. Now we're seeing Lowry at his finest.
• A bit of a concern - when it's all bench unit, it feels like FVV is having a hard time setting up others based on their offensive sets. I don't have data to back me up, but it feels like more often than not, the possession ends up late clock and FVV has to iso.
• Minor annoyance with Siakam --- if he's in the starting lineup, his role is not a playmaker, but a finisher. between Lowry and Kawhi, there's more than enough ball pounding between the two. He should be more aggressive and look to score especially if he's got Jeremy Lamb guarding him.
• I liked Malachi's garbage time minutes. Aggressive, taking advantage of the chance to play.
• Instead of commenting on how I liked how Powell and CJ Miles worked through their struggles, I'd go a step further and say I liked how Nick Nurse is taking the opportunity to get those guys back into their groove.
• It's great to see the Biz. He'll always be one of my fav non-all-star Raptor.
• How long before the Hornets figure out that Nic Batum-is-a-good-player is a scam?
• I'm really impressed by the Raps defense through 4 games, and it feels like there are a couple more gears that they can go as their cruising speed. Scary.
• I'm out like DeRozan watching Raps game - I'm typing this while watching the Spurs-Lakers game.

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 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: Raptors 122, Mavs 115 (aka Best Practice Game Ever)

• We Won the Game When: Carlisle decided it was time to keep turning the ball over
• Best Fixed Game Ever? The game felt like Carlisle had the full Raptors playbook and defended every set play beautifully. They even trapped Derozan frequently, which is something that DeMar will see in the playoffs.
• Siakam's Offensive Tool Kit: Pascal was doing a lot of things offensively tonight, and his face up game is starting to look more and more fluid.
• Pick Someone Your Own Size: It was fun to see VanVleet and Barea go toe to toe.
• Inbound Nerves: I'm starting to become less and less confident with CJ Miles inbounding the ball. He's committed a few now in the clutch. I hope this does not become a trend.
• DeMar's Off-Night: DeMar couldn't buy a basket (well defended most of the time) going 8-23, but got to the line 14 times, and still hit a clutch 3 to tie the game in OT.
• Ghosts of Daddy's Past: Seeing Doug McBuckets hit those 3s bring back past painful memories of Chicago Bulls owning the Raptors.
• No JV in the 4th: With Nerlens Noel and Dwight Powell on the frontcourt, the Ibaka-Valanciunas frontcourt pair looked slow and old. Casey countered with a Siakam-Ibaka and the defence got better.
• Clutch FTs: JV came in OT with 13 seconds to go, and was sent to the line multiple times. How many centres in the league would be utilized on this type of scenario where they are trusted to take and make FTs?
• Dallas Future in Toronto's Hands: Toronto's own - Dwight Powell has been on a tear since the All-Star break. His ceiling just keeps getting higher and higher.

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: 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: Raps 106, Hawks 90

• Norm Showing Some Pulse: Norman Powell played really well during his first stint in the first half. He was all over the place on defence, and everyone in the building was relieved to see that corner 3 go down.
• Oh Brother(s): Tony Brothers seems to have something against DeMar and Kyle. However, the refs altogether were horrible on both sides.
• Raptors Playing Down to the Competition: The starting lineup with a slow start and the bench came in just as sluggish. It was really ugly for 3 straight quarters.
• Miller Looking Good: Malcolm Miller with a better 2nd career start. He's looking more comfortable out there - although he needs to do a better job at moving to a different spot so that he can be easily found via the drive and kick.
• DeMar's Got Us: DeMar DeRozan pretty much carried the team in the first 3 quarters.
• should we be concerned? -  The Raptors were pretty much bricking everything from the perimeter until CJ Miles came alive
• Dominant 4th by the Bench: The bench mob did not just step on the gas in the offence, but also locked down the Atlanta Hawks by limiting them to 13 points in the 4th.
• Playoff Crunch Time Lineup: I won't be surprised to see the same Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, CJ Miles, DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl lineup in the playoffs. Most especially in crunch time.
• Stiffbaka: Ibaka looked old, slow, and stiff versus younger springier Atlanta studs.
• Block Party: Poeltl was amazing with 3 blocks, JV with 2 blocks, I believe both from Schroeder's cat, and surprisingly, Fred VanVleet with 2 blocks!

Overreaction: Raptors 119, Bucks 122

• We lost the game when: Near the end of the first half, down 4, DeRozan fouled Middleton for an And-1 and got T'd up. Went into the half down 8, and that's the cushion that they tried to erase for the majority of the 2nd half.
• Should we be concerned: Lowry's offence has been sputtering and showing no signs of an upward tick. Not only is he struggling to score from the perimeter, he hasn't been able to get to the basket like he used to.
• A good sign: Siakam continues to be a revelation as the season progress. His D is so well ahead of his offensive game, and I won't be surprised if he's one of the most improved players next year.
• Should we be concerned 2: OG's defence is good, but he's not doing much else other than doing a good job staying in front of his man. Even Roberson would get a rebound and/or assist/steal every game.
• A good sign 2: Poeltl and Siakam can bring it against the Bucks. Last year, they were unplayable. If we can find the right mix with Poeltl and Siakam during crunch time, we should be able to take care of these reindeer easily.
• Battling demons: This game showed 2 sides of DeRozan. The new version where he demonstrated that a. He can and will pass,  b. He'll hit perimeter shots,  and c. He can score inside against the Bucks' defence. We've also seen DeMar lose it for a few possessions where he went pure iso and just drove with his head down, which led to turnovers/bricks.
• Big 3: We didn't lose because Giannis was hitting those long 2s; We lost because we let old man Jason Terry, John Henson, and Thon Maker. 
• A good test: The bench (mob) squad often feast on other team's bench players, and some starters but nothing like this kind of playoff atmosphere. I expect the kids to learn from this experience and get better.
• Bad Call?: Siakam was playing well in the 4th quarter, why did Casey had to replace him with Ibaka? Siakam's side was always stronger in defending the high pick and roll that the bucks were running.
• Incompetent zebras: 3 referees, with all 6 eyes on the basketball. How can they miss the and-1 foul on JV? which led me to call out our airport security brothers and sisters:

Calling to arms all of our brothers and sisters working at the airport security to put a wanted poster of all the refs that wronged us and give then every hard time possible before they leave the Canadian soil #rtz #WeTheNorth

— JD Quirante (@jdkeyrants) February 24, 2018