Raptors Discussion: v57|The long, short run to the end of the season (and playoffs)

[mcleex]

Pretty awesome how Cineplex is showing Raps games. Shame its only a handful tho that are doing it. Would have loved to go to one of the showings
$6 and on a huge screen .. would have been sweet

 

[Budsfan]

Game Day: Raptors @ Nets

Posted: Apr 13, 2016

Matt Tierney - Raptors.com

Toronto (55-26) wraps up their regular season tonight in Brooklyn (21-60) at the Barclays Center. The Raptors have a chance to finish 30-games above .500 after defeating Philadelphia at home last night. The Nets have lost nine straight and will be hoping to close out their season on a positive note in front of their home fans.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Bojan Bogdanovich – The 31st pick in the 2011 draft has only played two seasons in the NBA but has provided Brooklyn with a reliable wing option and three-point threat. Bogdanovich also showed what he is capable of on offence, exploding for 44 points against the Sixers on March 15th. He enters tonight averaging 11 points and three rebounds on the year.

Terrence Ross– While you know what you’re going to get on a nightly basis from players such as Lowry and DeRozan, a key component to Toronto’s playoff success will hinge on the play of the bench, specifically Ross. Alongside Patrick Patterson, Ross is relied upon to score the basketball and lately has done just that. He is averaging 12 points on 48% shooting over his past 10 games and seems to be in good form with the postseason just days away.

Toronto Raptors at Brooklyn Nets: Wednesday game preview

The Nets have lost their last nine games in another dismal season.

Raptors guard Norman Powell, left, has made the most starts of any player taken in the second round of the 2015 draft.

Raptors guard Norman Powell, left, has made the most starts of any player taken in the second round of the 2015 draft.

By: Chris O’Leary Sports Reporter, Published on Tue Apr 12 2016

BARCLAYS CENTER

Tipoff: 8 p.m.

TV: TSN

Radio: TSN 1050

Probable starters

Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Luis Scola, Jonas Valanciunas.

Brooklyn: Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, Bojan Bogdanovic, Chris McCullough, Henry Sims.

Key matchup: The battle for your viewership. It’s the Raptors’ last game of the regular season, so it’s not likely that their top players will see significant minutes. It’s also the end of the road on another nightmarish year for the Nets, who have just 21 wins and are on a nine-game losing streak, playing without Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the final six games of the year. Whatever your allegiances, Wednesday night’s game will be a true test of fandom. If you make it through the full 48 minutes, you’re the real winner.

Need to know: The Nets were down 20-0 on Monday to the Wizards, a terrible start to what turned into a 120-111 loss. In their nine-game losing streak, the Nets have lost by an average of 18 points . . . The Raptors wiped out a 16-point second-half deficit in their last meeting with Brooklyn on March 8, winning 104-99 . . . With 22 starts heading into Tuesday night’s game against Philadelphia, Norman Powell has started more than any other player selected in the second round of the 2015 draft. He averages 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.1 minutes as a starter . . . The Raptors are 16-5 when Jonas Valanciunas scores a double-double and leads the team with 21 of them this year.

Up next: Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference quarterfinal, TBA.

 

[Eyedea]

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/artic...playoff-drought/?utm_source=vicesportstwitter

...Charlie Villanueva, then in his 10th NBA season, played 43 minutes in those five games. They were the first postseason minutes of his career, after 594 regular season games. That left Jason Thompson, who at that point had played 541 games, all of them with the Sacramento Kings, as the league's reigning champion in a punch line of a category: most games played without a single playoff appearance.

He'll be at 588 after tonight. I believe the next one after him is Anthony Morrow at 515, but he'll make it in this year. Greg Monroe thus becomes the new active leader at 456 games (unless Morrow/Thompson receive zero minutes in the playoffs).