While the loss to Valanciunas will undeniably hurt — the Raptors just do not have a replacement for what he provides in terms of post scoring — the loss of DeRozan last year necessitated that Lowry take on the bulk of the perimeter creation on the team, with Lou Williams helping out. This year, DeRozan is still healthy, and Cory Joseph provides a sturdier understudy for Lowry than the team had on the roster last year. Still, the Raptors will struggle to score without Valanciunas, and that is when it becomes necessary to remember what happened when Lowry was overburdened last season. Biyombo, who started in place of Valanciunas on Sunday, generally kills the Raptors’ attack. Watching opponents simply ignore him on pick-and-rolls, because they know Biyombo cannot catch a pass on the move in traffic, will get painful for Raptors fans. Of course, Biyombo will not simply eat up Valanciunas’s 27 minutes per night. The Raptors will also use smaller lineups more often, with Carroll or James Johnson playing forward, and Luis Scola or Patrick Patterson at centre.
Taking the good and bad from Raptors’ road trip | Toronto Sun
“We should be better,” Lowry said when asked to assess the team after 15 games. “We are a little bit upset about that. But I guess you take the good with the bad and you look at it and say, ‘OK, we can live with it.’ But we really should be better than that.” This past road trip alone there are at least two and possibly three games Lowry is probably referring to that were there for the taking, although he didn’t specify. The just-completed five-game, eight day road trip that began and ended in California saw both the good and the bad in this team. The good was the fight the Raptors showed throughout, even coughing up winnable games in Sacramento and Utah and having one taken from them down the stretch by some questionable calls. You will never convince me the offensive foul call on Kyle Lowry in a one-point game with 15 seconds remaining in Golden State was the correct one.
Fantasy Basketball 2015-16: A Dozen Dimes, Volume 4 | numbeFire
Six weeks takes us into January, and that’s a long time for fantasy owners to sit on Valanciunas. If you’re in a league with a short bench and no injured reserve slot, this will be a tough pill to swallow, and you might have to cut the big guy loose. Do what you have to do, of course, but Jonas Valanciunas should be held wherever it’s possible to do so. He’s not getting the minutes that fantasy owners would like (27.3 per contest), but he’s still putting up top-100 value. If he ever gets the time on the floor that he deserves, his 12.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks (a career low and down from last year’s 1.2) would have a chance to creep closer to his 15.1-point, 11.0-rebound, 1.5-block career per-36-minute rates. Toss in the solid 55.3% from the field and 77.7% from the line for his career, and he’s always a threat to post early-round value. If JV’s absence causes Toronto to slip down the standings or if they ever part ways with coach Dwane Casey, there’s even a chance that Valanciunas returns to a more favorable situation for his value than when he left.
Fantasy Impact of Jonas Valanciunas and Marcus Smart | Today’s Fastbreak
During his absence, it appears the most significant beneficiary will be Bismack Biyombo (10.2-percent owned in ESPN leagues). In Toronto’s first game without Valanciunas, Biyombo slid into the starting lineup and logged 31 minutes, tallying six points and 14 rebounds. It seems that the fifth-year big man could have some decent value for the upcoming month or two. Biyombo has for years been a block-specialist who has never really earned the minutes to showcase much else. He could now have an opportunity to post double-figure rebounds consistently while also flirting with two blocks per game. But don’t expect much else. He’s not a scorer, and his career free-throw percentage is 54.1-percent (although he’s shooting 74.2-percent from the line this season). Basically, I’d only recommend adding Biyombo if you’re looking for a short-term solution to your rebounding and shot-blocking struggles.
Kyle Lowry’s current value (Franchise player, will let us forget VCs legacy) | RealGM
Kyle Lowry is definitely in his prime, playing at a high level, and will be an all star for sure if he keeps it up. Hes making 12mll a year but tbh, he could easily be a max player out there. You might realize, looking at his stats, that he is an all around player, and also draws several offensive fouls. You could argue that Russell Westbrook or Damian Lillard are more explosive, but Lowry is more intelligent, hes a no me-first player, and takes smart decisions the majority of time, he plays for the team, and his leadership is outstanding. My point is Kevin Durant would be the perfect fit to him, since Lowry is not like Westbrook. Lowry could easily be the PG of a championship team. Hes now the face of this team. Do you think he could get a max contract that way hes been playing? And my other point is it seems like he actually found himself in this team, and if he keeps it up, his legacy will be stronger than Vince Carter’s. Have you noticed how opponent commentators respect him? Yes guys, its happening again.
Can the Toronto Raptors survive without Jonas Valanciunas? | Raptors Cage
2Pat has quickly gone from a fan favorite to a frustrating player. It’s so sad to see because he is such an awesome guy. There’s something missing this year – perhaps he isn’t as engaged because he lost the starting job. Patterson is averaging 20 minutes a game and is contributing just over 5 points a game – last year his scoring output was nearly double paired with much more efficient numbers. Regardless, now would certainly be a convenient time to break out of his slump as Patterson should see an increase in minutes. A Scola – Patterson frontcourt isn’t the worst sounding thing in the world.
Missing Jonas Valanciunas Will Test Raptors Improved Depth | Pro Bball Report
“We’re going to start Bismack to start out with to give him the first opportunity to play,” Casey said before Sunday’s game. “There are going to be different people in that position. Luis (Scola) will be there, Lucas (Nogueira) will be there some so it will be manned by committee, but the experience that Biz gives us and his understanding or our defensive schemes, his ability to protect the rim, is what we need.” This is depth that the team has not had and should be able to keep things in check at the center position until Jonas can get back.
Is It Time For The Raptors To Panic In Toronto? | Raptors Rapture
The loss of Lou Williams, coupled with inconsistency of Terence Ross along with the early season struggles of Patrick Patterson is extremely telling. Ross just recently came back from a thumb injury (more on that) and Patman can’t find his shooting touch, averaging 37.3 percent from the field, 32.1 from 3-point range and a paltry 5.8 PPG on the season thus far. With very few options off the bench outside of Cory Joseph, we can’t expect much else until they get things back on track.
‘The Giant of Africa’ tribute will celebrate Mandela’s life, legacy and ability to inspire positive change. Special guest participants will share stories and remarks on the impact that Mandela has on the world and how it transcends borders, cultures and time. The event will feature a panel discussion inside the Toronto Raptors’ practice court following the Raptors’ game against the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. Special guests currently slated to attend include sports legend Didier Drogba, as well as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Tokyo Sexwale from the Nelson Mandela Foundation and international models Alek Wek and Winnie Harlow. ‘The Giant of Africa’ event will raise funds for the Nelson Mandela Foundation as well as Ujiri’s Giants of Africa charity with the goal of continuing to create growth and development opportunities for African youth. The tribute to Mandela’s life will be honoured in-game as the Raptors take on the Warriors. To honour Mandela, the full Raptors and Warrior teams will wear special, limited edition, Adidas shooting shirts and the coaching staff and front office of both teams will don commemorative Giant of Africa lapel pins.
Will the Eastern Conference continue to out-play the West? | Nylong Calculus
The Diss’ Jacob Greenberg wrote about his feelings with the decline of the West’s non-Golden State Warriors powers on Sunday night. Certainly, entering the year, there were very high hopes for the Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans, et al. None of those four 2014-15 Western Conference playoff teams are currently over .500. In fact, the oddly good Dallas Mavericks are the West’s current No. 3 seed at 9-5. Out East, the No. 2 seed Miami Heat are 5-1 against the West. The No. 8 seed New York Knicks are 4-1. Even the impressively offensive-minded Charlotte Hornets have a 3-1 record against the West. It’s been an all-across-the-board showing from the NBA’s usually (L)Eastern Conference thus far.
All your Raptors-related articles/videos/images/stuff are belong to me: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
