P. Siakam 23 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -2 +/- Hustle and flow, baby; went tit-for-tat against Faried and lived to talk about it. I still don’t have full confidence in that jumper, but he takes advantage of his opportunities and sticks them, so thumbs up on that. Pick-n-roll defense is a concern, and got burned three times tonight. It is an area he needs to improve on going forward.

D. Carroll 22 MIN | 4-9 FG | 1-4 3FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +1 +/- Might be they’re trying to squeeze blood from a stone here. Started the game and 3rd quarter strong, but deteriorated rapidly after both warm/hottish flashes. I thought he did a good job of D-ing up Gallinari (Gallinari did most of his damage in transition) for the most part. We need to stop thinking about him as a $16m/year player, and use his him where it makes sense, and sit him where it doesn’t. It’s called sunk cost.

J. Valanciunas 37 MIN | 6-9 FG | 0-0 3FG | 3-7 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 15 PTS | +4 +/- This was a prime matchup for JV to shine against a poor-mans version of himself…nope, quite the opposite. I counted three instances where a perimeter player got beat off the dribble and he either didn’t rotate, rotated late, or made a listless shot block attempt (his rotation on Chandler at the end of OT was huge tbough). That was bad JV…good JV waited till a minute to go in the game, and was a monster on the glass (2 offensive rebounds). Huge block on Mudiay in OT out of nowhere was…huge. He was at a D until the last minute of the 4th, and really came through in the clutch.

K. Lowry 38 MIN | 6-15 FG | 3-7 3FG | 3-4 FT | 5 REB | 13 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 18 PTS | +10 +/- Excellent game. Hit some very big shots at opportune moments, got everyone involved, but I wish he was more selfish. Iced the game at the line in OT, plus a smart heads up play with seconds left in the game: he held onto the ball long enough to eat time off the clock.

D. DeRozan 36 MIN | 12-25 FG | 0-1 3FG | 6-10 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 30 PTS | +8 +/- He tried to do a bit too much on a few possessions that really made you cringe, but that thin air had him swimming a bit with his decision making and free throws…those missed free throws completely changed the complexion of the game. CLUTCH baskets in the 4th and OT had me out of my seat. This is the new standard game for DeMar which is pretty damn good.

P. Patterson 30 MIN | 0-4 FG | 0-4 3FG | 1-2 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 1 PTS | +5 +/- …I just…at some point…how many open threes are you going to miss until you either swing it, or attack the paint (then the one time he does, he gets called for a charge on Gallinari)? How about we switch it up, see what happens? The shooting leash needs to be tighter and his role needs to be reduced imho.

T. Ross 30 MIN | 6-11 FG | 4-5 3FG | 0-1 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 16 PTS | +6 +/- Hit a big three and followed it up with a floater to kill a 10-2 Nuggets run in the 2nd quarter. The Raptors were brutal, but those two baskets kept the Raptors heads above water long enough to get to the half and regroup. 4th quarter Ross was excellent: hit key shots; took care of the ball; and did a pretty good job of keeping Chandler in check (who was killing us all night). That three in OT was clutch and sick. Raptors don’t win this game without Ross.

J. Poeltl 16 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-3 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -1 +/- Was far more effective than JV, and should have eaten most of his minutes; that’s on Casey. Banged in the paint on both ends of the floor, and was a factor on the glass. He even hit a streaking Cojo with a Kevin Love-esque outlet pass that ended in me yelping at a made layup.

C. Joseph 20 MIN | 2-9 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | -10 +/- 2nd half Cory was better than 1st half Cory, but not by much. Listless (my word of the night) and mediocre were words I’ve never used to describe Cojo’s play since he got here, and I had both in my notes tonight.