A+
Even when everything was collapsing around him, Anunoby was the lux of defense in darkness. He swallowed his opponents one-on-one, choked whoever he turned on, intercepted passes in the lane and rushed for a frowning block in one of the few impressive transition stops of the team. Add in some coordinated moving layups and some much-needed rebounding, and it was a great night for Anunoby.
B
While he’s clearly working through his sprained right ankle, Barnes continues to be a positive contributor for the Raptors offensively. In particular, he is one of the best connectors on the team, keeping the ball moving on possessions where he could easily stagnate. He was also one of Toronto’s best responses to the zone, able to create advantages by operating just inside the key.
A+
What can you say about Siakam at this point? He had a miraculous start to the season, building on his All-NBA ranking from last year, and that continued in Game 2 tonight against the 76ers. Philly learned its lesson about leaving it open at the perimeter, and so Siakam was back to attacking the paint, working whoever picked it up low, twisting and deflecting for lay-ups and working his way to the free throw line. For considerable stretches, Siakam was the only Raptors player to create advantages in this one.
D+
With VanVleet, Trent struggled a bit in this one. Although his shooting was a little erratic, it was on the other end that most of the trouble occurred. Toronto’s perimeter players just couldn’t stop the offensive point penetration, and GTJ was one of them. That’s not to say he wasn’t putting in the effort, though – he broke his tail on a number of possessions.
F
VanVleet is a brilliant player, but tonight was his worst performance in quite some time. He struggled to contain his opponents along the perimeter, couldn’t hit shots that usually brought him money (even open catch-and-shoots!), and generally seemed uncomfortable. He even went to the locker room for a brief part of the second quarter. Whatever’s going on with him, the Raptors are hoping he can get over it quickly.
D+
It was a quiet night for Achiuwa in almost every way. Like many of his teammates, he seemed caught up in the defensive confusion of a quickly changed game plan. He was better in the second half, helping Toronto put together a few saves, but ultimately couldn’t stave off the necessary lift.
C+
Boucher was the first Raptors player off the bench to score tonight, and for a moment he seemed like the only one. Although he didn’t provide much individual offensive punch, his presence in the first quarter helped erase an early lead, and his second-half energy was palpable, even when it didn’t translate into direct results.
D+
Banton didn’t play many minutes, and he wasn’t particularly hard-hitting either. The lack of shooting punch was noticeable here.
D+
After falling out of the rotation for a few games, Young reappeared tonight as Nurse tried to energize his club. Not much came of it, however.
B-
Koloko is a rookie, and so on some nights and even some possessions, he will look a lot like a rookie. It happened tonight, true, but he also showed more flashes of what he could ideally become as a legitimate shot-blocking center. I continue to be happy with his performance, and getting real minutes of rotation at this stage is positive for his development.
D+
Aside from his time in the trash, Flynn only entered the game during a chaotic second quarter, when the Raptors were reeling from haymakers led by Maxey. The nurse was certainly trying to find answers, a life, but it wasn’t from Flynn. It’s important to keep in mind, however, how difficult it can be to be thrown into a situation like this, especially when you haven’t been able to build a rhythm for yourself so far. .
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