This is Ujiri’s plan, and it is a calculated risk. He has always spoken of using the back of the roster to develop younger players, and if Raptors 905 can do that, turning a player on a low salary into a valuable contributor, the Raptors will have had made a smart long-term decision. However, it does chip away at the team’s current depth. It also makes the proposition of the Raptors using all four of the first-round picks they currently own highly unlikely. So long as the team is trying to contend, you can deal with only so many projects. In the interim, the Raptors have to hope that Ross and Johnson can fill their potential more often than not, that Patrick Patterson can start hitting his shots, and that their offensive stars can carry slightly heavier loads. When all those of hopes do not pan out in a game, you get nights like Sunday in Miami. It is the current reality of what Ujiri is building.
Cory Joseph thriving in role with Raptors | Toronto Star
“Never, no,” Joseph said. “I think everybody wants to be out there and I try to give my all when I am out there.” He’s steady with the ball in his hands, but Joseph’s value comes on the defensive end of the floor. Casey seems to be growing increasingly comfortable with using Joseph and Kyle Lowry in the backcourt and bumping DeMar DeRozan to the small forward spot. With the Raptors already thin at small forward and DeMarre Carroll out day-to-day with plantar fasciitis, that trio could be logging more minutes this week. Joseph has allowed the team to play smaller ball this season. “Cory’s been playing extremely well, hard, efficient,” Casey said ahead of Sunday’s game. “Defensively he’s been a pit bull. He’s helped our defence with the second unit, so we love to go small with him. He doesn’t play small.” “I feel like I can guard a two (a shooting guard),” the six-foot-three Joseph said. “It’s just a different dynamic.”
Raptors aim to kick-start offence | Toronto Sun
The belief is the starting five will figure it out. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are proven scorers who are working in two newcomers to the starting unit. Jonas Valanciunas is scoring more this year than he ever has and is showing no signs of regressing. Crunching the numbers, particularly over the past four games, it’s hard not to pinpoint the second unit as an area where things have dropped off precipitously. Terrence Ross began the road trip with a shiny new three-year extension worth $33-million but has been struggling to show much of anything since he signed it. In 72 minutes, he scored a total of seven points in the four games and was just 1-of-12 from three for the trip. Patrick Patterson didn’t sign a big deal but his four-game swing through Dallas, Oklahoma City, Orlando and Miami produced a total of nine points in 77 minutes of playing time. Now Patterson did have a solid effort in the win over OKC and he had five rebounds in the win over Dallas, but the Raptors need him to score as well. As the team’s best three-point shooter, a four-game span in which he went 1-for-11 from distance isn’t getting it done. The second unit is already light on scoring in the minds of many, but when the offence of the two guys expected to carry that burden dries up, the scoring concerns multiply.
5 Reasons The Toronto Raptors Are For Real | Hoops Habit
Two-game losing streak aside, these Raptors are for real. They are in the top 10 league-wide in offense, defense and net rating. They’re also seventh-rated in the NBA in rebounding percent, taking in 53.2 percent of available rebounds. This isn’t a team without flaws, but it’s a team that should be able to avoid the awful meltdown that they underwent in the second half of last season, not to mention their dismal playoff outing against the Wizards. In spite of this rather ugly two-game losing streak, there’s no reason for Raptors fans to panic.
How does RealGM feel about Masai Ujiri? | RealGM
Personally I think he messed up in the off season and is not the saviour we thought he was. With the recent extension given to Terrence Ross and the fact that we overpaid for some free agents, I’m not too pleased to say the least. He isn’t talking to Ross either. In no way should Ross be doing what he is on social media right now when he’s in a slump like this. I think he needs to talk to Dwayne Casey as well about his player management on the court. Why aren’t the rookies playing when we’re either winning a lot or losing by a lot and there’s no way for us or the opposing team to catch up? Why aren’t some players getting minutes? Shouldn’t he want our rookies to develop as well? We can’t continue to ride our players with a tight rotation and overplay them like this. Come all-star break, we’ll may have a repeat of last year. Started off the season with a bang, ended it with the worst record in the league.
NBA Preview – New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors – Nov 10, 2015 | CBSSports.com
The Knicks (3-4) ended a three-game slide with a 99-95 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, winning despite shooting 39.3 percent. Carmelo Anthony had 24 points but went 8 of 20 as his shooting woes continued. His 37.1 field-goal percentage would be by far the lowest of his career. Neither of the club’s top two scorers have been particularly efficient, as rookie Kristaps Porzingis (12.3 ppg) is hitting 39.5 percent and was 3 for 10 against the Lakers. “Offensively our execution is still really an area where we have to improve a lot, which we will over time,” said coach Derek Fisher, who was ejected in the third quarter for arguing Porzingis’ foul on a Kobe Bryant 3-point attempt. New York, though, has limited its last three opponents to 40.3 percent shooting after yielding 47.2 in the previous three contests.
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