10 things from Raptors-Jazz
Welcome to the 10 things recap by theScore features writer William Lou, which serves to highlight emerging trends from a Raptors perspective.
Dominant: This was the Raptors' most complete team effort of the year as a shorthanded roster without Kawhi Leonard (foot) and Norman Powell (shoulder) delivered a dominant two-way performance on the second night of a back-to-back in altitude. The Raptors recovered from a sloppy start (six turnovers in the first three minutes) to demoralize the Jazz.
Underappreciated: Credit Nick Nurse for making the right adjustments against Utah. After being bludgeoned in the paint for most of the first half, Nurse conjured up a zone defense that stymied the Jazz and sparked a 26-10 run. The Raptors then went back to playing their regular scheme, but dialed up their intensity in the second half and forced the Jazz into settling for terrible shots.
Leader: What more can you say about Kyle Lowry? He posted his ninth-straight game with double-digit assists, he pulled up from 40 with Joe Ingles right in his face, he scored 17 points on just nine shots, and he was a plus-29 in 29 minutes. Apparently, this is just the new normal.
Unselfish: Serge Ibaka didn't say a word despite going to the bench after setting a career high with 34 points against the Lakers. Instead, he just continued to pour on the buckets at an absurd rate, as Ibaka finished the night a perfect 8-of-8 from the field before fouling out on a very soft call. Ibaka has hit 27 of his last 29 shots dating back to the Suns game.
Growth: You see something new every night from Pascal Siakam. Tonight, he busted out an impromptu spinning 360 layup into the burly chest of Derrick Favors and somehow got it to drop. Siakam also tormented Jae Crowder in the post and supplied his usual energy while defending just about every position on the floor.
Encouraging: OG Anunoby filled in admirably for Leonard in the starting lineup as he chipped in with a season-high 17 points. Anunoby's finishing around the rim is markedly improved this season and he finally got some threes to fall. It's unclear if Anunoby can maintain his productivity off the bench, but that's a good problem when he's contending with the likes of Leonard, Siakam, and Danny Green.
Tough: Powell suffered a partial tear of his left shoulder and left the game after playing less than 10 seconds. He was trying to fight around a screen by Rudy Gobert and got his arm caught on an otherwise harmless play.
Caution: Raptors fans were mostly annoyed when they learned that Leonard would miss his fourth game of the season after just three weeks, but this was clearly the right call by the medical staff. Leonard was very slow during warmups and could use another few days of rest.
Disparity: The only thing to nitpick from this game was that the Raptors conceded 41 free throw attempts to the Jazz. Part of that comes down to sloppy defense on the part of Ibaka and C.J. Miles. The rest can be explained by a particularly sensitive refereeing crew that slapped Lowry with a tech for pointing out the 41-14 disparity.
Consistency: Raptors finish their four-game road trip in Sacramento on Wednesday and will then return home to play the Knicks on Saturday, where they're undefeated thus far.