Quick Reaction: Raptors 113, Pelicans 104

It makes no sense to how there’s been no discussion on this stud deserving to be an all-star. Aside from the pretty defensive numbers, he does it all on offence. Which he displayed tonight. He complimented those buckets with great playmaking and aggressive defence. His closeouts were apparent as the Pels’ perimeter players struggled from three. As one of the main ball handlers on the squad, RJ upped the tempo and forced the opponent to try to keep up. He initiated fastbreaks and got the ball down the court quickly. Along with quick passes and decisive cuts on offence. One specifically resulted in a lob from Poeltl. When he was looking to score, he’d find his way to the paint nearly every time. Whether he beat his defender off the dribble or bodied his way down there he got good looks in the paint. Which is where most of his points came from.

Although he air-balled a three he still led the team with his playmaking and physical defence, guarding the other team’s physical specimen Zion Williamson. However, he struggled to do so as Zion was able to finish at the rim fairly easily. Scottie was able to get to his spots and had absolutely no hesitation when pulling up for threes. The no hesitation is great as a star player but when you go 2/8 in the first quarter, I think it would be better to find other ways to affect the game. Perhaps try scoring easy baskets first. He did still make his defensive presence felt, using his build to protect the rim and getting in lanes while being one step ahead of the Pels’ offence.

As the only true traditional centre in the rotation lineup, Jakob was setting on and off-ball picks allowing the rest of the team to create. His paint presence was felt as he was crashing the glass on both ends and swatting layups like flies. His touch in the paint was there too as he had many layups created by his teammates. Not to mention getting Trey Murphy to fly by on a pump fake. The easiness of his scoring also came from his awareness of where to be and the timing of his cuts. As the Pels made a comeback in the second half it was Poeltl’s paint play that got their momentum back. Being an absolute force on the offensive glass and getting tip-ins on missed shots over two defenders at time.

His first quarter start was quiet but had a good second quarter. Whether his off-ball movement was to get himself open or be a distraction it manipulated the opponent. He crashed the glass well using his height and length to his advantage. The Pelicans were however going at him on defence. Swift guards CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray were seen penetrating easier when Dick was on them.

Making his 21st start as a Raptor, Mitchell did what good point guards do: control the pace of the game. He never stagnated and constantly got the team to move or move the ball. He was also a dog on defence as usual. Making star guards Dejounte Murray and CJ McCollum uncomfortable. He was getting disrespected at the three-point line as he struggled to shoot.

Maybe the quietest night out of the guys who played a lot, but he never played outside of his role. Made good decisions, took good shots and guarded the perimeter with pressure. For a guard that shoots a decent clip this year (36%) tonight’s display was disappointing. Down the stretch in the fourth, he even blocked Murray who has a six-inch height advantage.

After missing the last four games he had some light minutes tonight. He didn’t get to display much but where he impacted the game most was his defence. Whenever he guarded Dejounte Murray, he made it a nightmare to score.

Being a vet, he knew how to defend the younger guys and where to be on the floor. He was in the lanes making good defensive reads. However, he did try to make a spinning layup on Zion which resulted in a block. He was on the offensive glass somehow sneaking his way under a few Pels. Brown allowed his teammates to either score easily or score easily himself with his well-timed cuts.

For the few minutes he had he got an instant turnover and on the following end allowed an offensive rebound. He banged down low for an easy hook shot but got his fourth foul and it was only the second quarter. Considering his frame he didn’t play as physical as he should. Seemed quite soft at times when going up for boards.

The Montreal native contested drives and moved off the ball finding himself open for three quite a bit. With just over six minutes left in the fourth, he hit an awkward-footed three saving a bumpy possession from being disastrous. Which is where he started to heat up. A few minutes later he flew in for a tip-in putback and hit another three one minute later making him the bench’s points leader.

He gave Orlando Robinson some serious minutes to do his best in place of Kelly Olynyk who was out. However, he had him out for some time when he was in foul trouble. Unsure what exactly the gameplan was written in the locker room’s whiteboard but the pace they played at was completely controlled and wasn’t countered by the Pels. He was patient with Ochai’s Agbaji’s return giving him only 11 minutes and making sure those minutes were catered towards aggressively guarding one of their go-to guys.