Showing posts with label Toronto Raptors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto Raptors. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Whose stock is rising/falling after week three?

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Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors – OG Anunoby (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)

Week Three is coming to a close and the Toronto Raptors own the best record in the NBA at 11-1, but how did each player fare individually? We take a look at a couple of players with Stock Up, Stock Down.

I can’t believe it’s this time already! Since we last talked, the Toronto Raptors have continued to improve their record and now sit atop the NBA. After a long waited week, it’s now officially time for episode three of Stock Up, Stock Down.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’, ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (yes, I’m on that boat.), ‘Toy Story 3’, all great third installments of historic franchises. And now, this.

The Raptors headed out west for a four-game road trip facing the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Sacramento Kings. Expectations were understandably high heading in, Toronto was 7-1 and looking like one of the top teams in the whole league after a franchise-best start.

Well, not much has changed in that regard. The Raptors went 4-0 out west, sweeping a road trip of four games or more for the first time in franchise history.

It started with a sloppy, ugly win on Friday night in Phoenix. Toronto was out-rebounded by 19 and shot poorly the whole night but came away with the win. As disjointed as it was – it’s always promising when a team can win in a variety of ways. That was evident in the Sunday night rout of LeBron’s Lakers. Serge Ibaka stole the show with a career-high 34 points – and yes, he does feature for the third week running. Oh, and Kawhi didn’t play.

The week was rounded out with wins in Utah (without Kawhi) and Sacramento. There’s a lot to unravel this week, starting with an unfortunate injury that precedes someone losing stock. Not fun.

Communication breakdown keys Toronto Raptors’ skid

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It was in the days leading up to the start of the NBA season that Danny Green set the 20-to-30 games in as a good place for teams across the league to gauge where they stood when it comes to rapport and team chemistry.

He hoped the Toronto Raptors would be hitting their stride by late November or early December; that, he said, is when player should feel more comfortable consistently and “kind of gel.”

Toronto guard Danny Green watched the Raptors collapse against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday from the locker room, where he was being treated for an injury.
Toronto guard Danny Green watched the Raptors collapse against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday from the locker room, where he was being treated for an injury.  (Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

There have been moments this season when the 12-3 Raptors looked like they might be overachievers in that department, particularly as they clicked over the course of two six-game win streaks. They’ve yet to put together a complete game, but have found ways to win nonetheless.

But Toronto is still at least five games, or a week, away from that mark set by Green, and there is still work to be done, as shown by a two-game skid against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Detroit Pistons at home this week.

“I think just talking, man,” Kyle Lowry said when asked about the Raptors’ lack of execution against the Pistons both offensively and defensively on Wednesday night. “Communication. Open your mouth. We’ve gotta speak, we’ve gotta talk, you’ve gotta say something. Can’t play if you can’t say nothing.”

Building that foundation takes more than just 48 minutes on the court, said Kawhi Leonard.

“Yeah, we’ve got to work toward something,” he said. “We can’t just try to win tonight or the next game. It’s about us building a chemistry, continuity going forward, you know what I mean? We just have to have a mindset and a goal on what we’re trying to be.”

Coach Nick Nurse didn’t see many similarities between the loss to the Pelicans and the loss to the Pistons. Toronto was on the back foot for much of the game against New Orleans, and left believing it was the second best team on the night, as well as the victim of some unfortunate bounces and whistles.

The Raptors started strong against the Pistons but gave up a 19-point lead in the second half. It was a disappointing recurrence, Nurse said.

“I just think we’ve done this a little to often and I was hoping it wasn’t going to bite us in the butt,” he said.

“We’d have these 20-point leads and cut it back to six, and it was a really similar pattern to what we’ve seen. We just took our foot off the gas a little bit defensively and all of a sudden they’re shooting a couple of wide-open threes and that just sparks them. ... All that work you’ve done for, say, 34 minutes is gone quickly because you just took your foot off the gas a little bit.”

Green was in the locker room getting treatment for lower back stiffness as Toronto surrendered its lead to the Pistons and eventually conceded a last-second, game-winning shot to Reggie Bullock. He didn’t like what he saw on television from the training table.

“We didn’t lose that game at the end of the game,” Green said. “It was well before that. You could just tell. I was watching it as I was getting treatment. You could tell body language and just the atmosphere or how the guys looked; it didn’t look good. It kind of looked how we were the other night against New Orleans only we had more energy, better kick to start the game. But once things don’t start going our way, we still have to find ways or still conduct ourselves in the same way and not getting down and letting last plays affect our next plays.”

Green joked that there must have been a full moon on Wednesday night, a night of strange results league-wide with losses for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trailblazers, among other hot teams. Leonard, for example, booted the ball out of bounds on the Raptors final possession, in a quarter where he had five turnovers. Green said his longtime teammates “doesn’t get the ball taken from him like that.”

Whatever was at play, though, Green said the team still has a ways to go when it comes to communication and the maturity needed to close out games, even though it’s early in the season.

“They talk at certain times,” he said. “Important times we need to talk more. I think that is what stood out the most (on Wednesday) because our communication hasn’t been the greatest when you have a situation like that, especially at the end of the game. Guy gets an open look underneath the basket, that’s usually a communication factor.”

WOZ BAG: Wolstat answers your Raptors questions Part 1

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Our Raptors mailbag returns with reader questions about what so far, record-wise at least, has been the NBA’s top team. Not surprisingly there was a lot of Kawhi and trade interest. Thanks to all who sent in questions.

CHAD J @CHAD1524

Would you move CJ+2nd for Korver?

Kenneth Chu @kenchu38

Do you think we can swing a deal for Korver? I think he’s much more reliable than CJ and can be utilized in the clutch.

I’m sure the Raptors would happily surrender a second-round pick to get rid of the $8.7 million owed to Miles next year. I just don’t see anyone biting, even if there will be tons of free agents (and money available to spend on them) up for grabs next summer. Some teams will miss out on targets, which might make adding Miles more attractive, but that doesn’t help the Raptors now. Still think Miles starts hitting his three-pointers soon. His track record is long.

Linas Klassic! @kleizassic

How would you rate your new headshot out of 10? I give it a solid 8.5.

Ha! It’s a solid shot and it actually looks like me, unlike a lot of the old ones. It always draws laughs if I’m wearing a credential that features a dated shot of me. Yes, I once had hair.

Kenneth Chu @kenchu38

Do you think Dwane Casey had his calendar circled on his “return” game with the Pistons? Did you think he and Nick Nurse/Masai Ujiri would have a bro hug?

Casey definitely had it circled, highlighted, noted with exclamations, etc. Regardless of anything he says, he didn’t like the way his firing went down and the blame he was taking and he’s an intense competitor. Every game against the Raptors is going to mean extra to him. And I would have bet everything I have on Dwane and Nick/Masai not exchanging pleasantries.

Ahmad Hamade @ahmadhamade10

Should the Raptors trade for Draymond Green? Maybe package JV, Wright, maybe OG? #wozbag

I’m holding onto OG Anunoby. Draymond has not looked right this year and I don’t think bringing that type of combustive personality in mid-season is something that would ever work. Green appears to be declining and I’m worried that he will never get back to where he was.

Danilo @DaniloRTZ

Who’s winning the head-to-head matchup of Siakam vs. Green (if back on Thursday) … if not, than in theory?

Green of the past would be fascinating to watch on Siakam. Smarts, footwork, toughness against incredible speed and athleticism. Siakam’s great, but I don’t bet against that Green, who was one of the best defenders to ever play the game. Sadly, this Green is not that one. If he plays, he’ll struggle with Siakam. Kevin Durant might have to spend some time on Siakam.

Karl Zenith Nieva @TheKarltopia

What will Masai do with Delon Wright?

As long as the Raptors go deep into the playoffs have to imagine ownership will green-light an extension in the off-season. Kyle Lowry only has a year left, Fred VanVleet has battled injuries. Wright brings a lot to the table at both ends of the floor and the club likes him a lot. If Kawhi re-signs, the luxury tax math gets a lot trickier though.

Loot_Flyt4lker @flyt4lker

Kyle is playing on borrowed time (age). Who is the next man up for Masai?

VanVleet is my bet to take over as the long-term starter, but his two-year contract expires after next season, just like Lowry’s. The team has control over Wright’s future, so he’d be the guy if VanVleet leaves too. But if they give Fred the keys, I think he stays. Toronto will have a ton of cap space to pursue someone else that summer if there’s a point guard of interest.

Tyler Murray @TylerMurray_

Who’s the most important Raptor for the team’s success over the next 3 years?

Kawhi Leonard! For obvious reasons. If he sticks around this should still be a contender even without Lowry in a couple of years. And maybe if Kawhi stays Kyle comes back too at a reduced salary as a beast off of the bench as he ages? If Kawhi is not included in this discussion, I’m going with Anunoby. We’ve already seen that Siakam is a stud, VanVleet could have been sixth man of the year … Anunoby has a massive upside and there are a lot of different levels he can get to. At worst, he’s a starter on a good team. At best, he’s probably the third-best player on a very good team. If he gets there, Toronto will be in very good shape.

@karen_surman

Why not just sit Kawhi until he’s fully healthy and can play regularly and not sit on back-to-back games. So annoying.

The fan-base is mad that the best player in Raptors history isn’t out there every night, but it’s the right play by Toronto. Rest is more important than ever in the NBA these days and the key is being healthy in May and June, not right now. If you have to make decisions to sit Leonard, who has battled a lot of injuries over the course of his career (quadriceps, shoulder, ankle, hand, etc.) and the training staff knows what it’s doing. The team owes the fans Kawhi playing at home. If he sits on the road with the long-term in mind, it’s their prerogative.

Why doesn’t Kawhi Leonard sit on the bench when he is out usually?

Kawhi hangs out with the team in the locker room before the games when he is sitting while those who are playing get treatment, massages, etc. Once the staff is freed up and the game is going on, Kawhi can get maintenance work done. That’s usually what is happening. Optically, it doesn’t look great, but it’s not like he’s the rah-rah type who will be getting involved in bench celebrations during games.

Toronto Raptors HQ Mailbag: On Being Good and Being Bad

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This week, we’ll keep it short and sweet. The Raptors fell to the Pelicans on Monday and the Pistons on Wednesday; I’ll let other writers do the talking/writing when it comes to breaking that down seriously. Short version: not great!


Instead, for this week’s HQ Mailbag, we’ll focus on some glass half-full topics like this sample question that I will take very seriously.



Kawhi Leonard is very good. He is very, very good. The Raptors now employ one of the best players in all of professional basketball, who, despite dribbling a basketball off his foot in the final seconds of the Pistons loss, remains very good. I realize I’m using “very” a lot. I’m just trying here to keep that glass half-full — even as I leak into pessimism. I’m sorry.


Anyways, Kawhi is good. He is good to the tune of 24.2 points per game (on 48 percent shooting), 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, along with 1.7 steals. Oh, and also this:



Kawhi is good, but I think I’ve said that already. He is a treasure. Next question.



The Toronto Raptors are inside Andre Drummond’s head — you can see it in his jubilation when they came back from 19 down to beat the Raptors. I’m sorry, I’m leaking again.


Still, ever since there was that JV-for-Andre trade rumour, which Masai Ujiri memorably debunked, my mind remembers that JV has especially straight-up owned Dre through the years. And so have the Raptors, with dunk after dunk after dunk. The tradition started when James Johnson cocked that joint back and banged on him. And then OG just did the same thing, too!



Basically, Raptors > Andre Drummond, which is why the win meant so much to former Toronto head coach Dwane Casey. It’s not necessarily because of how meaningful coming back to Toronto after getting fired was — it’s clearly because he’s seen Drummond get clowned and felt for him.


Watch that video enough times and you’ll get over the past week in Raptors history.



My friend continues to take advantage of the “Any question goes” rule. Am I planning on seeing the Grinch movie? No, no, I am not. Somehow, I’ve heard good things. [Ed. Note: from where???]


But those good things? They’re not great things. If they were great things, I’d be more likely to go. As for the movies I am planning to watch sometime soon, I love the Coens — our manager Reynolds has some thoughts on their new movie — and I’m interested in seeing Widows, too. (Reynolds has less good thoughts on that one.) I also haven’t seen Mid90s, which I will check out on my Jonah Hill principle.


But back to the Grinch for a moment. Who is the NBA’s Grinch? Like so many of my thoughts, I first go to the dictionary. Okay, not so many of my thoughts. A lot of my thoughts.









What we’re looking for here is a mean-spirited and unfriendly NBA player. I can think of a few candidates right away: Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul. Admittedly, I can rule Paul out immediately for his charity initiatives. Rondo, not so much. We’ve seen the spat between the two of them already this year (in more ways than one), and Rondo has a much broader history of being a mean one. There’s also Jimmy Butler, who has been in the news of late for Grinch-related reasons. And, uh, maybe you’ve heard: it’s a big week for Draymond Green.


And Draymond even has the direct link to this particular Grinch movie. In an ESPN advertising campaign, the Grinch “trolled” Draymond, Joel Embiid, and JR Smith. I don’t see Embiid and Smith as Grinches—they’re perhaps the best the NBA has to offer in an other, more fun, respect.


So, I’d settle on Dray right now. If a Grinch can inspire the “I love the way he plays, but sometimes he’s too much” attitude, Butler and Green are certainly cream-of-the-candidate crop.



And I guess I should assign a Raptors’ Grinch, since we’ve seen our handful of them in watching the team play this past week. This week, given how painful it was to watch them play against Toronto, maybe it’s E’Twaun Moore or Ish Smith. On the team itself, given his penchant for being cranky as hell, Kyle Lowry has to be the Raptors’ in-house Grinch — we love him, but he’s a pain too sometimes.


In any case, let’s hope these Raptors killers don’t show their faces too often this season. Here’s to the Raptors taking down their demons and defeating (or embracing, with Lowry) their Grinches. The Raptors are good this year. In a “bad” week, let’s remember that.



Klay Thompson wouldn't be surprised if the Warriors and Raptors meet in the NBA Finals

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Klay Thompson is impressed with what he's seeing from Kawhi
Leonard and the Toronto Raptors this season.


Ahead of Friday's game between the Raptors and Golden State
Warriors, the four-time All-Star was asked about his opinion on
this Toronto team. In response, Thompson was very complimentary
about the Raptors and said he wouldn't be surprised if this week's
matchup between the two powerhouses ends up being a preview of the
2019 NBA Finals.


"Right now they are the best," Thompson told the media earlier
this week. "I expect them to be there probably throughout the whole
season. They got tremendous length, they got so many two-way
players, obviously, Kawhi [Leonard] is back and playing at an MVP
level, and Kyle Lowry is a great leader as well as — he's a bulldog
out there."

"It's going to be a great test for us," he continued. "Who
knows, it might be a preview of June. But they've got something
really special up there in Canada right now."

Led by Kawhi Leonard, who is averaging 24.7 points and 8.5
rebounds per game, the Raptors currently have the best record in
the NBA. They're also the hottest team in the league having won
five straight games ahead of their matchup with the Memphis
Grizzlies on Wednesday.

The Warriors, meanwhile, have had their ups and downs so far
this season. They got off to a tremendous start in winning 10 of
their first 11 games, but they're .500 since Stephen Curry suffered
an injury on Nov. 8.

Nevertheless, the Warriors remain the favourites to emerge from
the Western Conference. Curry is expected to return to the lineup
soon and DeMarcus Cousins, a four-time All-Star the team signed in
the offseason, is looking to return after Christmas.

A lot could change between now and June, but, as Thompson
alluded to, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Raptors and
Warriors in the NBA Finals based on how the opening month of this
season has played out.

Raptors vs Warriors: Friday 30 November
@ 12:00pm AEDT on ESPN Australia/New Zealand and
NBA League
Pass.


did brains trust give up too soon on McKinnie, Adel?

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The Toronto Raptors may find themselves short of quality swingmen soon. Injuries and questionable decisions may cause problems.

In a what seemed a head-scratching move this summer, the Toronto Raptors waived swingman Alfonzo McKinnie. He had been signed to a contract less than two weeks prior.

The day after McKinnie was let go, July 18, the Raptors acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The clean-up on the Raptors salary table, which created the need for McKinnie’s waiving, suddenly made sense.

Alfonzo had bounced between the big team and the Raptors 905 G League squad. In his Toronto auditions, he didn’t look out of place.

To McKinnie’s credit, he didn’t hang his head after being dumped. Instead he found his way to the Golden State Warriors, whose championship lineup he cracked this season. Much to the surprise and delight of Warriors fans, the undrafted McKinnie has made 12 of 20 3-balls. On a team, and in a league, which places so much emphasis on shooting, he’s fit right in so far.

Lorenzo Brown has taken McKinnie’s roster spot on the Raptors, and played a fair amount during the absences of Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright. He didn’t show me anything extraordinary, or even ordinary. That applies to the disappointing Malachi Richardson as well.

I started this post before the news broke of the extended absence of Norman Powell. He is gone 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury (bet on 6 – shoulders can be difficult). Adding to the fun, we learned C.J. Miles is sidelined with bursitis in his hip. We’re down two swingmen for who knows how long, and neither Brown nor Richardson is capable of plugging the hole.

Here’s a kid with upside

The final roster selection of Raptors training camp was long, lean Chris Boucher. This was a shock to me, as I believed then (and still do) that Toronto was in sound shape in the front court. Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka, or vice versa, have outplayed their counterparts at center in almost every Raptors victory. Greg Monroe would be a lot higher than third on most teams’ depth charts. Yet the choice was Boucher.

The only consolation here is the knowledge that Deng Adel, whom I would have signed to the two-way deal afforded Boucher, is still in the Raptors system. He’s a member of the 905, and contributed 17 points in their first game of the season, a win over Delaware last Saturday. (Full disclosure: Boucher had 33.)

Jordan Loyd is the other possessor of a two-way contract. He’s a swingman, though without the upside I saw glimpses of with Deng.

More from Raptors Rapture

The G League’s bizarre scheduling couldn’t be more evident. The 905 played last night in Westchester (outside New York City), tonight at home in Mississauga, and Sunday in suburban Chicago. Here’s hoping Adel can cope with the herky-jerky nature of the minors, and continues to progress in his young career. He’s certainly going to get playing time with the 905, which is preferable to being a cheerleader for the Raptors.

The big team’s roster can withstand the sidelining of Powell and Miles for a short while. But if Kawhi Leonard gets nicked up again, or something bad happens to OG Anunoby, the reverberations could be severe. At that time, we may miss not having the capable McKinnie or easy access to Adel.

 

 

 

 

Raptors 905 Prospect Report: Chris Boucher and Jordan Loyd take over the G League

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It was a slow week for coach Jama Mahlalela and his Raptors 905, appearing in only two games last week. None of the Raptors assignees played against the Windy City Bulls last Wednesday, but Chris Boucher and Jordan Loyd were back in action last Saturday on the road against the Greensboro Swarm. (Dial 905 will cover both games on Thursday.)


Here’s how the Raptors’ key prospects did during the week of light(er) work.


Jordan Loyd


24 PTS, 56% FG% (10/18), 43% 3P% (3/7 3PM/A), 3 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 1 TO, +18 +/-


For the most part of the game against the Greensboro Swarm, Loyd (along with Boucher), provided the Raptors 905 the 1-2 punch they needed to pull out a win on the road.


Good


Loyd had an efficient three quarters with a well-balanced offensive attack — perimeter shots, drives to the basket, off-ball cuts, fastbreak points — easily netting 22 points leading to the final period.


Coach Jama’s gave Loyd more and more opportunities to be a play-maker, and we are starting to see his excellent court vision. Loyd’s passes are on-point, and there were a few situations where he looked like he was going out of control, yet was able to find an open teammate with a decisive pass.


Bad


It seems that Loyd wanted to take over in the fourth quarter, but the plan backfired. Loyd was pressing too much — often a bit out of control driving to the basket against multiple defenders. One of these moments led to a crucial turnover after Loyd forced a floater and got called for an offensive foul. He ended the quarter going 1-for-5 with a turnover.


Misc


Not much to add here, so enjoy his highlight package below.



Chris Boucher


37 PTS, 50% FG% (12/24), 30% 3P% (3/10 3PM/A), 14 REB, X AST, 2 STL, 4 BLK, 0 TO, +14 +/-


Good


The swarm tried to take away Boucher’s three-point shot, so he had to put the ball on the floor and was very successful at it. Boucher’s quickness was too much for Chinanu Onuaku who had to guard him from the perimeter and just don’t have the lateral quickness to hang with Boucher.


Bad


This game was probably Boucher’s worst game defensively, as he was eaten alive by Chinanu Onuaku in the paint. Onuaku hung 27 points against the Raptors 905 primarily against Boucher, who offered very little resistance to his post moves.



Boucher’s non-existent box-out effort also reared its ugly head in this game, giving up multiple rebounds — especially on the defensive end — simply because he just failed to box out.


Boucher’s defensive awareness when he was subjected to several pick-and-rolls was also suspect, as he got exploited by getting caught in no-man’s land.


Overall defensively for Boucher, aside from excellent help defense blocking layups that are coming his way and staying vertical around the basket, it felt like I was watching 2014-16 Bruno Caboclo out there.


Misc


Opposing teams are contesting Boucher’s perimeter shots more and more, and it’s starting to reflect in the stats. The Swarm are much more aggressive with chasing Boucher off the three-point line — all three of his eventual three-point makes were uncontested.



Raptors Game Preview: Toronto at Memphis - November 27, 2018

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Esports notebook: What Raptors are looking for in 2K League combine

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The NBA 2K League’s second season is quickly approaching, and with it will be four new expansion teams bringing the total up to 21 clubs for 2019.


The Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are all NBA teams who will be getting a 2K League affiliate for the forthcoming season. That means more players coming into the league and another expansion draft.





As the off-season of the inaugural year rolled around, the 17 original 2K League teams were asked to retain just two of their players. In Raptors Uprising GC’s case, they opted to keep 2018 first-round pick Kenneth “Kenny” Hailey and defensive specialist Trevion “All Hail Trey” Hendrix.






This leaves 68 players without a team for this coming season with an even larger pool of prospective players also knocking on the door of the world’s first and only esports league run by a major professional sports league.


Former Uprising player, and Scarborough, Ont., native, Yusuf “Yusuf_Scarbz” Abdulla is among that group of 68 left unretained by his former team and will also have to compete with an even larger group of hungry competitors looking to make all of their NBA 2K dreams come true much the way he already did.


Abdulla isn’t too worried about his situation, however.


“All I’ve gotta do is — for guys who were in the league last year — we just have to get updated stats,” Abdulla told Sportsnet. “If you weren’t retained, which I wasn’t retained by the Raptors, they just need updated combine stats.”


The 2K League’s initial qualifier for prospective Season 2 players ends Tuesday night and from that cut-off those players will be entered into the league’s combine beginning in December. From that combine, the draft pool for Season 2 will be determined, so even though Abdulla got to skip the first step, there’s still a fair bit on the line for him – not that he’s concerned about that, either.


“I’m just confident, honestly, because I’ve been in the league,” Abdulla said. “People know what I did in the league and I’m playing against the best of the best and I’ve been playing well against them.”




With the combine close, that kind of confidence will be an important trait for players vying for a spot in the league. It may also be a trait evaluators look out for as teams begin doing their pre-draft work.


Like any sport, identifying talent in NBA 2K is an inexact science. For Shane Talbot, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s esports manager, however, he’s trying to make it as exact as possible.


“We have a great partnership with IBM,” said Talbot. “Last year we worked with them on advanced analytics regarding the combine data. I met with them recently and we looked at those rankings for the first time, really, since the draft and was shocked at the order on that list relative to the players that stood out in the regular season.


“It shows that there was more there than we even appreciated at the time.


“We are now exploring how to take that to the next level. We have more data now. We have even more experience and understanding of what translates to good gameplay in the NBA 2K League. So we’re ramping that up to the next level as we prepare for the Season 2 draft.”


Of course, data isn’t everything, and while Talbot will make use of any and all available data to assess and evaluate players during and after the combine, he’s also on the hunt for a more traditional trait that can be seen across all sports, electronic or not.


“I think, fundamentally, the most important thing that I learned is the importance of the team’s ability to work together with the chemistry off the court, especially because they all live together under one roof in our gaming house,” Talbot said of what his biggest takeaway from the inaugural season was.





“So even more emphasis on building chemistry through the draft this year is one of the priorities heading into [next season].”


That chemistry played a key role last season as the Uprising started the season 1-5, but still managed to make the playoffs.



“Starting 1-5 and being able to get back [in] by winning seven in a row. That takes courage,” said Abdulla. “Winning seven in a row against professional teams is tough. All odds were against us and I’m proud of the guys.


“I feel like that experience will help our draft stock as well because we pushed through adversity. We never gave up. Most guys when they start 1-5 they’d be like, ‘Oh man, the season’s over.’ We just fought through it.”


The exact date of the NBA 2K League’s draft is not yet known, but chances are talent evaluators will be looking for resiliency like that in addition to technical ability.







Even more esports expansion in Toronto?


The year 2018 has been a wild one in Toronto for esports and the proliferation of esports expansion within the city.


Over the course of the calendar year Raptors Uprising, and the rest of the 2K League, launched, the city got an Overwatch League team in the Toronto Defiant and, just recently, it was announced that Defiant ownership group OverActive Media had acquired multi-esports organization Splyce, bolstering the Toronto-based company’s esports footprint to be among the largest in the world.


And as big as 2018 has been for esports in Toronto, it looks like 2019 and beyond could be even bigger.


“I don’t expect that we’re done,” Chris Overholt, OverActive Media’s president and CEO, told Sportsnet. “We have an aspirational goal to build a world-leading esports organization right here in Toronto.


“The reason why Overwatch makes sense to us is because of the Activision Blizzard model around the league and its revenue sharing and how they built out that strategy with their franchise holders. Similarly with Riot, they have a very clear plan here to evolve League of Legends on a global basis and they’ve got a league model that makes sense to us.


“So where there are opportunities like that for us in our future then I expect that we’ll be in those conversations. … Our model looks not dissimilar to Madison Square Garden or to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. We’re gonna build out an esports organization that builds franchises, that builds brands, that sells consumer products and global partnerships. That’s our strategy.”



In addition to OverActive Media, MLSE, an organization that has teamed up with esports team FaZe Clan at times this season, could also be looking at an expanded esports portfolio that extends beyond just sports games.


“We’re always evaluating the opportunities that are relevant to an organization like ours in the industry,” said Talbot “So we’re not exactly certain where our learnings are going to lead us, but we are confident in that, yeah, you are going to see more and more endemic integration with us into other games outside of sports games where we’re currently focused at the moment.”


The Six is quickly becoming a hot bed of esports activity.


What Luminosity brings to Vancouver’s OWL team


Before he took the reins as MLSE’s esports manager, Talbot was the COO at Luminosity Gaming, the esports organization that partnered with the as-yet unnamed Vancouver OWL franchise.




Talbot says the Vancouver team is in good hands with Luminosity.


“Luminosity’s experience in Overwatch is on the record,” said Talbot. “At the time that I was there we had two top-10 teams. One was made up of a group of Europeans, one a group of North Americans. Both teams had players who are playing in Overwatch League today, including one of the guys who have emerged as the face and voice of North American Overwatch, which is Jake [Lyon], who’s on the Houston Outlaws.





“So Luminosity has a track record of finding and developing talent in Overwatch and I think that they’ll be able to assist the Vancouver [team] in a great way.”







Raptors coach Nick Nurse keeping his assistants on their toes

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It’s not just figuring out playing rotations that Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse has on his plate early in this NBA season.

He’s also figuring how and when to rotate his top three assistant coaches.

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse (centre) is still trying to figure out how to deploy his lead assistants, including Nate Bjorkgren (left) and Adrian Griffin (right, with blue tie).
Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse (centre) is still trying to figure out how to deploy his lead assistants, including Nate Bjorkgren (left) and Adrian Griffin (right, with blue tie).  (JONATHAN HAYWARD / AP FILE PHOTO)

It certainly doesn’t change as often as his substitution pattern of players does but Nurse is finding out just how his assistants will be deployed later in the year when the games matter a bit more with the post-season approaching.

He’s divided the responsibilities into three categories — offence, defence and what he calls “special teams” that encompass out-of-bounds plays, trick defences, after-timeout play calls and sundry other, well, special plays.

He’s got his top three lieutenants — Adrian Griffin, Sergio Scariolo and Nate Bjorkgren — rotating through stretches of about 10 games in each of the disciplines and, eventually, Nurse will settle on consistent job descriptions.

“We have kind of roughly planned it out but it’s not in stone,” Nurse said of the 10-game chunks. “It’s just an idea and when it gets close to that time we start thinking about who’s going to rotate where and all of those kind of things.

“And it’s like our rotations a little bit on the floor. We monitor which ones . . . when it gets down to the end of the year and playoff time we’re going to go with what we think is our best lineup.”

Until then, though, having different coaches do different things for different periods of time keeps everyone fresh. Each assistant gets to run the practice time for whatever aspect of the game he’s handling — pre-practice film, on-court work, post-game video compilation — and sharing means no one gets locked into one part of the game.

“What went into it was, first of all, just developing all our coaches, that they don’t just get stuck over in a corner of defence, offence or special teams or player development or whatever it is and try to develop them,” Nurse said.

“Two was just to give them a chance to be more objective, right? So when I’m asking them for advice on things that they’re a little bit more objective rather than like, for instance, if I was the offensive coach that I would say, ‘Play all the shooters all the time,’ you know what I mean? Or if you were the defensive coach you’d say, ‘Play all the defenders all the time’ and if you’re the special teams coach say ‘He’s got to be in because he’s our best inbounder.’

“Hopefully it’s to make us a little bit more objective but mostly the learning and developing the coaches and give them a chance to really hone their craft in all the areas.”

The Raptors are down an assistant this week because Scariolo is off doing his other job as the head coach of the Spanish national team as it plays Turkey and Ukraine in the next FIBA World Cup qualification window.

Not only does it allow Scariolo to stay with a team he loves and has had great success with, it’s a bit of a professional development week for him. He’ll see a handful of players and some tactics and game situations that might one day come in handy for the Raptors.

Nurse knows how important that is, having served as an assistant with the Great Britain national team that played at the 2012 London Olympics.

“I didn’t really think, ‘oh, I did it’ or anything like that but I did understand,” he said.

“Going through that, for me, you keep a good pulse on players around the world, you keep a good pulse on trends, offensively, defensively, always you’re seeing something a little different, something that they’ll do. It’s nice to be able to have a close ally so that we can incorporate something.”

Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps

Three keys to win over Memphis Grizzlies

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The Toronto Raptors will look for their sixth straight victory on Tuesday night when they face off against the Memphis Grizzlies. Here are the three keys to success.

Perhaps not to this extent, but everyone expected the Toronto Raptors to be good. The Memphis Grizzlies, not as much. With a loaded Western Conference, most expected Memphis to be back in the lottery this season.

So what a surprise it must be to see the Grizz currently just one game back of first place in the Western Conference. Led by Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, as well as, a couple of fresh faces, the Grizzlies are one of the surprises in the NBA thus far.

What do the Raptors need to do to pick up a victory? Here are our three keys:

Speed up the pace

The Memphis Grizzlies play at the NBA’s slowest pace. According to NBA.com, they average approximately 96 possessions per game. The Toronto Raptors, average 102 per game, ranking as the 11th fastest team in the NBA.

When evaluating the Grizzlies personnel, the tortoise-like pace makes sense.

The Memphis Grizzlies two best players, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, are 31 with injury-riddled pasts. They’re killers in the pick-and-roll, but don’t get up and down the court like they use too. Attacking in transition eliminates two of the Grizzlies most significant assets.

The Grizzlies are also an extremely large team. Jaren Jackson Jr. projected as a center coming out of college. Kyle “Slow-Mo” Anderson is more of a powerforward in today’s NBA. Both play down a position for the Grizzlies, who might have moved on from the “Grind and Grit” motto, but they still have the same “Grind and Grit” personnel.

Don’t turn it over

The Grizzlies have the third-ranked defense in the NBA. One reason why: they rank second in the NBA in opponent Turnover%. Their second place ranking is even more impressive when you consider their turtle-like pace. Causing turnovers in the half-court is difficult to do, the Grizzlies are masters at it.

On the offensive end, the Raptors haven’t exactly avoided the turnover bug. Toronto turns it over more than 2/3rds of the league, with a couple of tanking disasters propping them up from rating even lower.

Toronto will need to try to increase the pace of the game, but can’t turn the ball over in the process.

Open up the paint

Memphis allows the third least amount of points in the paint. Despite their advantage, Toronto will need to attack consistently.

One way they can open up the paint is to drag rim-protectors Marc Gasol and Jaren Jackson Jr. away from the hoop. The Raptors are able to play five-out, a luxury most teams don’t have.

Next: Who has under/over performed expectations this year

If your plan is to attack the Grizzlies in the low-post, good luck. Instead, Toronto will need to open up the promise land and attack with different options.

 

San Antonio Spurs vs Toronto Raptors: All eyes on Kawhi

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Kawhi Leonard, the prodigy of San Diego State who was welcomed by the San Antonio Spurs is not your typical basketball player. Drafted by the Indiana Pacers as the 15th overall pick in 2011, Leonard made a name for himself as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. Originally scouted as a one-dimensional player, Kawhi expanded his game with the tutelage of head coach Gregg Popovich. Coach Pop is regarded as a basketball savant and is responsible for developing the monster which is Kawhi Leonard.


The beginning of the end


When Tim Duncan announced his retirement, it was clear that Kawhi Leonard would be the successor of the Spurs.


He was more than ready to lead the team until he got injured during the playoffs by Zaza Pachulia of the Golden State Warriors. Coach Pop was furious at Pachulia on the sidelines and after the game, he chimed on about the reputation of Zaza as a dirty player. The Spurs lost the series, but more importantly, they lost their superstar in Kawhi Leonard. The injury that he sustained was so severe he was pulled out of the rest of the playoffs plus a total of 73 regular season games.


On the same note, that was the beginning of the end of Kawhi with the Spurs. For months, stories surrounding Kawhi’s camp and the Spurs organisation have been the headlines of sports news. Apparently, Kawhi’s camp doesn’t trust the Spurs’ doctors [VIDEO] thus getting a second opinion from another medical group. It did rub the Spurs organisation the wrong way and their disagreement was getting out of hand.


Tony Parker and other players also commented on the status of Kawhi Leonard which is really weird considering the reputation that the Spurs organisation has.


The mystique of Kawhi Leonard


To be fair, Kawhi Leonard hasn’t really commented or talked about the reason why he left San Antonio. Yesterday, Coach Pop was asked about Kawhi Leonard. He said, Kawhi was a great player, but he wasn’t a leader. The comment that was made by Coach Pop sent shockwaves across the NBA. On a coaching standpoint, they understood were Pop was coming from, however, various players sided with Kawhi due to many reasons. Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas said it best, there are different kind of leaders, and Kawhi Leonard can be considered as a “leader by example”.


War of words


There’s no question that there’s bad blood brewing between Kawhi Leonard’s camp and the Spurs organisation. This is the very reason why this game is on top of the list this season. Kawhi did comment on the statement of coach Popovich which ignited a player-coach rivalry.

The Toronto Raptors are Kawhi’s team right now and as per standings, they are doing great in the Eastern Conference and widely considered as the team to beat in the East [VIDEO].


Compton vs Los Angeles


Consequently, DeMar DeRozan who was the franchise player of the Toronto Raptors will also play against his former team. DeRozan and Lowry are best friends on and off the court. It would be very interesting to see how things pan out between them. The native of Compton, California has already adjusted to the “beautiful game” and in six weeks, we will see which of the teams will prevail.












This news article has been verified through:



  • https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2807790-kawhi-leonard-responds-to-gregg-popovich-saying-he-wasnt-a-leader-with-spurs


  • http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25380089/kawhi-leonard-toronto-raptors-gregg-popovich-criticism-funny-me




Is the Toronto Raptors defense on the brink of collapse?

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November 1997 was the worst month in Raptors history. The Dinos, after losing their one and only game in October, proceeded to play fourteen games in that cold and grey month and won exactly... one of them.


Overall, the Raptors dropped thirteen in a row in that November, en route to a franchise record 17-game losing streak.


Fortunately, that was then and this is now; this current Raptors team isn’t about to lose thirteen in a row (or, maybe, even three in a row again). But they’re facing the possibility of a mense horribilis — as the Ancient Roman’s would have put it — more commonly known as: a horrible month.


Why? Because Toronto is about to embark on what may be the single most difficult 31 day period in the history of the franchise.


Between tonight’s game with the Memphis Grizzlies (12-7), and December 28th’s tilt with the Orlando Magic (10-11), the Raptors will play 16 times. The net winning percentage of those 16 teams? .554.


Strip out the 5-14 Cavaliers, and the Raps will be going up against teams that, on aggregate, are playing .600 ball. The three losing teams they play (aside from the Cavs), are the Heat, Nets and Magic, and all three of those games are on the road. And all three of those teams are hardly pushovers.


All told, Toronto will play ten of those 16 games on the road — including one four-game western swing that may end up ranking in the top three toughest Toronto has ever taken (more on that next week).


Still, while this is all a tough task, is it really enough to compare it to the literal worst 30 days in Raptors franchise history?


It just might be. Because this Raptors team has both sky-high expectations, and some warts that make it look uncomfortably close to last year’s version, the one that got destroyed by the worst Cavaliers team of LeBron’s second coming.


As we’re all well aware of by now, last year’s Raptors team destroyed under .500 teams, but was barely above .500 itself against teams better than that. And, they struggled badly to stop those good teams — having one of the worst defenses in the NBA in those games.


Flash forward a year and the Raptors are showing an eerie similarity. The Raps have posted a 6-3 record against teams currently at .500, which is good enough, but a full half of those wins have come against teams that are exactly .500.


What’s worse, the defensive slippage is back. According to Basketball Reference, the Raps have an overall healthy 106.2 defensive rating — good enough for seventh overall.





Raptors Defensive Rating





















Overall Vs. 500 or better Vs .500+
Overall Vs. 500 or better Vs .500+
106.2 106.3 109.5


Against those .500 or better teams, the Raps are basically the same, putting up a 106.3 rating.


But, stripping out those exactly .500 teams, and adding the New Orleans Pelicans game — a team that is well over .500 when Anthony Davis plays — the Raptors defense paints an uglier picture: a 109.5 rating which would see the Raps slip to 13th.


Now, this isn’t Toronto carrying around one of the three worst defenses in the league, and of course the better the opponent the worse your defense will perform. But to me, it’s the number one thing Toronto fans should be looking at this month. Because that league average defense also includes two games with the Celtics and one with the Pistons. Neither team sits in the top half of the league in offensive rating.


By comparison, the Raps will play eight games in this next month against top-10 offenses. Toronto also plays the Sixers twice, meaning they have 10 games against offenses currently in the top half of the league.


So far this season the Raps have only played eight games against the league’s top half offenses. Their defensive rating in those eight contests: 109.6 — or almost right back in the middle.


The other concern is the elephant (dinosaur?) in the room: can Kyle Lowry stop elite guards? No one is saying that Lowry isn’t as smart a defender as they come, and he generally helps the team on defense more than he hurts it — but that’s largely due to his smarts, not his physical tools. When the Raps struggle defensively it often stems from an inability to slow down opponents at the point of attack. Or in this case: when teams have point guards who can attack.


This trip will see the Raps face off against Mike Conley, Eric Bledsoe, Damian Lilliard, Steph Curry (but maybe only once), and rising stars Ben Simmons and Jamal Murray. Beyond the raw numbers, how the Raptors manage to contain this parade of electric point guards, and how well they are able to keep the shape of their defense will go a long way to determining whether the next month is a preview of the best Raptors post-season in history, or a replay of past failures.




Toronto Raptors Give their Drake-Inspired City Jerseys an Update

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The Toronto Raptors are back again with Drake-inspired City jerseys — this time with a twist. Also is there more exciting jersey news on the way?

Last season, when Nike took over the reins from Adidas for outfitting the NBA, they put the Toronto Raptors, league, and fashion world on notice when they overhauled the entire jersey system.

While some of these changes were on the technical end, from the use of different patented fabrics and technologies, designed with the intent of improving athlete performance, others were more visually driven, appealing to the fandom and rich culture of basketball.

While the “Association”, “Icon”, and “Statement” edition jerseys (as Nike has dubbed them) are essentially just the familiar home, away, and secondary jerseys that we’ve seen before during Adidas’ tenure, fans were most excited about the mysterious “City” edition kits.

According to an official Nike press release from last year, these “City” edition jerseys are meant to

“capture each team and its city in a way that respects the past and present of the clubs while also positioning them for the future”.

To the delight of hoops fans everywhere, Nike has ambitiously planned to refresh the city’s edition jerseys every single year.

Aside from the Utah Jazz — whose Red Rock inspired, warm colour gradient jerseys became an instant classic — every team is getting new digs this year.

In the 2017-2018 campaign, the Raptors unveiled a dashing black and gold number that featured an upwards-pointing chevron with the word “NORTH” emblazoned over it, in partnership with Drake’s OVO (October’s Very Own) brand.

This black and gold motif has become synonymous with both Toronto and the Raptors organization in the past few years thanks to local rapper Drake’s involvement in both the team and city’s overall aesthetic. OVO offers up a minimalist and edgy take on street wear and music and his collaboration with the Raptors reinforces this image of the city.

These jerseys looked sleek on the court last year, so it makes sense that the organization doesn’t want to mess with the equation too much. While some teams, like the Milwaukee Bucks or Cleveland Cavaliers decided to completely reinvent their city jerseys, the only real change that the Raptors made to their “City” jersey was changing their black base colour with white.

A potential concern might be that the gold accents won’t pop as much against a light background, especially if you’re watching on TV, but on the other hand this colour scheme looks eerily similar to the white-gold warmups the Warriors rocked in their season opener, where they received their championship rings (I hope I don’t jinx it). Furthermore, the white-gold scheme has an elegant, regal flair to it, fitting for a team that is experiencing on-court royalty as the top seed in the East.

Having said that, it might be interesting to consider what other creative directions the Raptors might explore in future years. As monumental as Drake has been in putting Toronto on the map in recent years, there are many narratives and rich histories that remain untapped.

However, as the team’s global ambassador and a key contributor in refurbishing many local courts and supporting basketball programs, this Drake-Raptors partnership does not seem to be ending anytime soon.

That’s not all the jersey news though — word on the Twitterverse and Reddit is that on top of the planned “City” edition jerseys that Nike has for all 30 teams, they are unveiling a brand new “Earned” edition jersey set exclusive to the 16 teams that have, well, earned, their ticket to the playoffs last year.

While there has been no official word on the release date or what these jerseys will look like, this has not stopped fans from speculating and creating their own mock-ups. A Redditor that goes by champagnesnazzy mocked up these beautiful cream-blue kits that are reminiscent of the Toronto Huskies and on-brand with the rest of the Toronto sports franchises (Jays, Leafs, Argos).

However, according to one Twitter account, the “Earned” jersey for Toronto is slated to be red.

Nike has remained fairly silent on these jerseys at this point, so obviously, things are still speculative. If this early season is any indication though, the Raptors will continue their winning ways and with these new jerseys in the mix, they will continue to win in style.

 

Monday game preview: Toronto Raptors vs. New Orleans Pelicans

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TV: Sportsnet One

Radio: Sportsnet 590 The FAN

Probable starters: New Orleans — Anthony Davis, Jrue Holliday, Wesley Johnson, E’Twaun Moore, Julius Randle. Toronto — Danny Green, Serge Ibaka, Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam

Key players: Anthony Davis/Serge Ibaka

Davis leads New Orleans with 24.6 points and 3.1 blocks per game. Ibaka is shooting 58.4 per cent from the field, behind only Pascal Siakam for the Raptors. Davis is averaging league-high 37.3 minutes per game, nearly 11 minutes more than Ibaka, who is sharing the five spot with Jonas Valanciunas. Coach Nick Nurse plans to use some coverages on Davis when Ibaka is not on the court, and expects a team effort to guard the talented centre.

Need to know: Pelicans point guard Elfred Payton and forward Nikola Mirotic both missed Saturday night’s game win over the Phoenix Suns with ankle sprains … The Raptors have one of the worst defensive rebounding rates in the league at 75.1, which has led to an average of 14.3 second-chance points. New Orleans’ 79.5 defensive rebound rate is good for fifth in the NBA, and leads to a third-best 11.1 second-chance points … Another battle to watch out for will be the one between Kyle Lowry and Jrue Holiday, who sat at No. 1 and No. 2 on the league’s list of assist leaders with 11 and 8.8 per game, respectively, heading into play Sunday.

Up next: Dwane Casey makes his returns to Toronto with the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Patience paying off for Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby

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Nick Nurse is no stranger to receiving random, out-of-the-blue text messages from OG Anunoby.

This past summer, for example, something to the effect of “Hey coach, how do I get on the floor in the fourth quarter?” popped up on Nurse’s screen from the 21-year-old’s number.

After a stunted start to the year, missing most of pre-season and three of Toronto’s first eight games for personal reasons, multi-faceted second-year forward OG Anunoby has taken off in Toronto’s past three games,
After a stunted start to the year, missing most of pre-season and three of Toronto’s first eight games for personal reasons, multi-faceted second-year forward OG Anunoby has taken off in Toronto’s past three games,  (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star)

“I’ll say, ‘You need to defend and make shots,’ ” Nurse remember. “He’ll be like, ‘I do that already.’ So that’s funny. But there are other topics as well.”

Defending and making shots are just two of the things Anunoby’s doing well these days.

After a stunted start to the year, missing most of pre-season and three of Toronto’s first eight games for personal reasons, the multi-faceted second-year forward has taken off in Toronto’s past three games, notching 11 or more points in each of those contests. It is no coincidence that the Raptors’ bench, which dominated in Toronto’s win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night, has started blossoming with Anunoby.

It is amped up aggressiveness that sticks out to Anunbody’s teammates and coaches, across the board.

“I feel like he’s awesome finishing through contact,” teammate Delon Wright said. “He’s real strong, so I think that’s pretty easy for him.”

Added Pascal Siakam: “I like the way he’s not hesitating, just playing his game. He’s really talented and he’ll just continue to get better every game. We want him to be aggressive and shoot the ball.”

He is also getting pointers from Kawhi Leonard, who Anunoby said is the NBA player he would most likely model his game after.

“If I ask him a question, he’ll answer it. And if he sees something, he’ll tell me,” Anunoby said.

Good health helps, Anunoby said, who is no longer feeling the effects of a torn ACL suffered in January 2017. Without that worry, he is “trying more” when it comes to being forceful. He is also more comfortable with his rookie season behind him. With that, the team is running more plays for him this season.

As for those closing minutes, Anunoby has logged 81 fourth-quarter minutes in the 10 games he has played, behind only Fred VanVleet in that category for the Raptors. That is only 106 fewer fourth-quarter minutes than he logged all of last season.

Nurse has been saying for more than a week that Anunoby coming into his own was only a matter of time, pointing to his strong performances in summer league as proof that he had made strides on the court heading into his sophomore season.

Anunoby is proving his coach right so far, but Nurse still sees areas where he can improve.

“I think he can score off the rim a little more and I think he can score from the post a little more and the reason that’s important is that, with all the switching going on, if he’s getting involved and stuff and they’re switching a smaller guy into a more same size guy, maybe even, somebody bigger, whatever, he can go inside and we can throw it to him in there and he can use his athleticism and his body to bounce people and put it in the basket,” Nurse said.

Nurse cringes at the sound of the word “second unit.” He wants make this Raptors team more fluid. But the supporting cast of Anunoby, VanVleet, Jonas Valanciunas, Wright and C.J. Miles is once against drawing eyes to the so-called Bench Mob.

“I think there are a couple of pieces falling into place … Fred is a big key in that second unit having him back and JV has been really good there too,” Nurse said. “It has been interesting to see. For the time being that group is playing well together. We’ll see how long that ‘time being’ lasts.”

One thing the coach would like to see more of from that group is sharing the ball, using a collective offence to produce their points rather than relying on individual play. He watched the lineup do just that against the Knicks and liked what he saw, but it will take time and planning to perfect.

“You’ve got to talk about it, you’ve got to work on it, you’ve got to show it in film and you’ve got to hope they have a willingness to do it,” Nurse said. “Some of it is, too, just making sure we’re not going to so many possession in a row with just playing, we run some of our triggers that kind of get people in the right spots to get the offence in motion before we kind of start playing. I think that encourages some ball movement.”

Laura Armstrong is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy

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