EVAN CHEN (9) | STAFF REPORTER
On November 29, the Raptors defeated the Phoenix Suns 112-105. The Raptors were lead by Scottie Barnes (23 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast) and Pascal Siakam (22 Pts, 9 Reb, 3 Ast) to a convincing win against the top ranked Phoenix Suns. The Raptors ended a 2 game losing skid, and put an end to the Suns’ 7 game win streak.
Suns star Devin Booker was held to just 8 points on 2-12 shooting, and other Suns star Kevin Durant scored 30 points however, he shot 11-30, really showing the Raptors defensive prowess this game. OG Anunoby lead this effort, primarily guarding Devin Booker, and holding him to a 16% shooting percentage, as well as hitting a clutch 3 late in the game. OG ended the night with 13 points and 3 rebounds.
This game was a great bounce back for Precious Achiuwa, the young forward had been struggling prior to this game and been dealing with injuries. Precious ended the night with 14 points and 10 rebounds and overall had a good night. Precious’ bounce back night really brings hope to the early struggles of this years bench, the Raptors bench simply has not been good enough and has greatly struggled at offense practically.
6th man Gary Trent Jr. has been a big reason for the bench struggles, after a breakout last year, where he averaged 17.5 points a game, his points per game has dropped to a dismal 11 per game. Not only that, he is greatly struggling with his free throw percentage, shooting a team low 57%.
New free agent signee Jalen McDaniels has also struggled as he was brought in to upgrade the bench, but so far he has not been good, seeing a couple DNPs recently. This game McDaniels played 9 minutes, with zeros all across the boards.
This game was overall a good showing, however, the front office will need to address the issues with the depth of the lineup to help relieve some of the workload off the starters. The next couple months will be crucial to the direction of the team, decisions on some expiring contracts, and if the Raptors should sell or buy at the deadline again.
