10 things from Raptors-76ers | theScore.com
Excellence: It’s beginning to dawn on Raptors fans that they can just count on Kawhi Leonard to be consistently excellent in every game. Leonard sustained an elbow to the eye and a hard mid-air foul from Joel Embiid to deliver another efficient game in which he scored 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, while also coming through in the clutch.
Final Score: Toronto Raptors beat Sixers 129-112 – Raptors HQ
If the game became close, it was due to the three-point shooting of the Sixers (their own great leveller), who collectively put up 40 attempts, including a 5-of-11 streak in the fourth quarter. There was also the rebounding to account for, what with Joel Embiid throwing his massive body around on his way to five offensive boards. The Sixers managed 17 offensive rebounds to Toronto’s nine. Only Pascal Siakam, whose efficient 15 point-15 rebound night, was able to consistently keep the Sixers on their toes (so much so, Jonas Valanciunas joked even he was confused by Siakam’s relentless everywhere-at-once play). Props to Serge Ibaka (16 points, eight rebounds) for gamely trying to slow Embiid (31 points, 11 rebounds, four assists) anyway. And for his part, Valanciunas was also effective: 23 points on 14 shots, and he helped float the Raps’ offense when they went to the injury-depleted all-bench lineups.
The other difference maker for Toronto was, of course, Kyle Lowry. In his 37 minutes (oof), Lowry went off for another double-double, this time with 20 points and 12 assists, while shooting 7-of-14 from the field (and a restorative 3-of-7 from three). Much like Kawhi (albeit in a different way), Lowry was able to dictate the pace of the game. If he decided it would go one way — e.g. through a cross-court skip pass to a wide open Danny Green for a 3; or by Nash-ing it under the net to find a cutting Ibaka or Siakam — then it usually went that way. Lowry’s usual level of rage, typified by his early battles with the refs tonight, eventually paid off as he found its appropriate channel. The Raptors just rode along with it.
Which brings us back to the cool of Kawhi Leonard. The fourth quarter tonight began with an 8-0 Sixers run, and with under four minutes to go the lead did indeed shrink to six points. It felt like the Sixers had found their groove too, with the two-man JJ Redick-Embiid game, and Simmons climbing his way to a near triple-double (11-10-8). But then Leonard did his superstar thing: an assist to Ibaka, a steal on Simmons, an assist to Siakam, a three-pointer, and then one more jumper to push the lead back up to 18. That last bucket broke the Sixers, ushering in the bench for the final minute and a half, and sending the Toronto faithful into a frenzy.
“I’m really not, he’s that good,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown when asked if he was surprised at Kawhi’s level of play. “He really is that good. It’s great to see him playing basketball again.”
The Raptors and Celtics are the most similar two teams, deep in rangy wings with dynamic point guards. The Bucks, who throttled the Raptors on Monday, have endless shooting around Giannis Antetokounmpo, possibly the best player in the conference, give or take Kawhi Leonard. And the 76ers have all of that sheer size that teams just do not build rosters to combat.
After the last two nights, it is tempting to say that the Raptors have the guts to battle inside but not necessarily the defensive chemistry — at least not yet — to guard in space.
“You still take it as a test. These are teams you’re going to see down the road,” Miles said. “Everybody’s going to get better. Everybody’s going to continue to get better and grow and figure out themselves. Rotations change, guys will be playing better at different times. A lot of factors change. And nobody shows all of their stuff at the beginning of the year. It’s about just playing basketball in the beginning: man-to-man, guys guarding their guy, stuff like that.”
“(With the Bucks), it was the first time seeing them, playing differently under a new coach. Things you’re used to them doing they don’t do, and you’ve only scouted them for a handful of games. It’s without Giannis and without Kawhi. The game is totally different. Don’t get me wrong, they played their tails off (on Monday), but there are a lot of things that go into the season that just change.”
Indeed, the Celtics should find themselves offensively, and the 76ers will probably find a way to add a little more shooting to complement Embiid and Simmons. Unlike in years past, though, the Raptors have a hammer of their own.
Leonard, Lowry help Raptors hold off Sixers as team moves to 7-1 | Toronto Sun
Both teams played on Monday, Toronto in Milwaukee, Philly at home against Atlanta. While Leonard rested for that one at home in Toronto, Embiid and Simmons both played at least 27 minutes. It’s unclear if fatigue was a factor though, or whether it was just Leonard’s smothering presence and the good work on Embiid early by Ibaka and Valanciunas.
Toronto’s lead grew as high as 26 points, but Philadelphia sprang to life in the fourth, cutting the deficit down to nine, and later six following an Embiid three-pointer.
However, Lowry and Leonard again took full control, with Leonard supplying the dagger via a three-pointer with 1:56 remaining to push the lead back up to an insurmountable 13 points.
The Raptors improved to 7-1, a nice record to take into the first long trip of the regular season, which begins with Friday’s game in Phoenix.
Leonard is averaging 27.3 points per game as a Raptor. The franchise mark for a season is 27.7, by Vince Carter.
Raptors pass test after first loss, rebound with renewed effort vs. 76ers – Sportsnet.ca
The defensive resistance was welcome, given it was largely absent against the Bucks, who spread the floor and largely seemed to be able get wherever they needed to go. It didn’t help that the Raptors were without Leonard, OG Anunoby (personal reasons) and Fred VanVleet (strained big toe).
Leonard returned to action, looked energized and offered the Raptors some balance on both ends of the floor, but Anunoby and VanVleet remained sidelined.
“I think obviously those are three really good defenders,” said Nurse before the game. “Those might be right up there at the top of our list as three defenders. We’re not gonna make excuses about it. When we put guys out there, they’ve gotta do a better job of executing the game plan and keeping their men in front and doing what we’re trying to do. There’s some learning from that last night. We’ve gotta make sure we learn from what happened last night.”
There were plenty of signs. Among the more encouraging ones was the awakening of the bench, which has struggled to find its rhythm with Delon Wright missing so much time to start the year, and VanVleet out.
Wright — in just his third appearance after a groin strain in exhibition play on Oct. 10 — looked more himself, and the bench benefitted. He had seven points and two assists in eight minutes in the first half. Unlike against the Bucks where the Raptors bench was completely underwater — outscored by 17 — Wright helped the Raptors extend the lead for a change.
Jonas Valanciunas was coming off his worst game of the season and bounced back in a big way as he had 15 of his 23 in the first half as well.
The Raptors passed their first test. They have an off day and a practice day before they face a new one — their first extended road trip of the season.
Recap: Raptors beat Sixers back to Cretaceous Period – Liberty Ballers
Back to back turnovers by Simmons and Embiid followed by a Danny Green three pointer put the Raptors back up by double digits with 5:15 left. The Sixers refused to go away as the team continued to pick at the lead with some great defensive plays by Simmons leading to an Embiid three pointer that cut the lead to six with 3:30 to go.
Simmons’s 11th turnover led to another Raptors fast break two and offensive rebound followed by a Kawhi three to make it 124-111 with two minutes left. Within the last three minutes, the Raptors scored 12 unanswered before a Fultz free throw with under a minute to go. The scrappy effort to comeback did not come to fruition. Sixers drop to 4-4.
Joel Embiid finished with 31 and 11 rebounds.
Simmons tallied 11 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, but those 11 turnovers were a killer. Redick added 13, and Covington added 15 (4-8 from 3pt%).
Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 31 and seven rebounds. Lowry had 20, and Valanciunas had 23 off the bench in 17 minutes. As a team, the Raptors shot 40% from three.
The Sixers still have not won a game in Toronto since 2012.
Brutal.
Philadelphia 76ers: Player grades from 129-112 loss to Toronto Raptors – The Sixer Sense
Putting it in a simple way, the Philadelphia 76ers just didn’t play well whatsoever. Apart from a small fourth quarter comeback, the team couldn’t execute on either side of the ball.
Toronto’s defense (led by Kawhi Leonard), caused the Sixers to turn the ball over a massive 23 times. Apart from Joel Embiid, no player got into a steady offensive rhythm for the Sixers.
Kawhi Leonard was absolutely massive for the Raptors, and the MVP hype around him definitely showed tonight. Leonard completely locked Ben Simmons up, which stalled the offense for the majority of the night.
The Toronto Raptors are one of the deepest teams in the entire league, and it showed against the Sixers bench. When time came for substitutes, Toronto took over the game as Philadelphia’s reserves simply aren’t up to par.
Leonard matched up with Simmons to start the game, and right from the opening tip wouldn’t give the youngster any space. In fact, on the first possession of the game, Leonard simply took the ball from Simmons.
A few possessions later, Leonard read what Simmons was going to do on the fast break, and deflected his pass for another steal.
(Side note: the defensive strategy the Raptors employed here — using a big to wall off Simmons in transition and force him to kick it out, where other defenders are waiting — is the same one the Celtics had success stopping Simmons with in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend in the league.)
These two types of plays would reappear throughout the night. Late in the second half, after switching off Simmons — the Raptors do a lot of switching — Leonard once again read his eyes and jumped into the passing lane for a steal.
Rested Raptor Leonard wears out 76ers | The Star [subscription]
Seeing a 26-point lead cut down to six with about three minutes to go in the game, the Raptors turned themselves around for their fifth straight home win and seventh overall in eight games to start the season.
Philly’s Joel Embiid, who finished with 31 points, and Raptor Jonas Valanciunas, who racked up 23 off the bench, saw a lot of each other in the paint on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena. (NATHAN DENETTE / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
There were many stars on the night — Kawhi Leonard returned from a night off to score 31 points, and Jonas Valanciunas pitched in 23 off the bench — as Toronto’s depth was just too much for Philadelphia.Kyle Lowry had 12 assists to go with 20 points, the sixth straight game the all-star point guard has registered more than 10 assists. The franchise record is seven, set by Damon Stoudamire.
Philadelphia, 4-4 and winless on the road this season, got 31 points for Joel Embiid, but Ben Simmons was held mostly in check and forced into 11 of Philadelphia’s 23 turnovers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbbhyR14Q0k
Siakam thrilled to have Kawhi back in the lineup – Video – TSN
After a pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with 15 points, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam discusses the team’s bounce back performance, and what having Kawhi Leonard in the lineup does for the team.
Inside Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri’s trade for Kawhi Leonard – ESPN
Ujiri never let his professional ambitions interfere with his dedication to Giants of Africa. In 2010, when he was the Raptors’ assistant general manager, he had a chance to become the first African general manager in the NBA — with the Nuggets. He flew from Senegal to Nigeria to Toronto to Denver, leaving Basketball Without Borders to interview in person. He thought he’d hit it out of the park.
Nuggets executive Paul Andrews offered Ujiri the job. Ujiri countered by asking for an extra $50,000 a year on top of his salary to fund his camps, which he received in Toronto.
“So for $50,000 you would give up being the executive vice president of the Denver Nuggets?” Andrews asked.
“Yes.”
Andrews promised to think it over. Four minutes later, the phone rang again: “You’re the new executive vice president of the Denver Nuggets.”
Did it cross Ujiri’s mind that he might have sacrificed an opportunity no other African had ever had? “No,” he says now, eyes narrowing. “I was just thinking about the importance of doing those the camps. It has meant so much for me. That was the only thing in my head.”
Ujiri will be banking on his own personality and the culture he has built to convince Leonard, whom many believe will join LeBron in L.A. next summer as a free agent, to stay in Toronto. “Masai will befriend Kawhi as an older-brother type,” said David Thorpe, who helped Ujiri get his start in the NBA. “Guys who aren’t easy to talk to [are] running teams at a high level. Masai is on the other end of the spectrum. He’s very easy to talk to. He’s willing to let things germinate, to talk to people, build the process and let the process happen.”
Kawhi Leonard deserves better than to be defined by memes – SBNation.com
Leonard’s departure from the Spurs and the manner in which he left exposed a big problem in the myth-making of athletes: Every great player needs a story. The stories of athletes are often just as important to us as their accomplishments.
There’s no Kobe Bryant without the story of the tireless, almost-sociopathic chase for greatness. No Michael Jordan without the six championships, the ease of his dominance, and stories of his vengeful nature. No LeBron James without “Just A Kid From Akron” and now “More Than An Athlete”. No Stephen Curry without the humble, self-sacrificial superstar, who no one thought would succeed in the league. The arena is a theater and the stories add depth to the characters. As human beings who love stories, it’s what attracts us, as much or more than the actions of the individuals.
Most times the athletes actively participate in making these stories, because they can be beneficial to them, as well. But Leonard chose not to participate. When the story of who he was as a person was written, it was told through other people because he refused to provide any quotes. He chose to be silent.
To be silent is Leonard’s right. It’s an understandable choice in a world where comments are frequently misconstrued, but he doesn’t need a particular reason to be quiet. It’s a simple, rational choice. Yet that silence was taken as proof he was yet another Spurs robot. And when his relationship with the Spurs deteriorated, the silence that never changed then morphed into a sign of petulance and selfishness. The humble superstar became the player who thought he was bigger than the team — through no fault of his own, but because of what people projected onto his silence.
PodcastOne: Did I Mention My Cousin is an NBA Coach? – AP Sports Now
Toronto Raptors rookie head coach Nick Nurse features in a wide-ranging episode, detailing the long journey from a pole-vaulting pit in his Iowa backyard and a detour through Europe’s pro circuits to the top of the NBA’s early-season standings.
Toronto Raptors fans seem to have this sense more than most. Chalk it up to nearly two decades of stumbling to even sustain competence or a best-era-ever run that was prone to hand-wringing and bizarre lapses. Whatever the reason, the Raptors have long seemed to facilitate big nights for otherwise unspectacular competition. That’s why William Lou of Raptors Republic has created the Gerald Henderson Award, which he gives out after each game dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season. Named for one of the most inexplicable Raptor killers ever, the GHA gives a nightly nod to the role player or relative unknown who looks like an all-star against the Raptors. There are always — always — candidates.
Monday was just the latest example, and the Milwaukee Bucks apparent roster-building strategy of “get guys who kill the Raptors” is a heck of a long-con ahead of a potential second- or third-round playoff rematch this year. Tony Snell has the former-Chicago Bull juju on him that makes him a lock to frustrate the Raptors, Thon Maker has never looked better in his career than when opposite his pseudo-hometown team, and, well, Ersan Ilyaosva looks full Turkish Josh Hartnett when he gets Toronto in his sights.
It was Ilyasova sending the message early that Monday would be another night on his Raptor Killer resume. Ilyaosva scored the Bucks’ first five points and 14 in the first half, helping Milwaukee set a tone against a disjointed and under-performing Raptors defence. He’d finish with 19 points on just 13 used possessions, adding 10 rebounds for good measure. He, Snell and Maker combined for 41 points on just 28 used possessions with 20 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal, and they were a cumulative +35 in 63 minutes. Entering the game, they were averaging a combined 17.3 points.
That is the essence of the Raptor Killer — it’s not enough to just do damage, it has to be damage done well above what could have reasonably been expected. Or, rather, not expected unless it was against the Raptors. Ilyasova, for example, has a career 59 true-shooting percentage against the Raptors compared to a 53.7-percent mark overall. A true Raptor Killer over-performs.
Raptors playing the long game with extra-deep three-pointers | The Star [subscription]
“That early three, we used to hate that shot,” Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego said last week. “You would pull guys out (of the game) for that shot. Now it’s a valuable shot. I think almost every team has at least one guy who can do that.”
Raptors fans see it often from Kyle Lowry, who’s been on a blistering shooting pace to begin the season, a difficult night in Milwaukee on Monday notwithstanding.
It’s like something all of a sudden twigs in his mind: He sees a defender backing off and he doesn’t care how far he is from the basket. It’s a shot he’s got in his arsenal and one that he works on, and he lets it rip.
“When he lets them go, it still draws a gasp from the crowd, right? Even though he’s still doing it,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Lowry.
“We talked about him doing it from deeper and deeper this summer. I said, ‘Keep working on it, keep extending it,’ because what happens is, if they’ve got to pull out and guard that, you’re hesitating and going around them and creating another problem for them.”
The secret now that the game is changing so rapidly to a three-point-based system is finding more players who are not only willing to take deep threes but to make them. Players such as Lowry and Curry and Kemba Walker of Charlotte and James Harden in Houston have proven they are capable, and every team is looking for more.
The 2018-19 Toronto Raptors 905 Season Preview: Prospect Report – Raptors HQ
Chris Boucher
An NBA Draft prospect’s stock derailed by an ACL injury — sound familiar?Boucher is an intriguing prospect who’s coming off a rookie season as a two-way player for the defending champion Warriors. Unfortunately, Chris suffered an ACL injury during his last collegiate season that put him on the shelf or rehabbing for the majority of his rookie campaign. The Warriors also moved on from him when they acquired Damian Jones and refocused their two-way spots on wings. Who knows where Boucher would have ended up in the draft had he remained healthy and done more damage in the NCAA tourney.
Defensively, Boucher is tall and long, which makes him a defensive threat around the basket. It also helps that he has excellent shot blocking instincts. Offensively, Boucher is either a dunk/layup or three-pointer attempt waiting to happen. Yes, I said three-pointers. Boucher’s got the range and can hit it consistently.
The downside with Boucher is his age and physical development. Chris is a late bloomer, and his body hasn’t caught up to the physicality the game requires. Chris also needs all the game reps that he can get since he’s only been playing organized basketball for a few years, and last year was spent recovering from his ACL injury. While Boucher doesn’t need to be on the Jonas Valanciunas bulk-up plan, he’ll need to get stronger to hang with more physical players in the NBA.
Keep An Eye On: Defensive awareness, defending 1-5 pick-and-rolls, rebounding.
Armstrong: Players are respectful of their teammates taking care of their health – Video – TSN
OverDrive hosts Bryan Hayes, Jeff O’Neill and Jamie McLennan are joined by TSN NBA analyst Jack Armstrong to get his take on how the Raptors are choosing to not play Kawhi Leonard every night and how the Raps have approached player minutes in the past.
Did I miss something? Send me any Raptors-related article to rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com. I’m also on Twitter.
