Tough night for the Raps. Unforced turnovers gave the Wiz momentum and it was all downhill from there. Raptors lead series 2-1:
Kyle Lowry (7.0)
35 MIN, 19 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST, 3 STL, 6-14 FG, 5-8 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, -4 +/-
Despite foul trouble, tried his best to keep the Raptors afloat. Hit some big 3’s to fight back but the Raps weren’t able to build on it.
DeMar DeRozan (7.0)
35 MIN, 23 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 10-22 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, TO, -17 +/-
Dribbled himself into a lot of difficult situations. Getting in the air behind the backboard, picking up his dribble in the corner. Also bailed out the Raptors on some difficult possessions. He needs to be the choice in late clock situations.
OG Anunoby (7.5)
26 MIN, 12 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 4-5 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/-
OG got into passing lanes, defended his man, and hit some decent open shots. More surprisingly, got into it with Morris and seemed to make even Morris back down who clearly thought he had someone easy to pick on.
Serge Ibaka (5.5)
28 MIN, 3 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, TO, -4 +/-
It’s really 50/50 when he turns in the post regarding whether or not he’ll hold on to the ball or lose it. A step slow on help tonight. Teams really like baiting Serge into a reaction.
Jonas Valanciunas (6.0)
23 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 6-8 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, TO, 0 +/-
Started strong as usual. He really relishes the matchup with Gortat. Unfortunately most of the Wizards run came from the PnR with Wall and Gortat. JV chooses to stay in no-man land rather than commit to the ball or the screener, leaving the chasing defender with nowhere to help.
Fred VanVleet
DNP – Shoulder
Come back anytime Fred.
Delon Wright (5.0)
19 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-8 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, – 15+/-
Not the same burst we saw from him in the previous two matches. A couple tricky drives but he didn’t force the second defender as he needed to. Couldn’t expect Delon’s 3pt shooting to keep up, but he needs to hit a couple to keep the defence honest.
Norman Powell (5.5)
6 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, – FG, – 3FG, – FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/-
We saw some good Norm and some bad Norm tonight. Did decently to chase his man and hit a corner three. Though the ball stagnated a bit when it got into his hands.
CJ Miles (5.0)
23 MIN, 9 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-7 FG, 1-5 3FG, 4-5 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -22 +/-
If he’s not hitting when it matters CJ offers very little else on the floor.
Pascal Siakam (5.5)
16 MIN, 5 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, STL, 2-3 FG, 1-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/-
Hit a 3. Stayed with his man on D. Couldn’t get it going with the lineup he’s effective with due to foul trouble on other guys.
Jakob Poeltl (5.0)
9 MIN, 5 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-1 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -11 +/-
He struggles to cope with the strength of heavy centres like Gortat and Mahinmi. He was limited by some very questionable calls.
Lucas Nogueira (4.5)
5 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/-
Largely ineffective when he’s made the primary defender on PnR’s.
Lorenzo Brown (5.5)
12 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, – FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 0 +/-
His length affected a couple passes for the Wizards. Saw minutes in the 4th where Delon usually was in Game 1 & 2.
Alfonzo McKinnie (INC)
DNP-CD
N/A
Malachi Richardson (INC)
DNP-CD
N/A
Raptor of the Night: OG Anunoby
Thoughts:
• The Raptors pride themselves on having high-character guys. I truly believe they are a team that has 15 exemplary young men on the roster. However due to that, media likes to pick on them as “mentally weak” or “psychologically vulnerable”. None of the Wizards nonsense got to them tonight. OG stood up to a bully and the referees decided to reward Beal’s whining. Benefits of being a star. Time to fight through.
• Casey could’ve done something earlier to prevent Wall attacking JV on the PnR in the third. If this continues, look to see Ibaka more at the 5.
• No need to worry, unforced turnovers took the Raps out of the game early and they couldn’t claw back out. Should be a quick fix. The gentleman’s sweep is on, Raps in 5.
1 thought on “Post Game Ratings: Raptors lose Game 3 in Washington”
Didn’t mention that DeMar doesn’t seem to want to feed JV when he’s open. On a number of occasions he either dribbled himself into a turnover, or held on to the ball until he could pass to someone else. JV would have had at least 4-6 more points if DeMar passed to him immediately when he’s open in the paint.