https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anaK122Am4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoN7OimClw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2y_T8FrIg8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uJVeangFGs
🚨 2020 #NBAPlayoffs First Round Schedule 🚨
The NBA Playoffs begin Monday, August 17th with games all day and night!
Full Schedule: https://t.co/m6M3b8qUDf pic.twitter.com/jcheJ5HSni
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
10 things: Stanley Johnson and Paul Watson cap regular season with another wi- Yahoo!n
Three — Intrigue: It’s too late for Johnson to crack the rotation, but you can see the talent and how it could fit the Raptors’ future plans. He’s a strong ball handler, and has assumed the role of point forward for the third unit. Johnson was confidently calling out plays and triggering the start of sets, much like how Pat McCaw played for the year before Rondae Hollis-Jefferson took his place due to injury. Unlike the other two, Johnson seems to have some scoring pop. Hollis-Jefferson cannot hit at all from deep, and has a habit of forcing up contested layups, while McCaw just shies away from shooting altogether. Again, two decent games in the bubble isn’t life-changing, but there’s no reason why Johnson couldn’t fulfill that role in the future. He’s clearly more talented than he’s shown thus far.
Raptors Report Card: Top marks for Kyle Lowry, Nick Nurse, Paul Watson and more – The Athletic
In a game that saw only one nominal starter dress, the bulk of the outcome was decided by the Raptors’ second- and third-stringers. Many of those players saw little action over the entire season and little action earlier in the bubble. That made it a must-see game for Raptors 905 head coach Jama Mahlalela, who was rooting on Watson, Dewan Hernandez and others from back in Toronto.
“Incredible job,” Mahlalela said. “They showed great poise and played the game the right way. Paul and Stanley both demonstrated confidence in their games, which was good to see. Nice morale boost for the entire team going into the playoffs. I’m proud of them.”
People tend to joke about these games to some degree because they are devoid of macro meaning. All that was on the line for the Raptors was a claim for the No. 2 regular-season record instead of No. 3 and, in the event of a Raptors-Lakers final, whatever “home court” looks like in the bubble. A Raptors exec once even joked that a game like this was “a Blake Murphy game,” a nod to my Raptors 905 coverage. It’s a common refrain from the other beat writers, too.
So allow me a retort: It matters. Maybe in a more micro sense, but it does. For the players who saw far more run than they normally would, these are opportunities to continue developing and, in some cases, audition for other teams after a year of relative inactivity and a long layoff with (likely) no room for free-agent minicamps in the offseason. In 2016, Delon Wright and Norman Powell opened eyes with excellent performances in the season finale. Bruno Caboclo and Jakob Poeltl have had big moments in those spots. Last year, it was Chris Boucher, the culmination of an MVP year in the G League.
“Just being able to go out there and work with the time I’m getting as a confidence builder, it shows Coach Nick has a lot of trust in me and what I’ve been able to do in our shooting times and practice and things like that,” Watson said. “So it’s definitely a big confidence booster for me.”
Maybe nothing happened in this game that we’ll look back on as a standout moment. Still, a few players on the roster are about to spend weeks — and hopefully months — working on their player development routines while studying opponents to play as the scout team for the top two units. That can be thankless (aside from rings and playoff shares, which are, uh, a good thanks) and an affirmation that the work they’re putting in can lead to opportunity and materialize in NBA games.
In the words of Detective Lester Freamon, all the pieces matter.
Five Takeaways from Denver’s final seeding game against the Toronto Raptors – Denver Stiffs
Perimeter Defense is few and far between
In their final game action before the 2020 bubble playoffs, the Denver Nuggets allowed another team to shoot a high three-point percentage, something head coach Michael Malone was fuming about post game. The Raptors shot 51.4% from three as a team, hitting 18-of-35 from the perimeter on some contested, some uncontested shots.I tend to think that some of Denver’s more embarrassing three-point defensive possessions will be eliminated in the playoffs. The Nuggets will be playing their starters heavier minutes, and we have seen Denver lock in during the most important stretches of the season. In addition, Denver has been on the receiving end of some unlucky hot shooting by the opposition this season, so it should regress to the mean at least a little bit.
Malone is right to be concerned, but the Nuggets starters are also right in that they know how to lock in. Who ends up being MORE right will determine Denver’s playoff future.
The Toronto Raptors unleash the Stanimal, defeat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 – Raptors HQ
It was the best possible outcome for the Raptors. They got Davis back into the flow of things, helped Johnson and Miller rediscover themselves, were witness to more of Watson’s game, and got the record-setting win. Leading the way for the Raptors in the winning effort were Watson with 22 points, including four 3s, and the all-around solid play of Johnson, who poured in 23 points and six assists.
And by the way, the Raptors win may not be as meaningless as we originally thought. With the effort, they move past the Lakers in the overall NBA standings. So, the Raptors would get “homecourt” advantage against LeBron James and the Lakers should they make it to the Finals. Yes, they’re still playing in the Bubble, but it once again feels good to note just how great the Raptors were this year, the longest running defending NBA champs of all time.
With the Bubble regular season now over, it’s officially time for the Raptors to shift their focus to the playoffs. And that means an opening round showdown with their old foe the Brooklyn Nets. Get ready for Game 1 on Monday.
Raptors finish regular season second in NBA, record franchise-high winning percentage | Toronto Sun
With nothing on the line, the Raptors rested starters Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, as well as Serge Ibaka. Anunoby and Ibaka are the only ones from that group with actual ailments, but head coach Nick Nurse didn’t sound too concerned when asked about their status for Monday’s playoff opener against Brooklyn.
“There’s nothing showing up on the MRIs or anything. There’s just a little swelling, it’s more real precautionary for us,” Nurse said. “I think it’s gonna be OK.”
Their absences allowed Nurse to go deep into his bench and he got 23 points from Stanley Johnson a game after Johnson nailed a game-winning put-back, 22 from rookie Paul Watson, 12 from Matt Thomas and 14 from Terence Davis — the starting backcourt on this day — and 15 from Norman Powell. Marc Gasol handed out five assists in 17 crisp minutes. Davis joined Chicago’s Coby White as the only rookies to play in each of their team’s games this season. Denver was missing a couple regulars and only played stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray 10 minutes apiece. They hit five of their six shot attempts, but the rest of the Nuggets shot just 38% from the field.
The Raptors have shown as much depth as any team this season, so it only made sense for Johnson to have the second-best scoring game of his career and for Watson to break out. Both said afterward they have felt very welcomed by the close-knit group of veterans.
Davis, the lone youngster in the rotation, said he was looking forward to his first taste of playoff action and was pleased that his game had rebounded recently. Davis said earlier in Orlando he felt like he had lost some confidence in his jump shot and wasn’t letting it fly as much as before.
Watson, who was on a two-way deal with the organization, has a bit of an unknown quantity when he signed late and Nurse was eager to find out a bit more about him in Orlando. What did the coach discover?
“That he can play. He’s pretty good,” Nurse said. “He’s going to be a part of our future from what I can see so far.”
Raptors poised for playoffs after feel-good, resilient regular season – Sportsnet.ca
However it eventually ends, the 2019-20 Toronto Raptors season – all 11 months and counting of it – will never be forgotten.
It was as feel-good of a regular season as you’re going to find in professional sports, full of surprises and stories and moments – and that was before the Raptors rolled into Walt Disney World Resort in team busses labelled with Black Lives Matter in ‘We the North’-style script and kept rolling to a 7-1 record in the eight reseeding games that concluded an abbreviated regular season.
“It was a pretty good one, I think,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse before he sent out a partial squad for Toronto’s 117-109 win over the Denver Nuggets that saw his club earn a 53-19 record, translating to a 60-win pace over a full 82-game season. “I think it was the best winning percentage in Raptors history, wasn’t it? [at .736, it was, breaking the mark set in 2017-18]. It was good.
“What we’ve talked about a lot during the year is probably a lot of people didn’t expect us to have this kind of season. A lot of guys stepped up. A lot of growth for a lot of players. I think our defence was great. There was a lot of resiliency considering we had a lot of injuries, too. I think we were top three or four in injuries or games missed in the wrong direction. Just a good kind of top-to-bottom effort by the crew for certainly the first 60-plus games, and then to regather and keep it rolling once we got here. It’s good. It’s a joy to be around this team. As you know, I’ve said that many times.”
Friday’s win provided more of the same, in a good way. Even with Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka out resting or nursing minor ailments, Toronto was game to play in a win that left them with the second-best record in the NBA. Stanley Johnson – buried all season – led the Raptors with 23 points and six assists and the intriguing Paul Watson chipped in 22 points on 13 shots.
If happiness is expectation less reality, there is good reason for Raptors fans to be happy – ecstatic even. Widely written off as contenders with the departure of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, the Raptors put up a record-breaking season and finished ahead of both the Los Angeles Lakers (Green’s new team) and the Los Angeles Clippers (Leonard’s team) in the standings.
Deep Dive Series Preview: How the Raptors and Nets match up – The Athletic
The Raptors have never been such a favourite in a series. And I don’t mean that anecdotally – the early series prices suggest an implied win probability of nearly 98 percent, topping even the roughly 92-percent odds Vegas priced the Raptors at against the Magic last year. On paper, the Nets are an even easier opponent. The Magic challenged the Raptors with strong defence and a tremendous amount of length, which served to slow down their offence in a way that helped prepare them for future rounds.
Brooklyn will be a different tune-up, and it’s hard to gauge just how difficult an out they’ll be. For the season, the Nets were a top-10 defence and a below-average offence. They optimized what space on the floor they shot from and that they allowed opponents to shoot from. They played smart as a very young, short-handed team amid a coaching change can, and they played hard. That was especially true in the restart, where the bulk of their roster has been playing for their next contract. They’re plucky and spirited. Those are terms that often get hung on teams that are also at a talent deficit. There is talent, and Vaughn has done his best to optimize it around LeVert.
Still, a good shot spectrum, some hot shooting and LeVert shouldn’t be enough to scare the Raptors. The Raptors are a thresher on defence, an amoebic, versatile unit that’s developed a strong connection over two-plus years together, including a Finals run. Nurse will likely be the Coach of the Year, and for good reason. They are healthy now, which makes the limit of their ceiling something to wonder about. That’s a second-round question. For now, the Raptors’ defence and transition game provide an immense floor.
Scouting with the enemy: Breaking down the Raptors-Nets series – The Athletic
Early on in the bubble, LeVert struggled against double teams and didn’t adjust quickly enough when teams took away the pick-and-roll from him and Allen, but has improved a lot with that, partially thanks to Crawford. Although he’s nursed his hamstring injury, Crawford has studied how defenses guard LeVert and how it opens up the rest of the floor. Tyler Johnson attributed his game-sealing 3 against the Clippers to consulting with Crawford on where to be when opposing teams blitz LeVert, and Allen has said the same thing in regards to passing out of the post when LeVert isn’t an option. So in general, both LeVert and the Nets have adjusted to the defensive pressure he’s faced.
In terms of defense, it’s a safe bet that Brooklyn will put 6-foot-9 forward Rodions Kurucs on Siakam, at least to start, and will probably have LeVert on Lowry. Brooklyn played Milwaukee in a zone and I could see the Nets going that direction if needed, especially with the lack of size on the roster.
The Raptors did come out of the Florida mini-season relatively unscathed, although both OG Anunoby and Serge Ibaka are dealing with some knee discomfort and missed games at the end.
Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet looked like they hasn’t missed a beat after a four-month hiatus caused by the pandemic. Pascal Siakam didn’t shoot from range particularly well, but that doesn’t seem to be a concern. And Toronto’s defence was on point: the most efficient measured by points per game of any team heading into the playoffs from these eight games.
The search for that “rhythm” Nurse seeks will go on forever, though.
“I would say that you probably go into every playoffs not completely in rhythm,” Nurse said. “You’re never going to sit here and say ‘Oh, man, everything’s perfect’ as we head into the playoffs. I just think it’s a rhythmic game that changes a lot.”
One of the most significant developments over the last couple of games has been a better showing offensively from Marc Gasol, whose versatility is significant for the Raptors. He made a couple of three-pointers in a Wednesday win over Philadelphia, and was force-fed the ball in the post a fair bit on Friday. Getting him going is vital.
“I think that he hit a couple of threes the other night, which is really important depending on who we’re playing,” Nurse said of the veteran centre. “I think that’s always kind of a safety valve or pressure release point for us. I thought he passed the ball awesome (today). Boy, he threw some really nice passes. That was good, too.”
But? Oh yes, there’s always a but.
“I’d like to see him score a little more down low, to be honest with you. I think we just need that settling presence every now and then inside.”
Toronto Raptors come full circle with first-round series against Brooklyn Nets – TSN.ca
This is the matchup that most teams wanted entering the restart. The Nets came to Disney without six rotation players. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving won’t return from their injuries until next season, while Spencer Dinwiddie, Wilson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan and Taurean Prince all opted out. They filled their roster with G League standouts, unclaimed veterans and whomever else they could find on short notice, so most people wrote them off.
But they may be a tougher out than people thought. Outside of the undefeated Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn has been the biggest surprise of the bubble, going 5-3 with wins over the Bucks and Clippers. On Thursday, they nearly ended Portland’s season, despite having nothing tangible on the line.
They remind you a lot of those 2013-14 Raptors that nobody saw coming. They play extremely hard. Without an established the star on the floor – although Caris LeVert is certainly blossoming into one – they share the ball and play together. If anybody should know how dangerous the plucky underdogs could be, it’s Toronto.
“I think they’re obviously one of the big surprises of the restart,” Nurse said. “LeVert’s outstanding. They’re really playing with a lot of confidence. They’re playing fast, Coach [Jacque] Vaughn has obviously got ’em dialled in, and I think there’s a lot of opportunity there for some guys that are pretty good players.
“You’ve got an up and coming guy in LeVert that’s a super, super scorer and player. You’ve got [some] veteran players around them, Garrett Temple and even Jamal Crawford, in their locker room. Even though he hasn’t played much, it’s still nice to have some vets around the team. They’ve got a lot of guys who are playing with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence right now. They certainly earned and deserve this playoff berth and we will respect them, for sure. We will have to prepare and play really well to beat them.”
It’s not just the teams that have changed in six years, so have the expectations. The Raptors aren’t just happy to be there anymore, and merely getting past Brooklyn is no longer good enough. The goal will be to advance in four or five games – they’ve been on the losing side of four series sweeps in franchise history, but never on the winning side.
Surprising Nets relishing underdog role vs. Raptors – NY Post
The Raptors (53-19) don’t have Kawhi Leonard, but boast a fierce backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Fred Van Vleet. Add power forward stud Pascal Siakam and granite center Marc Gasol, playing better with age on defense, makes them an Eastern Conference title threat.
The bubble Nets, who are 10-point underdogs in Game 1, are a prolific 3-point shooting club — the Raptors’ Achilles heel on defense — and they have scored 115 points or more in six of their eight contests.
“We played a great eight games, but now it’s time to really lock in,’’ LeVert said. “That’s why we came out here — for the playoffs. There’s no moral victories. We have to lock in the next couple of games.”
The Raptors will be a sound test but not the end all, be all on what the future holds on Atlantic Avenue next season. The other members of the Nets’ “Bubble Big 3’’ also have been stalwart, with Joe Harris and center Jarrett Allen playing at a high level.
NBA Playoffs 2020: Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets Round One Schedule – Raptors HQ
Look, we get it. This isn’t going to be series that drives big ratings. The Raptors don’t generally do well on U.S. national TV, and the Nets are seriously lacking star power. The Raptors will be heavy favourites, perhaps even to sweep, so no one expects a close or exciting series. There aren’t any cool angles, narratives or rivalries here.
We also are fully aware of the condensed schedule in the Bubble. The NBA has to play four games every day in order to keep the playoffs moving along swiftly.
We also understand why every weekday game featuring Boston, Philadelphia and both Los Angeles teams is an evening affair; these are the big markets, the teams with big name players, and they’re gonna drive ratings.
We get it.
But that’s small comfort if you’re a Raptors fan (or a Nets fan, or a Jazz or Nuggets fan, whose series has a similar schedule) who works during the day. You’re gonna miss three playoff games! That stinks.
Let’s hope the Raptors do indeed make short work of the Nets, and that the series is as boring as most seem to think it will be, so those fans who can’t catch the games don’t miss much. Do it for your hard-working fans, Raptors!
We’ll have full series previews and coverage coming over the next few days right here at Raptors HQ, so stay tuned.
Each Team’s Biggest Question Heading Into The NBA Playoffs – Uproxx
Toronto Raptors: Can Pascal Siakam create consistently in the half court?
All season, this has been the question that would separate a true title defense from Toronto and a return to their pre-2019 playoff fate. Per Synergy play type data, Siakam remains 275th in half court points per possession at less than 1 point per chance. Low-usage players will always exceed in this category, but even a player like Karl-Anthony Towns is up at 1.12.
This is where Toronto misses Leonard most, and it’s the one area where Siakam, despite improving his pull-up shooting and play-making, hasn’t shown himself able to replace Leonard. Unless the playoffs bring the most out of Siakam, the Raptors will run up against late-game situations where their elite transition offense gets bogged down and no one is able to score for them when the court shrinks.
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