Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors faced long odds when it came to maintaining their winning streak on the road. Not only were Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes out, but OG Anunoby, Svi Mykhailiuk, and the rest of the squad had a date with the Washington Wizards coming up.
Not only are the Wizards much-improved from last season, but Wes Unseld Jr. had his team in possession of a 5-2 record and an unblemished 3-0 mark at home. None of that mattered to Nick Nurse and Toronto.
The Raptors marched into Washington and pulled out a 109-100 victory. This game started out hot and was never truly out of reach for either side, but Toronto showed enough grit to pick up their fifth win in a row and move to 6-3 on the season.
This game was as volatile as possible, as the Wizards stormed back every time it looked like the Raptors were going to pull away for good. Some Raptors players earned a gold star for how they played, and some need to burn the film and get ready for Friday.
Winners and Losers after the Toronto Raptors overcame the Wizards.
Winner: Fred VanVleet
VanVleet hasn’t always been the most consistent offensive player this year given some of his scoring droughts, but he found his stroke in this game. VanVleet simply could not miss from mid-range in this game, and it ended up being the guiding for on offense for most of the evening.
Fred VanVleet's season so far has been a master class in knowing what your team needs from you and when. Seeing star-level floor-raising stuff.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) November 4, 2021
Fred VanVleet led the Toronto Raptors to victory.
VanVleet scored 33 points on 13-22 shooting and dished out six assists despite an exhausting 43 minutes of work. Someone needed to replace the automatic 18 points Barnes was providing every game, and VanVleet did just that. VanVleet is slowly, but surely, acclimated to his new role as the leader of the backcourt.
Winner: Svi Mykhailiuk
Mykhailiuk has started the last two games with Barnes on the mend, and to say he’s taken advantage of the opportunity has been a massive understatement. While his performance tailed off a bit in the second half, it’s hard to come away from this game without being thoroughly impressed.
Mykhailiuk scored 15 points on 4-8 shooting while making a couple of 3-pointers and five of his six free throws. He’s scored 46 points over the last three games, as despite some iffy defensive results, he’s doing everything he can to show Nurse that he belongs in this rotation when Yuta Watanabe and the rest of the injured players come back.
Loser: Chris Boucher
Outside of one insane rim-rattling dunk from Precious Achiuwa, the second-year Nigerian international did not confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that he should be the starting center. Boucher was given chances to make his case for increased playing time, but he didn’t do much with them in this game.
Tonight has not been Chris Boucher’s finest.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) November 4, 2021
Chris Boucher has struggled for the Toronto Raptors this year.
Boucher recorded just five points and six rebounds in 17 minutes, a far cry from what he was doing last season. Boucher looks completely out of order on the defensive end as well, which may be the most concerning part of his decline. The season is still young, but Boucher has disappointed.
Loser: Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma has been a double-double machine in his first year outside of Los Angeles, but he didn’t look nearly as dominant in this contest. From the jump, it was clear that he didn’t have his jumper, and his attempt to discover that shot over the course of the game only led to more miscues.
Kuzma made just one of his 10 shots on the evening, finishing with two points, two rebounds, and a plus-minus of -13 in 21 minutes. Whatever the Raptors are doing to defend him is working, as he is just 5-23 from the field against Toronto this year.