Morning Coffee – Thu, Nov 10

Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images DeMar DeRozan helps Raptors fight back to beat Thunder | Toronto Sun Earlier in the day, a question was posed: ‘How do you keep Russell Westbrook out of the paint?’” The query drew laughs and ‘what’s wrong with you?’ looks. “He’s a great transition player, he’s running…

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - NOVEMBER 09: Toronto Raptors Guard DeMar DeRozan (10) looking for a play while Oklahoma City Thunder Forward Andre Roberson (21) plays defense on November 9, 2016, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - NOVEMBER 09: Toronto Raptors Guard DeMar DeRozan (10) looking for a play while Oklahoma City Thunder Forward Andre Roberson (21) plays defense on November 9, 2016, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Photo by Torrey Purvey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

DeMar DeRozan helps Raptors fight back to beat Thunder | Toronto Sun

Earlier in the day, a question was posed: ‘How do you keep Russell Westbrook out of the paint?’” The query drew laughs and ‘what’s wrong with you?’ looks.

“He’s a great transition player, he’s running 100 miles an hour, he’s a one-man transition, so you’ve got to just get back and load to the ball,” said Jonas Valanciunas, who ended up not playing due to a knee injury.

Oklahoma City was held to 41.9% shooting and hung around mostly because of 28 made free throws (on 31 attempts), compared to only 15 by the Raptors, 11 of them by DeRozan.

Oddly enough, defensively, it was backup centre Lucas Nogueira stepping up to do a really good job thwarting Westbrook’s forays into the paint. The OKC superstar still put up big numbers (36 points) but he didn’t dominate like usual, primarily because he had to work extremely hard for everything following the first quarter and he turned the ball over eight times, including three times in the fourth.

Nogueira (10 points, seven rebounds) was rewarded with a place with the starters after halftime Jakob Poeltl (a minus-20 for his 19 minutes) going to the bench.

“Lucas was a plus-30. That was huge for us tonight, coming off the bench and giving us a big plug like that,” Casey said. “The other night I thought Jakob out-played him, tonight it was Lucas’ night and that’s probably the way it’s going to be. A two-headed monster with those guys until JV gets back in.”

 

 

Superstars live up to billing as Raptors take down Thunder – Sportsnet.ca

No Ross, no problem:

The Raptors received some rough news prior to tip-off as Terrence Ross was a late scratch due to an injured finger on his shooting hand. With the Raptors struggling from beyond the three-point arc, Ross and his perimeter shooting figured to be sorely missed. Instead, the Raptors broke out of their three-point shooting drought, drilling 11 of their 25 attempts from long range.

“We’ve kept working on it and I think this is the start of something, hopefully,” Lowry told reporters after the game. “We’re not going to get too excited about one good shooting game from three but we shot it well tonight, everybody made shots.”

As expected, Norman Powell slid into Ross’s spot in the rotation. As has become the norm (no pun intended), Powell brought energy on both ends with his steady defence and willingness to drive to the basket on the offensive side. The sophomore swingman was given the tall task of checking Westbrook for much of the evening, which lessened the burden on Lowry.

 

 

Raptors find their range, roll over Thunder | Toronto Star

“I think we just kept working on it and this is the start of something, hopefully,” Lowry said after the Raptors made a season-high 11 three-pointers in a 112-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. “I’m not going to get too excited about one good shooting night from three, but we shot it well tonight.”

Lowry flirted with a triple-double, with 19 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds — five made three-pointers included in those totals — while DeMar DeRozan poured in 37 points in a delightful night of offensive basketball.

DeRozan and Lowry keyed an impressive finish by the Raptors, who looked to be hanging on after a 14-point lead had been shaved to five with about seven minutes left. DeRozan re-entered the game and scored two important baskets, and Lowry drilled a three-pointer to put the Raptors up 12 with about three minutes to go as Toronto restored order.

 

 

Right now, DeMar DeRozan is unstoppable – Yahoo!

“You know, sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat, and good offense can beat great defense,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said after the loss, which drops OKC to 6-2, according to Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press. “He had that happen several times where he made some very, very difficult shots.”

DeRozan went 10-for-15 on contested attempts on Wednesday, according to SportVU player tracking data. That continued a sizzling trend that has seen him drill a shade under 57 percent of his attempts against either “tight” or “very tight” coverage (meaning there’s a defender between 0 and 4 feet away from him and closing out) through the first seven games of the season.

While DeRozan continues to carry the load for Dwane Casey’s club, which improved to 5-2 with the win, he had help on Wednesday.

All-Star backcourt partner Kyle Lowry struggled with his shot, knocking in just six of his 20 field-goal attempts, but got loose from long-distance with a 5-for-11 mark from 3-point range in a stellar all-around game that produced 19 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds and a block in 43 minutes. Reserves Patrick Patterson (13 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals) and Norman Powell (nine points, two rebounds) added punch off the pine, helping provide enough balance and juice to overcome another crooked-number night from Westbrook, who scored 36 points with seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal, but who shot 9-for-26 from the floor (3-for-12 from 3-point range) and committed eight turnovers in 39 minutes.

 

Game Rap: Raptors 112, Thunder 102 | Toronto Raptors

UNDERRATED RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME

When Jonas Valanciunas went down with a knee contusion, an opportunity arose for reserve big man Lucas Nogueira. After injuring his ankle in the preseason finale, Nogueira had been waiting for a chance to work his way back into the rotation. He took his opportunity and ran with it on Wednesday. Nogueira’s energy helped Toronto to turn the game around against the Thunder. He finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, an assist and two steals while shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor. Most impressive, the team was a +30 with Nogueira on the floor in a 10-point victory.

 

Thunder vs Raptors, final score: OKC’s messy night spells doom, fall at home 112-102 – Welcome to Loud City

The game was a sloppy affair from the Thunder, and their careless defense and unfocused offense appeared to be symptomatic of a team that may have thought they were a little further ahead on the curve than they actually are. After racing to an early lead, they let up on defense (just a little), allowing the Raptors to take a halftime lead. OKC followed up that defense-less effort with unusually careless play, which included a blown breakaway dunk by Andre Roberson and numerous missed shots at the rim by a number of players.

The Thunder to their credit did not give up, and following a refocused defensive effort, they made their move in the 4th quarter. Trailing by 13 to start, they slowly chipped away at the Raptors’ lead, never surrendering even as Toronto held them at an 8 point deficit with less than half the quarter to go.

Following two more Adams free throws, OKC found themselves down only 4 points with 4:30 remaining and an unlikely win in their crosshairs. Frustratingly, the Thunder fell back into their careless play at the worst time. Their defense caused a turnover, but Westbrook followed it by losing the ball out of bounds. Kyle Lowry pushed the lead back to 6, but Westbrook lost the ball again when Corey Joseph stripped him on a shot attempt. Following a Raptors free throw, Westbrook again made a poor decision by missing a too-quick 3-pointer. Lowry hit a 3 of his own, only for the Thunder to have Westbrook miss another long 3-pointer. The bad offensive choices left OKC in a 10 point deficit from which they could not recover.

 

Thunder: Raptors use big second quarter to sink Oklahoma City | News OK

The Thunder had entered the game ranked fourth in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions, but Donovan had warned that the defense still was a work in progress, still had weaknesses that needed work. The Raptors found them and exploited them, shooting 51.8 percent and scoring 42 points in a second quarter that helped turn the game.

Meanwhile, Toronto looked like an elite defense in its own right.

The Raptors held the Thunder to 41.9 percent shooting. They limited Oklahoma City to 20 points in a third quarter in which its lead extended as wide as 14.

And all night, the Raptors made the game a challenge for Westbrook, who had 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists but had eight turnovers and shot 9 for 26 from the field, including 3 for 12 from 3-point range.

“Every game you get guarded, you get defended a little bit differently,” Donovan said. “I thought there were real opportunities for our bigs in pick-and-rolls in certain situations to kind of slip into the pocket, slip into the middle of the floor, kind of be facilitators for our team. And we just didn’t get there quick enough.”

 

Thunder struggle to stop raptors, fall 112-102 | ThunderDigest.com

The story of the game was Toronto imposing their will on Oklahoma City on both ends, while Demar Derozan put up a seemingly effortless 37 points. The Raptors also uncharacteristically were hot from beyond the arc, shooting 42 percent on 11 made threes. Outside of a rough first quarter with six turnovers from Toronto, they played a very clean and efficient game from there on out, while Oklahoma City committed 19 total turnovers.

Also another big story from tonight: Westbrook was very frustrated with how he was being defended, and it affected his play. He settled for several three-point attempts, which is not ideal. Tonight was no different as Westbrook put up 12 attempted three pointers in a ten-point loss. Westbrook also drove to the rim recklessly trying to draw the foul, which ended in more turnovers than anything. Westbrook finished with a nice stat line outside the eight turnovers, with 37 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, but surrendered eight turnovers.

The offense was very stagnant and included a lot of meaningless passes that did not make the Toronto defense work. It was a totally different feel than what the Thunder managed to do last time out on Monday night versus Miami.

For Toronto, outside of great play from Demar DeRozan, the Raptors received some great outside shooting from Patrick Patterson and Kyle Lowry. The Raptors killed Oklahoma City by driving and dishing out for wide-open threes. Lowry also put up a season high 13 assists.

 

Raptors Rip Apart Thunder – Thunderous Inentions

Kyle Lowry was a silent assassin for the Raptors tonight, picking the Thunder apart to the tune of 13 assists, and he seemed to be able lob an alley-oop almost at will. Coming into tonight the Raptors were ranked dead last in the NBA in 3-point percentage, and you never would’ve been able to tell watching the game. They finished the night shooting 42.3% on 11-26 from three.

 

Thunder journal: Roberson foul trouble gets Raptors’ DeRozan cooking | News OK

Russell Westbrook drove to the basket in the third quarter and bypassed an open Roberson on the fast break.

On a previous possession, the ball bounced off Roberson’s hand as Westbrook dished to him for what looked like an easy 2-on-1 score. Walking over to the Thunder’s bench for a timeout, Westbrook punched at the ball in frustration.

As good as Roberson’s defensive effort was on DeRozan early and as dynamic as Westbrook was in stretches of a 36-point, 7-rebound, 7-assist night, the two encapsulated the Thunder’s problems finishing.

Toronto scored 21 fast-break points, 11 of those coming on missed shots within four feet of the rim by Westbrook or Roberson.

In a 4-minute, 10-second stretch in the second quarter, Toronto went on an 18-6 run to take the lead for good. In that span, the Raptors turned three Westbrook misses at the rim into seven points.

The Thunder had 32 points in the paint, a season low.

 

Thunder vs. Toronto Raptors Game Recap – Nov. 9, 2016 | Oklahoma City Thunder

“The things that Toronto does well, they did well tonight and we certainly had a hard time with it,” Donovan said. “Their rebounding: we got hurt on the glass some. The other part of that was their activity on defense: we turned the ball over too much.”

 

Raptors roll the Thunder, 112-102 – Raptors HQ

The Thunder came out swinging in the fourth quarter with a 9-1 run and even managed to pull to within four point with just under five minutes to go. The Raps responded with an 8-0 run of their own, though, and never let it get that close again.

In the 112-102 win, DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with an efficient 37 points (on 13-for-22 shooting from the field and 11-for-15 from the line), while throwing in four boards, six assists, and three steals. That makes six 30-plus-point games for DeMar in seven games this season.

 

Assist rant – Reddit

Now before everyone starts jumping on saying that “it’s because our guys aren’t hitting 3 point shots”, the biggest stat in this last that stands out is 2ND LAST IN POTENTIAL ASSISTS. So basically we’re not even trying to get our role players open shots through a great pass. They’re probably missing wide open 3’s because they don’t get enough of them!
I love our team, but I wish we would play to our strengths more, and one of those is our depth. We don’t make everyone on the team feel important or that they can contribute in meaningful ways. It’s just that “let’s get the ball to Will” mentality. It’s the difference between us and GSW, or us and Boston (YES i’m using Boston because they still share the ball and score from that, it’s their defense is hurting them the most), or us and Cleveland.
Hell, even the Lakers are looking good because they are getting contributions from everyone and making them feel important. I LOVE BASKETBALL, but not the way we play basketball.

 

Valanciunas rests knee as Raptors think of long term | Toronto Star

Drawing the defence: Not every shot the Raptors are taking could be deemed a “good” shot but they are all necessary, according to point guard Kyle Lowry.

There has been a fair amount of hand-wringing about the slow shooting starts for a large portion of the roster, but even shots that might not look the wisest have to be taken.

“You’ve got to keep (defenders) honest,” Lowry said. “You have to shoot shots to make sure that they’re going to go out there and contest you. If you stop shooting the ball, they don’t have to guard you.

“It’s the right shot at the right time in the play.”

 

Raptors Set To Honour Huskies History Against Knicks | Toronto Raptors

The Raptors last wore Huskies alternates during DeMar DeRozan’s rookie season in 2009-2010. The rookie DeRozan that modelled the uniform prior to the game couldn’t have possibly predicted how many things would happen for him and the franchise in the space between those two Huskies throwback nights. From becoming the player with the most wins in franchise history, to representing the team as an All-Star starter when Toronto hosted the first All-Star game held outside of the U.S. to leading the Raptors to the Conference Finals, the DeRozan that slips on a Huskies uniform on Saturday is currently leading the NBA in scoring and has helped to take the team to heights previously unseen.

This year’s Huskies throwbacks are a vibrant blue with white trim around the jerseys and a white waistband with blue accents on the shorts. The lettering has white trim, with a crisp TORONTO across the front.

 

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