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The past 10 rookies of the year have averaged 17 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 rebounds per game in their debut seasons. They have also averaged 24.9 percent usage, and their teams have averaged fewer than 33 wins per game.
In other words, the players who tend to win the award have the ball a lot for bad teams. That’s what makes this year’s race so special.
“I think they’re both really good players. They do a lot of things,” Nick Nurse said on Wednesday. He was speaking of Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, who have been the top two favourites for rookie of the year for most of this season. “They’re not just scorers. In fact, (that’s) probably down the list on the things that make them (notable) as players, both guys. So both are really good basketball players, all-around basketball players.”
Mobley and Barnes will meet for the third and final time in the regular season on Thursday in a game that has major playoff implications. If the Cavaliers win, they will move two games ahead of the Raptors for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games to go for both teams. Considering the Cavaliers also have the tiebreaker between the two teams, it would be very difficult for the Raptors to pass them. If the Raptors win, it will likely be a nine-game contest for that sixth seed, barring an incredible close from the Nets or a collapse from the Bulls.
Rookie-of-the-year material?
“One hundred per cent; 100 per cent he should (win it),” said Nurse. “Who else is it? Who else is in the race? I’m certainly going to vote for my own player if I’m given a vote (it is voted on by the media).
“I think Scottie’s played great (but) I think it’s a helluva race,” said Nurse. “Mobley’s been unbelievable, I think Scottie’s been as unbelievable, especially lately. He’s been a real force. I think it’s probably a big deal a long time from now, right?
“As you know, my concern is that he keeps playing tough and aggressive and getting attempts, and playing a lot of minutes and gets more and more experience as it goes here. I think it’s been a helluva year for him and a long way to go yet.”
The Raptors obviously have their teammates’ back, but having played three times against Mobley, recognize why the competition for rookie of the year is so tight.
“I obviously want rookie of the year to be Scottie,” Siakam told reporters Wednesday. “ … but it’s great, I think is awesome to see (their) games evolving, and those guys, they’ve had great seasons and obviously Scottie and Evan … and how those guys can kind of like do everything, they can play defence, they can score, and they can do anything it in different ways, so it’s really dope, it’s really dope to see.”
The best part about watching Barnes and Mobley (and Cunningham) battle it out for rookie of the year is that it’s just the start of something. It’s not hard to imagine the three 20-year-olds helping their teams battle for the top spot in the East for a decade or maybe more.
But for Barnes and Mobley – at least for now – helping their respective clubs get to sixth place by April 9 is a worthy goal and one that could win one or the other the edge in the battle for recognition as the NBA’s best rookie.
Fight for sixth spot takes centre stage between Raps and Cavs – Video – TSN
Cleveland is sixth in East and hold an automatic ticket to the playoffs, while also avoiding a first round draw against one of the top two teams in the conference. The Raptors sit in seventh, one-game back of the Cavs, and have a pivotal matchup against Cleveland on Thursday. Rod Smith has more on what’s at stake.
Raptors see pressure of playoff hunt as chance for young team to grow | The Star
There are question marks up and down the roster going into Thursday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team the Raptors are trying to chase down for sixth in the East and the guaranteed playoff spot that goes with it.
OG Anunoby, out for a month with a small fracture in his right ring finger, did a bit of work at practice Wednesday after missing 15 games. It was hardly enough to make him a valuable contributor even if he can play.
One scenario coach Nick Nurse held open was that the forward works himself into game shape in about half of Toronto’s remaining games.
“Let’s shoot for, hope, he can get into five of them or something (but) that’s just me talking,” Nurse said. “I think it’d be good to get him some minutes and then give him a few more minutes and kind of ramp it up as you go rather than ‘OK, geez, we’ve only got three games left, we got to get him in shape,’ and then overplay him or whatever we’ve got to do.”
Gary Trent Jr., who suffered a hyperextended toe in Sunday’s win in Philadelphia on Sunday, got two clean X-rays but is dealing with a fair bit of discomfort.
“Still very, very sore,” Nurse reported. “I know that much and still bothering him quite a bit.”
Malachi Flynn did not practise and while Fred VanVleet did, the situation with the veteran point guard will be like it’s been for weeks. They’ll see how his sore knee feels on game day and make a decision from there. Nurse did say VanVleet is certain to sit out at least one of the last 10 games to rest.
Like it’s been all year, fluidity and adaptability are the Raptors’ key buzzwords.
“You lay out the plan and then the second you do it something happens where you’re crumpling that plan up,” Nurse said. “So I guess it’s always good to be prepared and put your best-case scenario out there. And I don’t see it as critical because usually there’s a bump in the road that changes that somehow.”
Raptors Going Over Injury Options with Fred VanVleet – Sports Illustrated
It’s a tricky situation for the Toronto Raptors right now who sit just one game back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference but have an ailing VanVleet fighting through knee soreness. No decision has yet to be made on how much to play VanVleet and when to give him time off, but it’s clear he will not play in all of the team’s final 10 games, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
The decision will come down in part to how VanVleet is feeling, Nurse said. He, the coaching staff, the front office, and the team doctors are in regular communication on the topic and have been mapping out different scenarios, likely based on how VanVleet is feeling and how the team is playing.
“It’s just one of those things that, like, you lay out the plan, and then the second you do it, something happens where you’re crumpling that plan up,” Nurse said. “I don’t see it as critical because usually there’s a bump in the road that changes that somehow.”
Ultimately, Nurse said, if it’s a close call, he’ll make the final decision on when to play VanVleet who hasn’t looked quite right since the All-Star break.
Thursday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers could alter Toronto’s plans with VanVleet. Should the Raptors lose, the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference would become nearly out of reach, giving Toronto a little bit more leeway to rest VanVleet ahead of the play-in tournament.
Raps playoff ready …. well, almost | Toronto Sun
As much as the Raptors would prefer to avoid the play-in tournament by catching one or both of the fifth and sixth-place Bulls and Cavs, their head coach just wants them to get playoff experience.
If that’s as a five or six-seed or having to take part in the play-in tournament, Nurse says any of those finishes would suit him.
“I don’t see it as vital,” Nurse said of avoiding the play-in tournament. “I do see as I really hope this team gets in the playoffs. I really, really think we need to experience that. Like a series, the prep and the toughness and all that stuff that I think it’d be really big building block for this team to be able to go through that … however, we get to it, yes.”
Nurse’s players, quite reasonably, are hoping to not have anything to do with the play-in.
“We want to win every game we play,” red-hot jack-of-all-trades Pascal Siakam said. “That’s the mentality. Obviously why do you want to play another game instead of just being in the playoffs? Just win every single game and climb as much as we can.”
Canada Basketball has continuously expressed their commitment to growing the game of basketball in a variety of ways, and now they will team up with Sportsnet to bring the world’s young basketball talent to the stage.
GLOBL JAM — a U23 tournament that will be hosted at the Mattamy Athletic Centre from July 5-10 — will bring men’s and women’s teams from around the world to Toronto to compete. The tournament will be broadcast nationwide on Sportsnet and hopes to introduce these young players to fans in Canada and worldwide.
The teams will be split into two pools of four teams to compete in a round robin from July 5-8, followed by a semifinal round on July 9 and the championship games for both men’s and women’s teams on July 10.
The countries represented in the women’s tournament are Canada, the USA, Belgium and France. The men’s tournament will host Canada, the USA, Brazil and Italy.
This tournament marks the first international collaboration between Canada Basketball and Sportsnet, who announced a multi-year deal in February.
GLOBL JAM will also unite fans off the court, with events happening at Yonge-Dundas Square that will celebrate sports, arts, and culture. The tournament is also recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
Michael Bartlett, President and CEO of Canada Basketball, expressed the desire to bring more tournament opportunities to young basketball players in Canada and internationally, and said the tournament was designed with “an international focus on gender equity engrained in all aspects of the competition and athlete experience.”
