D+
In fact, I didn’t notice Anunoby on the field tonight until about halfway through the second quarter when he took his first shot. The intangibles that OG brings to the field obviously go way beyond scoring runs, but those skills haven’t been on display for much of it. He got a very key late board, though, and stuffed Jimmy Butler’s final shot attempt – a silver lining of an otherwise forgettable night for OG.
A-
Siakam opened up the first game of the game with excellent wing defense and a series of grapples to the bucket, setting the tone for a game that needed his leadership. It wasn’t the most effective outing for Pascal, but he was always relentless. It was his ‘next move’ mentality that helped his team stay in this one.
B-
In his first NBA start and third game as a pro, the lights seemed a little bright for the Arizona big man early on. But he contributed in a number of ways that eluded the goalscoring chart. Solid screens, freeing up space at the bottom and not getting in the way. Room for improvement for the young buck.
B+
Trent Jr. quietly had a good night. There were ups and downs, until the 4th quarter when he hit a dagger corner three with 22 seconds remaining to suck the life out of South Beach. His 7/19 shooting performance wasn’t his best night from an efficiency standpoint, but he scored in the pockets when his team needed it most.
A
Paired with his former mentor and backcourt partner, much of Vanvleet’s attention was taken by Kyle Lowry for a few stretches of it. Holding the GROAT to 1/8 shot was just one of Fred’s contributions that night. Fred was an unwavering pest on the attacking side, initiating dribbling penetration and quick breaks in clusters between long bombs. Several Heat players had their heads on a pivot Monday night. Fred VanVleet was almost always to blame.
A+
There’s a new Board Man in town. Catching a career-high 21 boards, Precious was an absolute spark plug on the bench tonight. On numerous occasions, the big 3rd year could be found bouncing for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th efforts around the rim all night.
A-
Good to have Boucher and his pool noodle arms on the floor for the Raptors. The shooting, rim protection and unparalleled energy the Montreal native brought to the second unit tonight were key to keeping them in the game.
D
Rexdale’s best looked like a little deer in the headlights of this one. He wasn’t able to help his team beat the Heat’s all-court press a few times, made a few silly fouls around the rim, and trailed too much in the corner on offense. As a bench guy, you have to bring more to the table than you take out. Banton couldn’t do that tonight.
B+
Birch came off the bench and did a very solid job of making it tough for Bam Adebayo in the paint. You didn’t see it etched in the box score, but you couldn’t ignore it if you were watching this game. The Raps big didn’t try to do too much there, which can be a very valuable trait in itself.
B-
A triple and solid on the D ball didn’t hurt his team while he was there.
A
What a coaching game. One of the most interesting parts of the new NBA doubleheader is the playoff-style game-to-game adjustments. The Nurse-Spolestra suite did not disappoint. NN countered Miami’s press with offensive pressure and kept their defense on their heels all night
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