Nimari Burnett | Grade: B+
He was probably Toronto’s best player remaining. He plays with real confidence in what he needs to do to improve a play around him. He had a very clean drive and spray through the defence, though it didn’t result in points. He cut well from the top of the key on a teammate’s drive and hung in the air to draw free throws. Great body control on his last steps after he picks up his dribble. He plays impressive defence. It’s no surprise he was a champion with Michigan last season. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds a two-way contract somewhere for the upcoming season. The jumper was passable, but he had a bad miss when contested. That should be the swing factor in him trying to break into the league.
19 MIN, 15 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-10 FG, 1-5 3FG, 3-3 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/-
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Jaden Bradley | Grade: D
He found it difficult to absorb usage with neither of Graves or Lundy playing. He didn’t initiate fantastically, though he did find a very nice alley-oop pass to Sharp (though it was Sharp who did most of the work there). There’s too much body movement in his mid-range jumper for consistency there, and that shot was both all he could create and also not reliable. Terrible turnovers. He was very clearly in his own head, at least until the fourth when he started to make it happen around the rim. I know he was a great college player, but he has a ways to go to make it in the G League, let alone to the NBA.
23 MIN, 8 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-0 3FG, 1-4 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/-
Tyson Degenhart | Grade: B
It looked like as he had more certainty to his role, he played with much more confidence. The finishing still wasn’t there, but he cut and passed with far more intent. His defence was definitely a step up from where it had been in previous games.
22 MIN, 7 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, +1 +/-
Tyreke Key | Grade: C-
Smoked an uncontested layup in transition. Was quiet elsewhere.
21 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-7 FG, 1-3 3FG, 0-1 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/-
Jamarion Sharp | Grade: B
He did more than dunk the basketball! He showed a very clean push shot early off a nice feed from Degenhart as he flashed into the circle off a blind double. His rim protection was excellent. His rebounding was solid. When he has a one-task job, such as catching, finishing, blocking, rebounding, he’s going to thrive. His passing, which requires more multi-step processing, was less clean, which led to the turnovers.
25 MIN, 8 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 4-5 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 3 BLK, 4 TO, -9 +/-
AJ Hoggard | Grade: B-
He was clearly the best passer and creator on the roster with Graves and Bittle out, but he still couldn’t find enough ways to score. Too many of his possessions ended in contested push shots, which he didn’t convert. His jumper was off, and his attempt at a pull-up late was even worse. His highlight was a blob lob for a dunk. Ran some nifty pick and rolls. The assists really stood out, and he could be a strong guard in the G League, but he would need to add much more scoring punch.
19 MIN, 6 PTS, 1 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 2-11 FG, 0-4 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -7 +/-
Brandon Angel | Grade: A-
The jumper isn’t pretty, but he hit one early with his foot on the line for a long 2 that he rattled in. he worked hard defensively and won a putback that stole two points out of thin air. A nice cut and scoop finish on the next play.
14 MIN, 10 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 5-7 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -7 +/-
Aziz Bandaogo | Grade: A+
Just a highlight factory. Dunks and blocks constantly, and some of those blocks were with his wrist. He had an insane help block that was disallowed because of an earlier foul on the play. Threw down a lob dunk from Hoggard in the pick and roll. Rebounded well. He’s a very, very strong athlete.
14 MIN, 6 PTS, 8 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 3-3 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 6 BLK, 2 TO, +2 +/-
Jalen Celestine | Grade: B
Pretty smooth lefty stroke on the guy. He was a sharpshooter everywhere he went in college, and it clearly traveled to Vegas, too. He hit one late in the first falling out of bounds, another in the second that was contested. There wasn’t a whole lot else to his output.
19 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 3-5 FG, 3-5 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -5 +/-
Malik Thomas | Grade: B-
He looks undersized, but he hit a very clean wing triple late in the first. Good foot prep and shot readiness. Then he proceeded to miss everything after that from deep. That’s life for shooters sometimes. The defence didn’t have sharp teeth. But then he got hot in the fourth and scored in transition and tossed in a free-throw line floater.
21 MIN, 13 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 6-14 FG, 1-7 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/-
Ivo Simovic | Grade: N/A
No Graves or Bittle in this one, as the Raptors wanted to get looks at less-sure things, presumably. And things were, as expected, less sure. There just wasn’t nearly enough creation, and the Raptors as a result were left with tough shots (and were without their best tough-shot maker in Lundy) and oodles of turnovers. A tough game that wasn’t Simovic’s fault.