Fresh off of a mostly-cancelled practice day, the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat held court at the Air Canada Centre before their Game 5 showdown (8 p.m. tonight). I wasn’t at shootaround myself because I was having a foot injury re-evaluated. The news is in: They’re putting me down. I’m glue now. Bye. And so, here are some notes, quotes, tweets, and so on, from the session:
Goran Dragic retroactively assessed a technical foul
The NBA has retroactively assessed Goran Dragic a technical foul for taking a swing at Cory Joseph during Game 4 on Monday. While the assessing of the technical means little – the Raptors don’t now get a shot and get to replay the final 2:17 of regulation – it does mean a $1,000 fine for Dragic, a pittance because it’s his first technical of the postseason and only his second of the entire season. Players can reach seven postseason technicals (or 16 in the regular season) before getting hit with a suspension.
Here’s the play in question:
“It does nothing for us,” Kyle Lowry correctly stated.
“If I’m honest, I’m not surprised. It is what it is,” Dragic said. When asked about a potential flagrant, he added, “We saw on the tape, I didn’t hit him.”
As for some of Dragic’s other, less objectionable plays, Dwyane Wade offered this gem:
Wade on Dragic: “He’s putting his face out there for the team.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) May 11, 2016
Back to Lowry…
One thing I feel like I’ve written a ton in this series: “Kyle Lowry is shooting poorly, but Kyle Lowry is not playing poorly.” With the exception of maybe one or two games, I am confident that this is accurate. Lowry does so much more beyond scoring the basketball that it’s tough to call this a bad playoff showing for him overall, and it would only take a few percentage points for people to be appreciating his playoff performance a lot more.
One reporter disagrees, apparently, telling Lowry that everyone is “waiting for the real Kyle to show up,” per Josh Lewenberg (I have no idea who made the comment). Here’s Lowry’s mostly correct response:
Kyle Lowry was pretty animated when questioned on the impact he and DeMar DeRozan have had on the series. #RTZ pic.twitter.com/I6T1WWTPhN
— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) May 11, 2016
DeRozan’s thumb still an issue
DeMar DeRozan is mired in a more game-wide slump (though I thought his defense in Game 4 was a little better than normal), and that’s owing at least in part to a thumb injury. To me, it looks like the thumb is effecting his dribble more than a shot that was just as errant in Round One, and DeRozan is still trying to figure
Re: thumb, DeMar says he can’t grip the ball like he wants to, he hated wearing wrap. “Trying to figure out the best way to play with it.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) May 11, 2016
In response, the team is trying to get more ball and player movement going. We’ve heard this before, but using DeRozan’s pull on a defense’s attention to open things up for others is a long overdue tweak. DeRozan needs to shift his thinking for this to work, but here’s hoping.
Dwane Casey says the team is standing around too much. “We worked on some things to get some more movement.”
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) May 11, 2016
Casey: "There's so many situations where we passed and [stood] and we're helping the defence guard us… Move the ball, move your body"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 11, 2016
Gameops should play Carly Rae Jepsen all game. It’s impossible not to move your body with CRJ on the stereo.
You don’t know how lucky you are to be ugly
This series has not been aesthetically pleasing, that much is sure. Still, the Raptors are 2-2 in the second round of the playoffs, and if we can all take a step back from the day-to-day grind, this is a pretty cool spot for the team to be in.
DeRozan says he doesn’t get the negativity in a 2-2 series: ‘You’d think it’s the end of the world’
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 11, 2016
‘It’s a grind, nothing has been pretty, hasn’t gone like people expected, that’s the beauty of it’ – DeRozan
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 11, 2016
And another Wade gem:
“I don’t know how much tighter your buttcheeks can get than this series.” – Dwyane Wade
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) May 11, 2016
Assorted
*As far as testimonials go, this is certainly one of them.
Casey said Bebê “wasn’t totally lost,” and he meant it as a compliment
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) May 11, 2016
*The Raptors are still facing a tough big-or-small decision. Bismack Biyombo was the team’s highest-impact player in Game 4, but Casey was hesitant to play him against a smaller Heat group when offense was at a premium. My thinking is that Biyombo’s rim protection will be valued even more in Game 5, but outside of his minutes, the Raptors could get even more creative. I’m very much here for DeMarre Carroll at center.
Asked Dwane Casey about adjustment to Heat’s small lineup. He smiled and winked. But did say he “could go smaller.”
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 11, 2016
The Heat are expecting the Raptors to go bigger, not smaller, tonight to keep Biyombo on floor
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 11, 2016
*The Heat have lame taste in music today. Should have stuck with Prince. Or the new Modern Baseball album, obviously.
Heat play music at shootaround …Prince the other day, for example. Today? Lynyrd Skynyrd; Pearl Jam; Talking Heads, all the NBA standards.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 11, 2016
Whiteboy Wednesday, Chris Quinn says https://t.co/1SvUFMmFcd
— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzESPN) May 11, 2016
*Some others:
Josh Richardson told me that if this was the regular season, he would have taken time off to rest both shoulders. Now? "No chance."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 11, 2016
Long talk with Justise Winslow about his play in G4 after not playing in G3. He was critical of his work against Terrence Ross.
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) May 11, 2016
