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2016-2017 Raptors Thread: We Know No King

Frank E said:
Deebo said:
Raps get PJ Tucker from the Suns in exchange for Sullinger and 2 2nd round picks.
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Is this guy real good...does he play a heavy game, real good player?
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Good defensive player.  Gives them another small forward/PF (in a small lineup) option.

Giving up nothing off the main roster and only losing 2nd round picks is solid.
 
No Kyle Lowry, no big problem, as the newly-acquired Raptors -- Serge Ibaka & PJ Tucker -- along with DeMar DeRozan & co., disposed of the Boston Celtics at the ACC last night 107-98.

DeRozan had another career high 43 points, while Ibaka and Tucker playing in their first game in a Raptors uniform, provided much needed physicality plus plenty of rebounding.  Patrick Patterson & Corey Joseph each also contributed 15 pts. 

A different Raptors team indeed out there on the court.  A more aggressive, better defensive, yet strikingly offensive with DeMar as the the backdrop. 

As for the question of Kyle Lowry's wrist injury, he will be given some more time to recover before being re-evaluated. Lowry's wrist injury is really a nagging one that obviously had not fully healed.

More:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/derozan-ibaka-lead-charge-raptors-victory-celtics/

Lowry's injury:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/kyle-lowry-raptors-wrist-injury/
 
Kyle Lowry's wrist injury is worse than first thought.  Lowry will require surgery which means he'll be out of the Raptors lineup for the remainder of the season.

Lowry hopes that the wrist will heal so that he can partake in a few games before season's end, howeve, that remains to be seen at this point.  It's hoped that the Raptors can have him back in fine form during the post-season.  We'll see.


https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2017/02/27/kyle-lowry-out-for-at-least-rest-of-regular-season.html
 
Not specifically Raptors related:
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/presents18969358/tinderization-today-nba

Something strange happens when NBA teams play on the road these days, a trend line that baffles statheads. In the 1987-88 season, home teams won an astounding 67.9 percent of games, boasting an average win margin of 5.8 points, the highest on record. The advantage was so profound that home teams, on average, played at the level of a 55-win team.

Then, in less than a decade, the home-court advantage gap was sliced in half. By 1996-97, home teams won only 57.5 percent of the time, by an average margin of only 2.6 points. And now, after hovering around 60 percent for most of the 2000s, home-court advantage is dropping again. This season, it sits at an all-time low of 57.4 percent.

[...]

I spoke with dozens of players, coaches, team trainers and front-office execs, and most think the same thing is happening: NBA players are sleeping more and drinking less.

One general manager calls it the "Tinderization of the NBA."

"Tin-der-i-za-tion," he repeats, "like the dating app. No need to go to the clubs all night anymore."

Indeed, various apps have done for sex in the NBA what Amazon has done for books. One no longer needs to leave home to find a party. The party now comes to you. And lifestyle judgments aside, the NBA road life is simply more efficient -- and less taxing -- when there aren't open hours spent trolling clubs.

"It's absolutely true that you get at least two hours more sleep getting laid on the road today versus 15 years ago," says one former All-Star, who adds that players actually prefer Instagram to Tinder when away from home. "No schmoozing. No going out to the club. No having to get something to eat after the club but before the hotel."
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If true, this explains a good deal of why the Leafs Management team went out of their way to do things a certain way for its very, very young club.
 
Call them the comeback kids, as the Raptors lead the league in come-from-behind game wins (19),  as they did last night defeating the Dallas Mavericks 94-86. 

In so doing, the Raptors clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year in a row.  They currently sit 4th in the Eastern Conference overall standings, 3.5 GBL (the Cleveland Cavs).

Current playoff picture:

      Team              GB
1  Cleveland            -
2  Boston              0.5
3  Washington      2.5
4  Toronto            3.5


Source:  CBC Sports
 
Raptors defeat the Orlando Magic 131-112 at home at the ACC for their sixth consecutive win.  They also paid tribute to ex-Raptor (now a Magic) Torrence Ross with a video.


http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/demar-derozan-leads-raptors-past-magic-toronto-wins-sixth-straight/
 
Ex-Toronto Raptor Terrence Ross, who was traded earlier this month to the Orlando Magic, and for whom a video tribute was given at last night's game in Toronto between the Raptors & the Magic, had this to say about his stay in Toronto during his playing days here:

Ross, an American born in Portland, Ore., writes he felt like a proud honourary Canadian here.

?The culture, the lifestyle, the people of Toronto ? I?ve really grown to love all of it,? he writes. ?It?s such a melting pot, and ? maybe because of that ? people there tend to have this beautiful ? I don?t know ? sense of self. People in Toronto know who they are, and they know where they?re from. It?s hard to explain, but I?ve really come to admire that.?

He writes his short and long-term plans include Canada.

?Anyway, for now, I guess I?ll just drop an ?eh?? or two in Orlando, and see what kind of reaction I get. But long-term ? I gotta say: I could definitely see myself coming back to Toronto, at some point, to live there. To me, Canada ? it?s become like a home away from home."


https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2017/03/02/ex-raptor-terrence-ross-writes-toronto-a-love-letter.html
 
Bucks 97  Raptors 83    Milwaukee leads series 1 game to 0.

Go figure.  The Toronto Raptors, with the NBA's fourth best defence, and a team that finished the season with a 56-26 record and 1 GB Cleveland in the Eastern Conference,  lost their fifth straight playoff home-opening game at the ACC Saturday.  Even the Raptors themselves couldn't put heads or tails on this dubious historical  franchise feat.  Actually it is nine straight Game 1 losses.

Much to the consternation of the ACC faithful, the Raptors came out flat against Milwaukee.  They weren't their usual selves, not DeRozan nor Lowry, both of whom faced blocked shots and couldn't get their game going. 

The Milwaukee kids against the Raptors veterans.  Sounds like a nice ring to it. The only problem is up to the Raptors to solve 'em.  Back to basics for Game 2.

Game story:
https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2017/04/15/raptors-fall-to-bucks-in-home-opener-of-playoff-series.html
 
Bucks 100  Raptors 106    Series tied at 1 game apiece.

Harking back to Game 1, Kyle Lowry had just four measly points and his Raptors looked like a confused bunch.  Not this time.  Lowry contributed 22 points but it was his 20-ft shot that sunk the Bucks.  They were the points that  solidified the win for the Raptors before  joyous supporters of the ACC Tuesday night.

Demar DeRozan, Valencianas, Joseph, & Serge Ibaka (playing with a sprained ankle) also factored in the win.  Finding a way to get around the trap and outsmarting the Bucks in the paint & the perimeter were some of more important strategies the Raptors worked on, plus bringing their shot game back the way they know how.  Ibaka was instrumental  as he helped contribute defensively particularly in the second half.

The series now shifts to Milwaukee for Games 3 & 4.

Story:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/raptors-hang-even-series-bucks-one-game-apiece/
 
Raptors  77  Bucks  104    Milwaukee leads series 2 games to 1.

Ridiculous.  Inept.  Dumbfounded.  Soulless.  Confused.  Whatever bad description it is, it fits.  The Toronto Raptors  just played their worst game in franchise playoff history.  All to a seemingly young and inexperienced Milwaukee team.  Rapacious is more like it.

If anything it was the Raptors who looked intimidated,  exhibiting mental & physical lapses out on the court.  They couldn't seem to solve the Bucks tenacious trap defence system.  It was essentially a repeatt of Game 1 but by a vastly different score that did not lie.  Every Raptor player including coach Casey is to be blamed for the woefully unprepared performance.

The only way to look at this would be for coach Casey to resolve and come up with a better game plan.  If not,  the tearn's fate will most likely be doomed to the whims of the opposition.

Wake up, Raptors!


https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2017/04/20/raptors-crash-in-game-3-loss-to-bucks.html
 
Raptors  87  Bucks 76  Series tied at 2 games apiece.

The Toronto Raptors knew they would have to find a way around Milwaukee's trap system if they were to have any hope of winning here in Game 4.  That they did do with DeRozan and Lowry poweing the team to victory.

DeRozan had 33 points with Lowry contributing 18.  Coach Dwayne Casey tweaked the lineup and installed Norman Powell as starter.  it turned out to be a total team effort, as the Raptors made good on their three point shots, being more aggressive in the paint, and providing better defense, such as limiting the play of the Bucks forwards, in particular Gianni Antetokounmpo, blocking shots & passes.

Good overall effort by the Raptors especially in the hostile environment that was the BMO Harris Bradley Center.


https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2017/04/22/raptors-take-87-76-win-over-bucks-in-game-4.html
 
Bucks  93  Raptors  118    Toronto leads series 3 games to 2.

Norman Powell who had been inserted as a starter in the lineup in Game 4, lead the Raptors here at the ACC in Game 5 Monday night, with 25 points and some more much-needed aggressive ball-laying, connecting on all of his three pointers.

Sergei Ibaka with 19 pts., DeRozan with 18 and Lowry with 16 were the other contributors for the Raptors.  But the best game-playing came from Powell & Ibaka, not only on the scoreboard but on the court with their usual aggressive style of defence and offensive output an added plus. 

The Raptors who had solved the Bucks' trap system, came at Milwaukee from the opening minutes, wasting no time in putting points on the board, and even though Milwaukee's Gianni Antetokounmpo scored a personal best of 30 points, it wasn't much he nor his Bucks could do to stop their opposition. 

Swarming the court and moving the ball and getting everyone on the roster to participate in every facet of their game served the Raptors very well.  When one has guys who take the lead offensively and take the pressure off the team's stars,  that becomes a double threat to the opponent.  Can't keep everyone off.  Milwaukee being a young team, the Raptors had them in their grasp.

Job well done.  Now the Raptors can win it all in Game 6 in Milwaukee Thursday or risk coming back for Game 7 here in Toronto.  Nothing really wrong with that except history shows the Raptors needed a Game 7 to win each of their rounds last season's playoffs.

The rest is up to them to change a little bit of history. 

GO RAPTORS GO!!

Story:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/games/1743849/
 
Just flicked the channel to catch the score up by 10 or 12. Haven't made a bucket in 5 minutes, horrible giveaways and fouls galore. 4 points in the 4th with 3 minutes left.
 
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