WHOSE TAKE EP. 2 | Best cocahed team in league | More breakdowns | Man gets put in place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUyzeEwUh7A
Here is the full media availability with Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews following the Leafs’ 2-0 loss to the Blue Jackets pic.twitter.com/lZyDuXhlHX
— David Alter (@dalter) August 3, 2020
Disappointing news: Orlando Magic F Jonathan Isaac has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, source tells ESPN. Isaac missed 31 games with knee injury earlier and worked his way back for restart. A much longer rehab awaits him now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2020
Raptors set to meet depleted Heat | Toronto Sun
Game 1 of the NBA’s restart was a resounding success for the Toronto Raptors but another test has arrived quickly. After beating LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, the defending NBA champions have a matinee slated for Monday (1:30 p.m. ET, SN1) vs. the Miami Heat.
Miami sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, but just two games behind the Boston Celtics, making the Heat a potential second-round playoff opponent for the Raptors. It’s unclear which version of the Heat will be on the court on Monday in Orlando though. Miami’s top two players, superstar Jimmy Butler and rising force Bam Adebayo both have issues, as does regular thorn in the side point guard Goran Dragic. Adebayo (quadriceps) and Dragic (back) are both probable, meaning they will likely play, but Butler – not on the injury report at all as of 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday – was not at practice on Sunday. Though the team said it was an excused absence, forward Jae Crowder told reporters: “We want to talk to him as soon as he gets out of quarantine or whatever he’s in.”
“It’s definitely a curveball for all of us to hear stuff like what’s going on with him,” Crowder said. “You never know what to expect.”
Butler was in the lineup on Saturday when Miami drilled the solid Denver Nuggets 125-105 and led the team with 22 points and seven assists. Adebayo had a strong game as well.
Jimmy Butler away from Miami Heat Sunday Disney practice – South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“We’re getting curveballs every day for us as a unit,” Crowder said, with Derrick Jones Jr. initially away from the team due to a positive COVID-19 result and then Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn forced to delay their Disney arrivals due to positive coronavirus tests of their own. “You just never know what to expect, so you got to stay locked in and within what we want to do and what we’re here to accomplish as a team.
“I think we’ve done a good job of studying the film from last game today as a unit and walking on the floor and putting it into play. But we know Jimmy very well as a leader. He watches film himself. So the things that we saw today, I’m sure he saw, as well.”
Two NBA sources familiar with the situation told the South Florida Sun Sentinel Butler was in a hotel room during the Heat’s practice, still within the Disney bubble setting.
“It’s just next-man-up mentality, from the standpoint of staying locked in and engaged, because we know he’s locked in and engaged once he’s able to get back with us,” Crowder said. “It’s definitely a curveball for all of us to hear stuff like what’s going on with him, and you never know what to expect. You just have to stay mentally engaged as much as possible during this time.”
Center Kelly Olynyk said it’s a matter of accepting the hand dealt.
“It’s a crazy world, a crazy bubble,” he said. “You’re not going to know who’s here day to day. Stuff happens, it could be whatever. Injuries, personal issues, you never know in life. But, obviously, we’ve played without Jimmy before. So it’s not like the whole world is coming to an end.
“But, obviously, we want him out here.”
Butler scored 22 points in Saturday’s 125-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the start of the Heat’s eight-game regular-season “seeding” schedule at Disney. He closed 10 of 11 from the foul line, with seven assists, four rebounds and three steals in 29:59.
“He’s a key to our team and we’re better with him,” Olynyk said. “But it’s definitely great to get some other guys some reps and some different looks. Whether he gets in foul trouble or something happens, we’re going to need other guys to step up in his place and in anybody’s place who goes down.
“So that’s part of our depth and we can use it to our advantage, for sure.”
Jimmy Butler is expected to play tomorrow against the Raptors, barring unforeseen circumstances, sources tell @flasportsbuzz and me.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) August 2, 2020
Less than 48 hours after opening their seeding game schedule with an impressive win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Toronto Raptors are back in action with another tough test as they face the Miami Heat.
It’s the third and final meeting between Eastern Conference powers this season, and Toronto looks to avoid a season sweep after dropping its first two games against Miami.
The most recent game between these two teams came on Jan. 2 and by many accounts, was a statistical anomaly.
In an overall ugly game, the Heat earned an 84-76 win over the Raptors, who shot just 28-for-89 (31.5%) from the field and an abysmal 6-for-42 (14.3%) from beyond the arc. Down Marc Gasol, Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam, the majority of the offensive load went to Serge Ibaka, who scored 19 points (on 9-for-21 shooting) while Kyle Lowry (15 points) and Fred VanVleet (seven points) combined to shoot just 3-for-23 (13.0%) from deep.
In fact, Kyle Lowry has struggled in both games against the Heat this season. Factoring in the first meeting that was his first game back from an injury, Toronto’s All-Star guard is averaging 13.5 points and 9.5 assists while shooting 17.6% from the field and 8.7% from deep.
For Miami, starters not named Bam Adebayo (who finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting) combined to shoot 10-for-35 (28.6%) from the field in the January win. The difference came from the bench, as the Heat’s reserves outscored the Raptors second unit 40-20.
Fast forward seven months later, and things look much different.
The Raptors are at full strength, while the Heat have added Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill and Andre Iguodala to the roster.
Both Toronto and Miami are coming off of wins over Western Conference powers as the Heat earned a dominant victory over the Denver Nuggets to begin their restart on the right note. The Heat put forth an impressive dominant effort and shot 44.8% from deep, thanks largely in part to Crowder, the sharpshooting Duncan Robinson and Canadian Kelly Olynyk, who drained four triples in the fourth quarter.
A Raptors win full of important statements and a trip through the usual weekend mail | The Star
A bit sluggish
It wasn’t the most crisp offensive performance we’ve ever seen and that’s perfectly understandable given the circumstances of it being the first game at real speed in nearly five months and the defensive skills of the Lakers, who are pretty darn good themselves.
One way that you could tell is the fact the Raptors had four 24-second violations in the games and that’s wildly uncharacteristic for them.
They are at their best when the ball is zinging around quickly and they are getting up quick shots in transition. That’s their offensive forte, they do not do well in slogging out halfcourt possessions and that’s what has to improve over the next seven games.
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Some different looks
There was a bit of time there in the third quarter when the Raptors went crazy small with a frontcourt of Pascal Siakam and Rondae Hollis-Jeffferson and three guards, we saw Norm Powell bringing the ball up the court on a handful of possession and Nick was up to some of his madness for short stints.
The benefit of being as good as they are is that it allows the Raptors to truly experiment and try new and wonderful things over these eight games and we got a snippet of that last night.
Much of it had to do with the fact Terence Davis did not in any way have a major impact on the game and that there was no good matchup to use Chris Boucher in. But that’s the thing with this team, there are enough capable guys that if two aren’t getting it done, there are two others who won’t kill you when they’re asked to play a few minutes.
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That’s it for that game, there’s another one to worry about tomorrow afternoon so let’s get to the mail, shall we?
Bubble Blog: The Rockets Keep Winning by Forcing Their Own Agenda – The Ringer
Matt Dollinger: You would think that being the reigning champions would be enough to earn a little respect, but the Toronto Raptors once again find themselves in Dangerfield territory. Only one of The Ringer’s nine NBA experts (some would say the best looking) picked the Raptors to make it back to this year’s NBA Finals, and only three of ESPN’s 13 experts predicted the same. FiveThirtyEight gives the Raptors a 9% chance of reaching the Finals, while our own Zach Kram puts Toronto’s odds at 16%, while giving them just a 9% chance of winning the whole thing.
But if you watched the Raptors’ 107-92 romp of the Lakers on Saturday night, you would expect those numbers to be way higher. Kyle Lowry had 33 points and 14 rebounds and Toronto held Los Angeles to just 35.4 percent shooting, clamping down on LeBron James (20 points) and Anthony Davis (14) and outsourcing the Lakers 35-22 in the fourth. It was the type of dismantling that will serve as a reality check for the Lakers—and maybe for the rest of the league.
“I mean, they won a championship for a reason,” James told reporters after the game. “And it wasn’t just all solely because of Kawhi and obviously you see that.”
As The King notes, the Raptors are built to win in the postseason. Lowry and Fred VanVleet form an electric, albeit undersized, backcourt that always keeps the offense humming. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are two devastating defensive forces on the wing—the most valuable currency in the playoffs—with developing offensive games (the former ranks 15th in the league in scoring, the latter had 23 points against the Lakers). And a slimmed-down Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka give Nick Nurse plenty of lineup configurations upfront while anchoring the defense and providing just enough on offense.
Nurse didn’t have the luxury of such depth during this season, fighting a never-ending string of injuries and ailments, but perfectly plugged in “continuity guys” (as LeBron called them) to keep the Raptors more than afloat. It’s been pointed out, but the 2019-20 Raptors have a better winning percentage (.723) than Kawhi’s 2018-19 Raptors (.707) that won the championship. But they also have a better net rating (6.5 vs. 5.8) and lower defensive rating (104.7 vs. 106.8) than last year’s team. This is a juggernaut—not a hobbled former champion.
Maybe you believe in the Ewing Theory. Maybe the Raptors have 2004 Pistons-level chemistry. Whatever it is, there’s been enough evidence for us to stop sleeping on the Raptors. While Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks were historically good during the regular season, they were outdueled by these Raptors last postseason and they’ve yet to get over a playoff hump that not every superstar clears (even MVPs). It’s silly to assume the Bucks will stroll to the Finals and face whichever L.A. team survives the West. The Raptors are dangerous. These Raptors are dangerous. They have the NBA’s best record since January 15. And while they aren’t getting the respect they deserve, they also aren’t receiving any of the pressure.
Giannis feels the weight of trying to make his first Finals. LeBron knows he only has so many years left. Kawhi is trying to make a superteam marriage work. But the Raptors? They’re playing with house money. Count them out at your own peril.
