Why the Toronto Raptors are paying DeMarre Carroll all that money | National Post
Much has been made about the Raptors’ seemingly eternal search for a small forward, but positional designation is more or less meaningless in today’s NBA. Carroll will be sliding over to power forward often during Valanciunas’s absence, and he was doing so even before the centre’s injury. What the Raptors have really been looking for is a sturdier, bulkier swingman who can passably guard the league’s bully wings, of which James is the best. (He also qualifies as “the best” in several other categories.) While there is no expectation that Carroll will shut down James by himself, Dwane Casey can at least hope that having Carroll means he does not have to cycle through an endless stream of options for James’ primary defender. There will be no, or at least not much, cycling between DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, James Johnson and Patrick Patterson.
Raptors’ Carroll won’t roll out the red carpet for King James | Toronto Sun
“Best player in the world, can do it on both ends, gets his teammates involved,” Carroll said of James after practice at the ACC on Tuesday afternoon. “The key thing is just to make it difficult for him. Get out there, make it difficult for him.” Sounds easy. It isn’t, though there are a few things Carroll will try to do when the East’s best team hits town on Wednesday for Drake Night. “First and foremost you just take away him scoring, taking away from those easy dish passes to guys for three-pointers. He can do it all, so we just make it difficult for him, always be up on him, being physical,” Carroll said. “He’s not going to have his best game, he’s going to score points, but he’s not going to have his best game.”
Carroll embraces challenge of guarding LeBron | TSN
With Jonas Valanciunas, the team’s most efficient scorer, out indefinitely rehabbing a broken bone in his non-shooting hand, their offence should continue to be a work in progress over the coming weeks. Carroll is one player who could see an uptick in scoring opportunities. In the first half of Sunday’s 91-80 win over the Clippers, he hit all eight of his shots and matched a season-high with 21 points to lead Toronto. Although his priority remains on the defensive end, his offensive game has expanded over the years – adding a three-point shot and mid-range floater, specifically – so, you shouldn’t be surprised to see him put points on the board. “I can score when I want to,” he insisted. “it’s just trying to get acclimated, understanding the offence. I’m a defensive-minded [player] first. As long as we’re doing well on defence, I’m happy. Offence is always going to be secondary. We’ve got a lot of scorers, we’ve got a lot of guys who can score the ball, so offence will come and go.”
Smith: Unselfish, defensive-minded basketball key with absence of Valanciunas | Sportsnet.ca
To Casey’s point, that’s what happened on Sunday. After moving the ball so fluidly and unselfishly in the first half, Toronto looked like a completely different team in the second. The third and fourth quarters were plagued by a stagnant offence featuring little-to-no ball movement and almost zero communication. No one player can— or should— be singled out for the Raptors’ lack of chatter, but Kyle Lowry will need to be the one to keep Toronto on track in Valanciunas’ absence. Unselfishness from each player is paramount right now— not ‘hero ball’. Lowry can establish that selfless tone and style, just as he seemed to be doing with his big man during the first couple of weeks of the season. “It’s a synergy,” said assistant coach Jamaal Magloire of Lowry and Valanciunas’ on-court relationship this season. “They need each other in order to become successful. The more attention that Jonas commands makes Kyle’s life easier and the same thing vice-versa. They [understood] that it’s important that they play well together.”
Quick Stat Hits: With Valanciunas out, let’s look for a silver lining | Raptors HQ
If Biyombo is starting, who backs up the 5-spot? Well, judging by the first game and a half with Valanciunas out, we have our first big silver lining. Apparently, it will be James Johnson. Now, I’m of the opinion that Johnson is best as a wing defender, but he’s pretty great no matter what you ask him to do. Let’s take a look at his performance this year without Biyombo or Valanciunas on the floor with him.
Why The Toronto Raptors Need Kristaps Porzingis To Cool Off | The Runner Sports
t’s still early in the season and there’s plenty of time for the Knicks and Nuggets to really stink up the joint, but it would be hard to play worse than the Lakers and Sixers, so they have their work cut out for them. The Raptors may not end up getting a Top 5 pick out of the Bargnani trade, but it’s still something to keep your eye on over the course of this season. If you ever get tired of watching a DeMar DeRozan isolation play or wonder why Bismack Biyombo is getting 4th quarter minutes instead of Jonas Valanciunas, at least you can smile when a Knicks or Nuggets loss crawls across the ticker on the bottom of your screen. Zing!
James, Cavaliers will test Raptors’ off-season rebuild | Toronto Star
Back in Toronto with a two-game win streak that gave a five-game western swing a better hue at its end, Raptors coach Dwane Casey didn’t want the conversation to devolve into one-on-one match-ups. Still, Carroll highlights the changes that were made to this team in the off-season. He is the Raptors’ stopper, the guy who draws those mission impossible assignments when they roll through town. “It helps tremendously and that’s one reason why we have DeMarre here,” Casey said. “But again, with him, it’s still a team defence. “We’re not playing against the LeBron Cavaliers, we’re playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and so we’ve got a whole team to defend. (James is) a huge part of what they do . . . but we have a whole lot of people to contend with, with their unit. Kevin Love is playing at a high level, (Matthew) Dellavedova is playing really well. J.R. Smith is shooting the ball extremely well. We have to make sure we understand what we’re doing in every situation versus their ball club.” The Cavs will come in looking for their fourth win in a row, but have the bigger picture on the horizon, even if the quarter-mark of the season isn’t even yet upon us.
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.
In our 22nd episode, Koreen and MacKenzie discuss what the Raptors will look like without Jonas Valanciunas, if the Golden State Warriors will ever lose again and preview the third annual Drake Night.
Ep. 11: Raptors vs Cavaliers, Jonas Valancuinas Injury W/ Zarar Siddiqi | Joshua Santos Report
It’s a new episode of Coast 2 Coast! On this podcast I talked with Zarar Siddiqi. Siddiqi is a writer and podcaster at ESPN Truehoop Network’s Toronto Raptors blog, www.RaptorsRepublic.com
Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors – November 25, 2015 | Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers have made at least 11 three-pointers in six of the last seven games and is averaging 10.2 three-pointers per game this season (3rd in NBA). The Wine and Gold closed out their homestand with a 117-103 win over Orlando on Monday, connecting on a season-high 18-35 (.514) shots from three-point territory, just one triple shy of tying their franchise record of 19 (11/15/14 vs. ATL). In Monday’s win over Orlando, the Cavs dished out a season-high 34 assists on 43 field made field goals, while having just 10 turnovers. On the season, the Cavaliers are averaging 25.1 assists per contest (4th in NBA).
Cavaliers-Raptors Preview | Yahoo Sports
The onus to score for the Raptors is now even more on the backcourt of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan after Jonas Valanciunas fractured his left hand in the second-to-last game of the trip. But it was Carroll (21 points) and Luis Scola (20) who stepped up in Sunday’s 91-80 win over the Clippers, while Bismack Biyombo started at center and finished with 14 rebounds. Casey said he anticipates playing small more frequently with Valanciunas out, which will likely include James Johnson getting time at center. That shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance against Cleveland, which is splitting its center minutes between Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao with Timofey Mozgov out with a shoulder injury. James has a personal nine-game winning streak in Toronto dating to his first stint with the Cavaliers.
Road To The Six: Week 1 Recap | Toronto Raptors
Raptor fans will be curious on the play of Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira. It’s been a roller coaster ride for the two Brazilians – Caboclo started off the year looking great, showing the potential of why he was selected 20th overall more than a year ago. Through two games, the young forward averaged 20.5 points per game along with 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Caboclo struggled in the next three games, struggling with foul trouble and being held to just 11 points per game on 28% from the field. Minutes are the key to Caboclo’s development early on, and he’ll need to stay out of foul trouble to get meaningful minutes in the NBA D-League. Nogueira has also seen inconsistent minutes mostly due to foul trouble. Despite this, the 7’1 centre has looked very solid, blocking shots and setting up his teammates, a skill not many people knew he had. In just 22 minutes a game, “Bebe” has averaged 8.3 rebounds to go along with 3.8 assists and 2.8 blocks per game. His best game came in the squad’s home opener, flirting with a triple double with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocks. Nogueira will not be with Raptors 905 in the immediate future after being recalled to the Toronto Raptors.
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