Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Morning Coffee – Wed, Aug 21

Cory Joeseph leaves team Canada | Shoes

Cory Joeseph leaves team Canada | Shoes

Report: Cory Joseph withdraws from repping Canada at FIBA World Cup – Yahoo!

The 28-year-old guard has been a staple of the Canadian program for over a decade. Joseph’s attendance at the national level has been commendable, and he was even named captain of the 2015 FIBA America’s team that fell just short of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.

It’s unclear as to what circumstances led the Sacramento Kings guard to change his mind, but Joseph now joins a staggering list of notable NBA players who have decided against suiting up in this year’s tournament. Other names include Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Kelly Olynyk, Trey Lyles, Dillon Brooks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Chris Boucher, who are all missing in action for various reasons.

Fortunately, the Canadian team is rather deep at point guard, as head coach Nick Nurse can still rely on the likes of Kevin Pangos, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Best, Phil Scrubb, Brady Heslip, and perhaps Kaza Kajami-Keane, who turned his ankle in Canada’s 122-88 victory over New Zealand on Tuesday.

FIBA World Cup: Understanding Canada’s path to Olympic qualification – Yahoo!

But wait, there’s a second group stage

This is where things get tricky. Qualifying out of Group H would slot Canada into another group for the second round. They would be placed, along with the other team to advance from Group H, with the top two that emerge from Group G containing France, Dominican Republic, Germany and Jordan.

The results of all three games from the initial group phase carry over, and each team plays two games against the opponents they haven’t faced yet. France will be heavy favourites to top Group G, while America’s rival Dominican Republic could drop Germany to a second-round spot.

That would create a potentially massive matchup between Canada and the D.R., depending on how the other Americas teams are faring, of course. If an Americas team not named the United States makes the quarter-final stage, the red and white will need to at least get that far as well.

Making that happen would likely have to involve an upset of either Lithuania or France, since the top two from the second group stage advance to the quarters and it would take at least four wins (inclusive of the first group stage) to make that happen.

An NBA Summer Vacation Special with Katie Heindl – Blazer’s Edge

Katie Heindl dropped by the Hoops and Talks podcast to discuss all things summer vacation: what makes a good NBA summer vacation? How important are summer friendships to the regular season? How does the summer vacation rating system work? Which players excel at relaxing during the off season? Is a beach workout a vacation or a workout? We explore the best vacations, the guys who don’t know how to do it right, and all the areas in between.

We find out that the Trail Blazers are one of the best teams at summer vacationing. Between talking to fish, sitting in infinity pools, hosting UNO tournaments and teasing Raptor fans with trips to Canada’s Wonderland amusement park, the Blazers are having a great off season. Does that mean anything for the rest of the year? Maybe it does! Tune in and find out.

A closer look at the Raptors’ championship shoes – Toronto Life

Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet

Lowry and VanVleet, the Raptors’ dynamic backcourt duo, both played Game 6 in Adidas Harden Vol. 3s, the signature shoe of Houston Rockets star James Harden. Its low-cut design resembles the shape and structure of running shoes in the 1800s, which often had a cross-shoe strap. “The human foot hasn’t changed much since the 19th century,” says Semmelhack.

Ranking the NBA teams most – and least – prepared for the future – Sportsnet.ca

28. Toronto Raptors

OG Anunoby, Dewan Hernandez

Officially in the dog days here, folks; send me stuff: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com