Morning Coffee – Sun, Mar 1

Let's get to 50 wins before 20 losses.

Let’s get to 50 wins before 20 losses.

Following back-to-back losses, Raptors feel road trip could be good timing

The Raptors then packed their bags and departed for a difficult five-game western road swing that coach Nick Nurse hopes can help them recharge.

“I think we’ve been home for a long time,” Nurse said. “I think you guys understand that sometimes home is really busy. There’s a lot of things going on. It seems like stuff everyday. It’s almost like you get a chance to actually regroup on the road.

“I know we’ve got to get on a plane and fly somewhere, but that’s not much of the day, usually. You get a chance to put your feet up and you get a chance to get some sleep and conserve some energy.”

The Raptors (42-17) were nine games behind Milwaukee for first in the Eastern Conference, but just half a game ahead of third-place Boston heading into Saturday night’s schedule.

The Raptors face a tough test Sunday against Canadian guard Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets, who are second in a jam-packed Western Conference. They’ll then travel to Phoenix, Golden State, Sacramento and Utah before returning home.

“Those games are really important, test games, on the road, and we’ve got to go out there and stick together no matter what’s happening, who’s injured, who’s out there, we’ve got to find a way to put a good game together, find a way to win,” said Pascal Siakam. “I think that’s the most important thing.”

The Raptors have played through a litany of injuries for most of the season. In Friday’s loss, they were missing Fred VanVleet (sore shoulder), Serge Ibaka (sore knee), and Marc Gasol (hamstring strain).

The bright spot on the night was the return of Norman Powell from a nine-game injury layoff. Powell, who had fractured a finger on his non-shooting hand, finished with 22 points. He was looking forward to hitting the road and hopefully rebounding from Friday’s loss.

“It’s going to be a good test for us, we’ve got some good teams and we’ll use this loss as motivation going into our game on Sunday and go from there,” Powell said. “We always try to take a one game at a time approach and do what’s needed on a day-to-day basis . . . That’s one thing that’s so good about this team is that no matter what type of loss we take or whatever win we get we’re still focused and locked in to the next opponent and the next game.”

Raptors head west knowing a little time from home might do them some good | The Star

To suggest long road trips are arduous and exhausting on professional athletes is a bit of a red herring: They travel in first-class luxury, stay in glorious five-star hotels and have their every whim taken care of. And while they won’t admit it too strongly for public consumption, because they have family and friends who might read or hear it, the hints that the road can be welcome came pouring out on Friday night.

“We’ve got a game every other day for two games and then we’ve got four days off, and that’ll help us to get some rhythm and get some rest and get dinner together,” guard Kyle Lowry said. “Everyone just kind of getting away from home and focusing on just basketball.”

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was the first to mention the benefit of not being around the tugs of home life.

“I think you guys understand that sometimes home is really busy,” he told reporters after the Raptors were upset by the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. “There’s a lot of things going on. It seems like stuff every day. It’s almost like you get a chance to actually regroup on the road. I know we’ve got to get on a plane and fly somewhere, but that’s not much of the day, usually. You get a chance to put your feet up and you get a chance to get some sleep and conserve some energy, et cetera.”

No one should extrapolate from those comments that the Raptors can’t wait to escape the drama of home life for the solidarity they get on the road. They love their families and want to be around their kids but a bit of time away from the day-to-day home existence is never a bad thing. It can relax the mind, it gives a pro sports team a chance to hang together that it doesn’t get at home, and that counts for keeping up those important intra-team relationships.

“It’s a great chance for us to get out there, be on the road and take it day by day, game by game,” Lowry said. “We’re just together as a group, travelling and being around each other.”

Three things to watch during the Toronto Raptors’ western road trip – Sportsnet.ca

It’s not just the fact the Hornets, one of the league’s worst teams, managed to beat the Raptors, one of the NBA’s best; it’s that the loss should’ve been way more lopsided than the final score indicated, with the Raptors shooting under 36 per cent from the field for the second straight game, and still only come within four points of a victory.

Over the course of an 82-game season, bizarre stuff like this is bound to happen and the best way to correct course usually just involves going out there and playing.

And fortunately for the Raptors, that’s exactly what they’ll have in front of them as they kick off a five-game, nine-day Western Conference road trip beginning Sunday with an encounter with the Denver Nuggets.

After the Nuggets game, Toronto will face the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors on Thursday and then get a couple of days off before seeing the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz in a back-to-back road trip finale.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse has a theory that all of this time away should pay dividends for his team.

“I think we’ve been home for a long time,” said Nurse after Friday’s defeat. “I think you guys understand that sometimes home is really busy. There’s a lot of things going on. It seems like stuff everyday. It’s almost like you get a chance to actually regroup on the road.

“I know we’ve got to get on a plane and fly somewhere, but that’s not much of the day, usually. You get a chance to put your feet up and you get a chance to get some sleep and conserve some energy.”

We’ll see if this proclamation holds water over the next week and a half among other things of note, surely.

And so, with that said, here are three things to watch for during the Raptors’ roadie.

Raptors’ positional versatility, small-ball capability will be tested on trip – The Athletic

Whether good news is coming is a matter of interpretation. After Friday’s game, Nick Nurse noted that all of the Raptors’ injured players will travel with the team. VanVleet, who hurt his left shoulder on a Giannis Antetokounmpo screen Tuesday, sounds game-to-game, and Nurse was optimistic he’d return at some point on the trip. Ibaka’s injury is less acute, the type of precautionary soreness-and-swelling off-day he’s received intermittently in the past, and he, too, should be back on the trip. A Gasol return might be too optimistic, though, and even Dewan Hernandez remains a couple of weeks away recovering from a severe ankle sprain.

Factor in that Oshae Brissett is nearly out of NBA days on his two-way contract and will instead travel with Raptors 905 for their upcoming trip, and the roster could be as thin as the Denver air. (The Raptors do not have an open roster spot to add a big to get them through this stretch. If they do make a move to change the 15th spot and add a big, it’s unclear who that might be. Bismack Biyombo sadly does not appear bound for a buyout. The most deserving 905 big, Devin Robinson, brings some of the same size challenges as Chris Boucher at that position, to where it would probably make sense to test Boucher in an expanded role before making that move.)

As long as the injury list remains robust, things could be difficult. Again, it’s not as if the Raptors haven’t succeeded to date, including with a spirited short-handed performance on their earlier West Coast trip. Still, being down three key players for a five-game, nine-day trip with two so-called schedule losses on the docket is troublesome. Toronto’s hold on the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference is down to half a game over the Boston Celtics, who have been nearly as hot of late and have a slightly easier remaining schedule. With the Philadelphia 76ers teetering and threatening to fall to the No. 6 seed, the No. 2 seed has never looked so important. The Raptors have no choice but to fight through and find a way to keep winning, which has been their specialty.

Preview: Denver Nuggets face surging Raptors for first time this season | Denver Nuggets

Here are three keys to Sunday’s matchup:

Attack the boards early and often

The Raptors have thrived on the defensive end this season. Toronto’s second-ranked defense has been fueled by a high opponent turnover percentage and elite rim protection and 3-point defense. However, there is an area where Toronto is vulnerable, and it is on the boards.

The Raptors rank 25th in defensive rebound percentage, as opponents have been able to grab an offensive rebound 27.3 percent of the time following a missed shot. This should be music to Denver’s ears for a team that ranks second in offensive rebound percentage this season.

Given the difficulties that Toronto’s defense presents in terms of generating quality looks, if the Nuggets can create a significant advantage on the offensive glass, it will go a long way in fueling their offense.

The battle beyond the arc

Although the Nuggets don’t rely on the 3-pointer to fuel their offense, winning the battle from downtown may very well decide Sunday’s game. Toronto is a unique case when it comes to 3-point shooting. On the offensive end, the Raptors are one of the elite shooting teams, ranking fifth in the frequency of attempts and sixth in accuracy at 37.4 percent.

On the defensive end, Toronto is vulnerable to 3-point attempts, as it is tied for last in their opponent’s frequency of 3-point attempts. And yet, the Raptors have benefitted from some shooting luck and rank first in opponent 3-point percentage. If the Nuggets can knockdown the threes that they generate, it will go a long way in helping secure the victory.

Take care of the ball to limit transition opportunities

In Denver’s 2-2 stretch since the All-Star break, taking care of the ball has been a struggle. The Nuggets have coughed it up 16.5 times per game over the last four contests, which is a recipe for disaster against Toronto.

The Raptors are an elite transition team, ranking second in overall in points added per 100 possessions through transition opportunities. Toronto also ranks second in frequency of transition plays, showcasing its love for getting out in the fast break whenever possible. Off of live-ball turnovers, the Raptors rank second in points added per 100 possessions and fifth in frequency.

If the Nuggets struggle to take care of each possession, the Raptors will make them pay. If Denver can limit its turnovers in conjunction with attacking the offensive glass and knocking down 3-pointers, a crucial home victory over an elite team will be in reach.

Pascal Siakam’s ‘Poetic’ Rise Is Guided By His Family | Toronto Raptors

The chanting is for Phoenix Suns player, Dario Saric, the occasion is Croatian Heritage Night. But the smiles that have suddenly burst on the faces of the two brothers in front of me are signature Siakam, familiar to anyone who has watched their little brother explode into the NBA’s universe these last three and a half seasons, a comet streaking across the court with a Cheshire smirk.

Moving up an arena tunnel far enough from the court that we can hear each other again over the patriotism and joy of Saric supporters, Christian and James Siakam continue to tell the story they had started about their mom. When she nearly rushed the court during this year’s All-Star Game.

“She usually doesn’t watch games [in person] like that.” Christian said, “So for her to actually watch the game was—”

“She won’t even get on the court!”James interrupted, laughing.

Christian nodded, “It’s true, she usually doesn’t want to get on the court, to take pictures, to do all that. She just gets a lot of anxiety because it’s so much, right? She’s nervous about the game. The score was like four to two, we were losing. It was the very beginning of the game and she was like, “Oh my god, we’re losing.”

James grinned, easily picking up the scene his brother had been painting, “She never really understood the game like that, so watching her son being pushed around and fouled hard, it’s like, “Oh! What’s going on? Do we get on the court right now?” He motioned rushing forward and simultaneously holding someone back before straightening up and smiling, “But she’s starting to understand the game, she enjoys it more than she did before.”

“I think it’s all fun,” Christian added, “I think she loves it, she really gets excited.”

This year’s 69th All-Star Weekend in Chicago was the first that Pascal Siakam had participated in, or even gone to. “He always said he will go when he’s actually invited to something,” Christian said. There was no doubt of that this year. Siakam was chosen as a starter in the All-Star Game by overwhelming fan vote, his final count second only to the East’s leader and eventual Team Captain, Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was also invited to participate in the Skills Challenge, though P Skills would slip to second place against Bam Adebayo, whose family was seated in the row behind the Siakams and, once the nerves of the semi-final round settled, celebrated Adebayo’s win with them.