Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Morning Coffee – Mon, Mar 30

It's all about James Johnson this morning.

Behind the scenes with Detroit Pistons dancer from Windsor – Windsor – CBC News

A Windsor dancer beat out more than 200 women to become of 18 women on the Detroit Pistons Dance Team.  Nathalie Couvillion is the only Canadian on the squad.  The 18-year-old said her parents take turns driving her back and forth to the Palace of Auburn Hills, which can mean crossing the border up to 14 days in a row. “My parents both have full-time jobs, so they come home from work at tow or three, and they gotta drive me to practice pretty much right away,” said Couvillion. “So it’s pretty crazy for them too.”

Your 2015 NBA Eastern Conference playoff picture and tiebreaker guide – SBNation.com

Obviously, tiebreakers only matter if the teams are tied. There is one oddity here: division winners (see first tiebreak) cannot be seeded below No. 4. But division winners don’t get home-court advantage against teams higher than them in the standings anyway. That’s unlikely to come into play in the East unless Toronto really falls off.

Raptors need consistent defence from James Johnson | Raptors | Sports | Toronto

“We worked on drills where you have to be disciplined,’’ added Casey. “We put him in situations where he’s going to be guarding guys down the stretch and into the playoffs who are very lethal offensive players and if you make a mistake in those situations, they’ll make you play. “It’s something we continue to work with, talk to him about and hopefully it’ll get better.” Casey and Johnson did speak in the hours leading up to Friday night’s tip, a conversation the two would prefer to keep private. Suffice to say, discipline and focus were among the topics discussed. “Tremendously,’’ Johnson said when asked of the impact of his chat with Casey. “Calmed down, got to relax a little bit and re-evaluate, reflect on what I have to do.”

NBA Preview – Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors – Mar 30, 2015 – CBSSports.com

Howard’s absence means Toronto (43-30) will focus its defensive effort on James Harden, who leads the NBA with 727 free-throw attempts. Harden is averaging 31.5 points in this win streak with 24 on Sunday. Casey said James Johnson did a good job in helping limit Harden to 20 points in Toronto’s 98-76 loss at Houston on Feb. 21. The coach said Johnson is one of several defenders who will take on the challenge this time. “If you make a mental mistake, he’ll make you pay,” said Casey about Harden. “Once he sees it go through the hole, it just becomes easier and easier and easier for him so we gotta give him different looks, different matchups, put him in different situations because that’s the only way you can stop him.”

Raptors Rumors: Kevin Durant to Toronto in 2016 Very Possible, Says Veteran NBA Insider : Sports : Yibada

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today added another team to the list of potential suitors for Durant in 2016. The Toronto Raptors, who have emerged as a major contender at least in the East Conference, could be a dark horse in the sweepstakes, especially with the kind of recruiting prowess general managers Masai Ujiri has shown since he arrived north of the border as the Raptors top front-office executive. “We know Kevin Durant has some fans that want him to go to his hometown team, the Washington Wizards and that put the Wiz in play. The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers should have some money to spend, and don’t discount a team like the Toronto Raptors going involved in the Durant sweepstakes,” according to USA Today Sports.

Toronto Raptors: Breaking Down Offensive Barriers

Despite running rampant to the tune of a top-seven offensive rating since the All-Star break, Toronto has been positively putrid on defense. The Raptors have been so bad, in fact, that they’re just 7-13 over their last 20 games and are operating with a negative net efficiency rating during that span.  At this point, though, rectifying defensive issues is an unrealistic venture in the vein of Milwaukee undergoing an offensive epiphany. So in order to exceed expectations, Toronto will need its five double-figure scorers to simply blow past the competition on the strength of offense alone. One of the key components of that run-and-gun offense is sixth man Lou Williams, whose scoring outbursts have represented one measure of Toronto’s success this season. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the Raptors are 13-4 when Williams tops 20 points, good for a winning percentage of .765.

Scouting report: Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors – Ultimate Rockets

Raptors 1. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry is out with back spasms. He has missed four of the past five games and could not finish the one he played. The Raptors are 3-4 in games he has missed this season. With Lowry out, Greivis Vasquez will start at point guard. 2. With the Rockets severely shorthanded inside, Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas comes into the game averaging 13 points on 61.1 percent shooting and 9.9 rebounds in his past eight games. 3. The Raptors, who have already clinched the Atlanta Division title, are tied for third in the NBA in scoring, averaging 104.2 points per game, and are fourth in points per possession. They have slipped badly defensively this season, ranking 25th in points allowed per possession.

Less is more from Raptors’ Johnson – Article – TSN

“James’ strength is also his weakness,” Casey said Sunday afternoon. “He feels like he can help on a lot of things [defensively] and gets himself in trouble. But I thought he played with a lot of discipline [Friday] and I thought that was one of the most important things.” “I made a lot of mental mistakes on defence,” acknowledged Johnson. “Switching and trying to get back to the man I switched on. So, me and Coach had a talk about that today too, about switching and staying on that man instead of trying to help and over-help. Sometimes my greatest attribute can be my weakness too, because I always want to help somebody.”

Toronto Raptors James Johnson working on defence after talk with coach | Toronto Star

He said, “(I) calmed down, got to relax a little bit and re-evaluate, reflect on what I got to do.” The 27-year-old forward has hovered between the bench and the starting lineup at different points this season. Sometimes Casey doesn’t play him at all, a decision the coach has previously explained to be based on matchups with other teams. But the newly acquired mental serenity led Johnson to a strong showing against L.A., with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and a couple steals. The next step, Johnson told reporters Sunday, is to rein in his impulse to break off his man and help out a teammate on defence.