https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw4GZ9UeJY0
The security video from the end of Game 6 in Oakland has been released. It’s pretty clear Deputy Alan Strickland was the aggressor in this altercation with #Raptors President Masai Ujiri. This cop is a straight clown. pic.twitter.com/ANaOLWRmHh
— Sheldon Alexander (@ShelAlexander) August 19, 2020
This is even WORSE than the other video. Body camera footage (with audio) from Deputy Alan Strickland in his altercation with #Raptors President Masai Ujiri. I repeat…this cop is a straight clown. pic.twitter.com/x5EJP8zXs0
— Sheldon Alexander (@ShelAlexander) August 19, 2020
Raptors’ Masai Ujiri countersues sheriff’s deputy; video shows ‘unjustified violence’ – The Athletic
The filing is a proposed amended response that Ujiri is asking the court to allow him to file. The amended response includes the new description of the body footage camera.
“As Mr. Ujiri attempted to enter the court, Mr. Strickland grabbed him by the arm, told him to `back the fuck up,’ and forcefully shoved him back once and then twice. After being cursed at and shoved forcefully twice, Mr. Ujiri pushed Mr. Strickland in the chest. Other than these shoves, the two men did not have any further physical contact with each other. The entire encounter between Mr. Strickland and Mr. Ujiri was brief – approximately 11 seconds as shown on film.”
This is very different from Strickland’s claim, filed in February 2020. “Masai Ujiri repeatedly ignored Plaintiff Alan Strickland’s orders to stop and return to the arena security official. Masai Ujiri then attacked Plaintiff Alan Strickland and hit him in the face and chest with both fists. The force…from Masai Ujiri’s attack sent Plaintiff Alan Strickland backwards several feet.”
Strickland filed a worker’s compensation claim, and his lawsuit claims he was debilitated by the altercation.
After the sheriff’s office pursued a misdemeanor battery charge against Ujiri, Alameda County prosecutors declined to pursue charges, saying the matter was best handled “outside of the courtroom.”
In his filing, Ujiri criticized the handling of the case by Alameda County law enforcement.
“Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has pushed the false narrative in the media that Mr. Ujiri punched Mr. Strickland in the face and acted aggressively towards Mr. Strickland by, among other things, presenting his credentials to Mr. Strickland in a `very threatening way’ without witnessing the alleged event,” Ujiri said in the filing. “Sergeant Kelly’s support for Mr. Strickland’s false narrative is not surprising given his relationship with Mr. Strickland. Sergeant Ray Kelly and Mr. Strickland are more than just co-workers. Kelly is Strickland’s supervisor, and they are also friends. Mr. Strickland was deposed in his workers’ compensation case and explained his friendship and relationship with Sergeant Kelly.”
Kelly’s Linkedin profile lists him as the department’s public information officer. A call to his office number went unanswered.
Ujiri’s motion also noted that in 2005 Strickland pleaded guilty to insurance fraud.
“Mr. Strickland was previously charged with insurance fraud and making false statements. Per court records, he purposefully damaged his own vehicle and then submitted a claim to his insurer for the damage he intentionally caused, and ultimately pled guilty to misdemeanor insurance fraud in December 2005.”
“While Masai has the full backing of Raptors and MLSE as he fights this injustice, we are aware that not all people have similar support and resources. This is a spurious legal action that MLSE, the NBA, and especially Masai should not be facing.”
The yearlong saga has included several twists with Strickland at the centre of several revelations. He filed a federal lawsuit against Ujiri as well as a workers’ compensation claim, neither of which were found to be true.
According to KTVU, “Ujiri’s lawyers pointed out that on the night he went to the hospital, Strickland had no visible facial swelling as he had claimed in his reports to police, and they provided a picture of him showing no bruises.
The lawyers also pointed to exclusive video KTVU took in February, which showed him going out for lunch with his wife, carrying boxes and using a power saw in the spring outside his home.
Strickland’s past legal history is also troubling, legal analysts have said.
In March, KTVU broke an exclusive story revealing that, in 1994, Strickland was arrested and later convicted of insurance fraud, raising questions about his integrity.
The fraud charge was discovered when Strickland was applying to be a San Mateo police officer in 2005, a job he did not get.
“Only after being unjustifiably told to ‘back the f— up’ and shoved twice did Mr. Ujiri show any response and return a shove to Mr. Strickland’s chest. Mr. Ujiri’s defensive response was a reasonable and justified reaction to Mr. Strickland’s use of unnecessary and excessive force.”
Strickland’s suit, which was filed in February, alleged that Ujiri assaulted him in the moments after Toronto’s victory and that as a result of the incident, he “suffered injury to his body, health, strength, activity and person, all of which have caused and continue to cause Plaintiff great mental, emotional, psychological, physical, and nervous pain and suffering.”
Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern initially requested Ujiri be charged with battery of a peace officer after the incident took place, claiming Ujiri struck Strickland’s jaw and shoulder. Eventually, however, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office declined to press any charges after a monthslong investigation ended with a meeting between the office, Ujiri and his lawyers in October.
Ujiri’s countersuit, which includes the Raptors, the NBA and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment as plaintiffs, says that Strickland falsified their encounter and attempted to portray Ujiri as “the initial aggressor and an inherently violent individual.” It goes on to call Strickland’s account “a complete fabrication” that has been contradicted by video footage.
In a statement released later Tuesday, the Raptors said the new video evidence proves Ujiri “was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions.”
Raptor Recalibration, Game 1: Siakam as ‘The Guy,’ key stats, adjustments, more! – The Athletic
The spirit of VanVleet’s comment is accurate. The Raptors are more than just one lead scorer, and Siakam’s doing a good job of helping in other ways. Monday was the best he’s looked defensively in Orlando, for example, and he had a team-high 11 rebounds. Contributing in non-scoring ways and opening things up for others with the attention he draws, are a big part of why any Raptors lineup analysis from this year shows the team thriving with Siakam on the floor and struggling at times without him. Being the No. 1 is about more than just your points per-possession.
Still, this is going to be a topic until it’s not, and in later rounds the Raptors will need a bit more from Siakam than 18 points on 19 used possessions, with only one assist.
The biggest part of Siakam’s good-not-great play in the bubble has felt like a lack of aggression heading to the rim. His improved pull-up and mid-range game are important skills, but the Raptors need him to pressure the rim and get to the free-throw line. Even with what Nick Nurse felt was a limited whistle in Game 1, Siakam did pretty well in that regard, getting to the line nine times. When he didn’t draw the foul, though, he had a lot of trouble finishing, going 1-of-6 on drives in transition or against closeouts. That’s fairly uncharacteristic, as Siakam’s issue was volume at the rim this year, not effectiveness (he shot 70.3 percent within three feet).
Some of that will normalize as he figures out the whistle and Brooklyn’s conservative approach to protecting the rim. He can go up stronger and more certain that the biggest challenges he’ll face are for space approaching the rim, not above it once he gets there.
In the interim, there was enough good from Siakam to remain optimistic. He passed well out of the post, recognizing cutters or kick-outs, even pulling the ball out of a double and going right back into his post move. He also had a takeover stretch of aggression getting to the line in the third quarter that the Raptors will probably show him tape of to affirm that the Nets don’t have individuals who can hang with him if he’s strong and decisive.
With apologies to VanVleet, we’ll be checking back in on this more.
“So, if he’s not playing great, in my eyes, I loved his intensity, loved his focus on the defensive end and I’m personally not going to be a part of that narrative that he needs to score more or he needs to be the No. 1 option or whatever the case may be for our team. As long as we’re winning, I think that’s all we care about.”
There’s some truth to what VanVleet said. Siakam doesn’t have to be the leading scorer on this version of the Raptors every game for the team to be successful. That’s what makes them so tough to beat and that’s what’s going to keep them in the playoffs longer than not. Siakam was also solid defensively and his value on that end of the court should never go unnoticed. Toronto was giving up 12.9 points per 100 possessions more with Siakam off the court in Game 1.
However, as I said on the Raptors Podtable Podcast post-game, Siakam does have to find ways to be a go-to scorer at points in the game. He does have to pick his spots and be more aggressive especially when the offence slows down or shots aren’t falling.
In the third quarter of Game 1, the Nets came out of the locker room with energy and fight that Toronto simply didn’t match. The Raptors needed a run-stopping basket multiple times during the period and it never really came. In the third, Siakam went 1-for-4 from the field and didn’t record a single assist in the period. His one and only basket came 37 seconds into the quarter and he was relatively silent the rest of the way. Toronto needed someone to make a play and put a stop to the Nets’ comeback attempt and Siakam was passive.
Ultimately, it didn’t cost the Raptors anything and it probably won’t in this series with the Nets. But as Toronto gets deeper in the playoffs they’ll need a more aggressive and assertive Siakam to emerge.
NBA playoffs: Toronto Raptors are not worried about Pascal Siakam – Sports Illustrated
On Tuesday, after his Zoom call with reporter, I asked Nick Nurse: Was Siakam pressing?
“The tempo he is playing at I’m not crazy about,” Nurse told me. “He’s got opportunities right when he gets the ball and he’s hesitant to play on the catch. He’s letting the defense reload on him. He’s got to get back to being more of a fast-type player. He’s overanalyzing a little bit. Which is OK—there are times when he has got to analyze what’s happening, with where is the double coming from, where is the help coming from. I think if he wants to get easier chances, he has to play faster.”
Will Nurse try anything differently in Game 2 to get Siakam going?
“There are some opportunities there for him that we hope to get going,” Nurse said. “But we’re not really that worried about it. It’s not like he has to score … and he had enough opportunities within the flow of the game yesterday that he probably didn’t take advantage of. I don’t want to make too big a deal about it.”
As Nurse says—there’s no panic in Toronto. “We haven’t been ‘Oh, Pascal, you’re going to be all right,’” Norman Powell said. “We think he’s going to be fine … the shots he’s taking are the same shots he’s made.”
Toronto, improbably, is a legitimate title contender. They have a wealth of firepower and a championship level commitment to defense. Siakam, though, is arguably the Raptors most important player. Toronto may not need him to be great in this series—but in the ones to come, they will.
How the Raptors’ transition offence impacts the mindset of their opponents – The Athletic
The biggest strategic change a team can make to curtail an opponent’s transition chances is to de-emphasize the importance of offensive rebounds, telling players to get back on defence, as mentioned by VanVleet and Nurse. This already helps the Raptors, as they are not a particularly good defensive rebounding team, having ranked 17th this year and 18th last year. The strategy might help tamp down one of the Raptors’ strengths, but it means their opponents will be less dedicated to exploiting a relative weakness. That is a kind of victory for the Raptors.
Like anything, it’s a risk-reward calculation that must be made.
“You’ve seen in the first half where we maybe had one offensive rebound,” said Nets big man Jarrett Allen, who had four of Brooklyn’s nine offensive rebounds. “We’re just so worried — not worried (unnecessarily), but worried because they’re actually so good at transition — that (the coaches) had all of us get back. It was something that was worth sacrificing: the maybe of getting an offensive rebound and showing in transition so they don’t get a clear drive to the rim.”
“It takes away those second-chance points. It takes away the ability to get a rebound and kick out for a 3, not just a putback,” Nets guard Tyler Johnson added. “Right now, that’s our goal, our focus. Getting back in transition and eliminating those points, we feel, is more important than the couple of field goals we would get on second-chance points, just because they’re so potent. Sometimes they’re taking it coast to coast. It’s not even a passing fast break. It’s one guy just breaking down the defence and getting to the rim and either getting fouled or getting to the rim. It’s important for all of us to get back and to make sure that if one of our guys is hanging around half court, that we can be in there to (help) so that guy isn’t just on an island.”
What Johnson mentioned about free throws is part of the reason the simple “fast-break points” statistic cannot be trusted to tell the story of a game in transition. (For the record, the Raptors had 19 of those points to Brooklyn’s 16, with each taking 14 field goals.) It does not account for the number of free throws those opportunities produce, nor does it account for mismatches that running creates, even if a bucket is not scored in the break.
Brooklyn is the best offensive rebounding team the Raptors have played in the playoffs over the past two years. The Nets ranked ninth in the league in offensive rebound percentage this season. That is largely misleading. Without DeAndre Jordan, the team’s second-best offensive rebounder behind Allen, they ranked just 16th out of the 22 teams in the bubble.
Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets Game 2: Preview, start time, and more – Raptors HQ
There were obvious (and expected) standout moments from Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, and it was great to see Pascal Siakam score and attack even if he shot 4-of-13 from the field (Lowry wasn’t any better with 3-of-14).
What did stick out was Serge Ibaka going off for 13 of his 22 points in the first half, and Gasol and Anunoby added 13 and 12, respectively. And that’s before we even consider Terence Davis scoring 11 off the bench.
The Raptors continue to be such a well-balanced team that it’s not clear who is going to step up each game to be a helping hand on offense. In Game 1 it was Ibaka coming out early, and it’ll be interesting to see who from the team core will be next in Game 2.
It would be great if it’s another starter between Gasol or Anunoby, but keeping the bench active will be important in the playoffs. We’ll see if Ibaka, Davis, Norman Powell — or all three — can provide the off-the-bench energy in Game 2. (Or, knowing the Raptors, if someone else comes in to give the team a lift.)
Fred VanVleet’s extended range proves troublesome for Brooklyn Nets – TSN.ca
As the Nets prepare for Wednesday’s Game 2, you have to imagine VanVleet will be featured more prominently on their scouting report. Interim head coach Jacque Vaughn and his club will have to decide whether they want to fight through screens or send extra defenders at VanVleet, knowing that could free up other Toronto shooters.
That’s what makes the Raptors so dangerous, especially when their shots are falling. All five of their starters, and nine of their 10 rotation players, can spread the floor. You can’t concentrate your focus on any one guy without leaving another open.
VanVleet anticipates he’ll get more attention in Game 2, but is ready to adjust as needed. If the defence is quicker to close out, he knows that gives him an opportunity to put the ball on the floor, beat them off the dribble and get to the rim. If they decide to play him straight up and dare him to keep taking those long jumpers, well, he’s okay with that too.
“I want them to stay like that the whole time,” VanVleet said of Brooklyn’s drop defence. “I’m the one getting the open shots. When they come up I’m going to have to probably start creating and passing it out. You just try to be ready for anything. I work on every coverage and I got an answer for everything offensively, I feel like.”
Raptors shooters show they’re long shots, and good ones at that, with three-point mark | The Star
“You never really feel like you’re throwing it to a bad option,” VanVleet said Tuesday morning, after a historic Raptors three-point shooting performance against the Brooklyn Nets to open the playoffs on Monday. “You can feel the defence kind of at your mercy when they don’t know who they want to help, they don’t know who they want to leave off.”
That was proved when Toronto went 22-for-44 from beyond the arc, making more three-pointers than and Raptors team had in playoff history. Eight of the 11 players who got in the game made at least one three, including all five starters, and 10 of the 11 took at least one.
Coach Nick Nurse had been bemoaning the bad, early-game shooting luck the Raptors were having in most seeding games; he was singing a different tune after Monday’s game.
“There (were) good shots in all the scenarios,” he said. “For me, when you’re looking at your offence, are you creating the right shots? And I think we were in the early games and, for whatever reason, they weren’t going in.
“Maybe it was just time off or rhythm or conditioning … it sure was nice to see ’em go down (Monday).”
The shots against the Nets came in transition and off drive-and-kick action and off some precise ball movement. The fact they came from everyone and everywhere befuddled the Brooklyn defence as Toronto rolled to a 134-110 victory.
“I think it’s perfect, it helps our offence,” Norm Powell said after going 2-for-3 deep. “It’s the way we want to play — that drive, kick, swing, attack downhill, open-style offence. I think it’s perfect for us because we have multiple guys who can knock it down so you can’t really help that much and it opens up driving lanes.”
Nurse is certainly not alone among coaches who want shooting and more shooting. Neither is he new to the style. It’s how he coached in Europe, it’s what he learned in the D League, it’s what he’s been doing with the Raptors for as long as he’s been with the team.
“Really, it’s all about spacing,” he said. “That’s the other thing I always say, offence is about creating space and that sure helps when you’ve got everyone out there who can shoot in space (and) from three.”
N.B.A. Playoff Power Rankings: What’s Wrong With the Bucks? – The New York Times
1. TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raptors did not quite match the unbeaten Phoenix Suns in the seeding games, but they looked more playoff-ready, at 7-1, than anyone else in the bubble. The Raptors also recorded more wins this season than the Clippers (53 to 49) even after Kawhi Leonard swapped Canada for Hollywood. Given Toronto’s versatility on defense, its towering confidence after last season’s title run and Coach Nick Nurse’s creativity, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Raptors win the East again — even without Leonard.
Every NBA Contender’s Top Free-Agent Target This Summer | Bleacher Report
Toronto Raptors: Glenn Robinson III
Taking stock of the Raptors’ cap situation and contender status is a mental labyrinth. They could end up as a taxpayer if they bring back Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet. They could be a cap-space team if they all leave. They will fall somewhere in between if two stay and one bolts.
Letting all of their own free agents go compromises Toronto’s standing in the East. But assuming demolition is never the sensible decision—not when the Raptors, as currently constructed, are the biggest threats to the Bucks in the Eastern Conference.
Banking on a middle ground is safest. Toronto should have the non-taxpayer MLE unless it spends a ton on incumbent free agents. But 2021 is once again a factor. The Raptors will be in the running for Antetokounmpo if he hits the open market, and even if he signs an extension this offseason, they might be reticent to tack on multiyear commitments from an unsavory free-agency class and when Kyle Lowry himself will be up for a new deal in 2021.
Glenn Robinson III would be akin to an unspectacular swing—the result of the Raptors standing pat, preserving future flexibility and wishing to acquire someone who doesn’t mess with the development of Terence Davis, Matt Thomas and, apparently, Stanley Johnson (player option).
Perhaps Toronto will favor a pricier player who puts more pressure on the rim in the half court. Goran Dragic makes sense. But Robinson downed 40 percent of his three-pointers with Golden State and made noise in transition all year. He fits with how the Raptors play, shouldn’t command a contract that dents the bank account and will fit with whatever this nucleus looks like beyond next season.
