NEW: Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy Alan Strickland has dropped his lawsuit against Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. He has also since returned to work. He has been assigned to administrative duties. https://t.co/Zi5BM29zjv
— Lisa Fernandez (@ljfernandez) February 10, 2021
Norman Powell has made a case to remain a Raptors starter – The Athletic
The last nine games almost represent a new peak in sustained production for Powell, topped only by a stretch of last season that was broken up by 11 games on the shelf. (And yes, ill-timed injuries have occasionally been at the root of Powell’s ups and downs.)
Over those games, Powell has averaged 23.4 points on torrid 64.7 percent true shooting. That scoring punch has been instrumental in the Raptors pushing toward a top-five offence. Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry have largely shared the scoring and playmaking duties at the top, and Powell as a No. 4 — or, more accurately, a sort-of rotation No. 2-3 — is a major luxury. Powell playing with that trio means he’s attacking defences facing greater stress elsewhere, and while Aron Baynes has hurt spacing at times, Powell has found a chemistry with him working off of his on- or off-ball screens.
Perhaps more important for what Toronto will be moving forward is that Powell is contributing in more areas than just scoring. Powell probably won’t keep shooting this well, and chipping in on the glass (3.9 rebounds per game in his last nine), making plays for teammates (2.6 assists) and helping fuel the transition attack by forcing turnovers (1.6 steals) can keep Powell as a positive-impact player regardless. That’s often been a challenge for Powell, who has tended to be a low-floor, high-ceiling piece. The more ways you can contribute, the more paths there are to staying valuable when regression comes.
Powell is not the only player whose game suffers in other areas when his scoring isn’t there. In Nurse’s estimation, Powell’s reads in the offence have improved, and success as a scorer has bled into the other parts of his game.
“I just like his decision-making right now the most,” Nurse said. “He turns the corner, he explodes to the rim. He looks really confident when it gets thrown out to him. It’s like one of those deals where when he rises up, you’re really expecting it to go in. And I think it’s just helping his overall play, too. I noticed him making good rotations on D, blocking out a little better, all those things. He’s certainly playing at a high, high level right now.”
Such a high level, in fact, that some of the conversations around the team from earlier in the season require a bit of reframing.
Whether you thought the Raptors should be buyers or sellers, Powell is a popular trade machine piece. Become a buyer and his $10.9 million salary fits nicely in a lot of frameworks and aggregates well with pieces deemed superfluous elsewhere on the roster, and his Bird rights in free agency might hold additional value. Become a seller and his $11.6 million player option either looks unlikely to be picked up or looks like something the team might be happy to get out of, depending on the day. It’s a few weeks too early for that talk, anyway. Powell’s Newton’s cradle-like trade value is always at least amusing to monitor.
NBA balanced attack lifts Raptors to easy win over Wizards – Yahoo!
Six — Thriving: Chris Boucher continues to excel, finishing with 17 points and 15 rebounds in 25 productive minutes off the bench. Boucher had some trouble in the first half against a much bigger assignment in Robin Lopez, but the Wizards curiously went away from Lopez in favor of a center-less lineup, and Boucher capitalized by being the biggest and most active player on the floor. There is a case to be made that Boucher should enter the starting five, but that hardly matters as Boucher is almost always on the floor to close out games in the fourth.
Raptors leave hapless Wizards in the dust as road success continues – Sportsnet
They certainly hit the floor like a team with ambition. Toronto followed up its season-high-tying first quarter with a big second as everyone who saw the floor got to touch the ball and get good to great looks against a Wizards defence that simply wasn’t very interested in defending in any meaningful way.
The Raptors matched a season-high for first-quarter scoring when they jumped out to a 40-28 lead and they were able to get whatever they wanted. Powell continued his habit of running out to quick starts as he put up nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also chipped in with three assists as six different Raptors scored at least one basket in the first 12 minutes and none of them were Lowry, who otherwise showed no ill effects from back spasms that limited him to eight minutes against Memphis on Monday. In all, they had eight assists on 15 field goals and shot 68 per cent from floor, the only blemish being five quick turnovers.
The Raptors had their offensive vibes going all night, not that the Wizards made much effort to ruin the mood. The Wizards did cut the Raptors’ 12-point lead to four midway through the second period as the Wizards showed some signs of life with a 10-0 run, but then a 13-5 spurt pushed Toronto’s lead to 16 before heading into the break leading 74-61, setting a new season-high for scoring in a half. The contributions continued to be well distributed, this time with seven different players getting on the scoresheet and six assists coming on 14 field goals.
The Raptors have scored 120 points or more in five straight games, a nice turnaround from earlier in the season when their offence struggled at times.
“I think it’s more so understanding the team and who’s on the floor and who’s going to take the shots,” said Lowry. “I think now guys have been working so hard and kind of getting into a rhythm and understanding where shots are going to come from, I think it makes it a little bit easier understanding the offence a little bit more rather than forcing this or that.
“Understand where the pass is going to, or the play is going to come, and I think that’s helped us a lot.”
The Raptors are sixth in offensive rating since they were 2-8 on the season and sixth in net rating, too. It’s a standard of play that should travel well.
Recap: Toronto Raptors rout Washington Wizards 137-115 behind Siakam, Powell – Raptors HQ
Give the Wizards credit; they can’t defend a lick but they managed to hang around most of the game, never letting the Raptors get too comfortable. They even made a late push, getting the lead down to five early in the fourth. But the Raptors were in full “bend, don’t break” mode, and after a late overturned call that wiped away three potential Wizards free throws, eventually ran away with it.
Norman Powell had an excellent all-around night, finishing with a game-high 28 points along with seven boards, four assists and a steal. Pascal Siakam shot the ball well again, scoring 26 on 17 shots including 3-of-4 from downtown.
Bradley Beal had 24 for the Wizards, and Russell Westbrook added 23 (on 20 shots).
When the Wizards made their fourth quarter run with Bradley Beal on the bench, it looked like we might be in for another exciting Raptors-Wizards finish. And when Siakam fouled Westbrook on a three-point attempt right in front of the Raptors bench, with Westbrook heading to the line for three shots and a chance to cut the lead to six with just under five minutes to go, it looked like it might “here we go!” time.
But Siakam implored Nick Nurse the challenge the call, and it was subsequently overturned, as it turned out it was actually Westbrook who grabbed Siakam’s arm. That overturned call seemed to take any remaining wind out of Washington’s sails, and the Raptors took possession, promptly went on an 11-0 run including five points from Powell, and the rout was on.
The Raptors started out strong, with everyone contributing early. Even Aron Baynes, who continues to struggle around the basket, had a couple of assists and screen assists, and did manage to throw one down over his old teammate Alex Len. But the the first quarter once again belonged to Powell, who scored nine points of 4-of-5 shooting as he continued his first quarter dominance.
Lack of defense leads to a Washington Wizards loss to the Raptors – Bullets Forever
As for Toronto, they excelled from beyond the arc shooting 19-32, 49-93 overall. Norman Powell had a game-high 28 points followed by Pascal Siakam with 26 points. Kyle Lowry was on fire shooting 5-8 in three-point shooting.
Washington’s defense showed its true colors early as they allowed a 40-point first quarter to the Raptors and faltered in the fourth quarter being outscored 34-22. Throughout the game the Wizards spent more time arguing calls to the refs instead of getting back on defense leading to wide open shots for Toronto.
At the half the Wizards were down 13 and it didn’t help that Westbrook had four turnovers early on along with three fouls. Toronto has a habit of bringing out the worst in teams forcing turnovers, while Westbrook just does it naturally….incurring turnovers that is.
There’s were a lot of negatives in this game, but some positives are the fact Hachimura played amazing and deserves more touches. Lopez who was demoted to the bench led all Wizards reserves with his 13 points. Deni Avdija who has gone from a starter to a reserve was all over the court with nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.
No one still truly understands how Davis Bertans got the starting role, but we’ve been questioning Coach Brooks’ decision making all season long (you can insert the shrug emoji here).
Offence shines again as Toronto Raptors creep closer to .500 – TSN.ca
There are a number of reasons to explain Toronto’s offensive eruption in February. The most obvious, as Nurse suggested, is that some of those good shots that they were taking and missing a few weeks ago are simply starting to fall – the wonders of regression. Two of the Raptors’ primary offensive contributors – Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell – are playing their best basketball of the season, which surely helps as well.
Mostly, though, it seems to be the product of a comfort level that wasn’t there earlier in the season. Nurse and his coaching staff have settled on a rotation, players know what their roles are going to be, and guys are building chemistry with each other. At times, not too long ago, it looked like they had never met, let alone played together. They would go through long stretches in which they’d struggle to score, or commit silly and unforced turnovers. Now, there’s a synergy to the offence.
“I think it’s more so understanding the team and who’s on the floor and who’s going to take the shots,” said Kyle Lowry, who drained five of his eight threes and scored 21 points against Washington. “Guys have been working so hard and are kind of getting into a rhythm and understanding where shots are going to come from. I think it makes it a little bit easier, understanding the offence a little bit more rather than forcing this or that.”
The Raptors hit 53 per cent of their shots on Wednesday, including 19 of their 32 attempts from beyond the arc. Siakam, who’s scored at least 25 points in five of his last seven games, had 26. Powell, who’s recorded at least 18 points in nine straight contests, had 28. Seven players scored in double figures, including the red-hot Chris Boucher (who had 17 points) and two others (Terence Davis and DeAndre’ Bembry) off the bench.
Over the last six games, they’re averaging 124.5 points while hitting 44 per cent of their three-point attempts, up from the 38 per cent they were shooting going into this month.
Another big factor is that they’ve minimized those lengthy scoring droughts that were plaguing the offence almost nightly earlier in the year. The Raptors were held under 24 points in 23 different quarters over their first 19 games. However, in doing away with those frequent scoring lulls, they’ve recorded at least 25 points in every quarter over the last six contests.
What if he had truly lost his temper? What if he had swung a fist? What if it happened at a darkened roadside, rather than a jam-packed arena full of witnesses and cameras? What then? Strickland’s lawsuit after the body cam footage, with a lawyer from Sacramento demanding $11 million, was transparently an attempt to extract settlement money from Ujiri, the NBA, and MLSE. Most organizations and celebrities, in such a situation, would pay a relative pittance and bury the case.
But Ujiri had been thinking a lot about Black people who were the victims of police when there weren’t cameras there, and who didn’t have money to fight the case. He had watched the Black Lives Matters protests all summer. Clearly, he didn’t settle.
Of course, he will never get that moment back. Ujiri had spent years building to that night; the years of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, and the successful failures that came with them. The humiliation of his best team getting swept, again, by LeBron James. The Kawhi Leonard trade, finalized over the phone as Ujiri paced a Nairobi sidewalk outside his hotel in the middle of the night. The near-death playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers, culminating in The Shot; the series comeback against the Milwaukee Bucks, culminating in the best night the Air Canada Centre has ever seen.
And then the Finals, against a denuded but dangerous Warriors team, and that last night in Oakland even the steely Ujiri couldn’t watch the whole thing: He spent time pacing in the parking lot in the California night outside, watching on his phone, and when the Raptors won he hugged longtime equipment man Kevin DiPietro, and he charged out to the court, where the NBA had set up a security perimeter to keep the fans off the court. It was the moment of a lifetime.
But Alan Strickland stood in the way. And he shoved Ujiri twice, accused him of battery, was backed up by his bosses, and nothing that came after that was quite what it should have been. Not when Lowry hugged Ujiri, not when he was pulled into an embrace by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, not when Ujiri got on a private plane with his wife Ramatu to fly the red-eye back to Toronto with In-N-Out burgers and champagne, so Ujiri and his wife could be there for his daughter’s preschool graduation the next morning. They made it.
No, it was not the same, and Masai Ujiri will never get any of that back. But he could still fight, for the people who couldn’t. Wednesday, he won.
Masai Ujiri, sheriff’s deputy lawsuits to be dropped – The Athletic
“Do you listen to sports talk radio?” California federal district Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers asked Strickland’s counsel during a Jan. 25 hearing, suggesting she had heard the public chatter questioning Strickland’s alleged injuries. “No, I do not, your honor,” his counsel responded. To which Gonzalez Rogers replied, “Oh, you should. A lot of people have seen that video.”
Earlier, she said, “The fact that you’re spending this much money on that case, is a little bit extraordinary. So what have you done to calm the temperatures of your clients and resolve this case?”
In a joint filing Wednesday, the two sides notified the court, “that this action shall be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice, including as to all parties, claims, counter-claims, causes of action, and with all parties to bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs.” With prejudice means it cannot be refiled.
Strickland also sued MLSE, the Raptors and the NBA, and they all signed onto the stipulation to drop the case.
Alameda County sheriff’s deputy drops Masai Ujiri lawsuit; MLSE responds – Raptors HQ
And vindication, it is. The video shown above was all the proof needed that Ujiri didn’t initiate any contact with Strickland — contrary, he was just another victim of an on-the-spot assessment by a police officer in a high stress situation.
We’ve said it many times before: this moment should’ve been the high point of Masai’s career. A lauded career as Denver’s executive led into his time with the Raptors, where he’s done nothing short of lift the team out of the doldrums — from the beginning of the Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan era until now. Winning a championship should’ve been nothing but positive for Masai; instead, it turned into an 18-month ordeal of arrests, lawsuits, and countersuits.
At the least, today’s news is an opportunity to move on from the story to more pressing news — the hanging question of whether Ujiri will pen a new contract to continue as the Raptors president of basketball operations. The buzz is this decision could be coming soon, and regardless of the verdict, it’ll be nice to write some Masai headlines that are strictly about basketball — and not about unfair treatment.
