Raptors Discussion: V67 | DeRozan puts the ball through the hoop with regularity

[Porn*]

I want nothing to do with Noel.

I like what i've seen out of Siakam and Poeltl so far and sullinger coming back should add some beef.

 

[LaPlante94]

I want nothing to do with Noel.

I like what i've seen out of Siakam and Poeltl so far and sullinger coming back should add some beef.

Sullinger won't be back until like January. Idk what's not to like about Noel. Athletic player who is a very good rim protector.

 

[Koto]

Is noel a 4 or 5...we dont need another non shooting 4...our spacing is already pretty challenged

 

[LaPlante94]

Is noel a 4 or 5...we dont need another non shooting 4...our spacing is already pretty challenged

Can play both. He's not a 3 point shooter but he has some decent range and can hit jump shots.

 

[Budsfan]

Game Preview: Raptors vs. Kings
Posted: Nov 05, 2016

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

The Raptors will finish up a two-game homestand with a Sunday evening contest against the Sacramento Kings before heading out on a two-game road trip. Although Sacramento comes to Toronto with a losing record in the early days of the season, attempting to contain DeMarcus Cousins has never been a welcomed task. For Toronto, DeMar DeRozan is looking for his sixth straight 30-point performance.

Tip-off: 6:00 P.M. ET

Broadcast Info: SNET1 / SNET 590 THE FAN
TALKING POINTS

Rough schedule to start

When asked about the NBA schedule, most coaches and players try not to complain. Every team in the league plays the same 82 games, 41 at home, and 41 on the road. Still, the Sacramento Kings did not win out in the easy start to the season lottery when it came to this year’s schedule.

After opening the season on the road in Phoenix, the Kings returned home for two games and then immediately embarked on a five-game east coast road trip. Despite big games from DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, the trip has not been an easy one for the Kings, with the team dropping its first four games of the trip. Sunday’s game against the Raptors will be Sacramento’s final game of the trip and they’ll certainly be looking to right the ship before returning home.

Former Raptor Rudy Gay sat during Sacramento’s Saturday loss to the Milwaukee Bucks because of a rib cartilage strain, while Anthony Tolliver was out with a knee issue. Omri Casspi started in Gay’s place against the Bucks.

DeRozan shrugging off praise, ready to keep working

It’s becoming more and more difficult to dismiss the way DeMar DeRozan has started this season. Usually when a team or player gets off to a hot start, we caution to be patient because, “it’s early.” Yes, it is indeed still early with only five games played by the Raptors, but when a player accomplishes things that were last done before he was born, the early disclaimer can be dismissed.

With DeRozan’s fifth straight 30-point performance on Friday, he became the first player to start a season with five consecutive games of 30+ points since Michael Jordan in 1986. The 27-year-old Raptors guard was born in 1989. When told about the latest accomplishment, DeRozan refused to acknowledge it, shrugging off the stat, saying he didn't believe it.

Through seven years in Toronto, DeRozan has almost always allowed his game to do the talking for him. Although he doesn’t talk a lot about outside perception and criticism of his game, he certainly hears about and remembers them.

“Me personally, I always find motivation in every single thing,” DeRozan said. “I thrive off challenges, that's just how I was raised. That's the environment I grew up in. You show me something, I'm going to be rebellious and go against your opinion.”

Casey happy with Patterson’s contributions off bench

Through the first five games of the season, Patrick Patterson’s numbers haven’t been particularly flashy. If one were to just scan the boxscores, there hasn’t been a lot to jump out. This is why there’s more to the game than just what is captured on a boxscore. With Jared Sullinger out and rookie Pascal Siakam starting in his place, Dwane Casey has needed to rely on Patterson’s veteran experience and savvy off the bench.

Although his shot hasn’t shown up like usual yet, Patterson is averaging a block per contest, up from the 0.4 blocks per game he averaged last season. He’s also pulling down 5.4 rebounds per game, and dishing two assists each night. His efforts on defence have been huge for Toronto, and the job he did against the Miami Heat on Friday had Casey raving.

“Huge [impact],’ Casey said. “Patrick is really doing a great job. I know offensively, his numbers don’t show up, but he’s doing so many things for us as far as defending multiple positions, rebounding, making sure he load up in transition situations. He’s doing a heck of a job. His three-ball is gonna start falling here pretty soon. He’s doing a heck of a job in big minutes.”

Patterson is averaging 30.6 minutes per game to start the season, up from 25.6 minutes per game a season ago.

Sacramento Kings at Toronto Raptors: Sunday preview

DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings hit Air Canada Centre at end of five-game road trip.

By Doug SmithSports Reporter
Sat., Nov. 5, 2016

https://www.thestar.com/sports/rapt...-kings-at-toronto-raptors-sunday-preview.html

AIR CANADA CENTRE

TIPOFF: 6 p.m.

TV: Sportsnet One

RADIO: Sportsnet 590 The FAN

PROBABLE STARTERS

Sacramento: Ty Lawson, Arron Affalo, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Kosta Koufos

Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Pascal Siakam, Jonas Valanciunas

KEY MATCHUP

Cousins vs. Siakam

The Kings start big, and it’s going to be a big test for the Raptors rookie. The six-foot-11 Cousins is averaging almost 28 points and 10 rebounds per game.

NEED TO KNOW

The Kings are winding up a five-game road trip and played Saturday night in Milwaukee after losing the first three games of the journey. . . . Ex-Raptor Gay is widely expected to be the first “name” veteran to be traded this year. Sacramento’s slow start will surely help that speculation increase. . . . The Raptors finish up a stretch with five of their first six at home before heading out for a two-game road trip. . . . Beware the early start on the back of the end of daylight saving time.

UP NEXT

Wednesday at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Without BCs final act of desperation (getting Rudy Gay) the Raps may not be what they are today.

 

[Nasty Nazem]

Carroll is kind of terrible. I am probably being generous in saying kind of.

 

[Leaftors]

Carroll is kind of terrible. I am probably being generous in saying kind of.

Hes also kind of our best defender.

 

[Nasty Nazem]

Hes also kind of our best defender.

Which is nice but not if you're a starter and shooting 30% with it. Still early in the season but he just looks bad. Keeps missing open 3 pointers. Rebounding and assist rates are down from his Atlanta days as well.

 

[The Nemesis]

#FreedBebe

He needs to be more aggressive on the offensive end, but I like his ability to rebound and force shot changes on the defensive side of things.

Still needs a bit more weight though, might help him not get pushed around and commit cheap fouls. I know that in his late 20s he's no longer high on "promise/potential" anymore, but I still think some of his flaws can be polished away with reps and playing time.

Which is nice but not if you're a starter and shooting 30% with it. Still early in the season but he just looks bad. Keeps missing open 3 pointers. Rebounding and assist rates are down from his Atlanta days as well.

he's been hurt and small sample size. Though the systemic differences between the Spurs-lite Hawks teams and the more iso-heavy and DeMar/Kyle-heavy Raptors offence don't help.

 

[The Nemesis]

Is Barnes sporting a man bun? As if there needed to be another reason to dislike him.

 

[Eyedea]

Poeltl cannot miss those easy layups.

 

[Leaftors]

Which is nice but not if you're a starter and shooting 30% with it. Still early in the season but he just looks bad. Keeps missing open 3 pointers. Rebounding and assist rates are down from his Atlanta days as well.

Those two are easily accounted for, as he like nem said is hurt. We all know our style of basketball is much different that theres. Your point contradicts itself, you cant look "bad" if your the best defender on the team. Thats like saying kevin pillars 3 war is meaningless because he isnt that good on offence.

 

[theaub]

lol Carroll isn't even close to the equivalent of Pillar defensively

 

[Suntouchable13]

Those two are easily accounted for, as he like nem said is hurt. We all know our style of basketball is much different that theres. Your point contradicts itself, you cant look "bad" if your the best defender on the team. Thats like saying kevin pillars 3 war is meaningless because he isnt that good on offence.

He is hurt? So the guy can't stay healthy, that's not a good thing either. Anyway you slice it, he has not been good with the Raptors.

 

[Swervin81]

Donyell Marshall's single game 3 pt record was broken last night

That dude would be awesome in today's NBA. His game was well ahead of his time.

 

[The Nemesis]

He is hurt? So the guy can't stay healthy, that's not a good thing either. Anyway you slice it, he has not been good with the Raptors.

It's not that he can't "stay healthy". He suffered a serious injury last year, tried to play through it and couldn't (probably making it worse) and admitted during the pre-season that he's likely not back to 100% yet.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

I honestly don't think it'll be cavs/warriors in the final as most suggest, haven't been impressed with GS, and I think San Antonio are the favs.

 

[Budsfan]

Game Preview: Raptors @ Thunder
Posted: Nov 08, 2016

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

The Toronto Raptors kick off their first two-game road trip of the season in Oklahoma City where they’ll face a Thunder team getting used to life without Kevin Durant.

Tip-off: 8:00 P.M. ET

Broadcast Info: SNET1 / TSN1050
TALKING POINTS

Thunder rolling

The surprise of the offseason was Kevin Durant deciding to leave Oklahoma City to join a Golden State Warriors team that had defeated the Thunder in seven games in the Western Conference Finals. His departure means a different Thunder team than the one the NBA has grown accustomed to over Durant’s nine years in the league. Through seven games, Oklahoma City is showing that although different, they are still an extremely capable and difficult opponent. The Thunder boast a 6-1 record, their lone loss coming against that Warriors team.

With the Thunder, the top priority is easy to identify and nearly impossible to stop. When it comes to Russell Westbrook, hoping to slow him is a more realistic plan than thinking you’ll be able to stop him completely.

“He’s a one-man wrecking crew by himself,” Dwane Casey said. “The thing that Westbrook brings to the table is his intensity. It’s contagious. That entire team just beats the crap out of you for 48 minutes and if you don’t come in ready for that type of intensity and how hard they play from one through 15, it’s a long night.”

Numbers on the board

Wednesday’s Thunder/Raptors match up features two of the top four scorers in the league. DeMar DeRozan currently leads the way, averaging 33.7 points per contest, while Westbrook is fourth with 30.4 points per game. Although Dwane Casey would certainly like for his team’s three-point shooting and assist numbers to be up, he appreciates the run that DeRozan is on.

“I’d rather for us to have it distributed around, but DeMar is having a career year,” Casey said. “Westbrook [too], there must be something in the water, I don’t know. You have a lot of guys in the league doing that. I’m glad our guy’s doing that. DeMar is doing a great job, but we’ve got to get other people playing their offensive games. We have some guys not shooting the ball well right now and that will take some of the pressure off and make [DeMar’s] job even easier when they start to knock down shots.”

Through six games, the Raptors are last in the league in three-point shooting, connecting on 26.2 percent of their attempts. Casey is confident his shooters will get back on track soon, saying he’d rather the team have a shooting slump now than later on in the season. DeMarre Carroll, who broke a team record by making 85 of 100 three-pointers during a shooting session after practice on Tuesday, agreed with his coach’s assessment.

“It’s all about rhythm,” Carroll said. “Me personally, I need to figure out where I’m going to get [my shots from], when I’m going to get them. I have to be ready to shoot them. DeMar’s got it going right now so we’re really playing off him…We’ll figure it out.”

Valanciunas day-to-day with knee contusion

Jonas Valanciunas missed Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings with a left knee contusion. He spoke with reporters after the game and said he couldn’t recall a specific moment where he had hurt his knee, but it had happened earlier in the week. When he arrived to the arena on Sunday and spoke with medical staff, they made the decision to rest him.

Valanciunas did not practice on Tuesday prior to the team flying out to Oklahoma City. His status id listed as day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s game.

Game Day: Toronto Raptors at Oklahoma City Thunder

By Doug SmithSports Reporter
Tues., Nov. 8, 2016

https://www.thestar.com/sports/rapt...toronto-raptors-at-oklahoma-city-thunder.html

TORONTO (4-2)

AT OKLAHOMA CITY (6-1)

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY ARENA

Tipoff: Wednesday, 8 p.m.

TV: Sportsnet One

Radio: TSN1050

Probable starters

Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Pascal Siakam, Jakob Poeltl.

Oklahoma City: Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, Andre Roberson, Domantas Sabonis, Steven Adams.

Key matchup: Kyle Lowry, Raptors, vs. Russell Westbrook, Thunder. A pair of premier point guards in the league collide. Lowry has been off to a so-so start to the season, shooting 37%, but Westbrook has been other-worldly, averaging 30.4 points, 9.9 assists and 8.4 rebounds in seven games. The Thunder guard was one assist shy of starting the season with three straight triple-doubles.

Need to know: Injured Toronto centre Jonas Valanciunas was to travel with the team but he is listed as day-to-day with knee swelling after sitting out Sunday’s game and not practising Tuesday. He may miss a chance to go against fellow Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis, the son of iconic Arvydas Sabonis, the six-time European player of the year who spent seven seasons with Portland in his 30s . . . Oklahoma City, off to its best start, used a 20-0 third-quarter run to beat the Heat on Monday and improve to 6-1 . . . Raptors head coach Dwane Casey cast his ballot for Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, citing her experience as a determining factor.

Up next: Friday at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

 

[Vexed]

I don't understand all this talk about moving around or acquiring bigs. Our biggest need is outside shooting and I can't imagine why that wouldn't be our sole focus if looking to make trades.

 

[The Nemesis]

I think the call for bigs is an immediate reaction to the fact that the two projected frontcourt starters are out of the lineup right now, and a lineup of Poeltl/Nogueira at the 5 and Siakam/Patterson at the 4 is quite thin factoring in the low experience level of 3 of the 4.

It's not a huge deal though, IMO. Jonas should be back quickly enough and Nogueira might be able to play some minutes at teh 4 from time to time because of his athleticism. So between the 5 of them they should hold down the fort just fine until Sullinger is healthy.

Shooting (particularly from the wing/backcourt) is indeed the biggest ongoing need. Lowry is really the only super dependable 3-point threat the team has right now who plays a 1/2/3 positionally. Ross is good but streaky, and Powell/DeMar can get hot, but usually are not gunners by trade. In a perfect world they could use a Kyle Korver type. But of course, who couldn't use that?

 

[Suntouchable13]

Lowry needs to shoot better. WTF?

 

[trellaine201]

Sorry for sounding grumpy, I'm quite miffed at what happened in the election. Anyways what the heck is happening with Bruno? Was that a wasted pick? Time? Effort? Money ? I guess he is still young? But is he improving.

So sad.

 

[Swervin81]

Lose to the Kings, beat the Thunder.

Yup, that's the Raps I know, alright.

 

[Brewster]

I honestly don't think it'll be cavs/warriors in the final as most suggest, haven't been impressed with GS, and I think San Antonio are the favs.

As a joint Raps-Spurs fan, the Spurs haven't looked very good apart from opening night. Gasol is atrocious on defence and LMA hasn't been sharp. Hopefully they'll round into form and live up to your prediction.

DeRozan though, goddam. He's been a Kobe incarnate thus far. Solid road win for the boys.