Undermanned Canadians must come together quickly before Olympic qualifying | Toronto Star
Joseph, coach Jay Triano and general manager Steve Nash now have to find a functioning team in short order to take a run at the first Olympic berth since 2000.
They have this week to practise here and a handful of rapid-fire exhibition games before the qualifying tournament in Manila, Philippines.
Canada will have to beat one of Turkey or Senegal to move out of the first round of the July 4-10 event and then are likely to have France and New Zealand waiting for them in the semifinals.
They need to win the semifinal and the gold-medal game to make it Rio.
“Obviously our challenge is it’s a relatively young group as far as their time together,” Nash said. “There are few people in this room who’ve played together for a substantial amount of time. Some countries have had a nucleus together for a very long time, we’re a very young program.”
And getting younger this summer. There are some grizzled veterans around and some solid international experience — Levon Kendall and Joel Anthony have been around the program seemingly forever, and Brady Heslip and Phil and Thomas Scrubb have been apart of the Nash-Triano years from the start.
“There’s definitely a component of experience — and experience of the FIBA game — that was difficult for us last year,” Nash said, evoking memories of Canada’s epic one-game failure against Venezuela with Rio on the line.
Toronto Raptors: Patrick Patterson and the Power Forward Problem | Tip of the Tower
Patterson is a rangy defender with a smooth, confident three-point stroke. He can do a little off the dribble and has enough athleticism to make it out on the break either way.
Patterson is able to switch on to threes and fives and hold his own against all fours not named Blake Griffin. Really he’s an ideal stretch four that every elite team in the NBA now has, but he has enough other skills to make him diverse.
We got a glimpse of what Patterson would look like in the starting lineup in the playoffs this year, spacing the floor and making opponents pay when they closed out too hard on him. He’s a Spursian-type player, meaning that when he catches the ball he is smart enough to make the decision to dribble, pass or shoot and the ball never sticks to hands.
During the postseason, Patterson posted a line of 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1 assist, while shooting 30 percent from the three-point line. Not Klay Thompson-like three-point shooting, but with the entire Toronto roster shooting poorly from distance, he was one of the few bright spots.
Patterson also posted these stats on extended minutes (29.2), in a position he wasn’t familiar with the entire season. You could tell he was getting tired by the end of the Cavaliers series and it’s hard to blame him for this.
Raptors with nasty stats: who and what | Raptors Rapture
This is almost inexcusable to me. Obviously Delon can’t be blamed; he can only enter a game when called upon by coach Dwane Casey. Yes, he’s a rookie, and since time immemorial, rookies in all pro sports are supposed to sit quietly on the bench and drink in all the experience they can.
I say Phooey on that. If he’s not going to play, then send him to the minors. He played in 15 of the Raptors 905 50 Development League games, and averaged over 35 minutes. Do you really want to argue Delon is better off on the big team’s bench than on the floor, even if he’s facing the Rio Grande Valley Vipers rather than the Brooklyn Nets?
Compounding the felony, Lucas Nogueira was DNP-CD in 38 Raptors games. If ever there was a man who needs to learn his craft in competition, it’s Bebe.
Occasionally we receive a “we need DeMarcus Cousins” comment, with a request to create a trade proposal. For the record, that’s never going to happen, and here’s why. Cousins, the huge and hugely talented (an All-Star the past two seasons) Sacramento Kings centre, managed to accumulate a leadership(?) position in three unwanted stats!
DeMarcus had the most technical fouls (16), offensive fouls (44) and – la piece de resistance – the most shots blocked (118). One of our rules here at the Rapture is we won’t create trade proposals for players we don’t actually want, and this guy fits that description, emphatically.
PF Henry Ellenson – Raptors #9 draft pick? | Raptors Rapture
From what I’ve seen, Henry is battle-ready. He’s 19 years young, stands a solid 6’10” and tips the scales at a well-proportioned 242 pounds. (I mentally eliminate players if their body type is flawed, like those with barrel chests, small hands/feet or disproportionately short legs. Henry has no issues.) His rebounding technique is excellent, as he gets on a body quickly and doesn’t get pushed around.
Henry can score from everywhere, including outside the 3-point arc. He isn’t shy about using his left hand, even for low-block jumpers.
He already boasts an excellent handle, showing the ability to go coast to coast after grabbing a defensive board, or putting the ball on the floor after using a fake to get his man off his feet. He can finish in a crowd, and under pressure.
My biggest concern about Henry has to do with whether he can deal with the extraordinary speed and difficulty of the NBA game. I suspect everything has come easy to him so far – what’s going to misfire in his brain when Chris Paul strips him of the ball, or Andrew Bogut won’t bite on a fake?
Did I miss something? Send me any Raptors-related article/video to rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com.
