The Toronto Raptors won one of the uglier games of the season tonight vs the Brooklyn Nets 91-74.. It wasn’t pretty, but the Raptors took care of a bad Nets team to halt their short losing streak. It was low scoring, and they certainly didn’t play their best, so just put one in the W column and move on. Let’s get to the Report Card.
Offense: D
The Raptors struggled offensively except for a couple runs which were able to give them a solid cushion over a bad Nets team. Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan combined for 32 points in this one as neither were really able to take this game over. Jonas Valanciunas played phenomenally vs Brook Lopez and finished with 22 points in his best game since returning from injury. Cory Joseph was the high bench scorer tonight with 10 points. They will need to be better on offense against better teams.
Defense: A
A lot of this has to do with how bad the Nets are, but holding any NBA team to just 74 points is a great feat. Brook Lopez is the only one who could do anything as he finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. This was a big game on the defensive end and it was clearly the focus in a game where they struggled offensively. If they play this well on D they will compete with any team in the league.
Rebounding: A
Raps did a good job on the boards tonight out-rebounding the Nets 49-39. Valanciunas was the top rebounder for Toronto with 11 boards. Luis Scola was able to chip in with 7, and Lowry finished with 8.
Game Ball: Jonas Valanciunas
Who else? JV was a beast tonight in his best game since returning. He showed why he is this team’s starting C playing well on both ends of the court against one of the league’s top big men. 22 points, 11 boards in 29 minutes for JV and was clearly the best Raptor on the floor tonight. Well deserved game ball for Valanciunas.
