Morning Coffee – Tue, Mar 7

https://soundcloud.com/raptorsreasonablists/s1e09-whoever-they-were-then

Valanciunas vs. Ibaka: Inside the Raptors’ centre conundrum – Sportsnet.ca

Since Ibaka joined the team, he has been exactly as advertised, helping the Raptors climb from 9th to 3rd in the NBA in opponent points per game and from 18th to 9th in defensive rating in their last five heading into this past weekend. He’s also helped in the scoring department, averaging more than 17 points to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 2.2 made threes while playing just over 35 minutes per game in the six games he’s appeared in a Raptors uniform.
During that same span, Valanciunas is averaging nine points and 6.5 rebounds in just 19 minutes per game, as the Raptors went 4-2 in that stretch.
How important is it for the Raptors to focus on acclimating their young big man to the new climate? How much emphasis should be placed on getting Valanciunas floor time, let alone touches? Or should we all accept the new reality that his importance to this team is dwindling? Is this merely an adjustment period? Or cause for bigger concern?
Looking past this season, how much will this affect the Raptors’ long-term plans at centre? What does it mean that the Raps best option at the pivot right now will be a (pricey) free agent this summer, while their current centre, who has been flat-out relegated, is still under contract for three more years and just under $50 million in cap space?

Raptors’ Kyle Lowry has no regrets as he rehabs wrist | Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri reacted harshly to shoot down any problems with the optics, and none of Lowry’s coaches or teammates has even whispered privately any disappointment.
Lowry certainly has no regrets, even if some segments of the team’s fan base have been critical.
“I didn’t pay attention to people,” Lowry said while the Raptors went through a two-hour workout at the American Airlines Center. “Whatever they said, I know how I felt about it and I know what I said about it. I never have any regrets on anything I do.
“I … do everything and I feel whole-heartedly good about every decision I’ve made in my life.”

Raptors’ Lowry opens up about wrist surgery: ‘It’s a 10-year process’ | RAPTORS

He banged it again on the Wednesday night heading into the all-star break, but it wasn’t something he hadn’t done plenty of times before that.
“From what I’ve been told, it’s a 10-year process,” Lowry said.
“It’s a long process of wear and tear, and bumping and grinding, and hitting guys. It’s a little bit of wear and tear. It was just at the point where it got a little bit worse to the point where I couldn’t play. If it’s that serious for me, I knew it was something that needed to be checked on.”

Raptors’ DeMarre Carroll not expected to be out long | Toronto Star

While not ready to pronounce himself fit to play when the Toronto Raptors face the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, Carroll was buoyed by the progress he made after suffering the injury Saturday night in Milwaukee.
“I’m taking it day by day but I can walk on it, so that’s a positive,” he said. “(Of) course it’s swollen but, at the same time, I think I got a very high pain tolerance so I think I should be good.”
Carroll did not take part in Toronto’s workout at the American Airlines Center on Monday, getting treatment from members of the team’s medical staff. Coach Dwane Casey wasn’t venturing a guess on when Carroll might play.
“I don’t know how he is,” the coach said. “I still have to talk to the trainers as far as how he is feeling and what he can do.”

Numbers Game: P.J. Tucker is an Impact Player – Raptors HQ

Meanwhile, he’s looked a little better in a tiny sample in terms of defensive FG%. Opponents are shooting only 26% from three with him guarding them — a number I doubt is sustainable, but it’s a good sign if anything.
But most important, let’s look at how the team has done with him on the court.
In the past six games, since the break and the introduction of the new players, Tucker has the second best DRTG on the team after Patterson. With him on the court, the Raptors’ DRTG is 100.2, which would be the best defense in the league if a team were to own a DRTG that low.
And it’s not just that the team is doing better in general. With Tucker off the court, the DRTG leaps to 111.2, the worst of any player’s off-court rating.