Written by: Mateo Orrantia
Raptors def. Pistons 125-113
Rather than another episode of the Dwane Casey Revenge Tour, this seemed like just another game for the Raptors—despite Toronto’s former head coach being in front of the opposing bench once again. After a close first half, the Raps pulled away in the third and never looked back. It’s easy to take this team for granted, and a 4-1 record to start the season is almost expected considering the new World Champion standards. The Pistons are a fairly good team, but the Raps managed to make Andre Drummond seem almost invisible despite his 21 points and 22 rebounds.
Here’s a three stars breakdown of your three best Raptors on the floor tonight.
1st Star: Pascal Siakam
Although Siakam’s ability to create as a number one option for the Raptors has been questioned in the past, he was stellar again tonight. He notched his third 30-point outing of the season after having only five such games all of last year, to go with five assists and only two turnovers. He eviscerated the Pistons defense and shot at will, shooting 61.9% from the field and hitting half of his attempts from deep. Importantly, he hit threes from above the break, something he’ll have to continue throughout the season for Toronto to maintain a dynamic offense. As of right now, he’s setting himself up as an early dark-horse MVP candidate if the Raptors’ success continues.
2nd Star: Fred VanVleet
VanVleet looked every part of the Lowry-Lite tonight as he led the charge in growing the Raptors lead throughout the third quarter. He dished out a team-high 11 assists as he quarterbacked a Pascal-plus-bench unit that put Detroit out of the game for good in the third. He was a game-leading +21 and seemed to be mostly recovered from the ankle issue plaguing him over the last few games, finishing well in the restricted area all night.
3rd Star: OG Anunoby
OG has now strung three exceptional games together, looking like a completely different player than he was last year when he ended the season early in emergency surgery. He didn’t miss a shot in the first quarter, giving the Raps a steadying presence when the game was up in the air early on. His eight rebounds tonight was a career-high and help to fill the gaping void left by the board-gobbling Kawhi Leonard. Other Raptors scored more than OG, but he impacted the game on another level with his suffocating defense, collecting two steals and coming in at a +19 on the game, good for third on the team.
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