https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3_bMjpmpb4
Raptors ‘pitch our ace’ for two elite quarters in victory over Grizzlies – The Athletic
The Raptors did show what their very best looks like, not that it was anything new, necessarily. They looked really good for large stretches of their three scrimmages and first three reseeding games, losing only to the Celtics. Even the first quarter against Memphis, which the Raptors lost by five, was largely the product of extreme 3-point shooting variance (7-of-13 on 3s for Memphis to 1-of-9 for Toronto). The Raptors’ aggressive defence opens a lane for hot-shooting teams to variance their way into leads or victories, but once those numbers normalized, the Raptors took off.
Over the second and third quarters, the Raptors steamrolled Memphis 68-46. Though the turnover issues that have plagued them throughout the relaunch so far still materialized — they had 26 on Sunday that led to 19 Memphis points — those two quarters saw them decisively win the battle to turn opponent miscues into easy points the other way. The ball movement took a step forward in the half court, too, including some excellent process-over-results possessions that were encouraging about the ways the half-court offence, a relative weakness, can be optimized when needed.
Pascal Siakam has long been the best example of that, with his usage (32.9 percent) and efficiency (63.3 percent true shooting) spiking in the clutch. Technically only a few possessions of Sunday’s game were defined by NBA.com as clutch scenarios, but Siakam’s comfort level using his pull-up 3 as a late-game weapon — as well as how the Raptors went to more pick-and-roll action involving Siakam and a guard when things got stagnant — is encouraging.
Siakam’s game was far more efficient than in recent bubble games, with a fairly casual-feeling 26 points on 23 used possessions. He probably was still a little more passive than the team would prefer in the second half — he scored at the rim four times in the first half and didn’t get in closer than good floater range in the second half — but it was a good step forward and, Siakam hopes, a sign that he’s progressing positively.
“I feel like I’m doing good, I’m (on) the right path,” he said. “Obviously a couple games there where you feel like you didn’t play as well as you could have, but I just feel like it was expected for me, and I had to get a rhythm and continue to understand that this is what I do, and I’ve just gotta continue to get better … I just felt like my energy was better.”
If Siakam is more closer than ace at this stage, the team’s defence as a unit is its clearest road to victories. (Kyle Lowry is a star, Eric, but yes, the defence is, too.) Toronto held Memphis to a woeful 93.7 points per 100 possessions, nudging the Raptors’ bubble-best defensive rating down to 99.6. OG Anunoby was his usual menacing self on defence with three steals, while each point guard contributed four, including Fred VanVleet living at the elbow any time a Grizzlies big thought he had a clean look at a post up or a delayed roll to the paint.
Pascal Siakam gets back on track as Raptors down Grizzlies – Sportsnet.ca
Early on after missing a pair of threes, his first hoop came three feet from the rim on a feed from Kyle Lowry and his second was from two feet as he made a smart cut and got a pass from Serge Ibaka.
Siakam has added so much to his game – the former college post player has turned himself into a legitimate face-up scoring threat on the wing in the blink of an eye, it feels like — but he was first noticed in the NBA for his activity in the paint and in transition. He seemed to make an effort to return to those roots – he made another tough finish inside before stepping out to the three-point line again, and contributed defensively too, locking up Grizzlies super rookie Ja Morant on one first-half play.
Nurse had more opportunity to have his patience test as the Raptors trailed 25-20 after the first quarter, a continuation of Toronto’s offensive struggles against Boston.
If the seeding season is going to have ‘dog days’ you’d have to think this would be the time. The Raptors are about to start their eighth week in Florida and they still are more than a week from the playoffs beginning and three weeks from the possibility of being reconnected from their families.
The uber-consistent Raptors are showing it a little bit. Or maybe they just can’t make a shot?
That was the case early. They didn’t hit a three until Kyle Lowry banged one with 33 seconds left in the first, making them 1-of-9 from deep, meanwhile the Grizzlies put up 13 triples and seven.
Nurse kept it positive, even if he had to fake it a little bit.
“It wasn’t easy. I was doing a lot of cheerleading in the timeouts, I really was,” said Nurse. “You acknowledge the fact that, man, it’s just not going our way. I don’t know why. We’re getting good shots, you’re doing a lot of good things, you’re playing hard and you just gotta hang in there.
“Just tell ‘em there’s a lot of ways to win games; games take a lot of different flows to them, but hang in, hang in, hang in and hang in and hopefully a spark will hit and things will turn your way.
“And I think we got that. We ended up putting up, what in the second quarter? 40 points? So, again, give ‘em credit because it wasn’t much fun for them, the energy was low, the shots weren’t going in, it was getting less fun and less energetic and then they hung in there and found a little bit of rhythm.”
Quick Recap: Memphis Grizzlies Fall to the Toronto Raptors – Grizzly Bear Blues
The Toronto Raptors are one of the better defensive teams in the NBA in terms of defending the three point shot from their opponents. Memphis was able to get going in that first quarter, but in the second quarter, the Raptors would turn up their intensity. The Grizzlies would trail by as much as 11 in the second quarter, but thanks to several consecutive threes Memphis was within 6 of the Raptors at the half where the Raptors led 60-54.
Dillon Brooks would continue with his supreme confidence on both ends of the floor. Key word there is confidence, and not success from both ends. Dillon being in his own head hurt Memphis to start the second half as he continued to force things on the offensive end. Another thing that hurt Memphis, was Toronto’s defensive intensity in the third quarter.
Doubling Jonas Valanciunas in the post, forcing passes back out to the three point line, it looked as if Memphis couldn’t find an open shot. Outscored 28-17 in the third quarter, the Raptors led the Grizzlies 88-71 heading into the fourth quarter.
Recap: Toronto Raptors overcome slow start, beat Memphis Grizzlies 108-99 – Raptors HQ
A few other observations from this one:
OG reassuring. If one thing has been apparent since the restart, it’s that OG Anunoby can create real headaches against teams that don’t have sharp ball-handling on the wing. While Morant was mostly immune, OG’s ability to break up skip passes and close on defense made life a living hell for Memphis. Anunoby would finish with just six points, but his three steals and a block were noticed.
Eighth spot. There’s still plenty of Nick Nurse experimentation when it comes to who gets the most minutes here. Today, Matt Thomas made the biggest impact in his 10 minutes, splashing two threes and changing the gravity of Memphis’ defense to open up the floor.
Thomas’ presence is one of the biggest curveballs Nurse can throw — and while he gives it all back on defense, it’s a viable option in the playoffs if Toronto’s shooting bogs down like we’ve seen in the last two games.
With the second seed locked, expect a lot more run for the guys in competition going forward. Terence Davis and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have been more bad than good in the restart, and will need an opportunity to improve.
Trust in Marc. If you have any frustration in the Raptors, consider that Marc Gasol played just 22 minutes tonight and was +14 when on the floor. Apart from being the team’s best help defender, Gasol is shooting more confidently and getting to good spots with his touches. He just isn’t playing that much since the restart.
The more Gasol plays, the better the Raptors will be. We also aren’t seeing much of he and Ibaka playing together — probably the secret sauce look that Nurse is saving for the post-season.
Toronto Raptors win 50th game and clinch second seed in bounce-back victory – TSN.ca
Like the Boston game, the Raptors couldn’t get a shot to fall early on, despite generating good looks. They were 1-for-10 from three-point range in the first quarter and most of those attempts were wide open. However, unlike Friday’s loss, when they let their shooting slump affect other facets of their game such as moving the ball and defending, they stuck with it.
Matt Thomas came in off the bench and knocked down a three to begin the second quarter. Then he drained another. The two primary reserves, Powell and Ibaka, also had bounce-back performances and gave the team a lift. All of a sudden those same shots that were rimming out earlier were starting to fall and the Raptors looked like the Raptors again. They went 7-for-12 from long distance in the second.
Desperately trying to hang onto the eighth and final playoff seed in the West, the Grizzlies hung around and made a run late in the fourth, cutting Toronto’s lead to three with three and a half minutes remaining. But, thanks to some clutch shot making from Siakam and Lowry and another timely steal from VanVleet, the Raptors were able to hold them off.
With the win, they improved to 4-1 in the bubble – an encouraging record considering the difficulty of their schedule. There are areas of concern, though. One reoccurring issue has been their turnovers. They had 26 of them against Memphis and are averaging 19.6 at Disney – the most of any team during the restart and up from their regular season mark of 14.4.
That’s just one of the things they can use the next three games to emphasize and try to correct.
“I think it’s a lot of unforced turnovers, to be honest,” Siakam said. “It’s something that we’ve gotta correct and I feel like we will as a team. That’s not us and we all know that. Everyone is trying to rectify it.”
Raps lock down second seed in the East with win over Grizzlies | Toronto Sun
“You acknowledge the fact that, man, it’s just not going our way. I don’t know why. We’re getting good shots, you’re doing a lot of good things, you’re playing hard and you’ve just gotta hang in there. Just tell ’em there are a lot of ways to win games, games take a lot of different flows to them. But hang in, hang in and hang in and hopefully a spark will hit and things will turn your way.”
They did and because they did, the Raptors have sewn up the No. 2 seed in the East. With the top seeding out of reach, Nurse will now play around with his lineup and rest the guys he deems needful of rest and play the guys who need minutes without worrying about the results of these last three games before the playoffs.
Nurse came into Sunday’s game saying he needed to see a little more from a couple of his players.
Both Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka have been off a little since the seeding games began and both responded with more characteristic games.
Siakam led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of 16 shooting while Ibaka was back to his bouncier, more physical self with 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.
“I thought Pascal had a nice night, obviously a little bit of an uptick there,” Nurse said. “I thought Serge played excellent tonight.
“He came in and started passing the ball, made some great decisions with it. He was on the glass, made some shots. We ran a couple of plays for him and he delivered out of timeouts. He was certainly engaged and that was good.”
If there was a bit of a crisis coming out of this one, it was tied to the 26 turnovers the Raptors committed — a number is so un-Raptors-like, it’s almost tough to believe.
As Nurse pointed out seeing nine turnovers beside Kyle Lowry’s name, one is more likely to question the scorekeeper than believe the stat.
Nurse isn’t panicking about either number, though, preferring to trust the history both of his team and his best player to right those uncharacteristic wrongs.
It was a quick bounceback for the NBA defending champs, who pulled up their socks after an uncharacteristic 22-point beat-down from the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Siakam, who had not looked himself in Toronto’s first five games inside the NBA bubble, scored from all over the floor – including four three-pointers – and added a trio of assists.
“I had to get a rhythm and continue to understand that this is what I do and I’ve just got to continue to get better. Can’t get down on yourself,” Siakam said. “There’s going to be periods where things aren’t going to go the way that you want it to go, but you’ve got to continue to play, continue to do what you do and figure it out. I’ve always been able to do that.”
Norman Powell added 16 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15, and Fred VanVleet added 14. Serge Ibaka had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Marc Gasol, playing his former team for the first time since his trade in February, 2019, grabbed six rebounds and scored 10 points for Toronto. He combined with Ibaka to hold former Raps big man Jonas Valanciunas without a point with 10 boards.
After their sloppy Friday loss to the Celtics – Toronto’s first loss since March 1 – the Raptors didn’t even watch that game film.
“Every time we lose, we always have that chip on our shoulder and we know what to do,” Siakam said. “As a team, everyone is a professional and we understand we can’t have those type of losses. And then the next day, we don’t have to say anything.”
The Raptors came out shooting poorly again early in Sunday’s game – hitting just 36.8 per cent in the opening quarter, including just one of their nine three-point attempts. Coach Nick Nurse said he began searching his bench looking for a spark.
Marc Gasol has quickly become an essential part of Raptors’ secret sauce – The Athletic
Let’s not confuse things by saying Gasol has become the defining Raptor, which will be Kyle Lowry for as long as he is around and playing at this level. Gasol’s body type does not even allow him to be a stand-in for the Raptors style as a turnover-creating, defensively versatile club that loves to push it in transition, either. Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby are the natural picks there.
But there is something about Gasol that nonetheless represents all the Raptors are trying to do. Not only the what but the how. Just listen to him explain his role within a playoff setting, when adapting is the name of the game.
“It varies from game to game. There are games where I’m going to be asked to be more of a scorer. There are games where I’m going to be asked to be more of a facilitator,” Gasol said. “Within games, your role is going to change. You have to be ready to do anything. Sometimes you’re going to be more of a spacer and in the corner a lot more than in other games. Some nights you’re going to be required more to be in the post. You have to be ready to adapt to whatever.”
In his first game against the Grizzlies, Gasol had a very Gasol-as-Raptor game: 10 points and six rebounds, was a game-high plus-14 and helped hold the opposition’s post behemoth, Valanciunas, to no points and just a pair of offensive rebounds. It was a pretty good rebuttal to the notion that Gasol slimming down might sap his interior strength. The Grizzlies scored at a rate of 80.4 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor. In the 114 minutes he has played in the bubble, the Raptors have held their opponents to an offensive rating of just 84.9, compared to 111.6 when he sits. The Raptors have also been a worse rebounding team, on both ends, without Gasol on the floor.
“He doesn’t have a lot of things that show up as direct numbers anymore,” Nurse said. “But he is blocking out other people, sometimes two people. He will tip balls and let his teammates get them. Very good plays there. He is going over to alter a lot of shots which takes him out of the actual rebound a lot, too, because he’s going to challenge with his body or torso.
It is hard to imagine Gasol getting played off the floor as Valanciunas so often was because of his defensive shortcomings. The Warriors with Kevin Durant last year might have made a push to do that, but we saw fewer than two quarters worth of what that looked like. Even in the series against Milwaukee, with the Bucks generally playing lineups that surrounded Giannis Antetokounmpo with four shooters, the Raptors were better defensively with Gasol.
Raptors vs. Bucks still matters, but in a different way with the top two seeds locked in | The Star
Perhaps Serge Ibaka gets one game off, as does Marc Gasol. Maybe Fred VanVleet sits one and Kyle Lowry rests for another.
But maybe Nurse will stay entirely true to form and play each game as it comes, and decide in the heat of the night what’s best for which player.
That seems to be how he rolls, but a bit of rest makes sense since everything for the Raptors and the Bucks is settled. Milwaukee will be No. 1 in the East and Toronto will be No. 2, while Brooklyn and Orlando fight it out for seventh and eighth to determine the first-round playoff matchups.
Nurse hurried away from his post-game interview session to scout — Orlando played immediately after Toronto on Sunday, while Brooklyn had the late game — so he is looking long-term.
Going into Milwaukee-Toronto, the talk is sure to be about how the game really means nothing and neither team is going to show its deepest held strategic moves, but that’s not entirely true.
Once the ball goes up and they’re keeping score, games do mean something because there’s a winner and a loser. And while neither team will throw out new wrinkles for any length of time, getting some live practice for short stints to see what works — and what doesn’t — will come in handy in the future. Besides, life on the NBA campus is unlike any experience these teams have ever had, so making generalizations is foolish.
Nets ‘truly believe’ they can beat Raptors with NBA playoff matchup set – NY Post
The Nets have shown it by beating the Lakers in Los Angeles in their final game before the pandemic shutdown, Vaughn’s second after replacing Kenny Atkinson.
The Nets have been even better since, knocking off the NBA-leading Bucks on Tuesday despite being woefully shorthanded. Then they clinched seventh in the East by beating the Clippers. It was a masterclass by Vaughn, with Clippers assistant Ty Lue — expected to be among his competition for the permanent Nets job — on the opposing bench.
“To clinch seventh was big for us, obviously. We wanted to play whoever was going to be in that second spot, obviously it’s Toronto. We feel confident,” Garrett Temple said. “We’re confident. If we play the right way, if we play like we’ve been playing the last 2 or 3 games, share the ball, get stops, even though they turn people over, if we’re able to take care of it and do what we’ve been doing, we have a chance to win some games.”
“We’re not overlooking the next couple games, but we know who we’re going to play and we have a lot of time to actually get ready. JV and his crew are going to do what they do to get us ready for that series.”
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