So, about the Raptors and their long term plan to land Andrew Wiggins… | Raptors HQ
I’m just like all these fans in Toronto, I love to dream about the team’s future. In private conversations, I’ve laid out the elaborate path of how Durant will eventually join the Raptors. You see: we win 50-plus games this season and next, make a couple of deep playoff runs, Durant comes to Toronto for All-Star Weekend next year and Toronto fans absolutely shower him with love in what turns out to be a recruiting pitch before he hits free agency, Bruno Caboclo shows real signs of being the next actual Kevin Durant, and we had into the summer of 2016 as a legitimate contender in the East, and we happen to have the Knicks first round pick which turns out to be the second overall pick. Durant looks at all this and signs. You see how easy that is? To just manufacture any scenario and talk yourself into a path that makes sense because it fits what your end goal is. That’s why I hate any Wiggins-to-Toronto narratives being spread and worst, being discussed.
Raptors’ Terrence Ross going through growing pains | Toronto Sun
“It’s going to be an adjustment for everybody,” Casey said. “For Kyle (Lowry), for Terrence (Ross), for James (Johnson), all of our wings because, when your Queen Bee comes back, everybody has to adjust. “Everybody did a heck of a job when he was out, but now we have to come back to our old rotations, our old play calls and our old sets for the way they are intended, with DeMar running them. Everyone is going to have to make adjustments and it’s not easy. They have had kind of free run a little bit, but again, it’s about the team. It’s not about one guy. It’s not about DeMar or Terrence. We have to go with the guys whose feet are in the circle. If his feet aren’t in the circle, we’ve got to go with other guys. It’s very important to all of us to have our feet in the circle.”
Fans All-Star Votes Matter To Raptors Jonas Valanciunas | Pro Bball Report
“I do, I do follow (All-Star voting),” Valanciunas said. “It means a lot to me. I want to be there if that’s possible. I am eighth in the frontcourt, so I still have a chance. “(Fans) giving that effort and showing that love for me, that’s amazing. I like it and I feel support from outside and that’s great, that’s what we need. That’s what I need as a young player.” Valanciunas is an outgoing and fun-loving young man who came to the NBA from Lithuania with a history of playing to the fans and for the fans outside of what’s expected of him on the court. He revels in a crowds’ enthusiasm and he wants that excitement for his teammates as badly as for himself. “(Kyle Lowry) is close and I hope he is successful in getting voted in,” Valanciunas said. “I wish him good luck. It means a lot (to get voted in by the fans) because this shows the face of the team to have players in the starting five at the All-Star game. It is better for us.”
Butch Carter Rips Rogers Radio Coverage of Toronto Raptors | Toronto Sports Media Blog
Tonight’s radio not very good, did not know Eric switched. Not very good. How do you put Eric in a position to fail? He has never done p/p
Toronto Raptors face stiff test in Kyle Korver and the surging Atlanta Hawks | National Post
This gets at the problem of playing the Hawks: It is difficult to know where to put your defensive focus, because there are too many players to worry about. Since they lost 126-115 to Toronto on Nov. 26, the Hawks have gone 24-2, with winning streaks of nine, five and 10 games. During the stretch, which has included wins on the road against the Rockets, Mavericks, Trail Blazers, Clippers and streaking Pistons, the Hawks have played the league’s sixth-best offence and best defence. The latter has coincided with Horford’s return to full health following last season’s torn pectoral muscle. The former has to be the bigger concern for the Raptors. The Hawks have attempted the seventh-most three-pointers in the league, and connect 38.5 per cent of the time, second to only Washington. It is Korver’s shooting — a ridiculous 53% on 219 attempts — that contorts and destroys a defence’s integrity. The shooting threats are all over the floor, though, from starting shooting guard DeMarre Carroll to Millsap to reserve big man, Mike Scott.
Raptors-Hawks: Friday game preview | Toronto Star
The Hawks gave Al Horford and Kyle Korver a night off for rest on Wednesday but both are expected back . . . Their absence didn’t mean a thing, as the Hawks extended their NBA-best winning streak to 10 games by beating Boston . . . Despite Atlanta’s lofty record, the Hawks have lost two games to Toronto already this season . . . This is the latest in a season that Atlanta’s led a conference since 1993-94 . . . Not only have the Hawks won 10 in a row, they’ve also won 10 consecutive road games.
I can haz yo links??! rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
