The Hornets again started their bench with all their normal starters out of action but showed the Raptors they are in for a battle early. They were absolutely flying around the floor with that ‘Eye of the Tiger’ hunger for a new NBA contract next year. There simply is no such thing as a meaningless game when people get paid millions of dollars to do something. There are 100,000 players looking to take your job away from you every summer so nobody takes games off.
However Nick reached to his bench for some help and found 2 answers as the second quarter wore on. The first was old reliable Chris Boucher. Always energy off the bench Chris hit a few 3 pointers as well to get the charge going. The second surprise answer to many was Will Barton. You wouldn’t know it from his start in Toronto but Will is an NBA proven 3 pt sniper and can heat up in a hurry. He finally showed that to Raptor fans with a few 3 pointers and the early domination by the Hornets melted away to a Raptor lead by halftime. That’s the beauty of the modern NBA 3 pt game, it can change the flow of any game at any moment and no lead is safe anymore. Tonight Will and Chris did exactly that for the Raptors. A little coaching change up zone defense also helps…especially against younger players like the Hornets.
While the Hornets came out strong for the second half the Raptors had recovered and were matching them bucket for bucket. Then late in the third the Hornets suddenly went dry and couldn’t buy a bucket like all young players tend to do. Koloko defended well inside and Barton with Freddy worked defensively on the perimeter. Of course the veteran Vanvleet took advantage of the young Hornets and put the boots to them with a bunch of buckets to build up the lead to 20 to start the 4th. Just another thing veterans tend to do when you struggle. The young Hornets packed it in at that point and it was mostly a clean up job to finish this win off. Let’s see who deserves some recognition now…
The Good
Chris
21 points in only 27 minutes off the bench is HOT! It was needed tonight as well because the Hornets were making a game of it. Chris tends to get benched when he slips into ‘shoot everything’ mode but when it goes in like this he’s amazing. I like the way he got to the free throw line as well tonight. If Boucher can add more force to his game like this constantly he could force his way into a starter role on some team in the NBA.
Pascal
Hard working game on both sides of the ball to power his team to the win tonight. Scored 22 but it was everything else he did that really impacted winning tonight. 14 rebounds from your All Star small forward is pretty crazy.
O.G.
It wasn’t falling that great for him tonight but he was trying hard and expanding his game with a nice little Pascal spin move to the rim.
Will
Finally felt comfortable tonight and showed Raptor fans why Masai brought this vet into the team. Don’t get down on this guy cause he can shoot the lights out some nights and he’ll come off your bench and work hard for a fair NBA contract next year. The Raptors needed a vet guard backup and Will fits perfectly. He’s staying for a few years and I suspect fans are going to really like him.
Nick Richards
Nice compact game for a 25 year old defensive center. He’s taken some steps and looks to become a solid NBA backup center. That’s a Hell of an accomplishment in life.
The Bad
Scottie
Zero. Nada. Zilch. A humbling performance for a young man who clearly didn’t have his head in the game tonight. It happens to the best of us. I sure hope this motivates him heading into the playoffs instead of getting him down on himself. A game like this in the Play In could eliminate this team in a hurry.
Theo Maladon
Young PG growing pains! Shot 5 for 14 and while 11 assists might look good the 6 turnovers proved costly. He’ll get better but tonight he showed he’s not ready for the big lights quite yet.
That was a good win for the Raptors to come up with. They looked a bit flat and struggled which is natural on the road in a back to back situation after an initial win but the bench lit the fire that made it happen. The reality is that one starter having a bad game will sink this team in the playoffs tho so there is a bad aftertaste having seen this game. It’s really important this team get into 8th place and at least have two tries for a win and one of them at home game to get into the playoffs. I also like the matchup against Boston more than the Bucks so getting into 8th and a play in win gets them a series against Boston. That’s about the best way this season can end in my mind. Eliminating Boston in the first round would really make me happy as well…