Norm with a knock | All-Star Nurse
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10 things: Nick Nurse joins Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry at the All-Star game
Three — Command: Fred VanVleet seems to have a presence about him where he just always delivers the big shot. After the Pistons cut the deficit to single digits with a strong spell of defence that held Toronto without a basket for three minutes, it was VanVleet who sparked life with a pull-up 3 to end the third quarter. He followed that up with a driving layup, and found Chris Boucher, Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam for layups, while also hitting a circus shot of his own. All in all this was one of VanVleet’s most well-rounded performances on the year, as he flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the win.
Four — Dominant: Siakam takes particular joy in tormenting the Pistons. His aggressiveness was back to pre-injury levels, as Siakam took every opportunity to attack whichever helpless defender assigned to the challenge. For some strange reason, Dwane Casey opted to guard Siakam in single coverage and that will not work against an All-Star starter. Casey cycled through Thon Maker, Markieff Morris, Tony Snell and Christian Wood against Siakam, but none of them were up to the task. Siakam found his stride early, nailed back-to-back pull-up 3s, and finished strong with six layups in the fourth.
Five — Lively: Credit Boucher for his all-out activity. Most players were conservative on the second night of a back-to-back except for Boucher, who only knows how to play at top gear. Boucher’s rim protection forced misses out of Andre Drummond and persuaded Derrick Rose into changing his shot. Meanwhile on offence, Boucher was fearless in the pick-and-roll as he tried to finish strong each time he ventured into the paint. The Raptors need to find Boucher more minutes when everyone is healthy.
Before the game, I asked the former Raptors coach whether he is enjoying the development portion of his job. The Pistons are now 17-33, Blake Griffin is out because of knee surgery, and his team is motivated to sell off its most attractive players come next week’s trade deadline. Failing that, they will head down that road this summer. Which is to say, the development portion of his job is a huge part of it. I was really just asking the famously competitive Casey if he hated his job.
“I love it. It’s the same thing we did in Toronto the first couple years,” Casey said. “People forget we won 23 games (in a lockout-shortened season) and 34 (in 2012-13). It’s the same thing. It’s the same thought process. You hate losing. You play to win. At the same time, if we can get a glimmer of improvement from a guy like Svi (Mykhailiuk), Sekou (Doumbouya), Christian Wood, that’s great. At the same time, I’m pushing Andre Drummond. I’m pushing Markieff (Morris), all the older guys to do what’s right to help us win. It’s fun. I enjoy it. It’s not what we came here to think about doing. But Father Time and injuries dictate the direction sometimes you go in. It’s fun.”
As was the case with former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, any time Casey spends playing up the ol’ country bumpkin shtick is just to keep reporters off the scent of a deeply intelligent man, especially when it comes to the inner workings of his league. Casey often had issues giving much time to players such as Jonas Valanciunas in his early years, but that has changed in Detroit — not that he has much choice.
The (All-Star) Blueprint: Raptors backcourt share a special bond | Toronto Raptors
“I wouldn’t be here without my teammates and without the coaches, without my friends and family,” Lowry said on Thursday. “These guys literally let me go out there and lead them. I love leading them. I love being a teammate to them. These guys are one of one. They’re all great, every last one of them is great.”
Lowry is in his 14th NBA season. This is his eighth in Toronto. During that time he has played through the beginning of a rebuild and reaped the reward of seeing it through, helping to bring the first championship in franchise history to Toronto last June. Averaging 19.8 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in 36.9 minutes per game this season, Lowry is the all-time Raptors leader in assists, steals, win shares, box plus-minus, three-point field goals and triple-doubles.
These stats don’t begin to mention the plays he makes and the possessions he creates in every game, the ones that leave you wondering how he’s able to balance so many things and players and places and options all at once. Whether it’s recognizing the play call of the other team, getting a charge at a crucial stage of the game, or getting his head coach to successfully use his coach’s challenge on something Lowry himself has noticed, he’s somehow always a step — or five steps — ahead of everyone else.
“We are used to [those plays], but we should still talk about how incredible that stuff is,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said. “I am constantly amazed at the plays this guy makes away from scoring and assisting. All the charges, the ones that I see that nobody ever talks about, I just can’t believe how many times he rides a 6-foot-10, 250-pound guy out of bounds to grab a rebound at his size. That’s going on like five times a game. It’s unbelievable. The charges, the hustle plays, and then the game-winning plays. I appreciate it, I know that.”
All-star nod should bring Raptors' Nick Nurse NBA-wide attention – Sportsnet.ca
The Toronto Raptors head coach first got there when he and his trusted assistant Nate Bjorkgren were working their way through what was then the NBA Development League, now the G-League, and the minor league’s all-star game was an undercard to the main event.
For Nurse, who made it to the G-League after nearly 20 years coaching in Britain – one of the least glossy European leagues – it was an eye-opener.
“I mean, I did a couple [of all-star weekends] as a D-league coach. And we got to kind of, you know, cross paths with the NBA guys when we were coming off the practice floor and they were going on,” said Nurse. “That was cool to us. Nate and I were going like, ‘Oh my God, that was LeBron James.’ And now we devise plans to beat those guys.”
And they do it pretty well, the record would show.
Nurse has been to the all-star game as an assistant coach too, as part of now-Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey’s Raptors staff in 2018. Even then it was a novel experience.
“I don’t want to sound like a little kid or anything, but it was like the first time I’d really been around it with all the mega, mega stars. I hadn’t been in the league all that long,” said Nurse.
Things happen fast. In his first year as a head coach Nurse led the Raptors to an NBA championship.
Toronto Raptors' streak at 10 after win over Detroit Pistons – TSN.ca
NBA
TORONTO RAPTORS
DETROIT PISTONS
3h agoRaptors’ streak at 10 after win over Pistons
Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and Serge Ibaka added 21 to lift the Toronto Raptors to their 10th straight victory, 105-92 over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. With the win, Toronto clinched a trip to the All-Star Game for Nick Nurse and his staff, who will coach Team Giannis in Chicago.
The Canadian PressDETROIT — The honours and accolades keep rolling in for coach Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors.
Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and Serge Ibaka added 21 to lift the Raptors to their 10th straight victory, 105-92 over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. With the win, Toronto clinched a trip to the All-Star Game for Nurse and his staff, who will coach Team Giannis.
“We get to be the beneficiaries, I think, of kind of an organizational award,” said Nurse, who led the Raptors to the NBA title last year in his first season as coach. “It’s certainly a tremendous honour for us, but there’s a lot that goes into it, and it should be a really enjoyable experience for our guys.”
Siakam was voted an All-Star starter, and Toronto guard Kyle Lowry was chosen as a reserve.
The Raptors (35-14) are assured the best record in the Eastern Conference among teams with an eligible All-Star coach through this Sunday’s deadline. Milwaukee has the top mark in the East but Mike Budenholzer is ineligible because he coached in the All-Star Game last year.
Siakam made his first five shots from the field and scored 13 points in the first quarter, when the Raptors quickly built their lead into double digits. They were mostly in control after that, handing the Pistons their fifth loss in a row.
Fred VanVleet scored 16 points with nine assists and eight rebounds. Any chance at a triple-double went by the wayside after he was pulled with 5:01 remaining and the Raptors up 19.
“He was hatin’ on me,” VanVleet joked about Nurse. “We got him in the All-Star (Game), he couldn’t even leave me in.”
Toronto is one win shy of its franchise record for consecutive victories.
The Pistons are without Blake Griffin (left knee surgery), and Luke Kennard (bilateral knee tendinitis) also missed the game. Andre Drummond had 20 points and 20 rebounds for Detroit, but much of that came when the Pistons were well behind.
Toronto led by 16 in the first half. It was 78-69 after three quarters, and then the Raptors went on an 18-5 run to start the fourth — to the delight of their many fans who attended the game just a few minutes from the U.S.-Canada border.
Toronto Raptors Throwback Photos Show The NBA Champions' Glow-Up Over The Years – Narcity
Before Norman was Stormin’, it seems he was a hella cute baby. He was later reportedly introduced to basketball by his uncle, and helped rebuild Lincoln High School’s team before signing on for UCLA.
The Cali native, who has spent his entire NBA career to date in Toronto, is increasingly emerging as an important cog in the Raptors machine. No matter what Nick Nurse might say. Seemingly as humble as many of his teammates, Norm said this week he would give up his No. 24 jersey if the NBA wants to retire the number in honour of the late Kobe Bryant.
This isn’t my first time not being selected for something but I guess it’s easy going undrafted to playing quality mins on a championship team huh #MakeEmBelieve https://t.co/zdHIpoKOZy
— 3️⃣ (@TerenceDavisJr) January 31, 2020
Twitter Reaction: Raptors' Terence Davis snubbed from Rising Stars game – Sportsnet.ca
Earlier today, the NBA announced the line-up for the Rising Stars game — which assembles two teams of first- and second- year players, divided into a United States squad and a World one — that will take place on Feb. 14, during All-Star weekend.
Among the notable players who were named to the team are a record four Canadians — RJ Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Brandon Clarke — as well as starry names, such as Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Zion Williamson.
One player who was not selected, though, was Toronto Raptors rookie Terence Davis.
Both teams executed the blueprint for success that Dwane Casey introduced to each franchise. Toronto just executed it with a degree of proficiency that eludes the Pistons’ grasp at this stage of their developmental timeline.
It was to the great delight of Michigan’s Ontario neighbors, who made the trek across the border to express their devotion to the reigning NBA champions – a team transformed on Casey’s watch.
“Someday, we’re going to have a crowd like that,” Casey said after Toronto won its 10th straight game, a 105-92 win over the Pistons on Friday. “That’s what we’re building for. I’m not here to take all these Ls. We have some work to do. The only way you silence that is to win.”
Casey’s shot spectrum – emphasizing layups first and then a sliding scale of desirable 3-pointers, starting with those from the shorter corner distances – was evident in both teams’ stats.
But while the Raptors hit 67 percent of their 49 shots in the paint, the Pistons managed to make a mere 39 percent of their 36 shots from that space. The Pistons took 72 of 79 shots either in the paint or from the 3-point arc, 91 percent of their shots coming from those two spots. That was even better than Toronto’s total of 76 of 85 shots from those two preferred zones, 89 percent.
Nick Nurse, Raptors coaching staff to coach Team Giannis at 2020 NBA All-Star Game
First a championship; now an All-Star Selection. Nick Nurse has had a pretty decent first two seasons as a head coach.
After dismantling the Detroit Pistons in dominant fashion tonight en route to a 105-92 victory, the Toronto Raptors maintained their stranglehold over the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference and, therefore, officially punched their head coach’s ticket to the NBA All-Star game.
It’s the first such nod of Nurse’s career.
Of course, this news comes under some relatively unique circumstances.
Typically, the coaching staff of each conference’s top-seeded team are automatically selected to the All-Star Game each year. The Eastern Conference representative last season, however, was Mike Budenholzer & co. of the Milwaukee Bucks, who just so happen to occupy the #1 seed once again. And given how coaching staffs cannot be selected to the All-Star Game in consecutive seasons, that leaves the honours this year to fall to the #2 seed.
Enter; Nick Nurse.
Raptors' Norman Powell suffers finger injury vs. Pistons – Sportsnet.ca
Toronto Raptors forward Norman Powell suffered an injury on his left ring finger in Friday’s win over the Detroit Pistons.
The injury occurred sometime during the fourth quarter, although Powell stayed in the game. Head coach Nick Nurse said post-game that there’s a chance he might have dislocated his finger but that further tests were needed.
Earlier this season, Powell missed a stretch of 11 games after dislocating his shoulder.
In 37 games this season, the 26-year-old is averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists with a 49.9 field goal percentage.
Serge Ibaka continues to fill in for Marc Gasol
Earlier in the day, our Carlan Gay wrote about how Ibaka made history in the team’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers this week by becoming the first player in NBA history to record 500 3-pointers and 1,500 blocks in their career.
Ibaka didn’t have a block in this one, but he did add to his 3-point total by going 3-for-4 from the perimeter. That ties his season-high for 3s made in a game.
Those 3s helped Ibaka score 21 points in 28 minutes, making him Toronto’s second-leading scorer for the game.
This was the 16th game Ibaka has started in this season. To his credit, he always seems to step up whenever the Raptors need him to. Whereas he’s averaging 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds as a reserve this season, he entered Friday’s game averaging 18.2 points and 9.5 rebounds as a starter.
Not only that, his shooting percentages are significantly better as a starter.
Raptors win 10th straight, send their coaching staff to the all-star game | The Star
VanVleet nearly got the first triple double of his career with 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Making history: Serge Ibaka became the first player in NBA history to have made 500 three-pointers and blocked 1,500 shots in his career, according to NBA.com. Ibaka passed the three-pointer plateau with three in Cleveland on Thursday. He had three more Friday to give him 505 for his career. The six-foot-10 forward/centre, playing in his 11th season, has blocked 1,657 shots.
Still short-handed: The Raptors were without four players, with Malcolm Miller (neck sprain) joining Marc Gasol (hamstring), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ankle) and Dewan Hernandez (ankle) on the shelf.
Toronto Raptors take over Detroit Pistons home court in 105-92 win
Detroit Pistons fans started heading to the Little Caesars Arena exits early in the fourth quarter.
The party was just getting started for Toronto Raptors fans, who once again made the Pistons’ court their home away from home.
The Raptors (35-14) took control with a 20-6 run to start the fourth quarter to run away with a 105-92 victory.
The Pistons (17-33) shot 35.4% and Derrick Rose scored 21 points to extend his streak of scoring 20-plus to 14 games.
Pascal Siakam flashed All-Star form in leading the Raptors with 30 points on 12-for-18 shooting.
Andre Drummond struggled most of the evening, but ended with 20 points and 20 rebounds. He was scoreless in the first half.
Svi Mykhailiuk, who earned a spot in the Rising Stars game earlier Friday, scored 13 points.
Serge Ibaka scored 21 points and Fred VanVleet had 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
The Pistons have lost five straight.
