Preview: Raptors at Timberwolves
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN2 (Toronto), FSN North (Minnesota) ABOUT THE RAPTORS (44-30): DeRozan joined Vince Carter and Chris Bosh as the only players in Raptors history to post multiple 40-point games in their career. Point guard Kyle Lowry didn’t play against the Rockets, missing his fifth game in his last six with a sore back. “He’s having trouble cutting, going either way,” coach Dwane Casey told reporters. “He probably wouldn’t (have played tonight even if it) was a playoff game.” Greivis Vasquez, who has taken over Lowry’s starting role, is averaging 10 points on 39.7 percent shooting with 4.2 assists in 31.6 minutes over the last six games.
As Jonas Valanciunas prepared for the tip-off against Houston’s Joey Dorsey on Monday evening, four of his teammates stood up at the far corner by the Toronto Raptors’ bench. James Johnson, Patrick Patterson, Greg Stiemsma and Landry Fields were all out of their seats, arms outstretched. Channeling their avian instincts, they then began moving their arms up and down, as if they were flapping. This was nothing new. “I looked over there one game, and I was like, ‘What the hell are they doing?’ I didn’t understand what they were doing,” DeMar DeRozan said. Rewind more than five years to Chris Bosh’s final season on the Raptors. Journeyman wing Antoine Wright played 67 games for that team, including 10 starts. An even less noteworthy footnote to Wright’s Raptors career: He became known for hollering “Get up, bird” whenever the team charter took off, willing the airplane to work as designed.
Raptors hope for late-season push with DeRozan on hot streak | Toronto Star
“It’s really good to see him getting back,” said coach Dwane Casey. “It’s been coming and (Monday) night was just a combination of all of it coming together on both ends of the floor.” Looking ahead to the final stretch, Casey cautioned that “it’s just one game” and that the Raptors still need to focus on tightening up their defence, which allows an eighth-worst 101.2 points per game. “It’s not over with, so that’s what the message for our guys. We have the division (clinched.) We have the playoffs made, but again, we have to have the better record to lock in home court (advantage),” Casey said.
Raptors at Timberwolves: Wednesday game preview | Toronto Star
The T-Wolves have the last two No. 1 overall NBA picks, GTA products Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Bennett, who returned from an 18-game injury layoff Sunday in New Orleans, has been averaging 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Wiggins, meanwhile, has been averaging an NBA-rookie best 16.2 points per game, along with 4.4 rebounds. Monday night, Wiggins threw down a massive dunk on Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz . . . The T-Wolves have been bitten hard by the injury bug this season. They have three players listed as “doubtful” for Tuesday’s game, along with two listed as “questionable.” That’s on top of two — Shabazz Muhammad and Nikola Pekovic — who are done for the season.
Raptors hope for consistent play heading into postseason – The Globe and Mail
“We can’t play mediocre basketball and then expect to come into Game 1 [of the playoffs] and play at an all-time high if we haven’t been playing that way the final eight games of the season,” DeMar DeRozan said. “That’s our whole motivation now – playing at a high level so it carries over into the playoffs.” Six of the Raptors’ final eight games are on the road, starting Wednesday in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. The road can have challenges no matter who a team faces – the Raptors have an 18-17 away record so far this season. And six of Toronto’s final eight games are against teams still in the hunt to grab one of the final playoff spots left to be clinched in the East – Brooklyn, Boston, Charlotte and Miami.
A look at April’s opponents for Raptors.
The glass is half-full. The juice is the poor calibre of teams the Raps will be facing; the empty space is the fact 6 of the last 8 games are on the road. Our last match against a Western opponent is in Minnesota on April Fools. While the future is bright for the T’Wolves, the present is grim. We’re in Brooklyn on Friday night, facing a Nets team in serious need of a rebuild. They still have an outside shot at the last Eastern Conference playoff berth (they would have been eliminated around New Year’s in the Western), and will be a tough out. A quick flight home, and it’s back to business against an eager and well-coached Boston Celtics squad, who also want a playoff appearance. The Raps get a significant breather, then visit Charlotte. Will that game see the return of banged-up Kyle Lowry? Off to Florida for games against ever-rebuilding Orlando and the contrarian Miami HEAT, who might sneak into the playoffs. We drop into Boston, then end the season at home with Fanapalooza against
The List: Top 10 NBA backcourts | NBA.com
2) DeMar Derozan and Kyle Lowry (Raptors) The Raptors are an example of yet another backcourt that has struggled with health, as DeRozan missed much of the season with an injury and is finally beginning to return to form. He is averaging almost 23 points per game this month, his highest mark of the season, and Lowry is an All-Star. Lowry has also been injured as of late, but perhaps this rest will do the feisty bulldog some good. If the Raps want to make any noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs, this duo will need to be in prime form.
Greivis Vasquez launches his debut shoe; the North Six
Apart from their appearance, Vasquez also praised the shoes’ minimal structure and it’s effect on his comfort while playing. He says that while most of his NBA counterparts like to wear high tops while playing, Vasquez says the low-tops allow for greater movement and flexibility of his ankles on the court. He also gave great praise to the new CLUTCHFIT technology that the shoe possesses which adapts to players’ feet for a better fit. Vasquez has been wearing Under Armour shoes ever since his days playing for the University of Maryland. Vasquez referred to the brand as being an underdog brand in the world of basketball and that its a perfect fit with the culture of Toronto Raptors basketball. Vasquez is also ‘very superstitious’ about his kicks, claiming that he dropped 22 points against the Chicago Bulls the first time he wore his signature shoes.
Raptors stressing defence down season’s stretch run
“Our whole theme from here on out is going to be defence,” coach Dwane Casey said. “We’re going to score enough points. We’ll find a way to score. … We’ve got to make sure we continue to improve defensively. “The defence we play is the most important thing because that’s going to get us ready for the stretch run and the playoffs.” The Raptors next face the league’s worst defensive team as they try for just a third win in 12 road games. Toronto plays six of its final eight contests away from home. Despite their struggles on the road, the Raptors have won eight of nine in Minnesota. They’ve won seven straight overall in the series and are 19-1 against the Timberwolves since 2004-05.
Casey: Raptors focused on D from here on out – Sportsnet.ca
Without Kyle Lowry (back) for the third-straight game (and fifth in the last six), Dwane Casey’s crew held James Harden and the Rockets to less than 42 percent shooting from the floor, neutralizing the MVP candidate in the final frame behind a remarkable performance from DeMar DeRozan. “He knows my competitive spirit and I know his,” said DeRozan of Harden. “Every time we go out there and play against each other we are going to go at each other and have fun. “I’m close with his family and he’s close with my family, so it’s always cool, knowing we can cherish this 20 years, 30 years from now.” DeRozan finished the game with a career-high 42 points and tied a career high with 11 rebounds, as well. But his coach was as impressed with what he saw from the 2013-14 All Star on the other end of the floor. “The way he played defence set the tone for everyone else,” said Casey. “Guys dug in.”
DeAndre Daniels Highlights
