Summer Smackdown: RR’s 3on3 Basketball Tournament Is Back – Sign Up Now! | Raptors Republic
You heard it on the radio, you seen it on the TV show. It’s time for some ball. After the success of prior tournaments the past few years, we’ve decided to do it again.
Talking Raptors Podcast – Game 6ix | Raptors Republic
Incredible highs and demoralizing lows. What a blessed and at the same time, seemingly cursed roller coaster this Eastern Conference Finals has been for the Toronto Raptors. With a looming game 6 at home, the boys with their backs to the wall, Nick and Barry get together for another episode of Talking Raptors.
The Raptors repeated as the winners of the NBA’s Sponsorship Activation Award, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reported Thursday. Last year, the Raptors earned the honor for their Swiffer-related activation. I’m trying to confirm what they won it for this year, but my guess is either something related to Drake Night 3, or their Air BNB Air Canada Centre sleepover. It probably means nothing to most fans but the Raptors have continually received dap for their marketing department’s efforts, from the OVO swag to their sponsorship tie-ins to the great job they did with All-Star Weekend, and that kind of stuff is really important at the corporate level. It’s never a bad thing when the organization is doing well in any regard, even if it’s hard for most to get amped up about “sponsorship activation.”
Exclusive Interview with the man behind the “What About DeRozan?!” video | The Medium
Tell us how you root against Ross, even during that 51-point game
Remember when Terrence Ross had that deceiving game, when he tied Vince Carter’s record. I remember me and my boys watching that game like “nah this ain’t right bro.” At that point, I would’ve taken the loss just so he wouldn’t be there as the all-time leader in points in Raptors history. It was the only time I wanted the Raptors to lose a game.
You know what pisses me off about Terrence Ross even now? He’s so athletic, it’s just like go hone your craft, fam. What are you doing? Amber Rose? Terrence Ross just has those moments that’s like just T-Ross being T-Ross. Like why’d you take that fam?
Momentum hasn’t meant much for Raptors this post-season | Sportsnet.ca
The Raptors have to hope both the pattern of this series and the seeming randomness of their playoffs in general hold true. Visitors are 0-5 in this series, which bodes well for the Raptors heading into Friday night. However, their 38-point loss on Wednesday had all the hallmarks of a team that, despite punching with LeBron and company just days earlier, is overwhelmed by a more talented team.
Just as it was after Game 2, it’s hard to imagine the Raptors stealing a game after Game 5, even if the next one is in Air Canada Centre.
However, part of the reason that momentum seems to be invented is because no two games are the same since styles – and responses to those styles – are ever-changing. Casey said he thought the Raptors had figured out how to deal with Cleveland’s aggressive trapping defence after the two contests at home, but as the Cavaliers cranked up their intensity and physicality in similar schemes in Game 5, the Raptors wilted.
Raptors expect more surprises in Game 6 vs. Cavaliers | Toronto Star
“They’re picking their poison. They understand what they’re doing,” coach Dwane Casey said of Cleveland’s willingness to leave someone open to double team Lowry or DeRozan. “Again, if we make one more pass, or attack and make one more pass, we could possibly get that shot. But again, we’ve got to be disciplined to look for that. But again, the guys wide open, nobody near you, those are the shots we’ve got to make and knock them down.”
It comes down to Toronto recognizing where the openings are and taking advantage. If the Raptors operate at top offensive efficiency, it takes away Cleveland’s ability to score in transition, an aspect of the game at which they are lethal.
“I should know — or we should all be on the same page and know — okay, this is going to happen, let’s get here, get here, get here, and that’s what the coaching staff has done a good job of, making those type of adjustments all year and throughout these playoffs,” Lowry said.
Added DeRozan: “We’ve been doing it all playoffs: finding a counter, and not just for me and Kyle. Just for everybody else to get easy shots, understanding where we can get easy shots at, and move the ball.”
If Cavaliers’ Big 3 plays well in Game 6, series will be over | Toronto Sun
Toronto must be better than any of its past two home games, but it remains to be seen whether the Raptors can summon more when so much was produced in Games 3 and 4.
Perhaps Lowry and DeMar DeRozan can each post 30-plus point nights, perhaps even Bismack Biyombo, who has disappeared in Cleveland, can resume his rebounding prowess.
Perhaps DeMarre Carroll may even make a three-point shot having gone 3-of-18 from distance in the past three games.
There are more perhaps and ifs hovering over the Raptors than sure things, which doesn’t exactly inspire hope.
It seems like every game is the biggest game until the next game arrives, but this is by far Toronto’s biggest challenge.
If Cleveland’s Big 3 delivers, James will be off to his sixth successive NBA final.
If Cleveland Big 3 falters and if the Raptors respond, a Game 7 in Cleveland is assured.
Home is where Raptors’ heart has been: Feschuk | Toronto Star
In other words, there’s only one way to look at Friday’s Game 6: It’s been bad business to prematurely write this team’s obituary — even if the columnists have carried one around in their back pockets just in case. If their worst moments have been startling in the breadth of the ineptitude — well, those moments have mostly served to shock the Raptors awake.
“We understand we lost, whether we lost by one point or 50 points,” DeMar DeRozan was saying on Thursday. “You know, honestly you can’t get too high and get too low, because you don’t want to affect your next game, your next performance.”
But with the Raptors, there’s just no evidence that such poundings have done much damage to the collective psyche.
It’s almost as though they need to get blown out. Somehow, taking the punishment and embarrassment seems to centre them or chasten them or wake them up.
Raptors won’t use fatigue as an excuse | Toronto Sun
Cleveland had over a week to rest due to the team’s second-straight sweep, but Casey won’t buy the fatigue angle either.
“We played two series, and that’s on us, we went seven games and seven games. We had an opportunity to close out, to get rest,” Casey said.
“They did their job by closing out, sweeping two series, and we didn’t. We had to battle longer. So that’s on us. But we’ve played every other day just like they have. I don’t think fatigue has anything to do with it whatsoever right now. Again, it’s about us being in new territory, how bad do we want it, us understanding the moment, seizing the moment, making sure we take care of home … with your intensity, your focus, attention to detail, because everybody is playing hard, but it’s your attention to detail and doing the little things to make sure you execute against a very talented team.”
One could make the case that attention to detail is one of the first things to suffer when you are exhausted. The first half of Game 5 was riddled with bad turnovers, poor screens and little fight on the boards. Kyle Lowry has played more minutes than anyone this post-season, DeMar DeRozan is right up there with him, along with struggling forwards DeMarre Carroll and Patrick Patterson. The Raptors might not be willing to admit that fatigue is an issue, but they are human and it just makes sense.
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Game 6 Preview: Raptors vs. Cavaliers | Toronto Raptors
Valanciunas Added To The Mix
Jonas Valanciunas made his return to the court in Game 5 after missing 18 days with an ankle sprain sustained during Toronto’s second-round series against the Miami Heat. There weren’t many positives to take from Wednesday’s game, but Valanciunas returning, playing 18 minutes, and making all four of his field goals was a welcomed sight for Toronto.
Having the option of feeding the ball inside to Valanciunas helps when Cleveland is forcing Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to give up the ball. Valanciunas had been playing the best basketball of his career prior to injury and although the layoff certainly will impact his stamina, having him on the floor provides Toronto with another needed offensive presence.
“If we can get him the ball, we get him the ball,” Lowry said. “He can score, get him to post-up. But we’ve got to understand what he can do for us, and he’s just definitely that guy coming back from injury. Some minutes are going to be taken from someone else, and shots are going to be taken from other people, but if it helps us win games, that’s all that matters.”
As good as the Cavs were offensively in the first half, they were even better defensively. Effort was the key. The Cavs swarmed the Raptors inside, outside and everywhere in-between.
They were physical in man-to-man; fought over the top of screens; trapped high and low; contested shots or ran at shooters; covered for each other; and stayed active on the glass.
The Cavs kept forcing turnovers and turning them into points.
Most importantly, they hounded the Toronto backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who combined to shoot 4-of-14 and score 13 in the half.
For the game, Lowry and DeRozan were a combined 7-of-20 and scored 27 in 60 minutes. DeRozan was solid in Games 1-2, but Lowry has been bad in all three playoff games at The Q.
Only the Cavs know why they can’t take their defensive act to Air Canada Centre. And only Lowry, Toronto’s engine, knows why he has struggled so much at The Q in May.
Wishing this fabulous girl a happy birthday today!! Hbd linds! 🎉🎈#Raptors #RDP @lindzyanoz
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Discussing Cavaliers-Raptors Game 5 with Harsh Dave of Raptors HQ | Fear The Sword
I think Ty Lue did a great job exploiting little flaws the Raptors showed at the end of Game 4. In essence that’s what playoff basketball is about — even if you lose a game, you try to find advantages that may carry forward in the next game.
The first thing I noticed was the Cavs clearly made it a point to trap everything on Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan on the perimeter. Without an effective outlet option, the Raptors struggled with the trap in the 4th quarter of game 4 and all game today.
I also thought it was really smart to get Kevin Love engaged early. As fans, we’re quick to dismiss the mental, intangible aspect of sport, and getting Love rolling early against Luis Scola was a nice touch.
In a 40-point blow-out, it’s hard to credit one team and blame the other fully. The Cavaliers had a fantastic game plan, had awesome energy, and had all of their key contributors firing in building up their lead. But the Raptors also looked awful right out of the gate, missing shots that went in over the past two games, and still had no counters to the small-ball lineup that the Cavs used so effectively in game 4.
You seeing it the same way?
Kyle Lowry voted onto the 2015-16 All-NBA Third Team | Raptors HQ
Lowry joins Vince Carter and Chris Bosh as the only Raptors to ever be named to an All-NBA team in the Franchise’s 21-year history. Combining that with his two consecutive starting nods at the All Star game, the past two years have been a culmination of hard work, opportunity and a player finally finding his footing in the NBA.
For all the cynicism and negativity that the Raptors have inspired over the years, Kyle Lowry’s sudden rise to the cusp of stardom has been an awesome story to see unfold. We should all be elated for him.
James Johnson Watch: What to do in the uncertainty of the night | Raptors HQ
Johnson worked his way into all four of the Raptors’ games this week, which is no small feat considering they were Games 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately, the outcomes of all four of those games suggests a lack of necessity where Johnson is concerned. He played a total of just over 47 minutes — so you win if you took the under — but he also didn’t have much of an impact. Oh sure, he had 11 points in a Game 2 blowout, hit a three in a Game 3 win and got a no-call jump ball with Matthew Dellavedova in a Game 4 win. But in Game 5, with the Raptors absolutely smashed from the first quarter on, Johnson only got 11 minutes. He also inspired some, uh, not nice tweets.
Shook in Cleveland | The Undefeated
The Raptors must win Friday at home to force another Game 7. But if they’re successful, they won’t have the luxury of playing in front of their home fans in Toronto; instead, they’ll have to play on the road in Cleveland, where the Raptors have been bullied so thoroughly that they haven’t resembled a team worthy of being two games away from the NBA Finals.
That must have been on the mind of DeRozan and Lowry during Wednesday’s postgame press conference when they were asked,“Guys, even if you even the series you still have to come back here for a Game 7. What’s the mindset of the team knowing that?”
Lowry’s eyes rolled upward as he laughed out loud, leaving DeRozan to respond.
“We’ll figure that out once we get past Friday.”
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