Takeaways: Things only get tougher for Raptors as Lowry injury looms – Sportsnet.ca
It didn’t have to be like this
The Lowry injury puts an exclamation point on it but this was a game the Raptors had in some version of their control throughout the fourth quarter but couldn’t nail it down. They were leading by nine with 3:27 left, but the Nets kept coming as did the Raptors’ defensive breakdowns. In short order: A wide-open corner three by Quincy Acy, a blown pick-and-roll coverage that allowed a Spencer Dinwiddie layup; some good ball movement by the Nets to set up a three by Dinwiddie, who finished with 31 points and eight assists; and finally the Raptors losing Joe Harris for an open three in transition. In the space of 1:35 the Raptors lead was down to two.
Meanwhile, the Raptors were becoming overly reliant on DeRozan isolations. He scored on four of them, but missed on his last two in regulation, including a low-percentage look at the buzzer. There was more of the same in overtime with the ball movement a thing of the past and DeRozan trying to stuff it down the throat of the defence. He was 1-of-5 in overtime before converting the winning three-point play and the last of his 35 points on 14-of-30 shooting. The effort tied Vince Carter’s club record for most 30-point games in Raptors history with 91.
Raptors’ Kyle Lowry knows his time is coming, if he can stay healthy | Toronto Star
With the season approaching the halfway mark — and with Lowry having played in all 38 games, including his 18-point, 10-assist performance Monday — Lowry said the reduced load has offered a notable boost to the liveliness of his legs. But it hasn’t been an easy transition. And it’s early.
“The body feels great now,” Lowry said Sunday. “But ask me in the playoffs, ask me later in the season . . . I won’t really know the effects until later on in the year.”
On Monday, thanks to a pesky Nets squad that fell behind 13-1 early but fed off a strong performance from third-year guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who had 31 points and eight assists, and battled back to force an extra frame, some heavier-than-average minutes were required. Still, even with overtime Lowry had only logged 38 minutes.
Monday’s alarming moment aside — and Casey pointed out that Lowry is “a tough kid” who’s absorbed plenty of knocks in his prosperous career — it’s hard to imagine the effects of conservative player deployment won’t help Toronto’s cause. Injuries will happen, but the move has also allowed for the blossoming of Wright and VanVleet, who’ve emerged as key contributors and who’ve been rewarded with more minutes as a result.
DeRozan, who led the Raptors with 35 points on Monday, has seen playing time reduced modestly — by about one minute a game, on average. And as much as it might seem like a footnote, Casey sees moderating the Lowry-DeRozan workload as “a huge deal.”
“I think what people are missing with Kyle is the sacrificing of the number of shots, the number of minutes,” Casey said. “I mean the first few games of the year he’s champing at the bit wanting to get in there. Every star player I have ever had, whether it’s Kevin Garnett or Dirk (Nowitzki), whoever, has talked about, ‘I want to have less minutes.’ But when competition comes and the competitive spirit comes out, they are not thinking about minutes.
Raptors beat Nets, but Lowry hurt in OT | Toronto Sun
Initially, this note was going to be about having to play your starters long and late on the first night of a back-to-back.
But watching Lowry go down in obvious pain and have to leave a game that very easily could have been over almost four minutes earlier has to sit wrong with a number of Raptors.
As DeRozan pointed out after the game, you have to give the Nets credit, but when you consider the lead the Raptors had and the number of mistakes that had to be made in order to give the Nets four open three-pointers in those final three minutes, the level of frustration has to spike.
And that’s to say nothing of the impact it will have Tuesday night when the Raptors host a rested Miami almost assuredly without Lowry in the lineup.
Dinwiddie drops career-high but Nets fall in another controversial ending: 114-113 – NetsDaily
Once again, the Nets found themselves in a close one down the stretch against one of the best teams in the East. Despite trailing by 12 in the first half, the Nets battled back and cut this thing down to one by half.
Then, the Raptors found their groove again and went on a 7-0 run, bringing them up by 11. Another game of catch up late.
The Nets answered strong and hit six 3-pointers in the fourth and tied this thing at 107 apiece following a gritty bucket from Allen Crabbe.
Unfortunately, Crabbe was down in pain holding his knee. He walked off on his own power, but he was in noticeable pain. Fortunately, he returned in overtime.
Dinwiddie hit three 3-pointers and scored 21 points in the second half, including three clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Tied at 107 apiece, DeRozan missed a contested fadeaway and this one headed to OT.
DeRozan was 1-of-5 in overtime before nailing a tough and-one to put Toronto up by one.
It was then that Dinwiddie took the ball hard to the hole on the following possession, but missed on a physical play all around as time expired.
Game over.
And so, the Nets have. become the first team since the 2012-13 Spurs to play five straight games decided by three or fewer points.
The Nets shot 39 percent on the night – 12-of-33 from 3-point after hitting only four in the first half. Allen Crabbe hit 4-of-6 and scored 20 on the night. Jarrett Allen finished with 14 points, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to go along with 14 points.
DeRozan was lethal all night. He finished with 35 points on 14-of-30 shooting. Kyle Lowry finished with 18 points and 11 assists but was carried off the floor in overtime after a hard fall. He underwent an X-ray while his teammates won it
Raptors beat Nets 114-113 in overtime, but lose Kyle Lowry to injury down the stretch – Raptors HQ
The Raps opened overtime blowing a switch, leading to a wide open dunk for Dinwiddie, who had 21 points in the second half. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson then scored to put the Raps in a hole. The offense was stagnant and isolation based; the first bucket for the Raptors came after DeRozan missed a long two and Delon Wright snuck in for a tip in. Lowry helped energize the team with a pair of huge rebounds, the first of which coming as he climbed the ladder to rip the ball from Harris. The second was an offensive rebound — and we know how that went. He looked to have hurt either his back or his butt and will be evaluated shortly. He didn’t return after to the game.
After Lowry’s unfortunate exit, DeRozan would give the Raptors back the lead with a tough and-one bucket. With Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka combining for a tough stop on Spencer Dinwiddie to end the game, it would be a lead the Raptors would hold. DeRozan, the hero from start to finish, would end the game with 35 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Lowry would go out with 18 points and 11 assists.
It was a tough game, and it will make tomorrow’s game against the Heat even tougher. But on the bright side, a win is a win, even one that has to be ground out like this. The Raptors ultimately took care of business.
Podcast – About Kyle Lowry’s Butt w/ Vivek Jacob – Locked On Raptors
In Episode 255 of Locked on Raptors, Sean Woodley and Vivek Jacob (Raptors Republic, Sportsnet) break down a Raptors OT win in Brooklyn, discuss Kyle Lowry’s scary fall and what a long-term absence would mean for the rotation, and look back at a big win in Milwaukee on Friday night.
Of heartbreak and respect: Spencer Dinwiddie speaks (and well) – NetsDaily
“The other thing that is very frustrating as well is we have these meetings, right, as teams or with PA about respect and so we want to treat everybody with respect because everybody is doing their jobs and they’re trying their best including us. We turn the ball over. Calls are missed, whatever it is. But when you approach somebody, and they shush you or they wave you off like you’re not a man or something of that nature, that’s also very frustrating.
“To already be in the position of feeling like you’re not getting the same respect, whether true or false, it is an opinion at the end of the day. It’s very subjective. That is an opinion. But to have that and not just in one case, but time after time. And like I said, to be shushed if you’re not a man. Those are the things that are really frustrating for guys on this team for sure. Especially games that are so hard fought that come down to the last second.”
DeRozan recognized after career week – Article – TSN
Recently, he’s been playing with a heavy heart, which makes this run he’s on that much more commendable. On Sunday, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun reported that DeRozan’s father, Frank, is battling kidney disease. DeRozan flew home to Los Angeles in between games late last month to be with his family. You wouldn’t know it from watching him, on or off the court. It’s been business as usual for Toronto’s budding superstar.
Those that have paid attention know DeRozan’s been trending upwards for a while now, particularly over the last year as he’s taken his all-around game to new heights. One measure of his consistency over that stretch: DeRozan has now won Player of the Week honours in each of the NBA’s last seven full months, dating back to the start of last season.
Known for his tireless work ethic, DeRozan told Wojnarowski that he would wake up and begin his workout routine at 4:15 AM every morning this past summer. On New Year’s Eve he was in the gym getting extra shots up, something that’s become an annual tradition for him.
In addition to the areas in which DeRozan already excelled – scoring from the mid-range, attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line – the 28-year-old has shown continued improvement on the defensive end and with his three-point shot.
A career 29 per cent three-point shooter, DeRozan has hit 26 of his 49 attempts from beyond the arc over the last nine games – the most threes he’s ever taken or made in a nine-game stretch.
Following Monday’s game in Brooklyn, DeRozan and his team begin one of their toughest stretches of the regular season – a 12-day span in which they’ll face seven consecutive opponents currently at or above .500. To put that into perspective, only six of their previous 20 contests came against teams with winning records.
With the spotlight on them more than usual, especially on Thursday when the Cavaliers come to town – a nationally televised game in the United States – and then again against Golden State on Saturday, the Raptors have an opportunity to prove they’re for real, and DeRozan will be at the forefront of it.
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Valanciunas had another monstrous offensive game. After outscoring and out-rebounding the Bucks in the third quarter on Friday, he put up 21 points and 13 rebounds against the Nets. The Raptors looked for him early, and often.
Then came the dilemma that has existed alongside the big centre for almost the entirety of his career. The Raptors had a six-point lead with more than six minutes remaining, and the Nets were bound to put five shooters on the floor. Valanciunas had been so good that it would have felt wrong to keep him out of the game. Of course, it would come at the expense of footspeed, which would result in open three-pointers for one of the most trigger-happy teams in the league.
Valanciunas had his moments in that fourth quarter. He had a layup off of a feed from Lowry, and might have tipped in a rebound if Ibaka did not do it before. However, the Nets just got more with him out there. On one play, he did not even attempt to get out to Acy. On another, he got down low in transition to stop the layup, but the Raptors just did not match up. That is not entirely Valanciunas’s fault, but he gives up some of the Raptors’ ability to switch and get out to shooters in those very situations.
“We felt like we could dominate the boards with JV in there as a big,” Casey said. “When you’re in that situation, you still have got to close out to three-point shooters if they have a (centre) who can shoot the three. If they’re beating us down the floor, that means all five men have to sprint back. Sometimes it works. It worked for us (against Milwaukee). But you’ve got to dominate. You’ve got to dominate the boards and then sprint back and match up in transition.
“They did a good job of racing it down our throats to get back in the game.”
Bruno Caboclo – B
Details: Agreed to fourth-year assignmentCaboclo faced a tough decision after a shaky pre-season that saw him leapfrogged in the Raptors rotation by Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby: Stay on the bench and wait for scraps in which he’d have to make a statement, or accept a fourth year of G League assignments in hopes of continuing to improve on and extend his NBA experiment. He chose the latter, requesting the assignment before the Raptors could ask. It’s been a mixed bag, as most things with the Caboclo gamble have been.
What he’s shown with some level of firmness is that everything the Raptors saw in terms of defensive potential was accurate. Caboclo’s been one of the most important pieces on the league’s No. 2 defence, smothering wings with his length, improving his timing and decision-making helping at the rim and even playing some centre. The 905 allow just 98.1 points per 100 possessions when Caboclo’s on the floor, he’s blocking 5.52 per cent of opponent shots when he’s on the floor and he owns a 2.14-per-cent steal rate. Only one other player in the league can match those block and steal rates, and as a result, Caboclo ranks second in the entire G League in Defensive Win Shares and in the top 20 for Defensive Box Plus-Minus.
Things have come slower on the offensive end, where Caboclo’s been given a green light to the tune of a 23.1-per-cent usage rate. He’s posting a career-best 53.3 true-shooting percentage, but that’s hardly efficient. And while he’s doing a better job finishing through contact and hitting the offensive glass for easier looks inside, he’s hitting just 32.5 per cent of nearly seven three-point attempts per game. It’s important he continues to take these shots, and his confidence has only occasionally waned. Still, for the NBA-ready defence to earn him NBA playing time, he’s going to need what’s likely to be his biggest NBA skill, shooting, to become more reliable. He’s at 32.2 per cent on 773 career long-range attempts now across pre-season/Summer League/NBA/G League.
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Toronto Raptors: How a Kyle Lowry trade would have changed everything – Tip of the Tower
Most Toronto Raptors fans are familiar with the story of Masai Ujiri’s attempts to trade Kyle Lowry during the 2013/14 season. If the New York Knicks had agreed to the deal, it would have likely sent the Raptors’ franchise headed in a vastly different direction.
The Raptors wouldn’t have been the beneficiaries of Lowry’s development into a three-time NBA All-Star and one of the best point guards in the league. It could have also resulted in the loss of another one of their stars.
DeMar DeRozan admitted on Monday that if Lowry had gone to the Knicks, he would have asked for a trade. Rudy Gay had just been moved, and DeRozan was disillusioned with the direction of the franchise.
The three-time All-Star recounted a conversation he had at the time with Lowry. As reported by the Canadian Press via Sportsnet, he told his teammate: “If you get traded, I’m going to ask for a trade too.”
No doubt, Toronto Raptors fans don’t want to think about how things could have turned out if Lowry and DeRozan left. However, you imagine the team wouldn’t have embarked on the most successful period in franchise history, which has included three Atlantic Division titles, four consecutive playoff appearances and a first ever trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
Instead, Lowry’s move to New York fell through and the Raptors started to win.
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Raptors-Heat tipoff | Toronto Sun
The Heat haven’t been healthy all year and they aren’t quite there yet, but they are on a bit of a roll having won four in a row including a just-completed three-game sweep at home of Detroit, New York, and Utah. The Heat will still be without both Justice Winslow and Dion Waiters for tonight and the next road game in Indiana. The Heat don’t have Toronto’s offence but defensively they are holding opponents to 102.2 points a game which is a couple less than the Raptors are averaging. This will be the first of three meetings with the Heat this season. Miami has not won in Toronto in a franchise-long five straight games.
Tuesday game preview: Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors | Toronto Star
Hassan Whiteside has often played well against Toronto, averaging 14 points, 13 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. That promises to be a lot to handle for Jonas Valanciunas, who has averaged 11 points and eight rebounds in 15 previous meetings with the Heat.
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