The jokes going around on social media after Marc Gasol’s latest demoralizing shutdown of Orlando Magic all-star centre Nikola Vucevic was that Gasol should file adoption papers because he’d “sonned” the big man once again. Gasol is one of the best centre defenders of the past couple of decades and he proves it again and again against the likes of Vucevic, who is an extremely skilled player, and Joel Embiid, who is merely and MVP candidate (Embiid dropped 36 and 13 on Atlanta on Monday).

Vucevic just has no answers against Gasol and had to be subbed off the floor with the game on the line. Remarkable. Credit to Orlando coach Steve Clifford for making that bold call, but Gasol really gave him no choice.

Anybody still worried about Gasol after his second straight strong two-way game? Nick Nurse wasn’t worried at all about his rough start and now you know why. Could Gasol stand to be more aggressive with his shot and be a bit more like the guy who was a primary option in Memphis? Definitely. Is there anything else to quibble about with him at this point. Nope.

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Kyle Lowry told us in Boston that he wasn’t happy at all about his conditioning or his play. He will be much better he said, despite putting up big-time numbers. That’s a scary warning for the rest of the NBA, since Lowry is putting up all-star stats (22 points per game, which would be his second-most as a Raptor, 6.8 assists, a career-best 3.8 three-point makes a game). Lowry’s been awesome at both ends of the floor.

Whenever the Raptors looked to be in a bit of trouble against Orlando, Lowry seemed to have an answer. He just willed them to that win. He closed the first half with some aggressive takes when the rest of the team appeared to be completely out of gas.

The minutes load will be interesting to watch. Playing Lowry 39.3 minutes a night and Fred VanVleet 38.8 is simply not sustainable. Lowry’s too old for that kind of a workload, while VanVleet hits the deck and gets hit too much for that to hold up. The Raptors will need to get that under control or it will surely bite them down the line.

The Raptors reined Lowry in the past two seasons (32.2 and 34 minutes after two straight years of 37-plus per game) in order to keep him fresh and ready for the most important games.

If you looked closely at VanVleet in that white throwback you got flashbacks to Damon Stoudamire, no?

OG Anunoby is doing absurd things on defence. He showed signs of this in the past when he locked down James Harden and others, but the added flash and the ferocity is new. He’s also hit double figures in scoring in three of four games (the other one was nine points) after doing it 16 times last year and 10 as a rookie.

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Jonathan Isaac is good and he’s going to be an all-star sometime soon. That’s a hell of a building block for any team. Every time I see the Magic I end up raving about him.

Not so good: The shot selection by Orlando. Markelle Fultz and Aaron Gordon made two brutal decisions to shoot late and the Raptors answered both and that was the game.

Wise of Nurse to go zone for a bit against a team that doesn’t have many quality shooters.

Pascal Siakam’s frustrated “I just have to do a better job, there’s no excuses,” he said after more turnovers and fouls cut into his effectiveness. Siakam noted that’s four games in a row to start the season. He’ll be fine and will adjust. He’s too good not to.

Smart work by the Raptors keeping Alex McKechnie in town long-term with an extension and a promotion. The Raptors previously promoted Bobby Webster and Dan Tolzman to avoid them getting poached. Toronto’s medical and player development have boosted the perception of the franchise significantly in the past half-decade or so. Keeping everyone happy is smart.

Controversial take: I never liked the white throwbacks. Always liked the purple ones, though, even though they look a bit like purple Barney pyjamas.

A few people keep asking. No, they can’t put the gold ball signifying the Raptors’ championship on any throwback jerseys. Only current ones.

Meant to get this in the other day: Have heard conflicting things on whether Jonas Valanciunas (and other ex-Raptors) will get a championship ring. I think Valanciunas is a no-brainer, even if he gets a Tier 2 ring and not a Tier 1. He was part of the heart and soul of the franchise for years, beloved by teammates and never asked to be traded. The most definitive stuff I’ve heard from those who would know is that Valanciunas will not get a ring. It says here that that would be a big mistake. Delon Wright requested a trade, Greg Monroe was released and wasn’t around long. Those are tougher calls. Valanciunas should be a no-brainer, but the franchise appears to be overthinking things. Hopefully that changes.

THREE STARS

1 OG Anunoby

2 Kyle Lowry

3 Jonathan Isaac