Raptors beat the shorthanded Lakers last night.
Last night, the Raptors take care of the shorted-handed Los Angles Lakers 126 -113 in the absence of Lebron James and Anthony Davis.
Fred VanVleet had a great night, scoring 24 points on 8-15 shooting, including 4-7 from three-point range. He also had 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He was a huge asset to the team all night, nailing key shots whenever we needed him most. His net rating for the night was +13, meaning that his team saw a boost in winning plays and avoided more turnovers while he was on the court.
Fred stated after the game, "Today, I was able to be aggressive from the jump and find different ways to score and create shots for my teammates, leading us to a win. We were very professional when we approached the game, not giving them any hope and staying locked in from the start." He added, "I think an important factor in our success today was having consistency of starters and players coming off the bench so everyone knew their role. It helps when there is rhythm and flow to energy knowing what's going on throughout the whole game which can shape your mindset."
Raptors looked good from the start and seemed to have a rhythm all night. Pascal Siakam had another great game with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. He was a major factor in their victory as he played both ends of the floor. Also, Scottie had a great game last night, making a conscious effort to get off the glass and push it, getting more offensive rebounds. Scottie makes the Raptors much more dangerous when he pushes the ball with purpose in transition opportunities. He also looked for his shot closer to the basket as supposed to settle for jumpers. He needs to do more of that moving forward.
The Raptors struggled with their three-point shooting, shooting just 27.9% from beyond the arc last night. This has been a major issue all season, and some changes need to be made if they will keep winning. It looks like head coach Nick Nurse has noticed this problem as well; he noted after last night’s game that “we’ve got to get our feet set better when we take threes… we were just rushing everything tonight”. It will be interesting to see how Nurse and his staff address this issue in upcoming practice sessions to regain momentum heading into future matchups.
The Toronto Raptors' success against the Los Angeles Lakers last night was largely thanks to their ability to come out strong and take control of the game early on.
Raptors will be taking on the Orlando Magic in a back-to-back mini series next. Having already beaten the Magic once this season, this should be an opportunity for the Raptros to gain momentum. With Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam playing at their best, the Raptors should be able to get the job done. They need to fix their shooting woes and keep the same energy on the court in order to have a successful next few games. If they can play at this level, they should be able to keep the streak going.
