Par-Lay: Bet on Yourself preview – Video – TSN
Fred VanVleet has shown this season that he is the heart and soul of the Raptors, but a few years ago when he was a free agent, nobody knew if he would be staying in Toronto. While making this big decision, VanVleet allowed a film crew to go behind the scenes and see everything that was happening. Wednesday that documentary will be released. TSN’s Kayla Grey spoke with Fred about the film.
GANTER: Looks like it will be big-on-big for the Raptors going forward | Toronto Sun
It’s not a coincidence that Nurse and the Raptors have just experienced back-to-back losses against two in that group with a third on deck in Minnesota with Towns. But the Raptors will face one of those seven at least eight more times in the post-all-star portion of the schedule.
It’s the combination of bulk and length at the centre position with the added dimension of the ability to step outside that gives the Raptors’ normal starting five of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam trouble.
“Some games we do well and we front and we scramble and we trap and we’re really active and we couldn’t get any of that stuff done (against the Pelicans and Valanciunas),” Nurse said following the 120-90 butt kicking the Raptors absorbed in the Big Easy.
“It was just one of those games where we were in and we couldn’t get back out tonight just again with not enough energy and communication,” Nurse said. “And sometimes we were out and they’d drive it right down the middle we weren’t in. So it was a bad combination there. Usually, you know, we always talk we gotta be in and out and we seemed to be in when we needed to be out and out when we needed to be in. That type of night.”
The hope had been all along that the Raptors frontcourt of Siakam, Anunoby and Barnes would be able to manage, even against some of the biggest bigs, so that starting five — which has been good on both ends of the floor for the vast majority of the time they have been together — could consistently start the game together and play the bulk of the minutes.
Nurse sounds like he’s leaning towards perhaps foregoing that five and starting a more traditional centre with four of them on those nights the biggest and most versatile centres are part of the opposition.
Who comes out for Khem Birch or Precious Achiuwa to make those starts will be interesting. It might also change depending on the makeup of the opposition.
Thaddeus Young gets house in order and learns the Raptors way | The Star
And when that finally happens, Young can get on with figuring out his professional life with the Raptors, which got off to a so-so start with a four-point, four-rebound effort in 12 minutes in New Orleans.
The six-foot-eight forward had spent most of his first 72 hours with his new team being drilled on the intricacies of the team’s offensive and defensive principles. There hasn’t been a live practice yet — that won’t come until next week in Charlotte — but coach Nick Nurse said he was impressed by how quickly Young picked up on nuances in video sessions and walk-throughs.
New Raptor Thaddeus Young will use the NBA all-star break to get his family settled after a whirlwind stretch following the trade deadline.
“He looked like he’s going to be able to help us out there, like just his movement with the ball, shot creation, pass creation, those kinds of things,” Nurse said.
Now in his 15th NBA season, it’s not going to be too hard for Young to pick things up. He’s been with seven organizations now, so there’s not a lot he hasn’t seen. Once he picks up on the Raptors’ terminology he should be fine.
The offence isn’t that much of a concern — Young looked comfortable on Monday night as the ball-mover the Raptors want him to be. Defensively, he’s wise enough to know not to go rogue.
“That’s what I’ve been known for, playing D. And so, I can improvise on the court, but the thing when you start improvising is that one, maybe two guys improvise and other three don’t know what you’re doing,” he said. “So for me, we haven’t had practice time where we can go five-on-five, so I don’t want to just be out there mixing things up.
“But for the most part, just going out there .. and figuring out how I can help.”
And getting his life in order.
“It’ll be nice to be settled; I’ve been living out of a suitcase,” he said.
Raptors Versatility Make Concepts Difficult, Thad Young Says – Sports Illustrated
“I think the biggest hardest part is I’m learning multiple positions, as opposed to one or two positions,” Young said Monday following his Raptors debut. “I’m learning anywhere from one on down to the five now because all the pieces are interchangeable on the court.”
In Young’s 12 minutes played Monday, he played in seven different lineup combinations including five minutes without anyone resembling a traditional point guard. It was a total change from anything he’s ever done before. On any given possession he could be playing in the paint in Toronto’s quasi-center spot or be driving with the ball off a dribble handoff from Pascal Siakam.
“We have so many similar guys that push the ball and start the break and start the plays and start the initial offense that it’s a little harder to kind of learn the offense from every single position,” Young added. “You try to learn five positions in one day.”
Young’s ability to quickly adapt to Toronto’s offensive and defensive systems, at least relatively speaking, will be the biggest benefit of the trade for the Raptors. Had the Raptors opted for someone younger with a higher upside, for example, things could have gotten pretty ugly with just two months to go in the season. Think of how Gary Trent Jr. played toward the end of last season when things were totally out of sorts during what Masai Ujiri called the “Tampa tank.” Young, at the very least, should be able to learn things quicker than most.
“He looked like he’s going to be able to help us out there, like just his movement with the ball, shot-creation pass-creation, those kinds of things,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Monday.
Dial 905: Toronto Raptors 905 now G-League’s top team after a perfect week – Raptors HQ
When one of the best teams faces the league’s worst team, odds are the best team will win. Such was the case when the Raptors 905 faced the Cleveland Charge, and the game became a glorified shooting practice for Toronto’s Justin Champagnie, who dropped 27 points, including five three-pointers.
The small front-court of Isaac Bonga, Justin Champagnie, and Kevon Harris withstood the Tacko Fall experience. Still, it wasn’t until a mid-to-late second-quarter run before the Raptors 905 got some separation. Josh Hall finally looked healthy and was in his bag, scoring all of his career-high 13 points in the second period.
Champagnie turned it up to start the second half, catching fire from behind the arc, going 5-for-6 for 15 points in the third frame. His marksmanship pushed the lead to as much as 25 points late in the third period, and it was garbage time from thereon. The Charge forced coach Mutombo to field some of his starters back late in the fourth period, as the Charge went on a 22-8 run to bring the lead down to 101-93. What’s impressive is that the starters’ defense, not the offense, that doused cold water to the Charge’s comeback attempt.
Isaac Bonga added 14 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists while shooting 4-for-8 from behind the arc. It was a good sign for Bonga, who shot 4-for-24 from behind the arc over the past seven games. David Johnson had an inefficient 12 points on 17 shots but had a couple of excellent blocks to go with it. Obadiah Noel had his best game since coming back from Health & Safety Protocols, putting up 17 points, with 10 of them in the fourth.
Malik Newman led the Charge with 20 points off the bench, while Tacko Fall added 17 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Cleveland assignee Dylan Windler left the game early after taking a nasty spill in the first quarter.
Raptors Nearly Traded for Nets’ Nic Claxton – Sports Illustrated
The Brooklyn Nets were reportedly “very close” to a deal with Toronto to send the 6-foot-11 Nic Claxton to the Raptors in exchange for a protected first-round pick, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on the Lowe Post Podcast.
“They have too many centers. They can’t play all their centers,” Lowe said. “I think their intention was to flip that pick for another wing, another shooter.”
