Quick Reaction: Pistons 99, Raptors 95
| Pistons | 99 | Final Box Score |
95 | Raptors |
A- | R. Barrett35 MIN, 22 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST, 0 STL, 6-18 FG, 2-6 3FG, 8-9 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 14 +/- RJ started off with a Jokic like behind the back dish to Agbaji who unfortunately couldn’t convert on the triple. We saw some point forward RJ midway through the first when Mitchell was out of the game, and Shead hadn’t checked in. Beautiful fading three in front of the Raptors bench midway through the second quarter that ignited the crowd. He tried to poster Ron Holland early in the third but Holland met him in the air and denied his ferocious attempt. Rough shooting night from the field but he helped in other areas and had a great game from the free-throw line, an area in which he usually struggles. Although the Raptors weren’t able to complete the comeback, RJ did all he could as he was unstoppable in crunch time. | |
C | O. Agbaji36 MIN, 9 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 4-15 FG, 1-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -4 +/- Great dribble penetration early, leading to drive and kickouts to the perimeter. Some nice cuts off the ball that led to one made layup and one missed, but the cuts were phenomenal as he was wide open both times. He had another miss at the rim, midway through the third quarter but it was a crowded paint so we’ll let that one slide. He wasn’t his usual efficient self and missed a lot of shots that he usually makes. A good start but fell off the rest of the way. | |
A+ | J. Pöltl35 MIN, 25 PTS, 19 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 12-21 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-4 FT, 3 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- First four points of the game for the Raptors. Great first quarter, he got a steal on the perimeter early on and was winning Toronto second chances. Amazing first half as he hit the double-digit mark for points and was a rebound shy of a double-double. I’ve been critical of Poeltl at the very start of the season but he has been lights out lately. Congratulations to Jakob on a game well played and on his first career 23+ point and 16+ rebound game. The only lacklustre part of his game was the poor free-throw shooting tonight. | |
C | G. Dick35 MIN, 16 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-17 FG, 1-10 3FG, 7-7 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 13 +/- He had a beautiful and one finish at the rim on a fast break for his first points of the game. He showed off his finishing once again tonight as most of his buckets either came at the rim or from the charity stripe. A bad fourth quarter as he airballed a three-pointer and had a sloppy turnover which led to a Marcus Sasser transition jumper. Rough night beyond the arc which is a rare sight for Gradey. Two missed three-pointers, one which could have given the Raptors a one-point lead with a bit over 15 seconds left in the game and one to tie the game around the seven-second mark. Like Agbaji, a good first half, not a great finish. | |
D | D. Mitchell33 MIN, 5 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 2-9 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 9 +/- Quiet first half. A couple of missed bunnies at the rim that he probably wishes he could get back. Started off the second half with a beautiful pass to Poeltl who unfortunately wasn’t able to finish at the rim. His first points came beyond the arc early in the third quarter. Although Mitchell didn’t have a good game, he was miked up tonight and showed good leadership skills for a young Raptors squad. | |
C | C. Boucher14 MIN, 2 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, -10 +/- First player off the bench, replacing Agbaji. Scored right away under the rim. After that, he wasn’t too big of a presence out there in the first half. A great chase-down block midway through the third quarter. The second half was typical Boucher energy as he was flying around on the glass and was very active. | |
D- | B. Fernando10 MIN, 3 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 0 +/- Second game in a row where he’s played. It seems he won a spot in the rotation coming off a good game against Milwaukee. Almost another poster dunk, this time on Jalen Duren, but he was unable to convert as he got fouled on the attempt. He could have had one more assist as he connected on two cuts from Agbaji (one made, one missed.) Unfortunately, Bruno was unable to build on the momentum from the Milwaukee game. | |
C- | J. Shead10 MIN, 4 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -17 +/- Quiet first half. First points came late in the third quarter down low. Just like the rest of the bench, it wasn’t a Jamal Shead performance that we have gotten used to. | |
B | J. Battle14 MIN, 9 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 3-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -27 +/- Battle might need to start wearing some new shoes as he slipped two times within the first quarter. Good three-point shooting from Battle, which is his best quality. A beautiful sidestep three midway through the fourth quarter off an RJ feed. | |
C | J. Mogbo16 MIN, 0 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- Quiet first half. The usual Mogbo energy wasn’t felt in the first half. Just like Boucher, his energy was much better in the second half. It wasn’t the typical energy we see from him, but it was better than the start. | |
D- | G. Temple02 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 2 +/- Surprising Temple spotting midway through the second quarter. Didn’t do too much out there and didn’t get another chance to prove himself. This is a harsh grade but since it wasn’t garbage time, something has to be given. | |
B | Darko Rajakovic Honestly, I liked most of the rotations tonight apart from leaving four bench members and one starter out for a bit too long on a few occasions. One of those stints was very costly as the Raptors went on one of two huge scoring droughts. He tried a few new things out there with point RJ and a few minutes of Garrett Temple, both of which backfired but he’s experimenting. | |
Things We Saw
- A great first quarter unravelled as the Pistons closed it out on a 10/0 run and gave themselves a five-point lead. The Raptor lineup consisted of four bench members and Ochai.
- Was anyone else aware that Jarrett Jack was apart of the Detroit Pistons coaching staff? Hopefully I wasn’t the only one.
- Unbelievable energy from the crowd tonight as after the Vince Carter jersey retirement night, this was the second-best atmosphere at a home Raptor game.
- A very poor night for the second unit. Apart from Jamison Battle, the bench unit was not their typical selves. Let’s end on a positive though. Toronto has struggled defensively but over the last two games they have held their opponent to 99 points in both matchups.
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