Welcome to the 10 things recap by theScore features writer William Lou, which serves to highlight emerging trends from a Raptors perspective.
Ugly: This one was borderline unwatchable. A shorthanded Raptors side without five rotation players fought valiantly for most of the game before completely succumbing to the altitude in the fourth quarter.
Frigid: Chalk it up to fatigue or just a lack of ability, but the Raptors shot 7-of-35 from deep, including just 1-of-12 in the fourth quarter. At least half of those looks were wide open, but that was also the plan for the Nuggets as they packed the paint and dared Toronto's so-called shooters to hit from outside.
Difficult: Kawhi Leonard still finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but don't let the gaudy statline fool you. The Nuggets made life hell for Leonard by repeatedly swarming him with extra defenders on his drives, while Torrey Craig spent the entire night in Leonard's jersey.
Dynamic: It's a testament to Leonard's greatness that he was still able to score efficiently by capitalizing each time the Nuggets went to single coverage. Otherwise, Leonard did a good job of finding the open man, but the Raptors just couldn't hit wide open shots.
Engaged: Delon Wright got the start with both Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet sidelined, and he responded by playing with more energy than any of his teammates. Wright also showed a sheer determination for getting to the rim that is too often lacking. He'll earn more minutes and a bigger role if he can play with this type of hustle every night.
Struggling: It's been a tough year all around for OG Anunoby, both on and off the court. He hasn't found his stride with the second unit, his 3-point shot is painfully erratic, and he suddenly can't hit free throws. Anunoby is now just 7-of-24 from the charity stripe this season.
Unplayable: The Raptors lost yet another game because of their bench. Outside of a short spurt from Lorenzo Brown to end the first quarter, the second unit was downright pathetic. Greg Monroe was unable to assert himself in the post, nobody could find him in the pick-and-roll, and the outside shooters couldn't buy a bucket.
Difficult: This was yet another example of Serge Ibaka being manhandled by a traditional center in Nikola Jokic. The Raptors as a whole did a commendable job of helping Ibaka on the glass, but Jokic had his way with Ibaka in the post because he could effectively push him around. The same issue cropped up with Jusuf Nurkic in the loss to Portland.
Wounded: Danny Green was forced to exit after getting poked in the eye, although he did return later in the fourth quarter. The Raptors could hardly afford another injury, as they're already down Kyle Lowry (back), Fred VanVleet (back), Pascal Siakam (back), Jonas Valanciunas (thumb), and Norman Powell (shoulder).
Overall: Going 2-2 on the toughest road trip of the season isn't a bad outcome. Toronto has already played nine of 15 road games against the Western conference, and won't play in any time zone outside of Eastern or Central for the remaining 50 games of the season.
