Raptors report card: 2 stars but many not good enough in loss to Heat

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Four days off is a rarity in an NBA season, but the Raptors couldn’t take advantage on Wednesday night.

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The team looked rusty, a few players aside, and dropped another winnable game, this time 112-103 to the Miami Heat. The slow starts continued as did a lack of cohesion between the players.

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Here’s the game report card:

A PASCAL SIAKAM

Siakam took advantage of the absence of top defender Bam Adebayo to put the Heat in the torture chamber. Siakam went 8-10 in the paint, shot (and made) 11 free throws and basically looked like one of the best offensive players in the NBA. He even hit his only three-point attempt, which had to feel good. Siakam was the best player on the court, but it wasn’t enough.

A- OG ANUNOBY

A good return to form for Anunoby, who has had an excellent season. Though his defence wasn’t at its usual dominant level, Anunoby looked about as good as we’ve ever seen him on offence. He took 10 three-pointers, his second most in a game this year and nailed five of them. Just as importantly, Anunoby looked more in control when driving and less clunky. He looked fluid and improved and that would be an interesting development as handling and driving have been weaknesses in the past.

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B GARY TRENT JR.

Trent needed this as much as someone struggling to find water in a desert. In a season gone wrong, Trent finally provided a huge offensive lift off the bench. He was hitting from everywhere, even the free throw line, and showed some signs that maybe, just maybe, he’s escaping the funk that has wrecked his first six weeks of the year. If it continues, a case might be made again that maybe Trent’s shooting makes him a better fit in the starting lineup than Dennis Schroder.

C+ OTTO PORTER JR.

How do you get this good a grade if you don’t score a point? You act as a glue guy and a stabilizer, which is exactly what the veteran did after being used for the first time in four games. Rajakovic says Porter is finally healthy enough to play regularly and will be a part of the rotation. You can see why. He provides spacing, smarts and length and is a dark horse option to start games should the team continue to look awful to open first and third quarters.

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C PRECIOUS ACHIUWA

Achiuwa sure loves playing the team that drafted him. Some of his best games have come against the Heat, including a 22-rebound effort. He had the best non-Scottie Barnes Raptors block of the season in this one, an insane rejection of a Jimmy Butler attempt, and was quite productive in his 13 minutes. Darko Rajakovic wasn’t as impressed though and opted for others as the game progressed following Achiuwa’s hot start.

C- JAKOB POELTL

Just call him old reliable. Poeltl walled off the rim at times (four blocks) and grabbed six rebounds, but he only took two shots. Now, that’s more a knock on the team’s guards, who were forcing it way too much and not looking for the easy outlet inside. Poeltl also loses marks for being on the court for a bunch of breakdowns that benefited Duncan Robinson and Orlando Robinson (though again, a lot of that is on Poeltl’s teammates too for their mistakes that led to those buckets and free waltzes to the rim).

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C- SCOTTIE BARNES

When is a double-double not that impressive? How about when a player looks invisible for three quarters before reminding everyone how talented he is (again) to finish a game. Barnes had a spectacular fourth quarter to save his grade, but he was as pedestrian as we’ve seen him in a long time before that. Yes, some of his misses nearly went in, but Barnes did shoot 5-17, didn’t get to the free throw line and looked a bit lost on offence. Maybe when Siakam is rolling this team just can’t figure out how to also get Barnes in the right spots?

D DENNIS SCHRODER

The bloom is coming off the rose a bit here after a great start to Schroder’s Raptors tenure. The point guard who had been running the team well and smartly in the early going was way off against Miami. He forced shots and passes, sometimes the passes weren’t completed because his teammates had expected him to keep firing away because that’s what he’d been doing, unsuccessfully. Against a team without rim protection Schroder can’t shoot zero free throws and can’t go 3-11 in the paint. Now that his outside shot isn’t falling anymore it’s time to consider making the World Cup star the sixth man, just as we suggested heading into the season.

INC: MALACHI FLYNN, CHRIS BOUCHER

THREE STARS

1 Pascal Siakam

2 Caleb Martin

3 OG Anunoby

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