Two of the season’s toughest games are on the horizon. Heading into Monday’s play, the Trail Blazers and Warriors had the best two records in the league, and the Raptors visit Portland on Tuesday, for their last game of the calendar year, and Golden State on Friday. The Trail Blazers are sort of the Western Conference version of the Raptors, albeit with a bit more of a pedigree: a likely playoff team before the season started, they have emerged as a conference powerhouse, one of just four teams currently in the top-10 in both offensive and defensive rating this year. Golden State, meanwhile, is the only team with a better point differential than the Raptors. The Warriors have the best defence in the league. Both teams are missing their starting centres, Andrew Bogut and Robin Lopez, respectively, which chips away at their defensive integrity. Still, they are both wrecking crews: Portland boasts high-end threats from four spots on the floor, while Golden State has two of the best shooters on the planet, not to mention an unusual defensive scheme that relies on defenders switching assignments on the go. It is hard to prepare for.
Raptors spreading workload without injured DeRozan | Toronto Sun
“For us, it’s going to be a different story every night,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said with respect to the rebounding load. “One night it’s going to by Tyler, one night it’s going to be Jonas, one night it’s going to be Amir, the next night it’s going to be Pat and maybe Chuck. We’ve got to make sure we tag-team and one of those guys comes out and gives us something in the paint.” It’s all part of what Casey and his coaching staff have had to do in the absence of DeRozan whose defence was vastly underrated and whose absence has been felt at both ends of the floor, but even more on the defensive end.
Toronto’s roster tactic? Place trust in the undervalued guys | The Globe and Mail
Between Williams, James Johnson and Kyle Lowry, the Raptors’ defining roster principle has become, “We recycle your unwanted players.” If there is a secret to the surprising rise of this Toronto team, it’s that wide streak of thwartedness. There isn’t a single player on the team who was widely coveted when he was acquired. In most cases, this is a team full of guys only the Raptors wanted – which is why they came so cheaply. On some level, every one of these players has been doubted in his career – often by the Raptors themselves. Some (Ross, Jonas Valanciunas) are still being doubted, and with good reason. Perhaps that outsider streak is what binds and drives them. It’s as good an explanation as any other.
Weekly Rap: Raptors looking golden out West | Sportsnet.ca
A big feature of this Raptors’ road trip has been the amount of quality Toronto is seeing at the point guard position, making Kyle Lowry that much more important to the team’s success. Through three games so far out on the road, Lowry has delivered and can be said to be flat-out dominating his matchup. Against the Derrick Rose and the Bulls, Lowry dropped 34 points on 12-for-22 shooting and seven dimes, while Rose had 29 points and three assists; going up against the Clippers, Lowry had 25 points and seven assists to Chris Paul’s 10 and three; and versus the Nuggets Lowry put up 30 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Ty Lawson had 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Up next for Lowry will be Damian Lillard, Steph Curry and the three-headed point guard monster of Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas. Should he overmatch these guys Lowry’s MVP candidacy should definitely pick up more than a little bit of steam.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors Preview | Blazer’s Edge
The Raptors’ defense isn’t quite on the same level as its high-powered offense, putting up fairly mediocre numbers in most statistical categories the last couple weeks. Toronto allows opponents to score a ton of points, move the ball with ease and pick up decent shooting percentages from both inside and outside of the arc. They won’t force many turnovers and they put opponents at the foul line often, but they do prevent teams from taking easy threes and play good transition defense. Portland brings the league’s most prolific three-point shooting offense into tonight’s matchup, boasting a 43.2 percent clip from deep the last five games while getting up over 32 threes a night in that span. The Blazers are the first team in NBA history, in fact, to convert 16 or more outside shots in three consecutive games. Portland is shooting reasonably well from other areas of the court and has been picking up a decent amount of assists lately, but the team has struggled at times with turnovers and doesn’t draw many free throws.
Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors: Game preview | OregonLive.com
Portland has won eight of its last nine games and owns the most wins in the NBA. … The Blazers defeated the New York Knicks 101-79 Sunday night, as Matthews made six threes and finished with a season-high-tying 28 points. … The Blazers have made at least 16 threes in three consecutive games. They’re the first team in NBA history to accomplish the feat. … Freeland, who is starting in place of injured center Robin Lopez, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Knicks, recording the first double-double of his career. Freeland has snagged 27 rebounds the last two games. … After struggling with his shot most of the season, in part because of injuries, Batum is starting to find his groove. Over the last two games, he’s made 11 of 16 shots, including 6 of 11 threes, and has scored 31 points. He scored a season-high 17 points against the Knicks. … The Blazers have won 12 of their last 13 home games and are 14-2 at the Moda Center this season. They are tied with Toronto for the most home wins in the NBA. … The Blazers have outscored their opponents in each of the last eight quarters. … Portland is 14-1 against the Eastern Conference. … This is the third game of a seven-game home stand for Portland.
Preview: Portland vs. Toronto | Portland Trail Blazers
Aldridge is questionable for this one, and the Raptors would certainly like if he took another night off. He’s averaged 27.7 points and 13.5 rebounds in his last six against Toronto, and Portland has won 10 of the last 11 in the series. Even if Aldridge can’t go, the Blazers’ long-distance shooting has been helping make up for his absence. Portland has taken an average of 36.7 3-pointers over the past three games, and made 46.4 percent of them – including 6 of 9 in the first quarter against the Knicks. “It’s contagious. It was just a good vibe from the jump,” said Matthews, who’s 18 of 37 from long distance in that stretch. “I think I missed the first one, but then (Nicolas Batum) hit one, Damian hit one and I think the floodgates really opened.”
Toronto Raptors at Portland Trail Blazers: Tuesday NBA game preview | Toronto Star
Portland’s Aldridge is expected to return after missing two games with an upper respiratory illness. That should worry the Raptors since he’s had eight straight double-doubles against them, and has had games of 23 rebounds and 27 points. . . . The Blazers are the first team in the NBA to reach 25 wins on the season. . . . Portland’s an impressive 14-1 against Eastern Conference opponents. Toronto is 9-2 against teams from the West. . . . Freeland is filling in for the injured Robin Lopez and notched his first double-double on Sunday. It came against the Knicks, but it still counts.
LaMarcus Aldridge returns to practice as Trail Blazers prepare for Toronto Raptors | OregonLive.com
When Toronto Raptors come to Portland on Tuesday it will be a reunion of sorts between Raptors head coach Dwane Casey and Stotts, who were assistants on the Dallas Mavericks staff together from 2008 to 2011. Stotts admitted “it’s different” coaching against Casey or Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, but downplayed the coaching matchup as a key part of Tuesday’s game. It’s good to see him. I never look at it as necessarily a coaching matchup,” Stotts said. It’s Toronto versus Portland.”
Bruno Caboclo’s Lack of Minutes Shows Why Teams Need Single NBADL Affiliation | Ridiculous Upside
In Caboclo’s much anticipated debut with Fort Wayne, he totaled 20 minutes. He scored 13 points on 14 shots, adding seven rebounds and two blocks, but also committing four turnovers. That type of stat line highlights the promise in Caboclo, but also the need for development. If he received bigger chunks of minutes, it would allow the Brazilian to work through his issues and develop. But as we saw in his second game, the minutes just weren’t there, as Bruno only played a total of four minutes. It’s difficult for development to happen without minutes, why is why teams usually send players to the D-League. Twenty-four minutes in two games is not ideal for Caboclo or the Raptors. If Toronto had the advantage of having a single affiliate in the Development League, Caboclo could be thrusted into the Raptors’ individual minor league system, which, assumedly, would be very similar to the system the Raptors run in the NBA. But moreover, the single affiliate would have a earned interest in getting Caboclo the minutes he needs to develop into an NBA player. Instead of seeing him play four minutes like last night, he would be playing 25-30 minutes per game, developing every minute on the floor. In Fort Wayne, the focus isn’t just on Caboclo, it’s on the entire team, a team trying to win games.
How Good Are Toronto Raptors? | VAVEL.com
The east is a tight conference with not much separating the teams. Chicago’s success will depend on the health of Derrick Rose. Washington is a young and exciting team. Paul Pierce was a great addition for them, giving that team more leadership and a guy who knows how to win. Lastly, Atlanta is the dark horse team. They are a team who has been healthy, and they can spread you out on the floor and have two bigs in Paul Millsap and Al Horford who are pick and pop guys. So for the Raptors, nothing is guaranteed. They are going to have to keep working, watch film, and try to stay healthy when April comes. The Raptors have the talent and the chemistry to succeed. They just have to continue to play the right way. Last year, they learned in the playoffs that they need to play with physicality and intensity for a full 48 minutes. Now, with that experience under their belt, they can better prepare themselves, and they know what to expect. They will most likely win their division since the Atlantic division is noticeably weak, and get home court advantage in the first round. This team does not give up. They compete hard and share the ball. How far they go remains to be seen but for Raptors fans, this is an exciting time.
Amir Johnson in decline? Look again. | RealGM
In this case numbers don’t tell the whole story. It’s like how I was talking about Rose’s numbers the other day. Rose is putting up some really good numbers, but you watch him, and you can tell that he’s just not the same player. That’s how I see Amir. He’s no longer the durable, energetic, and athletic player he once was. Fortunately for him, he has a high IQ, and makes a huge impact on the game, injured or not. His game isn’t overly reliant on athleticism. However, the Amir Johnson from 2 years ago would really make this team dangerous.
Terrence Ross’s Existence | Hoops Habit
T-Ross’ last six games (including Saturday) acts as a microcosm of the overall bewilderment — a run that features a whopping two free throws … two free throws! … That span calculates to 172 minutes played; with 45 attempts from downtown over that same time on the floor, Ross has become dangerously predictable. A tremendous skill set being kept under wraps, by none other than Ross himself. One of, if not the most, athletic players this squad owns is currently being dismissed on any opposing team’s game plan — every Raptors’ fan remembers when Vince’s rim-attack came to a screeching halt, that ghost has been reincarnated through Ross.
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