Dinos & Digits: The Raptors are at 50 wins for the first time ever | Raptors HQ
With last night’s 105-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the Toronto Raptors reached 50 wins for the first time in franchise history.
That’s the third consecutive year that the team has set a new franchise record for wins in a single season. They are on pace to go 55-27.
The Raptors were the last of the 30 active NBA franchises to reach the 50-win plateau.
Raptors fans should be enjoying this | Toronto Sun
Winning 50 games for the first time, a third Atlantic Division title in a row and boasting one of the top records in the NBA are big accomplishments.
Three straight seasons with new franchise records for wins. Apologies for the double negative, but, that’s not nothing.
Sure, it would be better if Kyle Lowry was fully healthy and if DeMarre Carroll had been finding his way back in games for a few weeks now, but some of the panic and hanging of heads seems unnecessary. Whether it’s bringing up the dismal Washington series (or even the Brooklyn one, which to me isn’t a huge black mark on the franchise at all), DeMar DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo’s free agency or Masai’s decision not to trade for help (Carroll was supposed to be the trade deadline acquisition, but the jury is out on if that will even come to pass), Dwane Casey’s lack of a guarantee on the final year of his contract, everyone seems to want to accentuate the negatives.
Caption this #Atlanticdivisionchampions #wethenorth
A photo posted by @the_mariah on
Toronto Raptors Set Franchise Record For Wins | Hoops Habit
The success has them in a prime position to make a push for the team’s first-ever berth into the Eastern Conference Finals, as playoff success will be the only thing that can truly cement this team as the greatest that this franchise has ever produced.
A combination of high-level play from the team’s stars, new assistant coaches and improved depth has been the driving force behind all the success. They have managed to maintain the offensive success from last season while dramatically improving their defensive efficiency, as they are top 10 in both categories this season.
With this hurdle out of the way, the team will set its sights on advancing to the second round of the playoffs for just the second time in the team’s history.
Bismack Biyombo A Difference Maker For Toronto | TFB
Biyombo is perhaps the East’s most dominant paint protecter outside of Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, and would present a consistent challenge for James at the rim. He has the strength to push around with Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson, and the speed to blitz the Cavaliers perimeter screening action.
Even if the Cavaliers were to try to space him out by playing Kevin Love at center, Biyombo could play the screen and dart back in time if the ball handler were to pass to a third man cutting to the rim with reasonable efficiency.
But, hey, we’re jumping the gun here. The Raptors have to win a playoff series first, something they haven’t done since the 2000-2001 season.
Patterson gets nod as Raptors most improved player | Toronto Sun
We gave that tough job to Nick Nurse, the only returning assistant coach from last year’s staff and, outside of the coach and general manager, the man most able to judge just how far they have come.
Nurse is in his third year with the Raptors, all three which have seen the progression of all the potential MIP’s in the lineup — Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, and Jonas Valanciunas.
Nurse struggled to put one above the other, as all five have shown significant improvement from last year to this, but in the end he opted for Patterson, one of only two non-starters in the group.
“I’d probably say Pat,” Nurse said courtside before a recent game.
The Biggest X-Factor for Every Eastern Conference Hopeful | TFB
With Carroll back at full strength, the Raptors have a much higher playoff ceiling, as he’s had some great moments defending LeBron in the past couple years. Toronto’s 17th-ranked defense since the All-Star break would likely improve.
On the other hand, DeMarre’s return could mess with the chemistry that the team found over the season with a mostly consistent rotation.
A photo posted by Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) on
James Johnson Watch Week 23: There are only so many minutes to go around | Raptors HQ
id James Johnson Play?
The answer: Yes, more than I thought he would. I was totally right in my guess that Johnson would not get in any time against the Hawks last night. But he did get a run in two blowouts (one good, one bad) and his Houston contribution was non-zero. Johnson did his customary thing — put in 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished seven assists and added three steals — in 45 minutes over four games.
Feel free to laugh at my 15.5 minute line from last week. It’s taken almost half a year, and I’m getting no better at this.
Biyombo on Carroll: We’ve won a ton of games with Raptors’ players hurt | Sportsnet.ca
“At this point I know he’s trying his best to get back,” Bismack Biyombo said while appearing on the Andrew Walker show on Sportsnet 590 The FAN on Thursday. “But we have faced this problem the whole season, where players are hurt here and there. We go out and we compete, and we’ve won a ton of games with players being hurt. I don’t think that should be an excuse for us.”
Part of why I’m excited about Norm | Reddit
I have to say, ever since I read about his profile after draft day, I had been pretty excited about the prospect of having a rookie who seemed to be able to contribute in a role now as opposed to the long term project that is Bruno. Just that feeling of pride for our rookie player making an impact now and even starting often in the place of Carroll and how much he improved over his D-League stint makes me feel a lot of pride in our rookie and realize he may have a higher ceiling than we initially thought.
Would the Pistons have a better chance against CLE or TOR? | Piston Powered
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope–the Pistons’ best wing defender– does a great job against smaller and quicker playmakers.
That means than Caldwell-Pope would stand a much better chance of guarding Kyrie Irving instead of DeMar DeRozan–though if the Pistons do end up playing the Raptors, they’d likely throw Marcus Morris on DeRozan, as that strategy has worked best in their match ups so far.
The injury-ravaged Grizzlies are starting to get a few players back, but they are still looking like a team that will be life and death to hang on to fifth place in the Western Conference with Portland just two games back and charging hard. While Memphis has won just two of its past 10, Portland has gained three games on them. The Grizzlies will be without Marc Gasol and Mike Conley the rest of the regular season. Only Conley could be back for the playoffs, but there has been nothing official on that. Either way, the Grizz will have to get it done leaning on the likes of Zach Randolph, who is just back from a two-game hiatus because of a sprained ankle, defensive guru Tony Allen, an aging Matt Barnes, Chris Anderson and Jordan Farmar. If the Grizz finish fifth, they get the Clippers in the first round. If they finish sixth, they open against Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder.
Raptors-Memphis Grizzlies: Friday game preview | Toronto Star
Key matchup: DeMar DeRozan vs. Tony Allen.
Allen is one of the best wing defenders in the league, and he’s particularly intense at home. DeRozan is chasing the third-best scoring average by a Raptor in team history; Vince Carter holds the two highest marks.
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