Day of rest for Raptors leads to strong practice | Toronto Sun
Starting small forward DeMarre Carroll presents the opposite problem compared to some of his worn-down teammates. He’s been out for nearly two months now following knee surgery and will have to be worked back into the lineup, since he is expected to be a key piece in the post-season.
“It’s not going to be easy, we’ve added a lot of wrinkles that he needs to pick up and just getting into NBA timing is going to be tough to do,” Casey said.
Carroll was doing some increased work at practice on Tuesday, but has not yet been cleared for contact and will miss a fair bit of March as well.
Who would you rather have: Kyrie Irving or Kyle Lowry? | RealGM
Right now: Lowry is so much better and a greater complete basketball player than Irving it’s not even close. Lowry is a leader and he knows how to actually play on both ends of the court. If Irving ever had the same drive and desire as KLow, Irving would be the best PG in the league (maybe). Right now, I don’t think there’s a PG in the league that has the same fire to dominate a game on the defensive end that Lowry has. Curry is beyond unbelievable offensively (one of the best ever). But Lowry, he has the ability to carry a team on both ends of the court.
3-4 years from now, I’d take Irving. I wish Lowry was 24 right now, he’d easily be a top PG in the league and a guy that teams would look to build around for the future. Hopefully KLow can continue his success into his 30’s like Nash did. He’s a legit franchise player right now. He’s developed into a true superstar in the few years he’s been here.
New Raptor Jason Thompson gives Toronto experience Anthony Bennett lacked | Toronto Star
“I probably didn’t do a good enough job as a coach of working him in enough,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “But Scola was playing so well, Patrick was playing so well . . . then you have DeMarre (Carroll) playing the four and (Bennett) had a big hill to climb.
“Hopefully this gives him the opportunity to get with a younger team and a team that gives him an opportunity to play. He’s a great young man and I enjoyed working with him.”
With the playoffs inching closer, Ujiri and Casey looked down the bench and knew they couldn’t count on Bennett if one of those players in front of him was injured.
Thompson spent seven years in Sacramento and got an up-close, 28-game look at the magic that the Warriors are conjuring up this year.
He was only averaging 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in Golden State, but Thompson’s player efficiency rating sat at an impressive 13.38.
“He’s been through the wars, he’s seen everything and he’s come from a winning program in Golden State,” Casey said. “He’s a high IQ player, a guy who’s going to play hard.
Raptors expect newly signed Thompson will fit right in | TSN
“You just wouldn’t want to bring anybody into our chemistry,” Casey said. “Because I think we’ve got a strong locker room, a close locker room, a team that’s been through the wars together already. It’s not like we have to have somebody come in and change the world, just to come in and support the guys that are already here.”
That’s what they sold to Thompson, who chose the Raptors over a few other interested teams: a well-oiled machine he could immediately step in and contribute to, and that’s ultimately how they sold themselves.
“He’s somebody who can come in and fit on our team,” said Ujiri, shortly after the signing was made official on Tuesday afternoon. “To have a player like that to bring into our program at this time, it’s not something we usually do. We like to build from training camp and grow but, where we find ourselves now, it’s something that can maybe help us down the road.”
Thompson comes to the Raptors with something to prove, having been a victim of circumstance over the last eight months. After spending the first seven years of his NBA career with Sacramento, the Kings moved him to Philadelphia in a salary dump this past summer. Later that month, the Sixers flipped him to Golden State for the contract of Gerald Wallace, a cost-cutting deal for the Warriors. Although Thompson got a front row seat to watch Steph Curry and the best team in the league, maybe ever, he’s logged a total of 179 minutes in just 28 games this season. Lost in all of this is the fact that he’s still just 29 and feels he has a lot more to give.
Newest Raptor Thompson happy to help wherever he can | Toronto Sun
Asked why he picked Toronto over other interested suitors, Thompson indicated it just felt like a natural fit.
“The comfort level, some of the relationships I had with some of the guys that were already on the team,” Thompson explained. “I’m not trying to come in here and mess up a great thing, I just want to be a part of something and help them kind of continue to (keep) this ride going.”
Thompson’s old squad, the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors, certainly also have a good thing going, but he only played in 28 games for the defending champions after seven solid seasons with Sacramento, before being waived so Anderson Varejao could be signed.
“I’ve been around a lot of winning this season and they have a lot of winning ways out here in Toronto,” he said.
“Top-notch organization and excited for the opportunity. Didn’t workout with my last team, just trying to soak up all the information like a sponge and just be a part of something special.”
Three teams in three years: Finding NBA foothold proving elusive for Bennett | Sportsnet.ca
“It was a difficult situation to put the kid in,” said Ujiri. “First of all, [Luis] Scola shot right out, helping us and we had that record starting the season. Usually it’s a tough situation to put a coach in, but Anthony is at that point where he needed to play. With Scola and Patrick it just got a little bit difficult and we needed to win games.”
The challenge facing Bennett is that he’s been through something like this three straight years now. Sure he was included in part of the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love, but the Cavaliers had little problem parting with Bennett, who struggled as a rookie recovering from his shoulder surgery in addition to his asthma issues, sleep apnea and concerns with his overall fitness.
Dope Edit!!! #TeamCarroll #JYD2Point0 #StayBlessed #BLESSED #TeamCarroll #WeTheNorth
A photo posted by DeMarre Carroll (@demarrecarroll1) on
Toronto Raptors: Examining The Addition Of Jason Thompson | Hoops Habit
As far as Thompson’s fit goes, he’s more of a traditional power forward, who has the ability to play as a small-ball center. The Raptors have played more small-ball lineups this year and it’s worked in their favor so far, so adding Thompson gives the team more opportunities to go that route.
Although he can play as a small-ball big, that doesn’t make Thompson a solid rim protector by any means. That’s why playing him next to a player like Patrick Patterson would be more beneficial for the Raptors than putting Thompson alongside a player like Luis Scola.
Thompson’s also a great defensive rebounder and that will fit in perfectly with the Raptors as they rank seventh in defensive rebound percentage (77.6 percent) in the league, per Basketball-Reference.com.
The growth of Toronto Raptors’ guard DeMar DeRozan | isportsweb
While DeRozan’s rebounding has seen a slight decline from last season, his assist numbers have been better than ever. He is currently tying his career high with 4.0 assists per game, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but this number looks a lot better given he shares a backcourt with a ball dominant point guard in Kyle Lowry. The assists he is dishing this season are also producing 10.1 points per game, a slight uptick from the 2013-2014 season, the other season he averaged four assists.
Raptors’ Ujiri accepts blame for Bennett situation | Sportsnet.ca
“It’s not anything Anthony did wrong,” Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said Tuesday at a media availability with local reporters. “I probably put him a tough situation. I feel he needs to be somewhere where he can play. Playing time was going to be tough. I take responsibility for that because it wasn’t the kid’s fault. People keep saying he’s talented and he’ll get a chance. It just has to be a team with opportunity to play.”
Playing time became an issue for Bennett in Toronto as the Raptors couldn’t find room in the rotation behind veteran power forwards such as Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson. Bennett averaged just 1.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, with a .269 field goal percentage with the Raptors.
“I feel it’s a tough situation to put the kid in,” Ujiri acknowledged. “First of all, to be honest, (Luis) Scola came out and just helped us. We had that (good) record starting the season…This has nothing to do with him. People will write about the No. 1 pick and this and that but the kid (still) has a chance and a lot of talent.
Eye on Basketball Podcast: Steph Curry is absurd, Raptors pushing | CBSSports.com [podcast]
Can the Raptors push the Cavs for the 1-seed? Does it matter if they do?
Keys To The Raptors’ Success | The Sports Quotient
While the Raptors have a long way to go before they can consider themselves serious contenders for the NBA championship considering that they haven’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs since the 2000-01 season, they look like the most reasonable bet to knock off the Cavaliers in the East right now. The improvement of their starting backcourt and the savvy bench acquisitions to aid their cohesiveness will go a long way come playoff time.
Stats: Boogie Down Production? | Yahoo Sports
Kyle Lowry gets all the love in Toronto, but Jonas Valanciunas was terrific in February. In those 11 games, he posted a 69.2 TS% with a 21.9 usage rate. JV was assisted on 71.0 percent of his buckets, so Lowry should get some love there. Lowry assisted JV 18 times in February and the big man made 68.8 percent of his shots off Lowry’s passes. Surprisingly, the Raptors didn’t really play well with their starting unit and even Lowry-JV lineups with a minus-10.9 net rating in February. Regardless, JV should have a great finish for season-long leagues and is definitely in play for DFS in favorable matchups.
Road To The Six: Week 15 Recap | Toronto Raptors
Player Watch
Sim Bhullar stayed hot and we continue to ride his double-double streak up to six games now. Bhullar has shot 72% this week, slightly up from his league leading 69%. Bhullar has looked significantly more agile in the post and as a result, teams have not found any way to even slow down the big man once he catches the ball from five feet in. Also of note, Bhullar has shown a surprising ability to pass the ball out of the post, averaging three assists per game this week.
Utah Jazz at Toronto Raptors: Wednesday game preview | Toronto Star
Key matchup: Rudy Gobert vs. DeMar DeRozan. No, they’re not going to line up against one another, but when these two met in Utah in November, DeRozan produced a dunk-of-the-year candidate and one of his best-ever over the seven-foot-one Frenchman. All of these months later, the window will open for Gobert to get his shot at defensive redemption. The stars might have to align for it to happen again, but the first meeting was celestially spectacular.
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