Written by: Mateo Orrantia
Edited by: Lauren Iafrate
Usually games in which a team gets thoroughly and resoundingly beaten leave the losing team with more questions than the winning one—yet, it’s the Raptors that are leaving the Smoothie King Center full of uncertainty after tonight’s game. Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka were both pulled from the game at the half, Lowry with a small fracture in his thumb and Ibaka with, according to Nick Nurse, a “pretty bad” ankle sprain. The Raptors were already paper-thin at PG, but now who will back up VanVleet? Will it be a very green Terence Davis, or will Norman Powell get the nod? How much like a point guard can Siakam effectively play? Can Chris Boucher sufficiently fill the void left by Ibaka’s injury? Is Dewan Hernandez ready for NBA reps? Will Rondae Hollis-Jefferson finally get the chance to let his infinite energy loose on a basketball court? All of these questions will have to be answered in the absence of Lowry and Serge.
Perhaps most importantly, this could change the course of the franchise. It is possible that the Raptors without Lowry and Ibaka are a bottom-feeder in the NBA, and—depending on the duration of the injuries—could play themselves out of a playoff position. Masai may very well pull the trigger and blow it all up, shipping out Gasol and Ibaka to greener pastures by the deadline. Either way, Raptors fans will get a sneak preview of the future: Siakam, OG, and VanVleet will be handed the reins and get the opportunity to show us all what the long-term prospects of the franchise could be.
1st Star: Pascal Siakam
I bet the entire rest of the NBA really wishes Pascal had stuck with soccer right now. He truly becomes impossible to stop when his three-point shot is falling like it was tonight—his 10 attempts are a career high, and he was able to hit them from everywhere. Above the break, in the corner, or off the dribble, Pascal was giving it to the Pelicans from distance in any way he pleased. His 44 points match his career-high, the prettiest of which were off a signature Spicy P spin move on Josh Hart that made him look like a drunk walking on ice. There is now even more emphasis on Pascal to perform at this level on a nightly basis with Lowry and Ibaka missing time. A tall order for the 6’9” Cameroonian phenom, but Spicy P has never failed to deliver.
2nd Star: OG Anunoby
OG-wan seems to have unlocked a new skill that his once-mentor, Kawhi-Gon has only recently just mastered: the art of the pass. While Kawhi is averaging a career-high in assists for the Clippers, OG has shown immense improvement with his passing this season with the Raptors. Tonight he had a wonderful pocket pass under the basket to Siakam, and passed up a good opportunity of his own to set up VanVleet for 3. He set a career-high with 5 assists in the Sacramento game, and followed it up with 4 tonight. He’s had 3 games with 4 or more assists so far this season, after having a grand total of 0 the rest of his career. The 3-point shooting and defence was still great tonight, but OG’s development as a passer has become prevalent as of late.
3rd Star: Norman Powell
Ever since Powell went full Cabela’s Big Game Hunter mode on the Bucks last playoffs, he’s been very quiet to straight up bad in the games since. However, he showed tonight why the Raptors keep believing in him through his ups and downs. He was great tonight, posting a game-high plus-28 net rating and scoring 18 points, helping fill the massive void left by Lowry at the guard position. Over 29 minutes, he posted an absurdly low defensive rating of 79.1 to go with a deadly efficient 73.8% True Shooting percentage. Terrible iso pull-up threes were traded in for heady pump-fakes and smart shot selection, and nothing felt rushed. Norm will have to keep it up, because the Raps need him now more than ever.
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