It’s going to be another week before we can gather much of substance from these Raptors. Clarity doesn’t come from them beating up on a Lakers team missing its superstars. Or with dates with the sad sack Orlando Magic on Friday and Sunday. No, the surprisingly not terrible Sacramento Kings and the surging Brooklyn Nets will provide far sterner tests.
Wednesday’s game was more of a “get right” exercise for the likes of Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes, who have not played up to their usual standards for much of this season for a variety of reason.
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Both thrived against this group of Lakers. VanVleet nailed a three-pointer to start the game, constantly found teammates open inside for easy buckets (five of his seven assist created points in the paint) and he got inside himself consistently.
He still wasn’t the all-star version of VanVleet – his jumper continued to look off, he’s reverted back to being a poor finisher at the rim after a jump last season and his defence wasn’t what it’s been. But it’s a start.
As for Barnes, he dominated a small Lakers team with a work rate more like what we saw during his rookie of the year season. It was an encouraging effort, but you’d still like to see him generating more assists and getting to the free throw line.
Some more thoughts:
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- That was a season high in rebounds for the Raptors and tied a career best for Barnes. They set the tone early by crashing the offensive glass hard. It was part of the reason why the Lakers trailed the entire way.
- I know they were quite short-handed, but 16 Lakers assists against 15 turnovers is brutal, brutal work by an NBA team.
- Speaking of brutal: Boy does it sucks for the fans, many of them simply basketball, LeBron or Lakers fans and not even Raptors fans, who paid one of the highest ticket prices of the season for the one Lakers appearance of the year. They expected LeBron and Anthony Davis. Instead, they got neither and a dog of a game. Yes there were circumstances (Davis is sick, the Lakers played the night before). But it still is unfortunate.
- Then again, nobody should have been surprised to not see Davis. It’s been four years since he last suited up in Toronto and another time he went three years between appearances. And even when he does play here, he’s usually not Anthony Davis. He’s averaged just 16 points on 39% shooting at Toronto. Basically 50% or so off his usual production. Some of his worst numbers anywhere. But, you never know. The last time Davis was in Toronto, he dropped 25 points and 20 rebounds, flashing the MVP caliber play he’s shown at times throughout his career.
- Chris Boucher passed another all-time great Raptors energy player, Jerome Williams, for 10th on the franchise offensive rebound list. Boucher’s a great organizational development story.
- Of Siakam’s seven assists, four set up three-pointers, including a pair by Boucher in the corner. Siakam constantly broke down the Lakers and either got to the rim or created shots from the left corner.
THREE STARS:
1 Pascal Siakam
2 Scottie Barnes
3 Fred VanVleet
H.M.: Dennis Schroeder, Chris Boucher
