People suddenly paying attention to the Raps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpPZm9e0WLQ
Raptors’ Powell needs a rabbit’s foot or something | Toronto Sun
THE MISUNDERSTOOD McCAW
Pat McCaw knows what works on a basketball court.
He may not always score like the Raptors’ fan base would like (we base that exclusively on what we’ve witnessed on social media), but his specialty is the on other side of he ball, something both his teammates and coaches appreciate.
Here’s what Kyle Lowry had to say about McCaw after Sunday’s game in which McCaw played over 42 minutes and scored just two points.
“Everything,” Lowry said. “ He does everything the right way. He plays basketball the right way. When he came from the Warriors he got two rings there and he comes to us and just plays basketball the right way.”
Pascal Siakam has seen the posts, too. The one’s wondering why Nick Nurse was giving minutes to McCaw when they could be going to a scorer like Matt Thomas or Terence Davis II.
“Pat has always got an assignment on somebody,” Siakam said. “You see him out there guarding the best player and picking him up full-court and doing the little things. Most of the time it doesn’t show up on the scoreboard. But he’s so valuable for us just because no matter what we are doing, box and one, we can send him on somebody and he’s going to key in on that person and do his job defensively.”
Nurse, who probably hears about McCaw’s minutes as much as anybody said he’s not getting tired at all trying to explain why the reserved McCaw is so valuable to Nurse and the Raptors fortunes.
“Not really,” Nurse said. “I know he doesn’t show up in the numbers, in the stats.”
But knows this. As soon as Norm Powell went down, Nurse and his coaching staff had a decision to make. Who fills those minutes and the discussion was almost immediate.
“Almost right away when Norm went down,” Nurse began. “We got to the first timeout and had to decide where to go. We had to decide whether to go with offence and keep that ticking over or defence and get Pat in there.
A tough stretch lies ahead for the Raptors. They say bring it on | The Star
With a stirring, successful, professional five-game Western road trip in the books, not having a game until Saturday at home is a welcome respite.
And a well-deserved one.
Each of the five road games were close, all within five points with less than five minutes remaining, a mentally draining and physically exhausting stretch for an undermanned team.
The Raptors came through with flying colours with wins over Phoenix, Golden State, Sacramento and Utah after a loss in Denver, and they did so with a patchwork roster most nights.
Fred VanVleet didn’t play a game on the trip, Marc Gasol played in just one and Serge Ibaka appeared in only three. Norm Powell was brilliant, but he lasted about 90 seconds of Monday’s game before leaving with a sprained ankle and, for the most part, the team’s bench underperformed the entire time.
But somehow, they won. That’s what they do. They don’t make excuses, they don’t give in. They play and they win — a lot.
“I think it’s just a mentality,” Pascal Siakam told reporters in Salt Lake City after Monday’s 101-92 victory. “I think going through the season with different scenarios and people out and others not playing, we just built the type of mentality that no matter what happens, we just stick together as a team and we try to work the game.
“It’s going to be a long game but the most important thing is, just stay together, don’t panic and just keep executing.”
It is simple, trite and a bit clichéd to suggest it, but they are professionals and they do what they have to every night — game in, game out. But far too often, players and teams give in to adverse circumstances; it is part human nature and partly the way North American sports operate too often.
Toronto Raptors Stars' Condos & Houses Are Spread Out All Over The 6ix – Narcity
When it comes to the Toronto Raptors, it often feels as if the basketball superstars spend most of their time on the court. However, in between games the players often find the time to kick off their shoes in their own Ontario homes. Many of the Raptors players have revealed where they lived throughout the 6ix, and it seems that they all love living in their own Toronto neighbourhoods.
While some Raptors are more secretive than others, a few of the players have opened up about their home life here in the 6ix.
In a recent interview, Kyle Lowry revealed much he loved living in the city and how it was a great place to raise his children.
Back in 2019, the superstar revealed that he’s avoided the downtown area and has set up home in North Toronto, where he lives with his wife Ayahna Cornish-Lowry and his children.
In an ESPN video clip, the superstar can be seen stepping out of his gorgeous white mansion before heading off for an interview.
However, it’s not just Lowry who has set up home in the 6ix. Terence Davis has also recently revealed that he has settled down in the city.
In an interview with Hoops Hype Davis boasted that he and his family live in “a building like 40 or 50 floors up with a lake view and a city view.”
“There are a lot of things that I love about Toronto. There are so many places to eat. It’s unbelievable. The city is amazing.” he continued.
Norman Powell has also revealed that he enjoys living the condo life.
Raptors' OG Anunoby flashes Kawhi Leonard-like defensive ceiling on trip – Sportsnet.ca
Lowry remains the Raptors’ heartbeat
Kyle Lowry will never be remembered as the Raptors’ brightest star. History will likely give that designation to Kawhi Leonard and his four-bounce buzzer-beater or Vince Carter and his forearm-through-the-rim dunk.But Lowry is making the case for being the franchise’s guiding star, the one who’s always there no matter how dark the sky gets, the one that leads the way home when no one else is sure of what direction to head.
Without VanVleet — the steadiest set of hands to share the backcourt with him — on this road trip, Lowry offered reminder after reminder of his importance to Toronto.
The box scores themselves tell the story — Lowry averaged 24.4 points per game and almost eight assists, while playing nearly 37 minutes each night — but the games themselves brought that story to life.
When a big shot was needed, he’d take it. When a charge could tilt the court in the Raptors’ favour, he’d fall to the floor at the exact right time. When clear eyes and a level head were called for to decide between pushing the pace and slowing the game down, Lowry’s hands were the best to have holding the ball.
It’s what the Raptors have come to expect, and what they’ll need to make a run at being two-time champions.
Hey Seanny J: Should we take the Raptors seriously in the playoffs? — The Daily Campus
When you factor in Marc Gasol, head coach Nick Nurse and of course superfan Drake’s impacts, the Raptors are bona fide title contenders. If seeding stays the same come mid April, the Raptors would draw a tough round two matchup with the winner of the Celtics versus 76ers series. They would be able to match up with either team pretty ideally.
We aren’t sure if jumbo-point guard Ben Simmons will be returning this season, but even if he does, the Raptors have enough size to match up with the league’s largest starting lineup.
With Ibaka and Gasol locking down the paint, the Raptors have an abundance of good defensive wings with plenty of length and strength, Siakam, Anunoby, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and if you reach further down the bench, Chris Boucher, Oshae Brissett, Malcolm Miller and even Stanley Johnson give Toranto a ton of flexibility against large teams.
Even if Simmons isn’t back and Raul Neto is running point, Lowry will effortlessly put the clamps on him. In the more-likely scenario that they matchup with the Celtics, they can defend those skilled wings and that pesky Kemba Walker, too.
Walker is a pro at making slow bigs pay on mismatches, but the Raptors have lineup options that don’t include anybody slow. They can run Siakam at the five, and the Celtics don’t have any big centers good enough (sorry Enes Kanter) to make them pay for it.
Jayson Tatum may be a worldeater right now, but with any and all of the good defensive wings that the Raptors have, they can keep him off balance with all sorts of different defensive looks.
In a potential conference finals matchup with the Bucks, a Siakam-versus-Giannis Antetekoumnpo will be the center of attention. There aren’t many NBA players equipped with the physical gifts and defensive prowess to defend Da Freak. But if anybody has them, it’s Siakam.
Rick Zamperin: Toronto Raptors’ Nick Nurse should be the NBA’s coach of the year | Globalnews.ca
The five teams who have more man games lost than the Raptors (Golden State, Washington, Detroit, Portland and Chicago) are all currently on the outside of the NBA’s playoff picture.
Should Toronto, who at different points this season have played without core players like Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka, continue to pick up wins down the stretch, Nurse should be a lock for the NBA’s top coaching honour.
What’s gotten into Serge Ibaka? Marc Gasol’s back (at least he was for one game before being rested) and now Ibaka is trying to pass a bit like him. Ibaka dished out five assists against Sacramento, one off his career high, and three against Utah. He’s had at least three assists in three straight, something he’d never done before with either the Raptors, Oklahoma City or Orlando. Ibaka even played peacemaker when OG Anunoby and Rudy Gobert got into it in the fourth quarter.
Ibaka became the fifth player in the NBA this season to hit at least five three-pointers, score at least 27 points, grab at least 13 rebounds and shoot at least 50% from the field in a game.
When Gasol came off the bench he did so for only the eighth time as a Raptor (in 62 regular season games) after not being a reserve since seven games in his rookie season with Memphis. Gasol pretty much only knows starting and it’s probably not advisable to bring him into games cold, given his hamstring issues, but with Ibaka having a career season, what does Nick Nurse do?
Toronto held Sacramento to only five corner three-point attempts (the easiest three-point shots) and watched the Kings brick shot after shot from elsewhere. They were comically bad from the right side of the floor, missing 9-of-10 three-point attempts from that side, a futility mark you will probably not see again for a long time. Meanwhile, Toronto shot a million corner treys against the Kings (OK, 16, which is a ton in today’s NBA where teams try to prevent those looks) and hit seven of them.
Utah had almost no second-chance points (Just eight, compared to 14 by the Raptors) didn’t get much inside or get to the line all that often.
Toronto is now 10-3 on the road against teams from the West. That’s a hell of a record. Toronto’s the only team from the East with a better than .500 away record against the West in each of the last four seasons. The Raptors sport a tidy 45-28 (.616) away mark against the West since 2015-16.
Anunoby failed to extend his career-high run of six straight games in double figures but was still really good against the Jazz, especially defensively. His block on Gobert looked like something out of a video game and when he moves off of the ball it helps Siakam out a ton when Siakam is being double-teamed. The collision with Powell sucked, though.
MLSE: Leafs, Raptors and TFC ticket refunds will be considered case by case – TSN.ca
Customers of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC who have coronavirus symptoms and have been quarantined will be considered for ticket refunds on a case-by-case basis, a Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment spokesman told TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead on Tuesday.
It is the latest development as the sports world deals with the global outbreak of COVID-19.
In California, the San Jose Sharks will likely not be playing home games in front of fans in the immediate future, as Santa Clara County Public Health has banned events with more than 1,000 people.
Meanwhile, Ohio governor Mike DeWine recommended on Tuesday that indoor sports teams, including the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Cavaliers, play games in the state in empty arenas because of coronavirus risks.
Also, Philadelphia city officials announced Tuesday that they are recommending people do not attend gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
More than 113,000 people worldwide have tested positive for the virus and over 4,000 people have died, most of them in China. More than 62,000 people have already recovered. The virus has infected at least 800 people in the United States and 80 people in Canada.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
Henry Ellenson
There’s a saying online about how Kyle Lowry is not just a spot-up shooter, etc. and the same can be said about Ellenson. Amid his worst shooting slump, Ellenson was doing everything else he can do to help the team win.I criticized him last week for playing soft against the Long Island Nets, where he was ineffective with his shooting and not a factor in the paint on either side of the floor. That hasn’t been the case since then, as Ellenson has played his height during this stretch more often than not. He’s been getting into the paint to get a higher percentage shot, regardless of whether he’s putting the ball on the floor, cutting to the basket, or crashing the boards. Rebounding for Ellenson was also not an issue during this stretch, as he averaged 13 boards per game over the past week.
What shone most during Ellenson’s slump has been his offensive basketball IQ. He was reading plays ahead of others and making excellent passes — some of which were unexpected for someone of his size and position. He had six and seven assists against the Skyhawks and the Bulls, respectively, for example.
Ellenson was also able to break out of his shooting slump, which saw him shoot 1-for-18 from behind the arc over a three-game stretch (Nets, Bulls, Blue Coats). He was back on track against the Skyhawks, as he nailed 4-for-7 threes, including one the 905 badly needed midway through the fourth to fend off a late Skyhawks push.
Defensively, Ellenson is what he is — his feet will always be a bit heavy once he gets switched onto crafty smaller guards. And he provides limited rim protection outside of staying vertical if he’s in front of the shooter.
Toronto Raptors: OG Anunoby is having a breakout season on both ends
Many were hoping Anunoby would have a Pascal Siakam-like jump in production this season, however, I don’t think he is far off. While Anunoby’s offensive production isn’t near what Siakam was putting up last year in terms of volume, he is actually just as efficient. The biggest difference is that Siakam took 11.8 shot attempts per game whereas Anunoby is only taking 8.4.
Much of the reason for Anunoby’s lack of shot attempts is the simple fact that he lacks the ability to get to the rim like a guy like Pascal Siakam. While he has improved in this area this season, his handle will need a lot more work before we can expect OG to be getting to the rim at will.
Another reason for this is that there just isn’t enough shots for Anunoby. He is playing with the likes of the aforementioned Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka… on this team, he is the fifth or sixth option offensively and rightfully so.
While Anunoby’s offensive game has improved significantly, the biggest jump has been on the defensive end. OG has been an absolute menace on defense this season consistently guarding the other teams best player while racking up 1.4 steals (19th in the NBA) and 0.7 blocks per game. This increase in defensive productivity has certainly turned some heads this season and is putting Anunoby firmly in the All-Defense team’s conversation.
Not only are Anunoby’s raw stats impressive, but his advanced metrics have made him an invaluable piece to the Raptors team. OG’s true-shooting percentage is 59.8 percent according to NBA.com which is up there with some of the leagues best forwards such as Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Now I’m not saying that if Anunoby shot as much as those guys he would be as good as them because he wouldn’t be. However, if Anunoby is able to maintain this level of efficiency and defensive impact with an increase in shots, he could be a dangerous player in the near future.
While OG Anunoby has many areas he can still improve upon, he has looked like a significantly improved player on both ends of the floor this season. As mentioned, he is hitting career-highs in almost every major box-score category and is doing it with improved efficiency. The Raptors have certainly found themselves yet another stud young player and Anunoby will only continue to prove is worth in the coming years.
Not to mention, it’s even more impressive that OG Anunoby has been able to increase his production this much while also revolutionizing the scarf game… what a legend.
On the surface, everything is fine. The Raptors are 12-5 with a scoring margin of +5.0 points per game. That equates to 58 wins over the course of a season which just so happens to be the same number of games they won last year before going on to win the NBA title.
So what’s the issue?
Taking a closer look at the actual 17 games reveals that their record at full strength is nothing more than a house of cards.
They went 11-0 against teams currently under. 500 and just 1-5 against teams with winning records.
The lone win? January 22 against the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s impressive, right? The Sixers were without superstar centre Joel Embiid while starting shooting guard Josh Richardson played all of 3:52 after sustaining a hamstring injury early in th first quarter.
The five losses:
December 8 at Philadelphia in a game the Raptors trailed by 18 entering the fourth quarter
December 5 at home vs Houston in a game never closer than five over the final 7:00
December 3 at home vs Miami in which they were outscored 13-2 in overtime
November 2 at Milwaukee in a game they trailed by 26
October 25 at Boston in a game they were outscored 36-24 over the final frame
Now some might say it’s impossible to read too much into results from what feels like an eternity ago. There’s some truth to that. Lots can change over the course of a season and teams which take the floor in December are rarely the same which take the floor into April, May and June.And yet if you’re looking for evidence of a team that’s ready to roll once healthy, it just isn’t there. Outside of the win over the Embiid-less Sixers, the next two most impressive from those 12 full strength victories are a pair over the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans from October and November. The rest of the body of work includes games against the Hawks, Bulls, Pistons, Timberwolves, Knicks, Magic, Kings and Spurs… not exactly the type of competition the Raptors will see in latter postseason rounds, let alone the first round.