The Raptors in Tampa: Empty arenas, trash talk and expansion – The Athletic
Fred VanVleet can finally go outside again.
On my second day in Tampa, Fla., I came across VanVleet pulling out of the valet area of the Marriott Water Street. The hotel is connected by a tunnel to the JW Marriott, of which an entire floor has been converted into the Toronto Raptors’ new practice facility. Within a stone’s throw to the west and south are the Seddon and Garrison Channels, respectively, which converge to feed into Hillsborough Bay, Tampa Bay and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico. Less than a quarter-mile to the east is Amalie Arena, the Raptors’ home venue until at least early March.
The Marriott Water Street was chosen as the Raptors’ temporary home; with ample capacity, meeting rooms, a private restaurant and even a Topgolf, its immediate adjacency to everything the Raptors needed on the basketball front was convenient. For those who had since moved into condos or houses around the city, the hotel remained their valet service while at the new practice facility. Trying to figure out which rental Porsche, Corvette or Range Rover was pulling up was a fun game in my own head the rare times I crossed paths with Raptors personnel over my 10 days there.
VanVleet was (I hope) joking when he confirmed Saturday he was happy to have me gone so he could go about his business without fear of seeing me. My trip — a Dec. 15-24 stay to explore everything that went into the Raptors’ move to Tampa and feel out the vibes of the team’s opener at Amalie Arena — was about as incognito as these things get. Because only a few players and staff remained at the Marriott Water Street by that point, and because I did my absolute best to limit my exposure and contact with anyone while in Tampa, my actual interaction with the team was minimal. That was the last time I saw VanVleet in person.
This is by no means a complaint. The assignment was a fun and challenging one, and I earnestly feel I did my best to minimize the risk to myself and others. I am currently undergoing a two-week quarantine in Toronto. It was the first time I’d been physically near anyone with the team since March 11 and my first time attending a game in person since March 8 (which also required a quarantine given the events that followed). I made the most of it, and hopefully, readers enjoyed the look inside the Tampa setup.
Raptors could use DeRozan’s offensive ability to fit team’s needs – Sportsnet
The Raptors struggle to get to the paint and struggle to get to the free-throw line and, as a result, they struggle at times to score in the half-court. Last season they ranked firmly in the middle of the pack in half-court offence, and it came back to haunt them when the Boston Celtics took away their No. 1-ranked transition offence in the second round of the playoffs.
DeRozan can play fast or he can play slow, and he showed his stuff early against his old team in a game that got off to a blazing pace.
By the time the track meet paused at the end of the first quarter, Toronto was leading 39-33 — but DeRozan had scored 16 points on seven shots while assisting on a pair of Spurs threes. He was able to access the Raptors’ paint at will and either twist his way into an old-fashioned three-point play or rocket the ball out to the perimeter for open looks as he collapsed the defence.
The Raptors are hoping to get more similar savvy offence from, say, Pascal Siakam, who is showing signs. Siakam finished with 16 points, eight assists and 15 rebounds against San Antonio — but also five turnovers.
He’ll continue to improve in his second season as a primary option, and the Raptors have upside elsewhere: OG Anunoby chipped with some key triples in the second half, and late-blooming Chris Boucher showed the Raptors rewarding him with a $6.5 million contract for this season might have had merit as he exploded for 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 27 points.
But this version of DeRozan is the finished product. He may not take threes, but he converts twos at a high rate – 51 per cent last season – because he’s learned how to back off on tough shots in the name of getting the ball to teammates for easier looks.
“I’ve been impressed with a couple of things,” Nurse said of DeRozan. “I think he goes to the basket with a lot more speed, I think he goes right and left much more equally distributed than he used to; he’s quick going left now too … But I think that the other thing is he is a really good passer; he’s really become a better passer year in and year out so he doesn’t have settle for too many of those tough, tough mid-range shots, but he can score man. He’s always going to score 20-plus for a season, per game, and that’s not easy to do.”
‘It’s not rocket science.’ Why the Raptors are off to such a disappointing start | The Star
Figuring out strengths and personnel has certainly been part of the problem at both ends of the court through two games. The Raptors don’t have the defensive anchor they did in either Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka, both lost in free agency, and when guards are beaten off the dribble, the kind of help they used to get isn’t there. Communication — handing off defensive responsibilities, calling out screens, dictating rotations — isn’t quite there yet.
“Everybody on the team needs to be better on that end of the floor communicating, starting with myself, and I think that will help our defence out,” VanVleet said. “I mean, there’s nobody in the building so there’s no excuse to not be talking. It’s as quiet as hell out there.”
On offence, the Raptors knew there would be bumps right off the bat. They are getting used to two new centres, an increased role off the bench for Matt Thomas, and an assistant coach in Chris Finch who is tweaking a few things that had been ingrained in the core of the rotation.
Finding the right shots — getting the right movement off the ball, discovering the instinctual plays that come in a free-flowing offence — hasn’t quite clicked yet. It’s frustrating, but understandable.
Defence has miles to go as Raptors struggle early | Toronto Sun
From Lowry’s displeasure there was Fred VanVleet seemingly caught speechless for the first time in memory when he was asked about the state of Toronto’s defence.
Head coach Nick Nurse was still doing an internal boil over a costly game-turning call that went against the Raptors to pay too much heed to a second consecutive defensive egg.
It’s fair to say the reason the Raptors are in this early predicament is a direct result of their struggling defence.
But it’s also fair to say this wasn’t entirely unexpected.
The defence that has been the backbone of this team for a few years now was bound to spring a leak given the departures over the last two years.
First it was Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green jumping ship, now it’s Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka not returning.
Gone for now is the fine-tuned chemistry that had all but become second nature to this group.
The good news is the remaining personnel — Lowry, VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam — have not forgotten how to play defence. They just have to find that chemistry with the new parts they have added to the group and get back to frustrating offences like they have done so effectively in the past.
“It’s not rocket science,” VanVleet said. “I don’t want to say it’s an effort thing. I feel like guys are trying out there. We’ve got to make more plays at a higher level. It’s easy to say it on offence when you say guys have got to make plays, you’ve got to complete the play. But it’s the same thing on defence: You’ve got to make the extra rotation, you’ve got to make the close out, you’ve got to come up with the r ebound.”
