10 things from Raptors-Nets

Here’s 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ 115-105 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

One - Sharp: The Raptors took care of business against a desperate Nets team. They kept turnovers to a minimum (7), ran them off the 3-point line (10-of-32) and bullied the Nets inside to come away with another impressive win. The Raptors should feel entirely comfortable if they face the Nets in the first round of the playoffs.

Two - Improved: The two leading candidates for Most Improved Player squared off tonight, and it was Pascal Siakam who came out on top. Both players struggled early on, but Siakam was unstoppable in the post, created for his teammates, and finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Russell finally broke free in the fourth and drained a few rainbow triples, but he bricked a corner three off the side of the backboard and was picked clean in the open floor in the final minute which sealed the loss. One game won’t decide who wins the award, but Siakam showed once again why he should be the favorite.

Three - Important: Brooklyn gave Siakam the Ben Simmons treatment by ignoring him on the perimeter, but he made them pay by either knocking down the open look or using the extra space as a runway on his drive. It’s important that Siakam keeps his confidence and sticks with the jumper, because he’ll face more of the same treatment in the playoffs. Siakam had only hit 8-of-30 from deep over his last 10 games, but he hit 3-of-7 tonight.

Four - Direct: Kawhi Leonard was relentless in attacking the rim despite getting no love whatsoever from the officials. Nets rookie Rodions Kurucs got under Leonard’s skin by pushing him around when nobody was looking, so Leonard got his revenge by taking the Latvian into the post and faking him out of his shoes with a ball fake, or simply by blowing past him and throwing it down. Leonard may be quiet, but he doesn’t take nonsense from anyone.

Five - Chef: Serge Ibaka had one of his best games of the season as he finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds while also playing the entirety of the fourth quarter. Ibaka has shot just 27 percent from deep this year, but he hit a perfect 5-of-5 from three and even had the confidence to pull-up from 27-feet in the fourth quarter of a tight game. Ibaka rediscovering his outside stroke would be a huge bonus, but chances are that defenses will continue daring him to take the shot.

Six - Reserved: The Nets opened the game with a zone defense, and it featured as a main staple of their coverages all night. The simple counter would have been to feed Marc Gasol in the post and let him make plays, but Nick Nurse kept that look in the chamber in the event that the two teams did indeed face each other.

Seven - Bullies: Instead, the Raptors beat the zone by outmuscling the Nets on the inside. Not only were the Nets smaller across the board in terms of personnel, but playing zone also put them out of position. Toronto grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, which translated to 18 second-chance points, with Siakam doing most of the damage with eight points on putbacks.

Eight - Concern: Credit Kyle Lowry for making a handful of plays down the stretch — including a slick pass to Siakam for a corner three — but the Raptors need to get him going ahead of the playoffs. Lowry is averaging 11 points over his last eight appearances, and he has only shot 50 percent in two of those games. Lowry and Gasol have incredible chemistry in the two-man game, so start there.

Nine - Banged up: Aside from some minor tweaks, Nurse’s main priority should be on keeping his team healthy. To that end, OG Anunoby (concussion protocol) went through a full workout ahead of tonight’s game and looks to be ready to go, while Danny Green (jammed left thumb) shot just 1-of-5 from the field and could probably use a bit more rest.

Ten - Look ahead: The playoff picture isn’t any clearer after tonight’s results. The Nets and Magic are tied at 39-40 for the seventh and eighth seeds, while the Pistons lost again and are only a half-game up for sixth. Out of those three, the Nets would figure to be the easiest playoff opponent for the Raptors.

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