Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors' Roller-coaster Ride Takes An Upward Turn With Rout Of Indiana Pacers

... and pep' at crucial time — with a little help from newest Raptors. Ibaka displayed a sublime face-up game, catching the ball on the block or wing, turning and shooting over his defender, fluidly, effortlessly, confidently. There was Ibaka drilling threes, in transition or in a half-court set, Valanciunas controlling the boards and coming close to posting a double-double, De Rozan serving as facilitator, Joseph dishing and making sound decisions with the ball, there wasn’t much wrong with how the Raptors began the game, a style that continued until the final buzzer. Norm Powell even beat the buzzer with a three-ball as Toronto took a 91-73 lead into the fourth quarter. The defence of P. J. Tucker also stood out, especially on one sequence when he chased George around and through screens, crowded George on the perimeter and ...

Toronto Raptors Torched By Russell Westbrook In Blowout Loss To Oklahoma City Thunder

... play hard. “We’ve got to play with pride and whatever you want to call it, a sense of urgency.”. Norman Powell had 13 points, while Joseph added 11 and Delon Wright chipped in with 10 for Toronto, which shot a woeful 5-for-20 from three-point range. Oladipo added 23 points for the Thunder (39-29). The Raptors, who played their 11 th game without Kyle Lowry, are trying to claw their way back up the Eastern Conference standings. They’re fourth and 2 1/2 games back of third-place Washington. But they showed zero sense of urgency Thursday. Playing in their Drake-inspired black and gold uniforms, the Raptors trailed from the opening whistle. One decent — but brief — stretch during the second quarter pulled Toronto to within two points, but Westbrook and the Thunder quickly extinguished any hopes of a comeback, stretching their lead to as many as 27 points in ...

The New Normal For Jonas Valanciunas

... the two-man lineup of Ibaka and P. J. Tucker lead the Raptors in fourth quarter minutes over the last ten games. They’ve mostly been combined with Cory Joseph and either De Marre Carroll or Norman Powell — all players that can play perimeter defense and cover for the spacey De Mar De Rozan. With this new way of thinking, the Raptors have narrowed Valanciunas’ specialist role even further. He’s asked to be a big man for the first three quarters: grabbing rebounds, converting dump-offs, and earning a couple more dedicated touches as a result. Considering the ego of NBA players, it’s relieving to see him play well, improving his efficiency with the new-look Raptors. The numbers bear this out. With Kyle Lowry injured, Valanciunas’ usage rate has ticked up to 21.5% from his season average of 19.8%. He’s more efficient on dump-offs and shots in close, which is good. More importantly, though, he’s turned up his ability to knock down a ten-foot jumper. Compare his shot chart for the season ...

Power Ranking Poll Week 22

... manageable schedule for the rest of the regular season until Toronto gets its point guard back. Yes, we’re into managing expectations mode as the season wraps up. It was always going to be thus, sans Lowry. Fortunately, as Stein notes, the Raptors have found a new gear with respect to their defensive identity, and are still winning more than they lose (which could not be said pre-trades). Next we get to the whipper-snapper takes of Jeremy Woo of SI dot com. 9. Toronto Raptors (41–29). Last Week: 12. Net Rating: +4.6. The Raptors hit some degree of rock bottom in a blowout loss to the Thunder this week, but bounced back with two convincing defensive performances against the Pistons and Pacers. They're starting to look like a team that could be a massive thorn in someone’s side in a month or two. Even better: they might be the deepest team in the East when Kyle Lowry gets back. Not sure which name I’ll settle on for the Raptors as they rumble into the playoffs, but "massive thorn" works for now. If I’m any team in ...

Raptors 116, Pacers 91

... points as the Raptors led 32-24 after one. STAYING AHEAD. Toronto maintained its dominance through the first half, earning its largest halftime lead since a Jan. 15 win against the New York Knicks. Thanks to another 30-point quarter, the Raptors scored 62 points in the half, leading the Pacers 62-45 behind De Mar De Rozan’s 16-point half, an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double from Jonas Valanciunas, and a 14-point effort from Serge Ibaka. The team shot 51 percent in the first half, holding Indiana to 41 percent shooting. After struggling from distance in recent games, Toronto held a huge advantage from the 3-point line through the first two quarters, making 6-of-15 attempts to Indiana’s two makes on 11 attempts. Toronto dominated the boards as well, owning a 30-16 advantage at the break. HOLDING STEADY. Things cooled down for Toronto in the third where they were held under 30 points, outscoring Indiana 29-28 in the quarter. With the Pacers making 44 percent of their field goals and the Raptors making 46 percent of their field goals, it was a more competitive third quarter, but the Pacers needed stops that didn’t come in ...

Serge Ibaka Changes The Game For Toronto Raptors Without Scoring A Single Point

... in the NBA who can be the best player on the floor without scoring a single point. I can’t remember a Raptor doing it before, though maybe Doug Christie or a young Tracy Mc Grady accomplished the feat back in the day. De Mar De Rozan scores 25 points as Raptors get much-needed win over Mavericks. Serge Ibaka sank Dallas on Monday despite not scoring for just the third time since the 2011-12 season  — the year he emerged as a key piece on an Oklahoma City team that reached the NBA Finals. Ibaka tied De Mar De Rozan at a game-high +18, with De Rozan putting on an offensive clinic (while also playing some good defence). But De Rozan gets most of the headlines (and again, he played a great game), so Ibaka should get a chance to shine. He changes so many shots and gives the Raptors an even more dangerous last line of protection than Bismack Biyombo was (as popular as Biyombo remains here, he isn’t as good a player at either end as Ibaka, a three-time NBA blocks leader and multiple all-league defensive first team member). The ...

Demar Derozan Scores 25 Points As Toronto Raptors Get Much-needed Win Over Dallas Mavericks

... he’s home at night watching other teams play, De Mar De Rozan’s thoughts wander to what the Toronto Raptors might be like at full strength. Until then, it’s all about scrapping and clawing for playoff positioning without their all-star point guard Kyle Lowry. De Rozan scored 25 points to lift Toronto to a much-needed 100-78 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, their 10 th game without Lowry, who is recovering from wrist surgery. And in the post-game dressing room, De Rozan talked about missing his backcourt mate. “It’s something that we’ve got to be patient with and understand we’ve got to figure this thing out now, without having Kyle, and once he gets back make sure it’s an easy transition for everybody,” De Rozan said. “(We miss) just everything. He makes the game easier on everybody. You look up at the scoreboard and we have 125 points.”. Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Raptors (39-28) won for the first time in three games. Norman Powell chipped in with 19 points, while Patrick Patterson and Delon Wright added 11 apiece. Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks (28-38) with 18 points. Dirk Nowitzki, who at 38 ...

Huskies 122, Bulls 120

... out there every single play, putting his all into stopping a guy like Jimmy Butler. He's a key part of us getting that win tonight.”. - De Mar De Rozan on P. J. Tucker’s impact late in games. “What we needed was just a toughness. Picking guys up, making them turn the ball over. If you sit back and let teams move the ball and get into their offence, you’re not going to get any stops, you’re not going to turn the momentum. I was telling guys those first two plays [in the fourth] where we got the steals, went down and got the layups, then got fouled, that’s the momentum shift. Now it’s time to pick guys up, especially on that second unit where they didn’t have really good ball handlers in the game.”. - P. J. Tucker on the momentum shift late. UP NEXT. The Huskies will begin a two-game road trip in Miami where they will take on the Heat on Thursday at 7:30 P. M. ...

Not Pretty, But Toronto Raptors Bounce Back From Lopsided Loss With Strong Defensive Effort In 87-75 Win Over Detroit Pistons

... that defensive tone was the Raptors leading scorer De Mar De Rozan. De Rozan was held to just 14 points, well below his season average, but this night it wasn’t about his scoring. “Probably the best defence I have seen him play,” P. J. Tucker said of De Rozan. “We were all messing with him after the game about how he was chasing after screens and doing all the little dirty work that you rarely see him do. I think if we have him doing that then everybody else who steps in the game has got to do it.”. De Rozan, blanketed as he was all night by Marcus Morris, actually turned the tables on the Philly native who has had plenty of success guarding De Rozan in the past. This time it was De Rozan putting Morris in a box and helping to hold him to a poor 1-for-13 night from the field. “It’s easier for everybody else to follow after that,” De Rozan said of his defensive prowess. “It was a big game for us on the road so it was on me to come out aggressive, not even offensively just doing everything else.”. De Rozan only ...

Will The Raptors Grab And Hold The 3-seed

... have been 9-5 since Lowry went out, but that’s largely due to their defense (which will take a hit sans Ibaka). Adding Lowry to the offense, even one still trying to re-discover his shooting stroke, would be a huge boon. As for the Wizards, there’s nothing seriously wrong with them. (I mean, beyond existing.) As long as the five-some of John Wall , Bradley Beal , Otto Porter , Markieff Morris , and Marcin Gortat (and, sure, Bojan Bogdanovic ) are healthy, they’re a dangerous team. Likely Outcome. If we stick to my math, a 7-5 stretch for the Raptors puts them at 49-33 on the season. Meanwhile, 6-6 gives the Wizards a 48-34 record. As such, my non-scientific approach has the Raptors finishing third. If we go with the more conservative 7-5 pitch for the Wiz, we get a tie, and the Raptors still get the 3-seed. Either way, one thing becomes abundantly clear: the margin for error here for Toronto is very thin. A.500 stretch, or, heaven forbid, a dumb losing streak, would sink any attempt at reclaiming third and, yes, avoiding a potential matchup ...

Toronto Raptors' Jakob Poeltl Emerges With Meaningful Minutes As The Nba Playoffs Loom

... changes the game for Raptors without scoring a single point. Despite growing up in Austria, he is unsure where his natural basketball instincts come from. “I mean, I guess both my parents were athletes, I was always in love with sports in general, I was like playing around, playing basketball as a little kid,” he said after Monday’s lengthy practice. “But it’s really just instincts. I don’t know where it’s coming from, I just feel comfortable out there and I feel like I know where I’m supposed to go.”. Ahead of Poeltl on the depth chart, Valanciunas is more of an old-school centre among today’s versatile big men. Offensively he’s one of the better shooters on the team and has expanded his range even from last year. Valanciunas is still effective banging with the other traditional bigs but struggles when he has to go outside to cover a big with shooting range and then recover back to the basket. But Poeltl is better equipped for that type of game and will eventually develop himself into that type of centre who can pull opposing covers out to the three-point line. At some point the Raptors are going to have to make a decision on whether they can live with the defensive ...