The real problem is on defence, though. Oklahoma City was pushing 70% from the field into the second quarter, with the Raptors failing to rotate in the half court and run back in transition. They won this game because the Thunder missed 11 free throws and turned the ball over 21 times, both of which could be casually related with being undermanned and overworked. “It’s not going to get it done,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “I told them until my eyes turned red and they’ve had that speech a lot. So, until it sinks in, it’s going to be a roller coaster.” At least when you’re on a roller coaster, you get to experience some dazzling heights.
Oklahoma City pays visit minus their superstars: Arthur | Toronto Star
The Oklahoma City Thunder came to town Tuesday night, dragging around suitcases full of bad luck. Durant, the reigning MVP, was sporting a walking boot. His shrieking bird-of-prey partner, Russell Westbrook, was nursing a broken hand. There were extras in the neighbouring hospital beds, and the Thunder had eight players active. It got worse, later. They were down to seven when Perry Jones left with a knee injury, and six when Reggie Jackson limped off with a thigh contusion. Jackson came back but Sebastian Telfair was ejected, and three of the six available Thunder players finished the game with five fouls. Kendrick Perkins sat alone on the bench, a great sad statue. After the game, Serge Ibaka had both knees and his left ankle in ice — he said he and Jackson were dealing with ankle injuries — and Steven Adams had ice wrapped around his right forearm. “It feels like a nightmare, and I’m ready to wake up,” said Jackson.
With strong second half, Raptors beat Thunder | Toronto Sun
For a team that built its success a year ago on defence, this Raptors squad is paying scant attention to the concept. Yes, they can score. Hell, last night even with their starting five struggling to score, they still reached 100 points and that’s largely because of the depth that guys like Vasquez and Lou Williams provide. But defensively, the want-to just doesn’t seem to be there. Even after what many considered a wake-up call in that loss in Miami on Sunday, the Raptors came out and allowed a team with eight players, a number that was down to six by game’s end as Sebastian Telfair was ejected with two minutes go for treating Tyler Hansbrough’s head like a punching bag, shoot 61% in the first half and lay another 30-point first quarter at the Raptors’ sluggish feet. “Sometime this year we are going to find some defence from somebody somewhere,” head coach Dwane Casey said sounding more wishful than expectant of that. “I don’t know when but we are going to find it.”
Lewenberg: Raptors win ugly over wounded Thunder | TSN
Coming off their first defeat of the campaign, Casey’s club vowed to get off to a quicker start against a hurting, albeit scrappy opponent. Instead, the Thunder hit eight of their nine attempts and shot 71 per cent in a 30-point first quarter. It wasn’t until late in the third, early in the fourth quarter that the home team turned up the heat, or – just as likely – Oklahoma City ran out of gas. Any positives to take from the night? “No, I don’t think so,” Kyle Lowry responded. “A win,” said DeRozan, his team’s leading scorer with 16. “That’s about it. A win. Honestly. They hit a lot of open shots. We let them shoot a high percentage in the first half and we had to fight back and get in. We’ve just got to learn from it. We can’t keep digging ourselves a hole and expect to fight back and everything to fall in our hands. So that’s one thing we definitely have to take from it.”
And then there were seven: Thunder fall in Toronto 100-88 | DailyThunder.com
Scott Brooks said he came away “encouraged” by the performance, and it’s easy to see why. The Thunder somehow had the game within reach, even nibbling the Raptors lead down to seven with 3:34 left. They got a stop, but a mistimed pass by Sebastian Telfair stopped the burst, and the Raptors came back with two points on a Patterson tip-in. After that Nick Collison layup that cut it to seven with 3:34 left, the Thunder scored just one point, coming on a Steven Adams free throw. They just didn’t have anything left to give. Quite an effort, and certainly positive in a lot of ways, but still: The Thunder are 1-4. And now might just have seven players available for Friday’s game against Memphis.
Thunder vs. Raptors: Injured Oklahoma City fall to Toronto, 100-88 | Welcome to Loud City
I cringed every time anyone went near the basket. Perry Jones left the game after colliding knee-to-knee with Patrick Patterson. Reggie Jackson was repeatedly on the floor grimacing in pain or getting attended to by trainers. At this point, I’m going to start taping my ankles and wearing a knee brace while I watch these games. It’s hard to imagine things getting much worse (that’s a positive, I guess?), but man, the Thunder can’t afford any more injuries. I’m just worried the basketball gods may go after the fans if they have no more players to go after. Be aware.
Recap: Raptors Defeat Short-Handed Thunder 100-88 | Raptors HQ
With the absence of the Raptors’ regular starting power forward and center, Patrick Patterson (14 points, two threes, eight rebounds, two steals, one block) and Tyler Hansbrough (12 points, seven rebounds) were big contributors, while Greg Stiemsma also got in some meaningful minutes (posting four points and three offensive rebounds). The other starters were mostly quiet, although DeMar DeRozan chipped in a team-high 16 points and Kyle Lowry added 5 assists and 0 turnovers, moving his season-long ratio to 23:2. Lou Williams put up 12 points in only 19 minutes, including 9 points in the fourth quarter. Terrence Ross did this (via Raptors Republic):
Observations From Raptors’ Locker Room After Beating Thunder 100-88 | Hoops Addict
Lou Williams was struggling to unplug his phone charger from the top shelf in his locker. He had to get Chuck Hayes to give him a hand. #ShortGuyProblems
Raptors beat depleted Thunder 100-88 | ESPN
“It feels like a nightmare and I’m ready to wake up,” Oklahoma City guard Reggie Jackson said. The Thunder (1-4) are off to their worst start since going 1-15 to begin the 2008-09 season. Serge Ibaka had 25 points and 11 rebounds for a short-handed Oklahoma City team playing the second game of a back-to-back. Jackson added 13 points and a career-high 14 assists. Lou Williams scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and Tyler Hansbrough got eight of his 12 at the free-throw line as the Raptors improved to 3-1. The Thunder began the game with eight active players and finished with six. Less than a minute into the second half, forward Perry Jones went down clutching his right knee after colliding with Toronto’s Patrick Patterson. Jones, who banged his knee in Monday’s loss at Brooklyn, had to be helped to the locker room and was unable to return. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow and evaluate it again,” coach Scott Brooks said.
Post Game: Toronto Raptors barely get by crippled Thunder | Raptors Cage
To add insult to injury (literally), Perry Jones III and Reggie Jackson both got banged up mid-game. To put things into perspective, the Raptors were going up against 2, maybe 3 players that deserved to even have a spot in a rotation, while the Raptors pumped out their full rotation. Jonas Valanciunas left mid-way after getting bumped in the face, and Amir Johnson was also out once again, however it really was no comparison. The bottom line is that this game should have been over by halftime, however it wasn’t over until late in the 4th quarter. The outcome of the game was a 100-88 victory, which puts the Raptors at a cool 3-1. That being said, it took a strong fourth quarter to overpower a depleted Thunder team that literally had no options for their exhausted players. The Raps were clearly cruising for most of the game, however if there is one thing they should have learned from last season, it’s that every game should be tackled with 100% intensity.
Recap: Raptors lose, Thunder lose. Everyone lost. | Raptors Watch
In fairness, the Raptors played – for the most part – really well offensively. The ball movement was much ameliorated tonight. 22 assists were handed out, and there was constant slashing leading to open looks. The problems mostly stemmed on the defensive end. Those problems tended to fade away when James Johnson, Greg Stiemsma, and Tyler Hansborough checked in. Immediately when Stiemsma entered the floor, he grabbed a rebound, then contributed to forcing a shot clock violation on the ensuing defensive possession. Hansborough had his best game of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again – Tyler Hansborough is the most improved player on the roster this season. Of course, him and J. Johnson will still do things that will pull your hair out. James Johnson at random times thinks he’s Joe Johnson, and Tyler Hansborough took two three-pointers tonight: One of which hit nothing but thing air.
Raptors still seek personality despite hot start | Sportsnet.ca
Coaches being coaches, before the game Raptors’ Dwayne Casey was trying to turn what should have been as close as a night off as you can get in the NBA – adding to the OKC woes was that Toronto was the second game of a back-to-back and the end of a five-game, 10,000 km tour to start their season – into some kind of dangerous trap. “It’s a nightmare,” said Casey before the game, ignoring the raised eyebrows in the audience. “Guys are looking at eight guys, they don’t know half of them, but they’re dangerous. It’s a wounded animal. Brooks, when told of Casey’s comment: “I’m sure he’d be thinking it would be a bigger nightmare if our entire roster was here.” Instead Brooks has been getting used to the NBA’s defending MVP sitting in on coach’s meetings and waving towels on the bench, where he’ll likely be until mid-December, most are projecting. “KD is an amazing player and teammate [but] I’m tired of having him in my huddle,” said Brooks, whose team dropped to 1-4 on the season.
Deeper Raptors Bench Continues To Establish Identity | Toronto Raptors
“There were a lot of games last year where me and Kyle had to play 40-plus minutes at times because we had to hold a lead or fight back, just because we didn’t have as strong of a bench as we do now,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We’ve got a couple guys that can take the load off when it comes to that. There are some games when we might not have to come right back in at our normal time because the second group has got it going. I think that goes a long way.” Signing James Johnson and acquiring Lou Williams over the offseason helped Toronto to add depth to its bench. Williams brings reserve scoring and the ability to heat up quickly if the starters are having an off night. Johnson gives the Raptors an athletic wing defender to slow elite scorers and create his own baskets off of broken plays. Success in the NBA is rarely as simple as just adding players to your roster, though. Things take time. Chemistry has to be built and optimal lineups have to be discovered. The first few weeks of this NBA season will be about head coach Dwane Casey experimenting with his deeper bench to see what rotation feels best.
Toronto Raptors: Is NBA Sleeping on a Contender? | Hoops Habit
Entering the 2014-15 season, the Atlantic Division is again in shambles. The Philadelphia 76ers continue to tank, while the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks are sources of uncertainty. The one team without significant question marks: the Toronto Raptors. Toronto has never repeated as Atlantic Division champions, but this is a different Raptors team from ever before. It’s not dependent upon Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, nor is it star-oriented in its nature. This is a balanced squad. Toronto has improved upon a team that won 48 games in 2013-14. Not only are the young players one more year wiser, but the recent acquisitions are of significant value. In 2014-15, the Raptors will continue to be one of the most balanced teams in the East. It needs its stars to rise and its young guns round into form, but both of those goals are attainable. So long as the Raptors stay healthy, the team is built to be a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. It’s all about continued development.
Raptors Are Winning The Grind Early This Season | Pro Bball Report
“Some nights you are going to have it and some you’re not, it’s early,” Hayes said. “Obviously we didn’t have the spark when we needed it to start the game, really the whole first half. That’s why we play two halves.” The Raptors gave up 30 points and 70.6 percent shooting from the field in the first quarter to a depleted visiting Thunder team before the second unit came in and slowly changed the tenor of the game. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win and Hayes warns that a team can’t dwell on what’s past or this league will eat you up emotionally. “Some nights you are going to be in rhythm and some nights you’re not,” Hayes said. “It’s a marathon. It’s game four out of 82. Me or anybody else, you can’t dwell on it. You move on, we have another game tomorrow. “It’s a grind. It’s a marathon. You can’t wear your emotions on your sleeve in this profession because it will eat you up.”
Tipoff: Raptors vs. Celtics | Toronto Sun
The Celtics got off to a stunningly quick start to the year with 67 points in the first half against Brooklyn, but haven’t been close to that good since. In fact, these days they are suffering from the same one or two quarters of bad basketball that have hampered Toronto’s efforts this year. The Celts gave up 40 in the first quarter in Dallas and despite a valiant comeback effort came up five points short to suffer their second loss in three games.
Raptors-Celtics: Wednesday game preview | Toronto Star
The Celtics came close to an epic comeback against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night. Having trailed by as many as 31 points, the Celtics closed the gap to just a single point late in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the rally. . . . Canadian 7-footer Kelly Olynyk is averaging just under 11 points per game for the Celtics. . . . Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo returned to the lineup in time for the Celtics’ season-opener, despite breaking his hand in September, an injury which was originally expected to keep him sidelined until late November.
15 Interesting Stats From the First Week of NBA Action | numberFire
Average free throw attempts per game for the Toronto Raptors through three contests. The Raptors were one free throw attempt off tying their franchise record on Saturday, tossing 48 freebies against the Orlando Magic. They only reached the 40 mark once all last season and are now averaging exactly that per game, with both DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry taking over 10 each per contest. That’s a pace they’re not likely to maintain, but the added aggressiveness in getting to the line bodes well for a team that has posted the league’s fourth-best offensive rating (113.3) through the first week of action.
Terrence Ross to Memphis? | RealGM
Trade Koufus, Calathes, Allen for Ross, Nogueira, Chuck Hayes’ 5.5m contract.
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