On March 15, Beijing time, in an NBA regular season game that ended earlier today, the Toronto Raptors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 on the road.
In this game, Raptors player Gary Trent Jr. performed well. He played 36 minutes, shooting 7-of-19, including 3-of-9 from three-point range, and set down 28 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
After coming to the Raptors, Trent has already secured the position of the team's main player. So far this season, he has averaged 34.7 minutes per game and can get 18.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals. He shot 41.3 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three-point range. Although Trent's finishing position within the three-point line is not very good, but fortunately, his shooting stability on the outside is good, and most of the three-point line shooting rate is above average.
Of course, the team can win, and it is not enough to rely on the strength of one person. The rest of the team also performed remarkably, with Siakam playing 35 minutes, shooting 9-of-17, with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. The Raptors' rookie Scotty Barnes, who has played very well recently, also made 9-of-17 shooting, with 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
However, although the Raptors had six players in today's game to score in double figures, the team's core guard Van Vliet did not play ideally. He played 40 minutes and shot just 3-of-14 from the field, including 2-of-12 from three-point range, and had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. And in the last game, Van Vleet's hand was terrible, only 3 of 11, with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
As a team's main defender, VanVleet's performance is crucial for the team, especially during the team's current critical period of contention for playoff qualifying. The Raptors are now seventh in the East and only one win away from the sixth-place Cavaliers in the East, so every next game is important to them.