DeRozan and Lowry’s Olympic success benefiting Raptors | Toronto Sun
Their confidence level and their leadership level has really improved,” said the Raptors head coach. “It’s one thing to say you’re elite, it’s another thing to know it. They came out of the Olympics knowing they are among the elite level (of players).
“That honour of being a U.S. gold medallist is a big honour.”
DeRozan maxed out on his contract last summer. He is set for his life and your life. Lowry enters free agency this summer, with a new CBA bringing his likely salary to a new level. But often, when you’ve been around as long as Lowry and DeRozan have been, salaries go up, yet players peak.
The two are playing the best they have ever played. That gold medal is paying significant dividends for the Raptors.
Raptors defence playing catch up to stellar Lowry-lead offence | Toronto Sun
Unless the team starts playing some defence and stops being awful on the defensive boards, there will be more losses like Friday’s against Atlanta, no matter how well Lowry shoots the ball.
“It doesn’t (mean anything) right now,” head coach Dwane Casey said of Toronto’s league-best offence as a whole.
“You’ve got to have balance in this league. If you’re first in offence and last in defence, it’s not worth a hill of beans,” he said.
“I like our offence. I like the way we’re playing. We’re utilizing screens, we’re passing the ball, we’re making shots (but) we still have to be consistent on the defensive end. And it’s not from a lack of effort. We’re doing some things that are not smart. We’re not thinking the defensive end. We’re playing hard. But we’re not executing technique and schemes and making mistakes on things that we shouldn’t be.”
The Toronto Raptors are not what we would consider a modern NBA offense. In the “pace and space” era of the league, where easy transition baskets and three-point makes are coveted by the bucketload, the Raps don’t do a lot of either. They are 23rd in the NBA in pace with 94.8 possessions per 48 minutes, rank 18th in transition possessions per game with 14.7, and 23rd in three-points attempts per contest at 24.5.
But what they lack in volume in those areas, they more than make up for with efficiency.
While they are in the bottom half of the league in transition possessions per contest, they are number one with a bullet when it comes to points per transition possession at 1.31. And although they don’t shoot a ton of threes per game, they make a higher percentage of them than just about anyone in the league. As of today, they are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for first in the Association in three-point percentage at 39.9%.
Speaking of shooting percentages, the Raptors are pretty well solid across the board. They currently rank second in the NBA in field goal percentage (47.6%) and second in free throw percentage (82.1%). They are the only team in the NBA to rank in the top-two in all three standard shooting percentages, while coming in fourth in effective field goal percentage (weighted twos and threes) at 53.3% and third in true shooting percentage (weighted twos, threes, and freebies) at 58.1%.
Home Court Contested shots: Who should start at power forward? – Video – TSN
Home Court host Meghan McPeak & co-hosts Duane Watson & Josh Lewenberg debate who the Raptors should start at power forward.
Home Court Contested shots: Raps best 3-point shooter? – Video – TSN
Home Court host Meghan McPeak & co-hosts Duane Watson & Josh Lewenberg debate the Raptors best 3-point shooter in franchise history.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOJR73igM45/
Raptors need to roll off the rim to win | Toronto Star
Rebounding at an elite level is far from an individual task, and that’s where the Raptors are lacking. Big men need to try to hold off other big men, guards have to get to the glass to “sandwich” an opponent, and someone has to be able to track down the ball.
It’s simplistic to look at Dwight Howard’s seven offensive rebounds on Friday, or the 15 the Hawks got that allowed them to score an astonishing 36 second-chance points, and point to big-man deficiencies. That’s not how it works, and the guards and wings know it.
“It’s got to be a team effort,” DeMar DeRozan said. “It can’t just be relying on one guy, boxing out one person.
“You’ve got to be more focused on understanding who you’re playing against, the type of teams.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOJGcNqFkI-/
Home Court: Plus-Minus – Video – TSN
Home Court host Meghan McPeak & co-hosts Duane Watson & Josh Lewenberg discuss their positive and negative takeaways from the Raptors’ recent performances.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOIdNoJgbOx/
Rautins: Best thing about Patterson is he’s vocal – Video – TSN
Home Court host Meghan McPeak & co-hosts Duane Watson & Josh Lewenberg are joined by NBA analyst Leo Rautins to discuss what sets Patrick Patterson apart.
Rautins: Biggest concerns for Raps’ road trip – Video – TSN
Home Court host Meghan McPeak & co-hosts Duane Watson & Josh Lewenberg are joined by NBA analyst Leo Rautins to discuss the biggest concerns for the Raptors’ upcoming road trip.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOHy2S7A66r/
Bismack Biyombo Looks Forward to Playing Against Former Team | Orlando Magic
In some ways, Biyombo said the situation with a Magic team trying to get back into the playoffs following a four-year drought is similar to what he faced in Toronto last season.
“When I heard about the opportunity to come here, for me it was about going back and trying to do it all again,’’ Biyombo said of the challenge of rebuilding the Magic from the ground up. “I want to make more great stories here. I love the guys around here and it’s a great opportunity for me. Now we’ve just got to find a way to be consistent and take care of home.’’
Biyombo has found a home in the Orlando’s starting lineup, and even though he’s struggled with a sprained left shoulder the past week, he’s established himself as a driving force of the steadily improving Magic. His statistics – 6.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.41 blocks a game – won’t blow anyone away, but Biyombo’s game has never been about the numbers on a stat sheet. Often, he helps the Magic in ways that are hard to measure statistically with his abilities as a wipeout screener or how he can almost single-handedly blow up pick-and-roll plays with his lateral quickness and recovery speed.
“Some guys surprise you, and you think you were getting this and instead you are getting that,’’ Magic coach Frank Vogel said. “But Biz has been everything that we thought we were getting. He’s a tough-minded dude who enhances the toughness of our group. He’s a good leader, a high-character guy and he’s a big part of what we’re doing here.’’
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOI2Vn5g5lE/
Bismack Biyombo looks fondly on the Toronto Raptors – Orlando Sentinel
Biyombo played his best when Toronto needed him most. He moved into the starting lineup when center Jonas Valanciunas sprained his ankle during Game 3 of a second-round series against the Miami Heat. Biyombo dominated at times and helped the Raptors eliminate the Heat in seven games.
Biyombo played well against the Cavaliers, too.
Those playoff performances helped his free-agent stock.
The Magic offered him a four-year deal worth $17 million a season — an offer too lucrative to refuse.
Biyombo said he, Lowry, DeRozan and other Raptors players were talking and texting with each other right up until the start of free agency about what they could do to reach the NBA Finals in 2017.
“The expectation that everybody [had] was that I was going back there,” Biyombo said. “I had conversations with teammates before free agency was open. An hour before free agency was open I was still talking to all my teammates. Ten minutes before free agency opened they were still talking to me. So the expectations was high. But in the end, it was tough.”
In Orlando, he saw an opportunity to replicate some of the success Toronto enjoyed.
Some pundits (and some fans) said the Raptors would lose in the first round of the 2016 playoffs. Then they said the Raptors would lose in the second round. Then they said they would get swept by the Cavaliers.
The Raptors defied all of those expectations.
And, now, Biyombo wants to defy expectations again — this time in Orlando.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOI16BQAfmB/
Game Preview: Raptors @ Magic | Toronto Raptors
Toronto has already scored 120 points eight times this season. This is topped by just two seasons (2014-15 and 2005-06) where the team accomplished it nine times. Last year’s team topped 120 points just twice. After the team’s practice on Thursday, Patrick Patterson discussed needing to shift attention onto the defence.
“I’m hoping it happens before, knock on wood, a bad loss,” Patterson said. “Hopefully we realize we need to stop dribble penetration, stop people getting to the paint, help each other on the defensive end by talking and communicating and finish plays with rebounds. All those things we used to do we have to get back to. I’m hoping we find a way to get back to that and still have that offensive side as well.”
Patterson’s concerns were validated when the Raptors dropped Friday’s contest to the Atlanta Hawks 125-121. After the game, Casey’s words echoed Patterson’s from the day before.
“We scored enough points,” Casey said. “121 points, shooting 54 percent, 47 percent form three. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where our problem is… We’ve got to have defence in the game. We can score. I’m not worried about our scoring, but until we individually make a decision to guard your man, my man, we’re going to be an up and down team.”
Casey has been asked repeatedly about the team’s high-scoring offensive efficiency. Each time he has answered to say his focus has been on how the team is performing defensively. Despite his continued preaching, it has been difficult for the team to worry about the defence when there’s been so much success on the offensive end of the floor.
“Guys are hitting shots so we want to score and put up as many points as possible,” Patterson said. “But also we still need to get stops and play that Toronto Raptors defence that we have in the past.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGVr0AgIt-/
Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic: Sunday NBA preview | Toronto Star
KEY MATCHUP
Valanciunas vs. Biyombo
Just like all those days and all those practices a year ago, Valanciunas gets to go against an energetic rebounder, defender and rim protector. Biyombo’s a force on the offensive glass, too, which plays directly into a Raptors weakness.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOIyfkLFDbY/
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