10 Things: Raptors reset the mood with full team effort vs. Nets – Sportsnet
Two — The Raptors demoralized the Nets from the start with their high-intensity pressing. Scottie Barnes literally picked off the Nets on the opening jump and drew the foul after the steal, which set the tone for how the Raptors approached the game. They were far more energetic and athletic compared to their geriatric counterparts, and Nick Nurse instructed his team to hound the Nets whenever possible. That included full-court pressure, extra efforts on the offensive glass, and swiping for steals to fuel their transition game. Brooklyn never got a foothold in this game because Toronto never allowed it. The Raptors had 31 points off turnovers thanks to their 17 steals, the majority of which were live-ball turnovers.
As we saw Monday against a star-less version of the Nets, there was no real reason, once Dragic was gone, that Flynn shouldn’t have received repeated opportunities behind VanVleet. Instead, Flynn has not played by the coach’s decision 19 times since Dragic left the team. Banton has been a DNP-CD six times in that span, all of those games overlapping with Flynn’s games off. That has not been without its benefit, as Pascal Siakam’s chops as a primary playmaker have come along nicely. Even with two of the Raptors’ three reliable 3-point shooters out of the lineup and Siakam not helping himself with his own shooting, he still had six assists in a 133-97 victory over the Nets.
Again, there had to be room to allow Siakam to grow and Flynn to grow and to toy around with super-big bench lineups. NBA seasons are long, man — long enough to concurrently run multiple experiments. Perhaps Flynn will get a longer look now, having dropped 18 points and five assists on the Nets, posting an eye-popping plus-42 with VanVleet taking a game off.
“I was pretty confident going in there that he’d run the team well because I think he’s just been doing that,” Nurse said, having slid Flynn ahead of Banton recently after the opposite had been true for most of the season. “And that was good. He got us organized, he got off the ball, he got it up the floor quickly, all those kinds of things that got the ball moving early, that’s just being a good leader out there and a good point guard.”
“I think my main thing is just trying to be aggressive — not necessarily to score or to pass, just being aggressive and seeing what the defence gives you and just kind of reading them and then going off of that,” Flynn said.
Flynn is a bit short on the length and the aggressive defensive mindset that allow the Raptors (33-27) to play their style. However, Nurse has frequently said that it is hard for players to develop without being in games, whether in the NBA or the G League. Well, these past three games represent only the second three-game span this season in which he has played at least 10 minutes in every game.
To be clear, he had not earned the minutes on the court. He came into the game having shot 35 percent from the field. In a season when the needle still leans toward development rather than short-term successes, the leash has to be longer — especially for recent first-round picks who provide the sort of playmaking and shooting (the latter only theoretically this season) that this roster lacks. Flynn’s game was on full display against the Nets. There was very little forcing of the offence, with plenty of calm decision-making. He took the shots that were there and moved the ball when they weren’t. Siakam was still in charge of most of the half-court orchestration, but Flynn was a nice option beside him.
In VanVleet’s absence, Flynn steps up to fill point guard void for Raptors – Sportsnet
Regardless, maybe the Raptors gained some clarity as Toronto – losers of four of their past five and having had their doors blown off in the last three of those losses – showed up at Barclays Center with a renewed sense of purpose, resolve and benefitting from some quality point guard play form Malachi Flynn
The second-year guard has been either on the fringes of the rotation or completely out of it for most of the season but was the surprising starter when VanVleet was forced to sit.
The match-up against the short-handed Nets backcourt suited him as he could switch comfortably between Nets starting guards Patty Mills and Seth Curry and – when Dragic took the floor – could more than handle him too.
It all worked perfectly as the Raptors just hammered the Nets 133-97, making up for the three blowout losses they’ve suffered in their last four games.
There were plenty of contributors – Scottie Barnes was the spark, Precious Achiuwa continues to look like a completely different player than the one that went to Cleveland for All-Star weekend and newcomer Thad Young shot the ball well and is looking more comfortable as a Raptor all the time.
But Flynn might have been the most surprising. He finished with 18 points on 11 shots while chipping in five assists and leaving the game after 34 minutes as a game-high plus-42.
“He played great,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, adding that Flynn’s play during ‘garbage time’ of some recent Raptors blowout losses caught his eye. “… Malachi kept his head up, kept his head in it and when he’s had any opportunities, whether it’s first half, second half, garbage, whatever, he’s played with what I consider some IQ, some toughness, some organization and that’s what led us to that decision [to start Flynn] tonight.”
The win improved Toronto to 33-27 and pushed their edge on eighth-place Brooklyn to two games.
Hit After Hit: Nets tough Monday ends with a Raptors stomping, 133-97 – NetsDaily
The depleted Nets were down before the game started, losing Steve Nash to the league’s COVID health and safety protocols and before that, hearing Mayor Eric Adams basically rule Kyrie Irving out of home games. Then, it didn’t take long at all to know Monday night was going to end with another low note, a blowout defeat to Toronto on Brooklyn’s home floor.
The final score: 133-97. The crushing defeat means Brooklyn is only two games above .500 (32-30) and lowered their under .500 home record to 13-17. Meanwhile, the Raptors big win bumps them two games up above the Nets in the Eastern Conference standings.
“It’s huge. We’re two games back now for the seven spot. It’s huge. We got to get this win,” said Bruce Brown looking ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Raptors in Toronto. “Especially since they came here and did what they wanted in our gym. It’s unacceptable so we got to go out there and take care of business.”
LaMarcus Aldridge led all Nets scorers with 15 points (5-of-8 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting from 3-Point range), three boards, and an assist in 20 minutes off the bench. Bruce Brown and Cam Thomas both finished with 14 points each while Seth Curry registered 11 points in 23 minutes. Brooklyn concluded the defeat with 23 turnovers (31 points for Toronto). No Net registered more than 25 minutes of playing time. At one point, Vaughn played all four Nets rookies and Nic Claxton.
“That’s the way they play. They’re a very aggressive team. They’re not shy about it,” said Vaughn on the 23 turnovers. “We have to be extremely physical on both ends of the floor, so the physicality comes from whether it’s better screens, better cuts on one end. The defensive piece of being able to accept that physicality and hit first. You have to take the first punch against this team or they’ll make you pay for it.”
The Nets opened the contest with Patty Mills, Seth Curry, James Johnson and Andre Drummond. Brooklyn even had an injury scare early in the first. Drummond suffered an awkward fall on the right wing and immediately grabbed his knee but returned to play after a timeout with 8:15 left. Jacque Vaughn, who served as the head coach for the Nets Monday night, said the big man will be looked at by the training staff Monday night and is hopeful Drummond will be available Tuesday.
The Nets offense shot 40 percent from the field and from deep early but it was the defensive woes and mental miscues that got Brooklyn behind and fast. Toronto found a rhythm from deep, going 6-of-9 from 3-Point range in the first to propel them to a 15-point lead (42-27) after one.
“A lot of shots was going in for them, a lot of miscommunication was happening on our end. It just ended up being a snowball effect,” said James Johnson. “I feel like towards the end of that first quarter, it was hard to come back at that.
Nets get dominated by Raptors in hit to NBA playoff seeding – New York Post
After losing Nash just moments before pregame warm-ups, they came out and looked in abysmal disarray.
The Nets got torched by Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, who had 28 points on 12 of 14 shooting from the floor and 16 rebounds, both game-highs. Despite holding Pascal Siakam to just eight points on 2 of 14 shooting, they still got blown out, such was their sorry play in almost every other aspect.
The Nets shot just 38.4 percent overall and committed 23 turnovers to hand the Raptors 31 points. LaMarcus Aldridge had just 15 points, with Brown and Cam Thomas adding 14 in a horrid offensive night.
Brooklyn trailed by as much as 39, on a Yuta Watanabe 3-pointer for a 129-90 Toronto lead with 3:37 to play.
The Nets fell 3 ¹/₂ games behind the idle sixth-place Boston Celtics and the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But at this point, the Nets — losers of 14 of 17 — need to be more concerned with Tuesday’s quick turnaround against these same Raptors.
“[That’s] very useful,” said assistant Jacque Vaughn, who will act as head coach until Nash returns. “Hopefully our guys are ready for that and looking forward to going up to Toronto and addressing the fact that we could have played better tonight and we will play better [Tuesday].”
Raptors Game Recap: Raptors get back on track, bludgeon Nets 133-97 – Raptors HQ
Even more encouraging than the result was how the Raptors achieved it. Too often this has been a team that goes as its top five guys go, unable to conjure much in the way of consistency outside of Chris Boucher’s steady chaos ball and the predictable roller coaster that is Precious Achiuwa. Typically, Gary Trent Jr. and Pascal Siakam combining to go 5-of-24 would be enough to crush any hope of a win.
Not on Monday.
Fred VanVleet (knee) joined OG Anunoby (finger) on the sidelines, thrusting Malachi Flynn into the starting five for the first time since the team was in the throws of COVID protocols in December. If you account for the undeniable truth that last season was fake, you can safely call Flynn’s 18-4-5 night on 7-of-11 shooting the best game of his stop-and-start pro career. All caveats about the Nets’ defense applied, it was awesome to see him carve up Brooklyn with his downhill burst and slithery handle. Who says Kyrie isn’t playing in games at Barclays Center this season?
Joining Flynn in the first half effort was the bench crew of Boucher, Achiuwa and Thad Young, who for one night at least tested the notion that the Raptors have no shooting off the bench. The trio combined to nail six of its first seven triples and finished 8-of-12 overall — with Flynn often the progenitor of those looks via dribble penetration. Those guys were joined by Yuta Watanabe for some productive bench time as well — a great sight to see after his extended stay in Nick Nurse’s dog house, capped with a transition yam that got everyone up.
It’s worth taking a second to point out the work of Precious Achiuwa, who has at worst been the second-best Raptor since the All-Star break. Against the Nets, the 22-year-old finished up with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, along with eight boards, four dimes and three made triples on five attempts. He’s still got comically low lows to pair with his tantalzingly high highs, but the former are growing more scarce as he’s introduced more and more control to his game when the ball is in his hands. You hate to break up the bench just as it’s getting rolling, but Achiuwa should probably be starting ahead of Khem Birch until Anunoby returns.
Now, I’m burying a the lede a little here, but you can’t talk about this game without getting all sorts of giddy about Scottie Barnes. With Siakam struggling to score (not at all struggling to playmake, mind you), Barnes took the mantle of Toronto’s leading bucket man on the night. And in fact, Siakam’s wayward touch fed directly into Barnes’ team-best 28 — matching the career-high he set on Friday. Barnes feasted on the offensive glass throughout the first half, pouring in 24 points before the break on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting to go with nine boards (sevent offensive) and four steals, giving way to his final line of 28-16-4-5-1, which is a totally normal stat line for a 20-year-old, definitely. What’s most amazing about his output on the night is that the Raptors drew up less than a handful of sets designed to him get him the ball. He just knows where the hell to be. That he can put up numbers like that as no more than the fourth option on offense speaks to just how special he figures to be once the rest of the repertoire comes along.
Youth leads charge in Raptors’ bounce-back win over Nets – TSN.ca
Barnes added another masterpiece to his growing portfolio. He scored 24 of his career-high tying 28 points during a brilliant first half in which he shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the field, becoming the first rookie to do that since Derrick Rose in 2009. He didn’t miss his first shot until midway through the third quarter, after hitting his first 11, and he finished the game 12-for-14 with 16 rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Remarkably, he did most of his damage through pure force and will. All but three of his buckets came at the rim and seven of them came off his nine offensive boards. He was relentless from the jump until his 34th minute.
“I don’t think we ran any [plays] for him tonight,” Nurse said afterwards.
“He’s gonna get it no matter what,” Flynn said of Barnes. “You don’t have to give him the ball. He’s gonna go find a way to get it, and those are the best players to play with.”
Achiuwa, who was the lone bright spot in the loss to Atlanta over the weekend, picked up right where he left off. The emerging big man followed up a season-high 21-point performance with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes off the bench.
After a rocky start to his first season with the Raptors, Achiuwa is looking more comfortable and confident in his role. He’s been shooting well from the corners – he tied his career-high with three triples on Monday and has hit five of his last eight three-point attempts. He’s been making better and quicker reads with the ball in his hands and is showing improved footwork and touch around the rim, where he often seemed out of control earlier in the year.
“He’s making really, really great aggressive and composed moves,” Nurse said. “I think that you can kind of tell where it’s going right now, and before maybe you couldn’t tell what was gonna happen at the end of those things. But he’s getting to some really good spots and he’s doing it with some force and athleticism and strength.”
Raptors head home to full house after silencing Nets crowd | The Star
What the Raptors needed most was a thorough performance after two uncharacteristically lackadaisical outings. They answered that question emphatically, pouring in 42 first-quarter points and never looking back.
Flynn, who last started a game on Dec. 28 and hasn’t played more than 25 minutes since then, had 18 points and five assists in 34 solid minutes.
“I was pretty confident going in there that he’d run the team well, because I think he’s just been doing that,” Nurse said of Flynn. “He got us organized, he got off the ball, he got it up the floor quickly, all those kinds of things that got the ball moving early. That’s just being a good leader out there, and a good point guard.”
Flynn had been solid in mop-up minutes in Toronto’s two losses coming out of the break, which gave Nurse enough confidence to move him into the starting lineup. Usually, the coach would go with Siakam or Barnes as the de facto point guard and insert another long wing into the starting group. Flynn’s play of late has allowed the coach a more traditional approach.
“He’s really had an uptick, I think, of his confidence in his play here lately,” Nurse said. “You’ve kind of got to read the game and take what’s there. If you’re blasting into the lane and there’s some space to create for yourself, you’ve got to do it, and if it closes down you’ve got to be able to make the right read.
“What I’m happy with is that he’s doing that.”
There is no definitive timeline on either VanVleet, who originally banged his knee in the first half of a game in New Orleans about two weeks ago, or Anunoby, who was to see a specialist on Monday night for his fractured right ring finger.
“I think the main thing with both Fred and OG is that they get better. That’s the main thing,” Nurse said before the game. “We’ve got to find a path to get them healthy.”
At this time of year, though, healthy is relative because any player who logs significant minutes is going to feeling the effects of a season’s grind.
Raptors blow out Nets in Brooklyn behind brilliant Barnes | Toronto Sun
It was all much-needed, as the Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak.
Brooklyn was again without MVP candidate Kevin Durant, perennial all-star Kyrie Irving and newcomer Ben Simmons. Toronto was minus all-star Fred VanVleet, who was a game-time decision due to a sore knee, and top defender OG Anunoby.
Durant, Irving, Simmons and Anunoby will all miss Tuesday’s rematch in Toronto, while VanVleet is questionable.
But with the Nets lurking just behind in the standings, Durant slated to return to action sometime this week and Irving potentially available soon for home games if New York makes changes to its vaccine mandate, it’s important the Raptors take advantage of these games now.
Barnes certainly helped there. The No. 4 pick of the draft was coming off a tough game against Atlanta (which Raptor wasn’t?) and took out any ensuing frustrations on the Nets early in this one.
Barnes became the first rookie since Derrick Rose to not miss on at least 10 shots in a single half since 2009. He had seven offensive rebounds through two and a Raptors rookie record for a half of 24 points.
Amazingly, this was all without the team making an effort to get him going.
As head coach Nick Nurse said afterward, “I don’t think we ran any (plays) for him tonight.”
Barnes just made things happen with non-stop effort.
“We were just really locked in, really focused,” Barnes said. “We really wanted to bounce back after losing those first two games. Just really had to bring it tonight, that was the main emphasis.”
Barnes wasn’t the only youngster bouncing back. Point guard Malachi Flynn started in place of VanVleet and shook off any memories of Saturday’s rough 2-for-10 shooting night by nailing his first three shots and 7-of-11 in all.
“He got us organized, he got off the ball, he got it up the floor quickly, all those kinds of things that got the ball moving early, that’s just being a good leader out there and a good point guard,” Nurse said of Flynn.
This week: 14
Last week: 13It’s now losses in four of five games for Toronto after a terrific stretch of play before that. If Toronto has designs on breaking into the top six in the East, it will need to turn things around quickly; the Raptors sit 2.5 games out of sixth with 23 games to go. — Bontemps
This week: 15
Last week: 1432-27, +0.6 net rating
Weekly slate: Loss at Hornets, Loss at HawksFirst Quarter Grade: C- | Ranked 21st
Second Quarter Grade: B | Ranked 17th
Third Quarter Grade: B+How we feeling? I’m still very bullish on this Toronto Raptors team because they’ve been able to endure quite a bit throughout this chaotic season. Asking them to overtake Boston, after their recent run, probably isn’t very realistic, even though only two games separate them in the standings. I think the Raptors have positioned themselves quite well to still reach the actual playoffs. If Brooklyn is healthy and they don’t climb to the top six, the Nets are probably grabbing the seventh seed. But the Raptors have to feel pretty good beating Atlanta or Charlotte, even after big losses to both teams this past week. The Raptors are a far steadier team than those two, and of those three teams, the Raptors are the only competent defensive squad.
Prediction for the final stretch: Raptors grab the eighth seed for the playoffs, and set themselves up for a first-round showdown with Chicago.
