carries himself like he hit big with some dot.com stocks and has been running the bar, Gary\u2019s, somewhere in Tulum for the last decade.<\/p>\n
Were I to think of this team as I do Houston or Oklahoma City, I would be more forgiving.<\/p>\n
I admit, though, that I get lost in the game-by-game minutia, forgetting the big picture about players\u2019 long-term growth over the course of a season or over many years.<\/p>\n
Last night, in Memphis I was, gleefully, reminded of their youth and their big-picture potential.<\/p>\n
Against the Warriors, though, the Raptors decidedly removed Steph from the equation: Fred would climb into Steph\u2019s shorts and when Steph, inevitably, got by, multiple Raptors would cut him off, forcing other Warriors to do the scoring.<\/p>\n
Against, Memphis, Nurse elected to let Fred and whichever Raptor was involved in the pick & roll survive on their lonesome.<\/p>\n
He, effectively, had 3 turnovers clumsily throwing away the ball out of a double team, running headlong into the Spaghetti Man, Jaren Jackson Jr., for a poke-away, and launching an early three that converted into a fastbreak lay-up for Memphis.<\/p>\n
He was back to running up and down the court like Scottie of old, cramming and yelling, and flexing, and scoring with the confidence we\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n
He was the opposite of slow; he saw plays transpiring in 2x speed doubling posts and interceding drives just as they were unfolding.<\/p>\n
He scored all 17 of his total points in the period and shot 3\/3 from three.<\/p>\n
When the opportunities did arise, they were within the flow of the game and he took advantage of them purposefully.<\/p>\n
His 4 assists in the game were a pleasant surprise; he\u2019s not known for looking at his teammates once he\u2019s with ball.<\/p>\n
Fred hit another clutch pull-up 3 late in the 4th and ended up with a quiet 23 points and 7 assists and playing primo defence along the way recording another 2 blocks and 2 steals.<\/p>\n
Pascal played a more deferential role, taking only 12 shots in the game, but getting to the free-throw line a team-high 8 times.<\/p>\n