Quick Reaction: Raptors 126, Jazz 118

Back from tank management after a short absence. Quiet and passive first half. Came alive in the third quarter but it was nothing special outside a few really tough makes at the rim where defenders were all over him.

The second of three starters back from tank management. Aggressive start but instead of doing damage to the Jazz he ended up hurting Toronto in the opening quarter. He came alive in the second quarter and kept it going the rest of the way. Scottie was able to record his team leading 22nd double-double of the season.

Back to back starts for the rookie as Darko and the front office continue to evaluate one of the newest Raptors. Good start, but he had a funny travel early in the first quarter that will probably be featured on Shaqtin a fool. Early foul trouble led to limited first half minutes and it kind of hindered his momentum, as he did a good chunk of damage late in the game when it was already over. Also surprising to see Castleton make a three as that was something we hadn’t seen from him yet.

Back to back starts for Battle too after a disappointing showing. Battle’s defence seems to be improving every game and he had another good showing on the defensive side. It was a struggle yet again on the offensive end as he wasn’t able to knock down a shot in the first half and even missed a dunk off of a beautiful back door cut, that’s how bad the offence was going at one point, but I loved his effort on the other end.

The third starter back from tank management. Came alive late in the first quarter after a passive start. He was penetrating the Jazz defence with quite ease tonight as the three ball wasn’t working for a big part of the game, so he had to get most of his buckets the blue collared way. It’s nice to see IQ attack the rim as some games if his threes aren’t falling then he’s not providing shots but tonight wasn’t one of those instances.

Superb defence to start his night. It’s so noticeable when Shead is playing at 100% intensity as you can spot his energy on defence from a mile away. Decision making as a passer wasn’t the best tonight on a few possesions, but that was the only downside of his game.

Flashed some nice on ball ability in the first quarter with a spin move that led to an easy layup. After a career night, Robinson obviously didn’t see the shot opportunities like Wednesday night, but there were some positives as he was able to get to the free throw line a good amount. His finishing still needs work though as he misses a lot of shots in the paint that a quality NBA big needs to be making.

After back to back scoring explosions off the bench, Lawson came back to reality, but he still had an excellent game tonight. He runs the floor hard on fast breaks and could possibly be the fastest Raptor on the team. His first half was nothing special but he did most of his damage late in the game tonight which is when you want to see your players come alive.

He’s been giving Toronto some amazing minutes over the last three games. Temple’s been elevated into the rotation out of necessity after being just a veteran presence but he’s stayed ready and answered the call.

Another locked rotation as the injury list was long yet again. There was a challenge opportunity late in the third quarter where A.J. Lawson got called for a foul when he tried to take a charge and it looked like he turned into a statue. But there was no clear replay so it’s not 100% if Darko would’ve won the challenge or not. Also a big fan of letting BBQ play tonight as they were rested on Wednesday night for tanking purposes, but they still ended up winning. Play the right way and let the basketball gods pick your fate.