Listen to That’s A Rap #15: Post-Game 3 vs. Magic Reaction

Tell me if this sounds familiar. Raptors jump out to a double-digit lead before the Magic scores anything. Toronto has a dominant performance from their star forward. Raptors overcome a bad officiating crew to pull out the victory.

The outcomes between Game 2 and 3 were very different, but the fact of the matter is Toronto regained home-court advantage and look ready to go for the jugular on Sunday - equipped with the 2 best players in the series!

On The Latest Episode:

In Game 2, Kyle Lowry answered pre-game critics and scored early. In Game 3, Pascal Siakam answered pre-game critics by draining a 3 in the first couple possessions.

Turnovers? Poor officiating? Missed calls? Flu-like symptoms for Kawhi Leonard? Toronto overcame all of these in squashing Orlando’s comeback dreams.

Pascal Siakam improvement from game-to-game has been a microcosm of his season. Call out a gap in his game and he’ll fix it immediately. While Spicy P owned the game, Kyle Lowry owned the moment, pulling in a game-sealing rebound in the dying seconds. Serge Ibaka was the underrated X-factor, filling in superbly while Marc Gasol battled foul trouble (*ahem* an inconsistent whistle)

As the team looks to take a stranglehold on the series, 3-point defense needs to tighten up. Nick Nurse also needs to find a way to get Fred VanVleet back to form at the offensive end.

Assuming Kawhi recovers from his illness by tomorrow, we’re really just nitpicking with the Raps. Orlando finally got their breakout game from Nikola Vucevic, and Toronto still dominated points in the paint (52-36). It’s time to extinguish the Magic!

1:15 - Numbers

8:50 - Three positive takeaways

10:50 - Is Siakam the Raptors (early) Playoff MVP

14:35 - Improvements for Game 4