Toronto Raptors need the Serge Ibaka from Games 1, 2 – Sportsnet.ca
But what about Serge Ibaka? He’s played the most minutes in this series of any Raptor not named Kyle or DeMar, and the quality of that play has been all over the place. He followed up strong performances in the first two games with lacklustre ones in the next two. And, so far, as Ibaka has gone, so has the series.
Ibaka was arguably Toronto’s best player in its series-opening victory (feels like a long time ago, doesn’t it?) when he put up 23 points with 12 rebounds, shooting 8-of-11 from the field. He was active, his was involved, and, in a game where Toronto turned the ball over 18 times, Ibaka was responsible for only one of them, which says something considering how much the ball was in his hands.
Gortat’s physicality a key for Wizards so far in series | The Star
While his hair was a target of disdain for teammates, it’s Gortat’s playing style which frustrates opponents.
Amid loud debate following Game 2 about whether Gortat should be replaced in the starting lineup, the Polish big man has made an impact against the top-seeded Raptors with his physical brand of screening. Through four games, Gortat leads all players in the postseason by averaging 6.8 screen assists per game, the statistic that measures how often his blocking moves on the offensive end have created points for teammates.
Raptors Practice: Masai Ujiri – April 24, 2018 – YouTube
NBA Playoffs 2018: The Raptors’ lineups failed in Game 4 against the Wizards – Raptors HQ
As has been the case of late, the starters came out of the gates ready to play, and built an early lead. Unfortunately, Jonas Valanciunas picked up some early fouls, so we were treated to some of those usually-disastrous mixed lineups that feature Serge Ibaka and Jakob Poeltl together. But lo and behold (thanks to OG Anunoby playing very well, and staying on the court with that pairing rather than the usual substitution of C.J. Miles), they won those minutes too! (If by a narrower margin than the starters were managing.) The DeMar DeRozan-plus-bench unit closed out the quarter without relinquishing any of the lead, and the Raptors hit the locker room up eight points.
VanVleet returns to practice; still day-to-day – Article – TSN
According to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, Fred VanVleet was able to practice with the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and was screen scrimmaging afterward. He’s still listed as day-to-day, but Lewenberg notes that there’s a chance he plays in Wednesday’s Game 5 matchup against the Washington Wizards.
Raptors have history of turning the corner in Game 5 | The Star
After watching the Raptors fumble their way through a pair of defeats in D.C. in Games 3 and 4, it’d be easy enough to be a doomsayer about the way this series is heading. Toronto’s defence has been disturbingly half-baked; DeRozan and Lowry are a couple of the biggest foot draggers on that front. Its offence has too often been stagnant, especially in tense moments on the road. And individual in-game decision-making has been unacceptably dim, a head-shaking mess of hard-to-explain turnovers and turned-down shots. Let’s just say it’s all made for some unpleasant practice-day video sessions.
“Video tells how bad you look. Video doesn’t really show how good you are, it only shows how bad you are,” Lowry was saying on Tuesday. “I think that’s the one thing you take from it, is you don’t wanna be that bad on film again. You wanna be better.”
Raptors Practice: Kyle Lowry – April 24, 2018 – YouTube
Pressure on Raptors vs. Wizards in Game 5 (Apr 24, 2018) | FOX Sports
I feel like both teams protected home court, now it’s the best-of-three,” Wizards guard John Wall said. “Somebody is going to have to win on the opponent’s court to win. We have a good opportunity to go there with some momentum, going into Game 5, and we want to take full advantage and try to get that win.”
It could have been different. With just under five minutes to play in Game 4 at Washington on Sunday, Wizards guard Bradley Beal fouled out. He had scored 31 points in 32 minutes.
The Wizards did not fold, however, but the Raptors did. With Wall leading the way, the Wizards went on to defeat the Raptors 106-98 to even the series.
“I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims of yesterday’s tragedy,” Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said after Raptors practice on Tuesday. “It’s sickening. It’s just something where my kids could have been there when they’re older, you know what I mean? It’s just a sad time. A sad day. It’s kind of hard to put into words how you feel. It’s just tough.”
The Blue Jays honored the victims, and the first responders who rushed to the scene, with a brief tribute before Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
Raptors’ Masai Ujiri urges Toronto to ‘come together’ in wake of van attack | Globalnews.ca
Team president Masai Ujiri said his phone blew up with “hundreds of texts from people all over. They kept asking ‘Is everything OK?”’
It wasn’t.
Basketball took a backseat Tuesday as the Raptors, like everyone else in the city, struggled to make sense of such a violent act.
Raptors Practice: Dwane Casey – April 24, 2018 – YouTube
Raptors express sorrow for victims in Toronto van tragedy – The Globe and Mail
Ujiri said the team will honour the victims and families involved in Monday’s attack in some way at Wednesday’s game, as the city’s fans gather by the thousands both inside and outside Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
Maple Leaf Square outside the ACC will be filled with Toronto basketball, hockey and soccer fans that night. On a very rare evening, it will play host to a combined tailgate viewing party for the Raptors-Wizards game, as well as the Maple Leaf Game 7 road contest versus the Boston Bruins and Toronto FC’s CONCACAF final matchup in Guadalajara.
ZICARELLI: Putting up a wall against Wall the key to Raptors victory | Toronto Sun
The Raptors have used Siakam’s unique skill set and ability to defend multiple positions on James during the regular season. Like James, Wall can’t be stopped, especially in transition when the Raptors are turning the ball over, which is precisely what unfolded in that fourth quarter meltdown in Washington.
By his account, head coach Dwane Casey counted 11 points Wall scored in transition, most off Toronto turnovers.
As for the decision to throw Siakam at Wall, as limited as it was, Casey isn’t about to go into the finer details of the defensive scheme.
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‘I still know who we are’: Raptors hope to provide reprieve for Toronto – The Athletic
Just this weekend, I was talking to people saying how safe Toronto is, and how it’s a melting pot and you don’t have the same crime,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Unfortunately, there was the incident (Monday). Our hearts and prayers go out to the families affected. It does put things into perspective.”
Namely, sports.
“What we do doesn’t really matter sometimes,” Ujiri said. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to be on that sidewalk or see people that experienced this. Everything we do gets put on the side, I think.”
NBA Playoffs 2018: The Raptors cannot revert, even when the pressure’s on – Raptors HQ
The Toronto Raptors have the sample size of an entire regular season and two playoff games to tell us who they are. They’re a team that’s embraced ball movement — they don’t have assist numbers in the stratosphere, but incremental changes and a team buy-in has made this team fun to watch. 59 wins doesn’t just happen, you have to believe that how you’re playing is the correct way. For most of the season, the Raptors have done just that.
In Games 3 and 4 of this Washington series, though, a few factors have piled up and the Raptors have regressed as a result. It hasn’t been bad in its entirety, but late in Game 4 we saw Toronto revert wholesale to how they used to play. This means Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, dribbling the air out of the ball while others watch, trying to make something happen out of nothing.
Toronto Raptors on Instagram: “Toronto ❤”
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