Raptors kick the Hornet’s Nest
The Raptors start a holiday stretch where four of their next five games are on the road — starting with a visit in Charlotte to play the Hornets.
Historically, Charlotte has been a tough place for the Raptors who have lost 10 of their past 12 in the Queen City. None of that mattered though as the Raptors handled the Hornets 129–111.
This marked their fourth victory in a row as they improved to 10–1 in their last 11 games and 21–8 on the season. Incredible!
Let’s a take a closer at this victory with 4 things we liked and 1 thing we disliked.
Traditionally, we save the dislike for the end but let’s get it out of the way early.
DISLIKE — First Quarter Woe
To be honest, there wasn’t much to dislike in this game. The Raptors easily cruised to the win as the Hornets never really posed a threat.
But if we were to pinpoint one dislike, it was the first quarter. The good guys led by as many as 8 in the opening frame but ended up trailing by 4 (26–22) after the first 12 minutes.
The Hornets ended the quarter on a 14–2 run as the Raptors routinely had defensive lapses as well as missing open shots.
LIKE #1 — Pascal Siakim: Momentum Changer
With the Raptors struggling early, it was Siakim who changed the momentum as soon as he entered the game. He was in full-on attack mode, he was getting to the rim, he was drawing fouls, and his energy was contagious.
As soon as he checked in, the momentum swung and the Raptors never looked back. After losing the opening frame, they outscored the Hornets 107–85 the rest of the way — which included a patented second quarter beatdown, 41–21.
Siakim’s kryptonite this season has been his free throws. Entering this game, he was 25% at the charity stripe. That is not a typo. But kudos to the young fella as he finished the game perfect from the free throw line (4-for-4).
He ended up with 12 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
LIKE #2 — DeMarVP
This week we were the guest on the South of the 6ix podcast, where we raved about DeRozan’s underappreciated dominance. Give it a listen:
DeRozan is having an MVP caliber season which was on full display against the Hornets.
He finished with 29 points (10-of-15) to go along with 3 three-pointers and 8 dimes. His excellent footwork confounded the Charlotte defence — check out this crafty left-handed finish:
In case you wondering, here is our MVP ballot at this point in the season:
- LeBron James
- James Harden
- Kyrie Irving
- DeMar DeRozan
- Kevin Durant
LIKE #3 — Power Serge
Ibaka is proving to be that effective third option on offence that the Raptors have never had. Here are his stats for the month of the December:
Points: 18.7
FG%: 57.1
3PT%: 57.1
Ibaka continued his strong play against the Hornets with 24 points (11-of-16), 2 threes, 5 boards, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. Highlights included this cram on Marvin Williams:
LIKE #4 — OG brings the rain
The rookie went off against the Hornets! OG finished with a career high 20 points (7-of-9), a career high 6 three-pointers (6-of-7), and he finished a team high +28 (the next closest was Ibaka at +17).
Enjoy this 60 seconds of OG highlights from his career game :
OG is already a difference maker on a team with championship aspirations — just imagine how great he will be in a few years.
UP NEXT
The Raptors immediately head to Philadelphia to play the 76ers on Thursday night — the second game of a back-to-back for the good guys.
The Sixers will be without Joel “Mr. Glass” Embiid. Hopefully the Raptors can find a way to get the W in the city of brotherly love.
Until next time…
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