Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 12 Recap + Gay Injury Update

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 4 Recap + FA Signing

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Sep 01, 2013 6:55 am

Week 5 Featured Game: Gay Drops 5 Threes to Lead Raptors over Nets

Image 125 (8-6) vs Image 132 (7-7)

Bkn: 27|32|22|44
Tor: 33|30|29|41


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It was just one of those nights where every shot was a good one for Rudy Gay.

2013/11/26

With a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter, the Raptors were sitting comfortable in what was looking like a victory over the Brookyln Nets. However, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, had other plans. The Nets backcourt duo sparked an 11-2 run in the fourth quarter to bring the game to within 1 point with 10 minutes remaining. A scoring barrage from both teams ensued, and in total, the quarter had 85 points with both teams dropping over 40 in the final period. "The fans certainly got their money's worth tonight," joked Tyler Hansbrough, who finished with his first double-double and season high of 11 points and 12 rebounds. "It got really messy towards the end of the game but we can thrive in that frantic run and gun pace."

Rudy Gay was once again the de facto scorer for the Raptors in crunch time, scoring 8 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. Gay was on fire throughout the entire game, scorching the Nets from the perimeter (5/6 three pointer field goals). "We had no answer for him tonight," Nets head coach Jason Kidd said with a look of bewilderment on his face. "Right from the tip, he was killing us." Nets forward Paul Pierce, who was out with a sprained ankle says the Raptors' hot shooting was not expected. "People keep saying that the Raptors' hot shooting is a fluke this year and we kind of believed it," said Pierce. "We sagged off them way too much and kept expecting them to cool off. That's not how we should have approached the game."

Gay wasn't the only one who filled up the scoreboard though. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson both scored 31 and 30 points respectively. They also scored 14 points apiece during the hectic fourth quarter to get the Nets back into the game. The lead changed 6 times in the fourth quarter, with both teams grasping for a one point lead after each successive basket. The game was tied 125-125 with a minute remaining when an unlikely hero rose to the occasion for the Raptors to put the Nets away for good.

Seldom-used guard Landry Fields was inserted in to the game as DeMar DeRozan fouled out and sixth man Terrence Ross was struggling both offensively and defensively against Joe Johnson. Fields hit a huge corner three pointer to put the Raptors up 129-125 with 50 seconds remaining. On the other end, Fields forced a Joe Johnson miss and secured the rebound only to be intentionally fouled. He would hit both free throws to complete a 5 point swing in the Raptors favour with 32 seconds left in the game. "We really ran out of options at the 2 guard," said Dwane Casey. "Landry is a professional who comes ready to play every night, and fortunately for him he got his opportunity tonight and played great down the stretch."

KEY PERFORMERS:

Nets:
D. Williams: 31 pts, 3 rebs, 11 asts, 12/30 FG
J. Johnson: 30 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts, 4 stls, 11/24 FG
B Lopez: 19 pts, 9 rebs, 2 asts, 6/10 FG, 7/9 FT
K. Garnett: 12 pts, 9 rebs, 6/10 FG

Raptors:
R. Gay: 31 pts, 7 rebs, 4 asts, 13/19 FG, 5/6 3PT ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. DeRozan: 19 pts, 5 rebs, 9/18 FG
K. Lowry: 18 pts, 1 reb, 15 asts, 4/6 FG, 8/9 FT
T. Hansbrough: 11 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts, 5/6 FG




Heat Lose Second Straight Without Bosh and Wade

Image 71 (15-2) vs Image 103 (8-7)

Mia: 13|21|22|15
Tor: 29|20|22|32


2013/11/29

KEY PERFORMERS:

Heat:
L. James: 28 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls, 10/20 FG
R. Alen: 16 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 4/13 FG
G. Oden: 8 pts, 2 rebs

Raptors:
D. DeRozan: 23 pts, 6 rebs, 7/14 FG, 8/9 FT ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
K. Lowry: 19 pts, 7 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks
T. Ross: 15 pts, 2 rebs, 2 stls, 5/5 FG
J. Valanciunas: 11 pts, 11 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blks




Raptors Win Third Straight at Home Against Denver

Image 94 (10-5) vs Image 119 (9-7)

Den: 25|26|16|22
Tor: 27|14|20|19


2013/12/01

KEY PERFORMERS:

Nuggets:
T. Lawson: 17 pts, 3 rebs, 10 asts, 7/14 FG
D. Gallinari: 16 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts, 8/15 FG
R. Foye: 16 pts, 5 rebs, 9 asts, 7/14 FG, 2/4 3PT
K. Faried: 12 pts, 7 rebs, 5/6 FG

Raptors:
R. Gay: 26 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 11/20 FG, 4/4 3PT
T. Ross: 25 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 11/12 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. DeRozan: 19 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asts, 7/12 FG
A. Johnson: 13 pts, 8 rebs, 4 asts, 5/7 FG



RAPTOR OF THE WEEK:

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DeMar DeRozan
20.3 ppg
5 rpg
2.3 apg
53% FG
33% 3PT
96% FT

*note: averages are for the week, not over the entire season.

DeMar's stat's this week have not been eye popping, but just like in the first week where he got Raptor of the Week, he was a model of consistency. The Raptors had a fantastic fifth week, winning against 3 upper echelon teams and the Compton native was the one who made it happen. While his shooting beyond the arc has inevitably fallen off, he is looking like someone that you can't leave open from there anymore. DeRozan hasn't been settling for jumpers though, as he has been super agressive going to the rim and converting a large amount of his free throws this week as well.

Next Week's Games
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 4 Recap + FA Signing

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Sep 01, 2013 6:55 am

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November Player Report Card

By: Cathal Kelly Basketball, Published on Dec 1 2013

The month of November was capped off on a surprising note for the Toronto Raptors, as they reeled off three straight wins against powerhouse teams Brooklyn, Miami and Denver. While Brooklyn and Miami were without key starters such as Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it was the fact that they managed to dispatch these weakened teams with surprisingly large margins of victory. To top it all off, the Raptors were losers of two straight before hand, dipping to below .500 which indicates a certain resiliency and confidence that was not seen in previous Raptor teams.

That is not to say that the Raptors have been playing perfect basketball. A lot of costly mistakes on the defensive end, particularly in the fourth quarter have been the Achilles heel of the Raptors. An over reliance on the starting lineup for an offensive punch has spelled trouble for the Raptors in the month of November, but many of these weaknesses have been minimal to non-existent during the mini three game winning streak. Hopefully the Raptors can maintain their above .500 play in December as they face off against western conference powerhouse teams in a brutal road trip to San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Dallas.

The Grading System
A - Above expectations. This player has gone above and beyond what has been expected of him and has performed at a high level consistently.
B - Hit expectations. This player has met or has gone slightly above what has been expected of him, but still needs to fine tune a few things.
C - Below expectations. This player has produced slightly below what has been expected of him. Can be sporadically effective at times, but is still a net positive.
D - Well below expectations. This player is severely lacking in several key areas and has performed poorly as a result. Overall he does more harm than good for the team.
F - Probably shouldn't be an NBA player.

Guards
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K. Lowry: A
This is the Kyle Lowry that the Raptors were expecting when they traded away their draft pick to Houston. Lowry has had some quiet games early on in the season, but has roared to life after an article was published criticizing his consistency. Simply put, the Raptors are an up-tempo, competitive team that's fun to watch when Lowry is running the offence. You can tell that coach Dwane Casey has given Lowry a lot more of a green light to control the offence this season compared to last year. The Philadelphia native has been looking incredibly comfortable and confident, and it's not surprise that the Raptors beat elite teams when Lowry brings his A game. Lowry's ability to be a triple double threat and seemingly contribute in every area on the stat sheet easily make him the most valuable player on the team. Gay and DeRozan might be the engine that make the Raptors go on offence, but it's Lowry who is in the driver's seat orchestrating it all.
Statline: 16.3 ppg, 5 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 48.4% FG, 38.6% 3PT, 82.1% FT

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DeMar DeRozan: A-
DeRozan is currently averaging career highs across the board despite having his playing time cut by a few minutes. The USC product has shown tiny improvements in his point, rebound and assist averages, but the one area that has taken a gigantic step forward is his shooting efficiency. DeRozan's shooting has cooled off a bit by the end of the month, but he is now considered one of the Raptors' threats to score from beyond the arc. As a result, DeRozan is now respected as an all around scorer and opposing defenders cannot sag off of him anymore. His defense still leaves a lot to be desired for a player that athletic, but DeRozan has come a long way to become a much more polished player overall.
Statline: 18.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.8 spg, 49.6% FG, 40% 3PT, 77% FT

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Terrence Ross: B+
Many people expected Ross to flounder after a mediocre showing at the Raptors' summer league, but Ross has been a bright spot off the Raptors bench. He might struggle with consistency, but Ross has been given the green light to score for the Raptors' second unit. Ross' streaky playstyle tends to dictate how many minutes Landry Fields and DeMar DeRozan get throughout the game as he can single handedly carry or lose games for the Raptors. When he's in the groove, Ross is easily one of the most exciting players to watch on the Raptors. Aside from his feast or famine play style, another problem exists in his free throw shooting. At 61%, it is simply unacceptable for a shooter of his caliber to shoot that low of a percentage.
Statline: 11.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1. spg, 46.6% FG, 40.8% 3PT, 61.3% FT

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DJ Augustin: D
It's no surprise that the Raptors' offence bogs down significantly when Kyle Lowry has to rest. The diminutive point guard has had trouble running the offence as the back-up off the bench. Outside of a few sporadic offensive nights, Augustin has been awful at creating his own offence as well, hitting only 35% of his shots. This shouldn't come as too big of a surprise though, as Augustin has struggled in a similar situation with Indiana last season.
Statline: 5.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 0.2 spg, 35.2% FG, 42.4% 3PT, 80% FT

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Dwight Buycks: N/A
Buycks has been toiling away in the D-League this month, but with Augustin's poor performance at running the offence thus far it wouldn't surprise me if he received a call up in the near future.
Statline: None

Forwards

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Rudy Gay: B+
If you quickly glance at his stats, Gay's numbers aren't exactly eye popping. They are numbers that we've come to normally expect out of him. The one thing that he has made remarkable strides in however, is his efficiency. Gay has been lights out from the perimeter and has carried many games for the Raptors with his scoring prowess from beyond the arc. While this improvement has been spectacular, Gay has fallen in love with the jump shot quite a bit this month and is his free throw shooting percentages have taken a hit as a result. He hasn't gotten to the line much at all, and when he does get there he only converts at a 69% clip. We expect that percentage to rise as the season progresses, but Rudy needs to make a better effort in going to the rim.
Statline: 20.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 48.3% FG, 46.8% 3PT, 69% FT

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Amir Johnson: B-
The beloved Amir Johnson has had his minutes cut a bit from last season, but is still maintaining close to the same level of productivity as last year. Johnson's shot blocking is probably the one thing that has been below par this season. Other than that, it's been the same old Amir Johnson that has endeared himself as a Raptor fan favourite.
Statline: 8.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.5 bpg, 52.8% FG,, 73.5% FT

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Tyler Hansbrough: C+
Psycho T was signed this off-season to add some intensity and a little a bit of crazy off the bench; and he's been pretty much just as advertised. Hansbrough has received ample minutes off the bench but in terms of statistical productivity he's a bit shy of his career levels. He is however, shooting a career high 48% from the field and is still a key factor in the Raptors' success.
Statline: 5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.5 spg, 48.4% FG, 66.6% FT

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Landry Fields: D+
Fields has shown some decent hustle and defence when he has been put into games, but that's about it. Aside from his one game in Brooklyn where he came up big in crunch time, Fields has been struggling mightily with his shot from everywhere on the court; especially at the free throw line. His current 12 million salary over two years makes for a truly disappointing combination to behold.
Statline: 3.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.7 spg, 40.4% FG, 20% 3PT, 57.1% FT

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Quincy Acy: N/A
Acy was expected to play some more minutes this season but the addition of Tyler Hansbrough has soaked up the majority of his minutes off the bench. From the scarce minutes that he has been given this season, he does look like the same player he was last season, bringing energy and some toughness in an undersized 6'7 package.
Statline: 0.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.1 spg, 40% FG, 66.6% FT

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Steve Novak: N/A
Novak was brought in from the Bargnani trade, but his main asset (shooting), seems to already have been covered with the improved perimeter games of Gay, Ross and DeRozan. As a result, Novak has yet to see any playing time in a Raptors uniform, and rightfully so. If a one dimensional player is bringing in a redundant skill to the team then he's not going to be able to find minutes in the rotation.
Statline: None

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Austin Daye: N/A
Like Novak, Daye has yet to play a single game this season. It isn't likely for him to see any minutes on the floor.
Statline: None

Centers

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Jonas Valanciunas: C
What was expected to be a big year for the Lithuanian centre has turned out to be a bit of a sophomore slump. JV is the clear cut starting center on the team and looked poised to break out after adding a ton of muscle to his wiry frame, but the big man just hasn't put it together like most would have expected him to. His field goal percentage (44%) has been a significant drop off compared to his rookie season and has tended to be unassertive in the block. This is a sharp contrast to his summer league play, where he looked to dominate and get in the face of his opponents.
Statline: 10.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2 apg, 1.1 bpg, 44.1% FG, 81.8% FT

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Cole Aldrich: C
Acquired mid way through the month, it is not really fair to assess what Aldrich is capable of. His offensive numbers are awful to say the least, but from day one he has added some needed presence on the inside. He is also is a bit more nimble on the floor than you would expect as he solid at rotating as a help defender.
Statline: 1.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.6 bpg, 28.6% FG, 50% FT

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Aaron Gray: N/A
With the addition of Cole Aldrich, it looks like Aaron Gray has become a redundant piece for the Raptors. Aldrich is a big body like Gray but is younger. Barring extensive injuries to the Raptors' roster, Gray's minutes are and will continue to be close to zero in the rotation.
Statline: None


=========================
Discussion:

Alright, so I managed to end off the month on a pretty good note, beating some of the better teams in the process. I think that has more to do with the fact that I'm slowly getting used to how to utilize the Raptors and play to their strengths (up tempo, athletic shot creators who can create from mid range easily). Now that I'm pretty confident in my ability to play the game, I think that the playoffs aren't necessarily out of reach anymore. I'm planning to post another update about what's going on in the NBA and when I show you the standings I think you guys can see that I will probably have a decent shot at making it to a mid to low seed. What do you guys think? Are the playoffs the way to go or is tanking for Wiggins, Randle, etc. a more viable option?

Also, if there's anything in particular that you want an update on from the NBA (e.g. trade rumours, stats, etc.) please feel free to let me know so that I can change the format of my next post to cater to whatever it is that you want to see.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 5 Recap + Monthly Report Card

Postby Its_asdf on Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:18 am

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NBA.com November Stats

Standings - East
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Standings - West
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League Leaders

Points Per Game

1. L. James, Mia - 32.5
2. K. Durant, OKC - 23.8
3. C. Anthony, NYK - 23.6
4. S. Curry, GSW - 23.2
5. R. Westbrook, OKC - 23.1
6. K. Bryant, LAL - 23.1
7. K. Love, Min - 22.7
8. J. Harden, Hou - 22.5
9. T. Duncan, SAS - 21.6
10. B. Griffin, LAC -21.6


Rebounds Per Game

1. B. Griffin, LAC - 12.9
2. T. Duncan, SAS - 11.5
3. K. Love, Min - 11.2
4. M. Gortat, Pho - 11.1
5. D. Cousins, Sac - 10.9
6. J. Noah, Chi - 10.5
7. S. Ibaka, OKC - 10
8. A. Bynum, Cle - 10
9. P. Gasol, LAL - 9.9
10. M. Gasol, Mem - 9.9


Assists Per Game

1. R. Rubio, Min - 8.5
2. R. Rondo, Bos - 8.2
3. D. Williams, BKN - 7.8
4. M. Chalmers, Mia - 7/5
5. D. Rose, Chi - 7.3
6. J. Wall, Was - 7.1
7. T. Lawson, Den - 7.0
8. T. Burke, Uta - 6.9
9. J. Holiday, NO - 6.8
10. K. Lowry, Tor - 6.8


Steals Per Game

1. E. Bledsoe, Pho - 2.6
2. R. Westbrook, OKC - 2.4
3. M. Chalmers, Mia - 2.2
4. M Conley, Mem - 2.2
5. K. Bryant, LAL - 2.2
6. C. Delfino, Mil - 2.1
7. R. Rubio, Min - 2.1
8. T. Lawson, Den - 2
9. J. Harden, Hou - 1.9
10. K. Walker, Cha - 1.9


Blocks Per Game

1. L. Sanders, Mil - 2.6
2. T. Duncan, SAS - 2.4
3. B. Lopez, BKN - 2.1
4. J. Noah, Chi - 2
5. D. Howard, Hou - 1.9
6. D. Favors, Uta - 1.9
7. M. Gortat, Pho - 1.9
8. C. Anderson, Mia - 1.8
9. D. Jordan, LAC - 1.7
10. P. Gasol, LAL - 1.7

Eastern Conference Player of the Month - LeBron James
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MPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3PT%FT%
36.632.58.65.21.65155.9%47.9%77.5%


Western Conference Player of the Month - Russell Westbrook
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MPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3PT%FT%
3823.15.76.52.40.445.2%35.7%78.8%



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1. Trey Burke, Uta: 35.4 mpg, 20.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.9 spg, 42.2% FG, 41.5% 3PT (***ROOKIE OF THE MONTH***)
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2. C. Zeller, Cha: 32.6 mpg, 13.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.2 bpg, 47.6% FG, 42.9% 3PT (***ROOKIE OF THE MONTH***)
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3. N. Noel, Phi: 27.1 mpg, 12.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 57.2% FG
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4. V. Oladipo, Orl: 20.2 mpg, 8.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.15 spg, 40.9% FG
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5. M. Carter-Williams, Phi: 22.1 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 39.1% FG
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6. O. Porter, Was: 24.3 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 0.8 bpg, 42.2% FG
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7. C. McCollum, Por: 12.9 mpg, 7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 46.9% FG, 35.1% 3PT
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8. B. McLemore, Sac: 8.7 mpg, 6.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1 apg, 56.9% FG, 55% 3PT
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9. K. Olynyk, Bos: 11.4 mpg, 6.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.8 apg, 49% FG, 38% 3PT
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10, D. Schroeder, Atl: 15.4 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 32.4% 3PT

Outside Looking In: Nemanja Nedovic (GSW), Shabazz Muhammad (Min), Shane Larkin (Dal)

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Monthly Stats Update

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:52 am

Second Half Collapse Ends Raptors Winning Streak

Image 100 (9-8) vs Image 112 (12-7)

Tor: 27|33|26|14
GSW: 28|27|30|27


2013/12/03

The Golden State Warriors managed to snap the Raptors 3 game winning streak and start off their three game Western Conference road trip on a bad note. Both teams put their run and gun offences on display, as the Raptors had raced off to a 60-55 at halftime. The game was a battle of the point guards as Stephen Curry and Kyle Lowry led their teams in scoring. However, it was the Warriors' bench that made the difference in the second half, as sixth man Harrison Barnes managed to score 17 points off the bench while Raptors' sixth man Terrence Ross struggled, going 3 of 11 from the field. The lackluster performance eventually allowed Golden State to pull away in the fourth quarter as the Raptors cooled off from the field. Toronto was badly outplayed in the final 12 minutes of the game, as they ended the game shooting only 38% from the field in comparison to the Warriors' scorching 60%.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
K. Lowry: 24 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 4 TOs
R. Gay: 18 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts, 4 stls
J. Valanciunas: 10 pts, 8 rebs, 4/10 FG

Warriors:
S. Curry: 31 pts, 7 rebs, 7 asts, 11/18 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
H. Barnes: 17 pts, 6 rebs, 6/8 FG
A. Iguodala: 12 pts, 6 rebs, 11 asts, 5/8 FG



Raptors Rally After Hansbrough Injury to Beat Suns

Image 100 (10-8) vs Image 93 (9-11)

Tor: 29|16|31|24
Pho: 32|18|17|26


2013/12/06

After having their three game winning streak snapped, the Raptors looked eager to get back on track against the Suns. The game played out exactly the opposite of how the Warriors game went, as the Raptors catapulted themselves to a major second half lead after a 31 point surge in the third quarter. Toronto was in fact trailing 50-45 after two quarters of play, as Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe hounded the Raptor guards into a lot of bad decisions early.

Things began to turn around for the Raptors after Tyler Hansbrough was fouled hard on a drive to the basket and landed awkwardly on his foot after being inadvertently tripped by Marcin Gortat. After a brief scuffle on the court between both teams, Hansbrough had to be carried off the floor and the Raptors used the injured teammate as motivation to agressively attack the Suns' defence. Second chance points was where the Raptors won the battle, outscoring them 20-8 through hard work and hustle on the glass.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 23 pts, 8 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
J. Valanciunas: 16 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks, 8/11FG
D. DeRozan: 14 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts
T. Ross: 11 pts, 2 rebs, 5/7FG

Suns:
Markieff Morris: 19 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts, 4/8 3PT
E. Bledsoe: 19 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 4 stls, 7/13 FG
M. Gortat: 16 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 6/10FG



Week 6 Featured Game: Lakers Lose to Raptors' Stingy Fourth Quarter Defence

Image 100 (11-8) vs Image 91 (8-12)

Tor: 26|27|13|34
LAL: 17|32|21|21


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The Raptors defence was suffocating in the fourth quarter, particularly against Kobe Bryant.

2013/12/08

Sporting one of the best offences in the league this year, the Toronto Raptors showed that they can actually clamp down and play defence when it matters. The Raptors managed to hold the Lakers to just 36% shooting from the field to pull away and secure the victory mid way through the fourth quarter. Trailing 70-66 after three quarters, Raptor guard Kyle Lowry believes that the Raptors' inconsistency throughout the game was what made the game much more difficult than it needed to be.

"We made a lot of mistakes in the second and third quarter that made this game tougher on us than it needed to be," claimed Lowry. Lowry finished the game with only 2 assists and 6 turnovers, allowing the Lakers to reclaim the lead after the Raptors led early. "It was just one of those days where I could not get into any sort of rhythm at when it came to passing," lamented Lowry. The dynamic 6'0 point guard wasn't the only one coughing up the rock for Toronto though. The Raptors turned the ball over 22 times total, 8 of which occured during a dismal 13 point third quarter which allowed the Lakers to take a double digit lead.

"They had a lot of mental lapses, but we couldn't make a big enough of a cushion for ourselves to put the game away," said Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni. "They turned the ball over quite a bit but at the same time our guys couldn't figure out how to deal with their quick double teams. It wasn't pretty basketball on both sides."

The difference was that when the Raptors didn't manage to turn the ball over, they were lights out from the field. Shooting 51% from the field, the Raptors started taking care of the basketball in the fourth quarter and limited Kobe Bryant to only 3 shots. "We tried to get the ball out of Kobe's hands as much as possible," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Bryant and Farmar were killing us today early on in single coverages and pick and rolls, but when we made Kobe into a passer we knew that his teammates were struggling to make shots." Bryant finished with 19 points on 7/12 shooting but with the Lakers played the game without starting point guard Steve Nash. Nash did not play due to a torn hamstring which placed more of the ball handling duties on to Bryant which tired him out.

Bryant was clearly fuming after the loss. "I should have tried to split their double teams more and scored myself," he said after the game. "Honestly the team came out looking like they didn't even care about the outcome of the game. When we got a tiny lead we eased off the gas pedal way too quickly."


KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
D. DeRozan: 30 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 4/6 3PT ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
K. Lowry: 19 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 6 TOs
R. Gay: 16 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast
J. Valanciunas: 12 pts, 9 rebs, 5/8 FG

Lakers:
K. Bryant: 19 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts, 7/12 FG
J. Farmar: 17 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts
C. Kaman: 14 pts, 8 rebs, 4/11 FG



RAPTOR OF THE WEEK:

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Rudy Gay
19 ppg
7.6 rpg
2 apg
58% FG
2.3 spg
75% FT

*note: averages are for the week, not over the entire season.

As you guys all know, we love to award the Raptor of the Week to the most consistent player out there. While Jonas Valanciunas was the only Raptor to notch a double double this week and DeMar DeRozan dropped another 30 point game this season, it was Rudy Gay who had a constant impact on most games. Gay's point production has been solid, but nothing to go crazy over. It has, in fact, been Gay's defense that has been superb this week. The 6'9 forward's rebounding and steal totals have been stellar this week, but we'd still like to see him assert himself more in the paint and get going from the freethrow line. 8 Freethrow attempts over 3 games is underwhelming to say the least.

Next Week's Games
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Monthly Stats Update

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:52 am

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Aldridge Losing Patience in Portland
LaMarcus Aldridge "Frustrated with Blazers" Says Source

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LaMarcus Adridge has become agitated at Portland's losing ways this season.

Dec 9, 2013

A promising re-tooling effort in Portland during the off-season had both the Portland Trail Blazers and LaMarcus Aldridge hopeful to once again play in the post-season. Those hopes seemed to have been squandered now, as the Blazers have started the season off at 5-12 and there are rumblings that the Blazer star forward is becoming restless.

Aldridge had voiced his displeasure not making the playoffs last season, and there were rumours that Aldridge might be a probable trading piece for a full blown Portland rebuilding effort. However, Blazer owner Neil Oshley calmed Aldridge's worries by actively signing and trading players, overhauling their roster to keep the 2nd overall pick of the 2006 draft happy. The Blazers are now fighting in contention with the Charlotte Hornets as the worst team in the league this season. "He knows that there is still hope to make a playoff push," says a source close to Aldridge who wished to remain anonymous. "But realistically, there isn't a good chance that will happen and he's just sick of all the losing he's been going through."

If asked if he wants to be traded, the source could not give a definitive answer. "He just wants to win, with or without Portland," he said. "He feels like he's given the organization his best for a very long time and they haven't been able to reward him for his loyalty. He feels like he's still in his prime right now and he's wasting it away when he can be helping a better team."

Most of the team's inadequacy stems from Portland's inefficient offence and defence which has been "driving Aldridge up the wall," claimed the source. The Blazers right now are giving up 104 points per game to opponents and are also 28th in team field goal percentage. It also doesn't help that starting forward Nicholas Batum has missed a large portion of the season with a torn hand ligament which has affected his offensive production. The 6'8 forward out of France is only avergaing 10.8 points per game and 37% from the field so far this season. Last year's Rookie of the year Damian Lillard has also been hitting a sophomore slump recently, scoring only 14.5 points per contest.

On the other hand, you can't fault Aldridge for his efforts this season despite his frustrations. The two-time All-Star has been averaging a career high 22.8 points per game in one of his best offensive seasons so far.



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News Around the NBA


Knicks Sign Chris WIlcox

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The New York Knicks have announced today that they have reached an agreement with free agent center/power forward Chris Wilcox today. The deal is reported to be a one year deal worth approximately $2 million. The 31 year old from Maryland spent last season with the Boston Celtics averaging 4.2 points per game and 3 rebounds per game. A roster with already a multitude of big men, Wilcox looks to be an insurance pick-up for one of the oldest teams in the league as Bargnani, Chandler, Martin and Stoudemire all have had injury issues in the past.

Dirk Re-Signs with Dallas

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It comes as no surprise to anyone that Dirk Nowitzki has decided to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks. The cornerstone of the Mavericks franchise has been awarded a one year 8.98 million dollar extension for next season. "Dallas has been my home for over 15 years now. I couldn't see myself being anywhere else," said Nowitzki. Despite the great news for Mavericks fans, the team is still on the outside looking in for playoff contention with a 6-12 record.

Raptors' Hansbrough Out 2 Weeks with Bruised Heel

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After the Raptors victory over the Phoenix Suns, team doctors have diagnosed Tyler Hansbrough with a severely bruised heel. The Raptors power forward is slated to be injured for approximately two weeks. While MRIs have indicated no structural damage, the Raptors medical staff have stated that Hansbrough will be unable to walk and thus will be moved to the inactive list for the time being. Forward Austin Daye has been called up from the inactive list to fill Hansbrough's roster spot as he recovers.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 6 Recap + NBA News

Postby Axel The Great on Sun Sep 08, 2013 4:39 pm

Nice job recovering from your turnover-fest against the Lakers. (Y) It's certainly frustrating racking up 20 turnovers, almost to the point of rage-quitting. :lol:

Portland seems to be in a bad situation, but I see it as only temporary. I don't think it would be necessary for Aldridge to be traded, at least not yet. If Batum can overcome his injury and Lillard can break out of his sophomore slump, then the Blazers should be able to get back on track.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 6 Recap + NBA News

Postby Its_asdf on Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:44 am

Second Half Comeback Not Enough for Raptors

Image 95 (15-6) vs Image 88 (11-9)

SAS: 25|27|22|21
Tor: 9|19|30|30


2013/12/10

With Tim Duncan out of the lineup nursing a knee injury, it was the perfect opportunity for the Raptors to start up another winning streak. Unfortunately they never accounted for Livio Jean-Charles to step up in Duncan's absence. The 28th pick of the 2013 draft got the rare opportunity to start and he rewarded coach Popovich's faith in him by pouring in 24 points and 10 rebounds; career highs in both categories.

Jean-Charles' unexpected superb play in combination with the Raptors terribly lethargic opening quarter allowed the Spurs to eventually catapult themselves to a 28 point lead at one point. Kyle Lowry did his best to will the Raptors back into the game, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9 for 12 shooting. Toronto would finally come out of its coma in the second half, where their signature run and gun style of play managed to vault them back into the game with back to back 30 point quarters. Toronto would chip the lead to as small as 85-80 with 3 minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the Raptors spent way too much energy attempting to to come back into the game that they were simply too fatigued to close out the game down the stretch.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Spurs:
l. Jean-Charles: 23 pts, 10 rebs, 7/15 FG, 8/11 FT ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
T. Parker: 21 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 7/12 FG
M. Ginobili: 12 pts, 2 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls
D. Green: 10 pts, 4 rebs 1 ast, 3 stls

Raptors:
K. Lowry: 24 pts, 3 rebs, 9 asts, 9/12 FG
J. Valanciunas: 14 pts, 4 rebs, 6/8 FG, 2 blks
D. DeRozan: 14 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 6/16 FG
A. Johnson: 12 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts, 5/11 FG



Sixers Pull Away with 76 Points from Turner, Richardson and Young

Image 117 (15-9) vs Image 100 (11-10)

Phi: 29|33|18|37
Tor: 33|26|19|22


2013/12/13

There seems to be something about Sixers-Raptors games that bring out the best in Evan Turner and DeMar DeRozan. A few weeks, ago, DeRozan and Turner both engaged in a personal scoring duel as they both led their teams in scoring with 28 points. This game played out eerily similar to the previous one, as DeRozan and Turner continued another high-tension scoring match. DeRozan would lead the Raptors with 31 points while Turner registered 29 of his own. Much like last month's game, the Raptors also lost control of the game in the fourth quarter when they were heavily outgunned. DeRozan once again received no help from his team in the fourth quarter as the Raptors shot 38% in the fourth while Turner managed to defer his scoring load to Jason Richardson and Thaddeus Young down the stretch for an easy win.


KEY PERFORMERS:

Sixers:
E. Turner: 29 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 10/21 FG
J. Richardson: 26 pts, 4 rebs, 10/17 FG, 5/8 3 PT
T. Young: 21 pts, 12 rebs, 2 blks, 10/17 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
M. Carter-Williams: 8 pts, 1 reb, 4 asts, 3/3 FG

Raptors:
D. DeRozan: 31 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls, 4/7 3PT
R. Gay: 22 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls, 7/17 FG
K. Lowry: 16 pts, 6 rebs, 10 asts, 6/9 FG
J. Valanciunas: 14 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts, 6/12 FG



Week 7 Featured Game: Late Noah Tip in Hands Raps 3rd Straight Loss

Image 87 (11-11) vs Image 88 (15-7)

Tor: 28|26|17|16
Chi: 21|25|22|20


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Noah's game winning put back.

2013/12/14

With 36 seconds left in the game and down one point, the Chicago Bulls gave their star player and leading scorer Derrick Rose a chance to hit the go-ahead basket. It would be Joakim Noah that would steal the spotlght for this game though. The Bulls center corralled Rose's missed floater and scored a layup that would put Chicago up 88-87. The Raptors would have the opportunity to return the favour, but Rudy Gay's jumper from the baseline just rimmed out; much to the relief of the crowd at the United Center.

Noah overall had an unimpressive but well rounded game, scoring 10 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. "He wasn't doing anything spectacular tonight, but I think that's what lulled them into a sense of security," fellow front-court starter Carlos Boozer said. "They pretty much threw 3 bodies at Derrick to alter his shot, but that left Noah to do whatever he wanted on the inside."

"There were a lot of switches and a lot of chaos on that last play," explained Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "I think we needed to communicate a lot more on that last play to make sure everyone was accounted for, especially their big guys. We got burned by a few plays like this today.... We need to iron this out in practice tomorrow with our guys."

Turnovers were once again a problem for the Raptors, who have gone 0-3 this week and are now sitting with a .500 record. Toronto started the game off strong and even held a 12 point lead mid-way through the second quarter, but the Bulls' defensive playstyle grinded the Raptors fast breaking style to a halt and forced 16 turnovers. On the defensive end, The Raptors had very few answers for Rose, who would score a game high 25 points on 10/18 shooting. "He's just too fast and too strong," said Kyle Lowry who had the task of trying to contain Rose. "You would not have guessed that he missed an entire year of basketball with the way he played tonight."

With the Raptors' fast paced offence out of the way, it would still prove difficult for the Bulls to truly take control of the game. Surprisingly, the Raptors were able to match the Bulls' physicality in a slow paced half court style offence. Toronto's rough play managed to maintain a small lead for a good stretch of the second half, and they did it by getting to the free throw line 39 times. The Raps would get some bad bounces at the charity stripe though, hitting only 26 of those attempts which would eventually give the Bulls the opportunity to seize the game.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 23 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast, 8/22 FG
K. Lowry: 18 pts, 12 rebs, 7 asts, 4/8 FG
D. DeRozan: 16 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 5/13 FG
A. Johnson: 14 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast, 6/10 FG

Bulls:
D. Rose: 25 pts, 1 reb, 4 asts, 10/18 FG
C. Boozer: 13 pts, 6 rebs, 1 stl, 6/16 FG
L. Deng: 13 pts, 10 rebs, 5 asts, 6/12 FG
J. Noah: 10 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 4/7 FG, 2 blks ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***



RAPTOR OF THE WEEK:

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Kyle Lowry
19.3 ppg
7 rpg
8.6 apg
65% FG
50% 3PT
78% FT

*note: averages are for the week, not over the entire season.

Lowry is the only Raptor so far this season to grab a points-rebounds and points-assists double-double, and he did it all in one week. Much like in week 4 when Lowry won Raptor of the week, The Raptors have performed poorly when Lowry is forced into being more of a scorer as opposed to a distributor who sets up the offence. Let's hope that this isn't a recurring trend, because watching Lowry stuff the stat sheet like he does is certainly a sight to behold.

Next Week's Games
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 6 Recap + NBA News

Postby Its_asdf on Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:44 am

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Raptors' Ross an Erratic X-Factor
Mercurial Sophomore Needs to Tame Inconsistency

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Terrence Ross has looked disinterested on the court when his jump shot isn't falling.


Published on Dec 15, 2013

Terrence Ross shifts past his defender for a wide open mid range jumper, one of his bread and butter moves. He stops on a dime, sets his feet, and lets the ball fly with his velvet-like shooting touch. The ball clanks right off the rim and sails out of bounds. Ross peers over to his head coach; Dwane Casey has had enough. It's 6 minutes into the third quarter and the second year guard out of Washington has a dejected look as DeMar DeRozan calls for Ross to sub out for him. Ross finished the game with 2 points, going 1 for 7 from the field and would not play for the rest of the game. The Raptors would lose the game by 17 points to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

This isn't an uncommon sight for Ross this year. Given the role as the Raptors de facto scorer off the bench, Ross has been incredibly hot or cold for Toronto. Some nights Ross looks like an offensive wizard, scorching opposing defences with a myriad of moves. His off-the-ball cuts are sharp, his drives to the rim are aggressive, and his jumper looks silky smooth. Ross' 25 point outing against Denver last month is an example of the potential firepower Ross can bring off the bench when the second unit is in a pinch.

Then there are nights where Ross looks terrified to even touch the basketball. If his shot isn't falling, Ross looks disinterested and frustrated on the court. Ross can go from swooping into the paint effortlessly one game to simply sulking and bricking contested jumpers repeatedly the next game.

Raptors Assistant Coach Nick Nurse has worked with Ross in the summer league and believes that he is one of the more talented players on the roster. "He's got a lot of skill offensively," Nurse said. "He has all the tools to be a very good sixth man for this team; the athleticism, the jumpshot, the quickness... But it's driving us nuts when we don't know what to expect out of him on a game to game basis."

It's easier said than done though. Some contend that a lot of the times Ross usually has the burden of being the only productive bench scorer on the team and that is contributing to his poor shot selection at times. This could be a potential problem that fuels his wildly erratic production, but Nurse feels that it's up to Ross to show more mental fortitude. "It's true that we do rely on him as our go-to guy off the bench, but his body language can be incredibly poor when things aren't going his way." he argues.

The Raptors' coaching staff aren't the only ones aware of Ross' disappearing acts. "I think he wants to prove to everyone that he is worthy of being the 8th overall pick last season," an Eastern Conference scout said when asked for his evaluation of Ross' inconsistency. "He knows that there are a lot of critics of his selection and he gets frustrated when he can't live up to that billing. He gets down on himself too easily."

The truth of the matter is, the Raptors need Ross. It's no surprise that Ross shoots only 36% when the Raptors lose and a scorching 50% when they win.

"I gave Ross a little bit more lee way offensively because he can win games for us," Explained Dwane Casey. "I think by doing so I've shown confidence in him, but I'm only going to tolerate mistakes up to a point before we put in our more experienced guys on the wing."

After a brief pause, Casey added "Maybe Ross is not yet ready for that much responsibility offensively yet, but for our sake, we need him to be."



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News Around the NBA


Spurs, Thunder Swap Nando De Colo and Perry Jones

ImageImage


The first trade of the 2013-2014 NBA season wasn't the most earth shattering deal. The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to ship away second year combo guard Nando De Colo along with the 2014 second round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In return, they recieve sophomore forward Perry Jones. Both young players were stuck in logjams at their positions; Jones could not find any playing time over the Thunder's forward rotation of Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison while De Colo had Tony Parker, Cory Joseph, Danny Green and Manu Ginobili ahead of him in the depth chart. Perry Jones is averaging 3.1 points per game and 1.7 rebounds per game and De Colo has averages of 1.8 points per game and 1.1 assists per game.

While Jones was drafted 28th overall in the 2012 draft, many had him projected to be a lottery pick for that draft class. The Spurs look to add more low-risk high-reward talent to their team as their aging roster gears for what looks like yet another playoff bound season. The Thunder on the other hand, look to add more flexibility to their backcourt. De Colo can fill in at either the one or the two guard as an insurance policy for the Thunder's bench.

It's difficult to tell who won this trade as the Spurs also gave away a second round pick. However, judging from their current standings in the West, it will most likely be one of the last picks of the second round and therefore irrelevant. Both players are still young but Jones is only 22 years of age and has many more intriguing physical tools than the 25 year old De Colo. Overall, the winner of this trade is probably the Spurs.

Spurs Grade: B
Thunder Grade: C+



Pacers Re-Sign Granger to 5 Year Deal

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Indiana wasted no time in re-signing their star player, inking forward Danny Granger to a 5 year deal worth $44.57 million. Granger played all but 5 games last season due to patellar tendinosis, but has quickly rounded back into form this year. The 30 year old forward out of New Mexico currently sports a team-high 18.9 point per game average along with 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

After a fantastic run in the playoffs last year, the Pacers are looking like they have fallen back down to earth with a 12-11 record to start the season. Future Pacer star Paul George seems to have regressed with Granger back in the lineup, scoring only 14.8 points per contest. It has been hotly contested that Granger is holding George back, but it appears that Larry Bird and the Pacers management have surprisingly committed to an aging Granger for another 5 years.

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 6 Recap + NBA News

Postby Its_asdf on Sat Sep 14, 2013 11:54 am

Axel. wrote:Nice job recovering from your turnover-fest against the Lakers. (Y) It's certainly frustrating racking up 20 turnovers, almost to the point of rage-quitting. :lol:

Portland seems to be in a bad situation, but I see it as only temporary. I don't think it would be necessary for Aldridge to be traded, at least not yet. If Batum can overcome his injury and Lillard can break out of his sophomore slump, then the Blazers should be able to get back on track.


Yeah I've been super turnover prone lately. Those outlet passes to my big men running down the court can be so tempting to throw at times.....

Yeah, and technically speaking, the Aldridge story was completely made up by me. His morale is incredibly high in the game at the moment even though Portland is fighting it out with Charlotte for the Wiggins sweepstakes. I simply don't think that's realistic seeing as he was pretty frustrated last season and this would make for a more interesting story line to follow outside of the usual Raptors-related stuff I write. Besides, it feels like every year now there's always one star player on a team that's whining about not being on a winner and all that. Aldridge seemed like the perfect candidate in the perfect situation to showcase that.

I really hope they do at least make it back to .500 though. The Blazers are actually my second favourite team after the Raptors.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 7 Recap + NBAs News/Ross Artic

Postby dascoot on Sun Sep 15, 2013 1:04 am

Very interesting dynasty I am looking forward to reading more when the time comes.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 7 Recap + NBAs News/Ross Artic

Postby Its_asdf on Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:41 am

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Raptors Actively Involved in Trade Talks
GM Ujiri on the Hunt for a Better Bench, Sources Say

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This season the Raptors' bench has been their Achilles heel and Ujiri is looking for an upgrade.

Dec 17, 2013

After a three game losing streak that puts Toronto back to a .500 record, Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri has made it clear that he is not particularly satisfied with the Raptors' current roster and is willing to shake things up if necessary. "We just past the quarter mark of the season and I think we are doing OK," Ujiri had said in a nonchalant tone. "I am not satisfied with just 'OK' and we are going to explore some options to make this team better."

Ujiri in particular has been worried about the Raptors' productivity from the bench and has already contacted a few teams this season for some upgrades, said an inside source. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched the Raptors play this season. The Raptors currently average 101 points per game but the majority of these points are coming from the starting unit. Aside from highly erratic production from Terrence Ross, the Raptors have really been struggling to find any sort of offensive cohesion in the second unit. The play from the bench really labours when it comes to setting up the offense and the poor execution usually leads to excessive turnovers. This of course has led to numerous fourth quarter meltdowns or games where the starters can not make up enough ground to cover for the second unit's mistakes.

The remedy to that problem, according to Ujiri, may be the point guard position. Sources claim that Ujiri has been on the market for any sort of help he can find to bolster the bench, but is mainly looking to deal for a backup point guard. Current Raptor backup DJ Augustin has not been performing his point guard duties effectively and third string guard Dwight Buycks has yet to play an NBA game.

What Ujiri wishes to give up in return however, is still in question. Many believe that Ujiri is reluctant to part ways with his starting five but outside of those five players, the Raptors do not have too much of value to offer.



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News Around the NBA


Jason Terry to Nuggets in Exchange for Andre Miller

ImageImage


The Brooklyn Nets and the Denver Nuggets decided to swap their disgruntled veteran guards, sending Jason Terry to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller and a '14 first round draft pick. Both Miler and Terry were unhappy in their respective roles. Terry was traded to Brooklyn this season but was unable to adapt to a more traditional back-up point guard role, while Miller lost his back-up point guard spot to free agent acquisition Nate Robinson.

Brooklyn Nets General Manager Billy King believes that the trade was mutually beneficial for both parties. "Denver felt like they needed a veteran perimeter scorer off the bench and we needed a more pass-first guard off to get our offence set up," King said.

Terry currently avergaes 6.9 points per game this season in 16 minutes off the bench. Miller on the other hand has been averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 assists in 9.2 minutes per game. Ultimately, this trade is viewed as mutually beneficial to both teams, but the Nets managed to pry Denver's 2014 first round draft pick away from them. Even though the pick is expected to be a fairly low first round pick (Denver is currently 16-8,) if this 2014 draft class is as deep as everyone makes it out to be, then the Nets have probably won out on this deal in the long term.

Nets Grade: A-
Nuggets Grade: B



Raptors Bring in Buycks from D-League

ImageImage


The Raptors plan on doing a little re-shuffling of their roster before they play host to the Charlotte Hornets on the 18th. It has been announced that 24 year old rookie Dwight Buycks will be suiting up in the red white for the first time this season. As a result, forward Steve Novak will be placed on the inactive list for the time being.

A product of Marquette, Buycks went undrafted in the 2011 draft and entered the NBDL. Eventually, Buycks joined to the LNB Pro A, a French basketball league where he eventually earned MVP honours. This earned him a spot on the Raptors Summer League roster where he played well enough to obtain a NBA contract. Buycks has spent the majority of the season in the Raptors' D-League affiliate the Bakersfield Jam, averaging 17.8 points and 6.3 assists per game.

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 7 Recap + NBAs News/Ross Artic

Postby Its_asdf on Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:46 am

dascoot wrote:Very interesting dynasty I am looking forward to reading more when the time comes.


Thanks man, I appreciate any viewship that can come my way!
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - More NBA/Raptors News

Postby Lamrock on Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:47 am

Looking great, dude. Like the real team, you're mired in mediocrity. Any deals on the horizon?
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - More NBA/Raptors News

Postby Its_asdf on Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:48 am

Week 8 Featured Game: Gay, DeRozan and Lowry's Three Point Shooting Snap Raptors' Losing Streak

Image 121 (8-18) vs Image 129 (12-11)

Cha: 30|28|37|26
Tor: 36|36|29|28


Image
Dwight Buycks was a welcome surprise, scoring 8 points in his NBA debut off the bench.

2013/12/18

Managing to snap a three game losing skid, the Toronto Raptors were led by the usual cast of Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. It was recent call-up Dwight Buycks, however, that managed to impress in his NBA debut. The 6'3 guard out of Marquette was given the opportunity showcase his ability to run the offence and did not disappoint, finishing with 8 points 2 assists and a steal in only 13 minutes of playing time.

"To step in like that and contribute right away is huge, especially since our bench has not been up to par lately," Raptors Coach Dwane Casey told the press after the victory. "It shows how hard he worked to stay ready once he got the opportunity to see some action."

"I'm not surprised he played that well at all," claimed Kyle Lowry. "He was the MVP overseas for a reason." While Buycks showed promise, it was wing players and point guard that stole the show. Lowry notched another double-double for this season, scoring 21 points to go along with 10 assists on 7 for 11 shooting. Meanwhile DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay manhandled any defender that was thrown their way, combining for 57 points between the two of them. Hornet''s head coach Steve Clifford was furious at his team's lack of commitment to guard Toronto's star players.

"They flat out walked all over us," exclaimed Clifford. "I can't count how many times they simply jogged into the paint for an uncontested layup. The effort tonight was inexcusable." The Raptors also torched the Hornets from three point territory, dropping in 13 of their 20 three point attempts. 12 of those three pointers came from Gay, DeRozan and Lowry, who each chipped in with 4 apiece. "Don't even get me started on our defense at the three point line," groaned Clifford. "It was only three players who were making threes the entire game!"

If you didn't look at the boxscore numbers are already, the game itself was simply an up-and-down fast paced game. The Hornets faced an uphill battle right from the tip as Toronto came out guns blazing and Charlotte tried to match their offensive intensity. It was a game of catch-up for the Hornets as they trailed behind the Raptors the entire game; mostly by double figures. Keeping them in the game was Ben Gordon and his season high 39 points, but took 32 shots to score them. Kemba Walker, the Hornets point guard, seemed irritated at Gordon's ball dominance during the game. "This is a team game, we're not going to win if we try to pretend we're Kobe Bryant out there," said Walker. "I' was hot. MKG was hot. If we got everyone involved more we could have came out with the 'W'."

KEY PERFORMERS:

Hornets:
B. Gordon: 39 pts, 1 reb, 3 asts, 15/32 FG
K. Walker: 22 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 4 stls, 2 blks
M. Kidd-Gilchrist: 19 pts, 3 rebs, 6 asts 9/9 FG
G. Henderson: 14 pts, 3 stls, 5/12 FG

Raptors:
R. Gay: 29 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts, 8/16 FG, 4/8 3PT ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. DeRozan: 28 pts, 8 rebs, 11/24 FG, 4/9 3PT
K. Lowry: 21 pts, 3 rebs, 10 asts, 7/11 FG, 4/6 3PT
J. Valanciunas: 13 pts, 8 rebs, 6/12 FG, 2 blks



Struggling Dallas Get Decimated by Toronto

Image 98 (13-11) vs Image 77 (8-18)

Tor: 31|28|20|19
Dal: 26|15|14|22


2013/12/20

The Toronto Raptors snatched up their second win in a row and did it in a convincing fashion as the Dallas Mavericks continued their downward spiral into the cellar of the NBA this season. You don't need to look any further than the Raptors dominant 36-16 differential of points in the paint as proof of the Maverick's poor interior defence. Toronto as a whole did not shoot too well, hitting only 43% of their shots. Instead they chose to wear down their opponents through constant post-ups from Rudy Gay and Jonas Valanciunas. This took a heavy toll on the Mavericks, especially leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki, as he managed only to hit 7 of his 20 field goal attempts.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 20 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast, 3 stls
K. Lowry: 19 pts, 6 rebs, 10 asts, 6/13 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. DeRozan: 18 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks
J. Valanciunas: 12 pts, 10 rebs, 4 asts

Mavericks:
D. Nowitzki: 18 pts, 6 rebs, 7/20 FG
V. Carter: 14 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast, 5/11 FG
M. Ellis: 9 pts, 3 rebs, 7 asts, 3 stls
J. Calderon: 8 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts, 2/3 FG



Raptors Get Manhandled by Westbrook and the Thunder

Image 66 (13-12) vs Image 98 (16-11)

Tor: 9|16|15|26
OKC: 26|29|17|26


2013/12/22

After bullying Dallas in a blowout victory, the Raptors got a taste of their own medicine. Toronto's offence was immediately stagnant right from the start of the game, thanks mostly to terrible shot selection and the Thunder's perimeter defensive rotations. Simply put, the Raptors were embarassed in the first half, scoring only 25 points by half time and shot a season low 30% from the field. Toronto tried to pick it up in the second half, but the damage had already been done as the Thunder would balloon the lead to 36 at one point. The star duo of Kevin Durant an Russell Westbrook played a combined 2 minutes in the final quarter as the Thunder easily cruised to a win on their home floor.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 16 pts, 3 rebs, 4 stls, 6/22 FG
K. Lowry: 12 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts, 4/17 FG
J. Valanciunas: 10 pts, 11 rebs, 3/5 FG
A. Johnson: 8 pts, 10 rebs, 4/9 FG

Thunder:
R. Westbrook: 24 pts, 2 rebs, 6 asts, 8/15 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
K. Durant: 16 pts, 12 rebs, 2 asts, 8/11 FT
S. Adams: 15 pts, 11 rebs, 6/14 FG
J. Lamb: 10 pts, 10 rebs, 5/7 FT
N. De Colo: 12 pts, 7 rebs, 9 asts, 4/8 FG



RAPTOR OF THE WEEK:

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Jonas Valanciunas
11.7 ppg
9.7 rpg
3 apg
2 bpg
51% FG
83% FT

*note: averages are for the week, not over the entire season.

While his statline has not been as impressive as previous Raptors of the Week, everyone is probably tired of seeing the same three names (DeRozan, Gay and Lowry). The justification for Valanciunas getting the award this week is that he has managed to play consistently well throughout all three games, something that can't be said for most Raptors that played in the Thunder blowout loss. Secondly, Valanciunas has shown a steady defensive presence this week, anchoring the Raptors defence and limiting opposing big men from scoring. It was especially promising to see Valanciunas match Nowitzki's agility on the perimeter and took the challenge of shutting down the German so well. The same can't be said for his help defence, but that porous defense is mostly to blame from the Raptors' wings players and their inability to guard a pylon during this stretch.

Next Week's Games
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Last edited by Its_asdf on Thu Sep 19, 2013 11:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - More NBA/Raptors News

Postby Its_asdf on Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:53 am

Lamrock wrote:Looking great, dude. Like the real team, you're mired in mediocrity. Any deals on the horizon?


Thanks for the kind words.

Yeah, I have something planned coming up. Funny that you mention this though, as I've been tinkering around with my roster for potential trades that I'm interested in making. There was one particular trade that I wasn't particularly keen on making but I wanted to play around with it anyway. Turns out I accidentally saved over my Association save file with the said trade and now I have to live with the consequences. :lol:

So yeah, expect an announcement to pop up soon.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 8 Recap

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Sep 22, 2013 4:18 pm

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News Around the NBA


Raptors Deal Augustin and Fields to Sixers for Carter-Williams and Hawes

ImageImageImageImage


Masai Ujiri has ironed out his first deal as the General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, sending a package of back up point guard DJ Augustin, forward Landry Fields and 2015 first round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams and center Spencer Hawes.

The Raptors, who appear to be on the playoff hunt, hope to improve the playmaking and offensive productivity of their second unit. Uneven performances from the players off the bench have hindered the Raptors' ability to close out winnable games. "It's no surprise to anyone that we were on the market for adding more depth on the bench," Ujiri stated in his press conference. "We feel that Carter-Williams will make the players around him better and is another young piece that we can add to our core. Spencer Hawes is also a big man with great passing and scoring which will help with our offensive philosophy of sharing the ball and keeping the offence moving."

The rookie Carter-Williams was the 11th pick out of Syracuse. Highly touted for his passing and size at the point guard position, Carter-Williams currently averages 7.2 points, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game off the bench for the Sixers. "We were really interested in his skill set," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "During the draft we didn't have any picks this year but we tried to trade for a pick to land him." The Sixers traded breakout guard Jrue Holiday during the draft to make room for Carter-Williams, which meant that the Raptors would have to wait until a later date to attempt to acquire him.

Philadelphia has been a pleasant surprise this season with an 18-10 record despite initial expectations of being one of the worst teams in the league. The free agent acquisition of guard Delonte West had eaten away at Carter-Williams' playing time and did not have much of an opportunity to showcase his ability to run the offence with Evan Turner being the main ball handler. "This season has been a surprise for us and we needed to make a move to account for these unexpected changes," Explained Sixers General Manager Sam Hinkie. "Both Carter-Williams and Hawes were a nice players for us, but we feel that we need some more veteran experience at the point if we want to win now. At the same time, we also got a future draft pick so this also helps us in the long term as well."

Hawes was the starting center for Philadelphia this season averaging 10.7 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 4 assists per game. Known as a highly skilled and versatile big man, Hawes has had his toughness questioned throughout his entire career. Hinkie' claims that backup big men Nerlens Noel and Lavoy Allen have been much more efficient on offence (Hawes has shot 41% this season) and have played more of a factor in the Sixer's success this year than Hawes. This has made Hawes expendable and the Sixers GM was eager to trade him away after three seasons of highly erratic play in Philadephia.

DJ Augustin has averaged 4.8 points and 2.6 assists per game in his first season with the Raptors after signing a one year deal in the off-season. The Raptors have been unhappy with Augustin's performance, particularly with his poor shooting (37.5%) and high turnover rate (2.1 turnovers). However, Augustin has been a solid three point threat, hitting 39% of his three pointers. Hinkie pointed out that Augustin's perimeter shooting is a better compliment to Evan Turner, who is the main shot creator and facilitator for the team. "He fits our schemes better than Carter-Williams does because he (Augustin) doesn't need the ball as much to function as more of a spot up shooter on the floor," Hinkie said.

Sporting averages of just 3.7 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game, Landry Fields was also included in the deal to match Hawes' contract. Ujiri claims that since the Sixers were in need of some depth at the wings they had initially coveted Terrence Ross or DeMar DeRozan in the deal but he had negotiated that Fields and a future first round pick to be sent instead. Fields is in his second season with Toronto and coming off a disappointing first year with the Raptors after signing a 3 year $20 million contract. This season marked a slight improvement for Fields as he has become an efficient high-energy hustle player off the bench despite his limited playing time.

If all goes according to plan, Carter-Williams and Hawes should be dressed and ready to play in the Raptors next game against the San Antonio Spurs.


Raptors Grade: B
Sixers Grade: B-



Mozgov Shipped to Denver for Bonner and a First Rounder

ImageImage


With injuries to Boris Diaw and Livio Jean- Charles, the Spurs look to add some toughness to their frontcourt by shipping away the seldom-used Matt Bonner and a first round pick to Denver for Timofey Mozgov. Bonner has spent most of his time on the inactive list for the Spurs, only averaging 4 minutes per game with a 1 point per game average. Mozgov has similar averages of 5.6 minutes and 1.6 points per game, but has played in every single game for Denver.

This trade was orchestrated by the Spurs mostly due to Jean-Charles and Diaw sustaining long term injuries. Each are expected to miss approximately a month of basketball due to a shoulder and hamstring injury. Surprisingly, they coughed up a first round draft pick in addition to taking on Mozgov's 2 year $9.05 million salary. Bonner on the other hand only has one year remaining on his contract as Denver continues to load up on three point shooters to compliment their run and gun playstyle.

Overall, it feels like the Spurs gave up a little too much and took on a little too much salary for just an insurance policy.

Nuggets Grade: B
Spurs Grade: C-

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Trade

Postby Vespasian92 on Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:43 am

MCW will probably help some of your bench players get better shots, particularly Ross. The first-round pick is always difficult to let go of, but you might be able to regain one later on if someone like Gay or Lowry end up needing to be moved before they expire. I don't really think it's that bad of a trade.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Trade

Postby dascoot on Tue Sep 24, 2013 5:06 am

I love the trade of Augstin and Fields for MCW and Hawes. I think that should improve your bench some.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Trade

Postby Its_asdf on Thu Sep 26, 2013 11:01 am

Green Nails Game Winning 3 Against Toronto

Image 103 (13-13) vs Image 105 (16-13)

Tor: 26|27|26|24
SAS: 26|24|32|23


2013/12/23

Danny Green managed to spoil the debut of Michael Carter-Williams and Spencer Hawes by draining the game winning three pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining. Carter-Williams had a good debut off the bench with 5 points and 8 assists and it appeared that he was just the shot in the arm at the point guard position that Toronto needed. Hawes also chipped in with a fairly pedestrian 4 points and 4 rebounds but did not receive as much playing time since starters Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson were playing well offensively.

While the new look Raptors managed to look good, the second unit still looked shaky at times due to the lack of developed on-court chemistry. Carter-Williams had a few costly turnovers in the early fourth quarter that led to back to back three pointers and Hawes travelled on a key possession at the 2 minute mark that prevented the Raptors from seizing any momentum. Ultimately the game came down to Green's three pointer in the corner from a kick-out pass out of a double team on Tim Duncan in the post. Kyle Lowry had a clean look at the three point line but the shot clanged off the rim as time expired.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
D. DeRozan: 32 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 11/25 FG
R. Gay: 21 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 8/18 FG
J. Valanciunas: 11 pts, 4 rebs, 3 blks, 5/6 FG
A. Johnson: 10 pts, 12 rebs, 5/10 FG

Spurs:
M. Ginobili: 18 pts, 3 asts, 6/10 FG
T. Parker: 18 pts, 2 rebs, 4 asts, 6/17 FG
T. Duncan: 16 pts, 14 rebs, 1 ast, 5/12 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. Green: 14 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 5/9 FG
K. Leonard: 12 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts, 5/10 FG



Toronto Once Again Falter in the Fourth

Image 93 (13-14) vs Image 111 (15-14)

Tor: 30|26|20|17
NYK: 32|26|20|33


2013/12/27

Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith propelled the Knicks to a victory over the Raptors as the Knicks exploded for 33 points in the fourth quarter. Toronto once again failed to put the clamps down defensively on the perimeter and allowed Smith and Anthony to walk all over the Raptors with spectacular all around performances. Both Smith and Anthony combined for 44 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists and 17/26 shooting. New York managed to keep the Raptors at bay for the first three quarters with the use of their slashing ability as they went to the freethrow line a total of 29 times. In sharp contrast, the Raptors only attempted 11, and made only 6. Once the Raptors started to cool off from the field, they became too predictable on offence and any momentum was quickly pulled from underneath them.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 23 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
D. DeRozan: 16 pts, 1 rebs, 6 asts, 7/13 FG
J. Valanciunas: 15 pts, 8 rebs, 3 blks
K. Lowry: 14 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts, 5 TOs

Knicks:
C. Anthony: 24 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 9/13 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
J.R. Smith: 20 pts, 8 rebs, 6 asts, 6/13 FG
R. Felton: 16 pts, 2 rebs, 6 asts, 2 stls
I. Shumpert: 14 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts, 4/4 3PT



Week 9 Featured Game: Raptors Get Revenge Against Knicks

Image 89 (15-15) vs Image 91 (14-14)

NYC: 27|25|16|21
Tor: 24|25|21|21


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New Raptors Spencer Hawes and Michael Carter-Williams helped lift the Raptors back to a .500 record.

2013/12/28

The Raptors finally nabbed their first win with their new roster, but barely scrapped by with a well balanced attack. No Raptor scored over 20 points for the game but at the same time they had 5 players in double figures. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Knicks put most of their eggs in one basket, with Carmelo Anthony dropping a game high of 32 points. "Melo is just one of those guys who's going to get his points and shots up," said DeMar DeRozan. "Our goal coming into this game was to try to slow him down but we also wanted to make sure that none of the other Knick players had a good night offensively."

Anthony did get some help from J.R. Smith, as he poured in 19 points and 8 rebounds, but the supporting cast failed to deliver. The next highest scorer for the Knicks was Amare Stoudemire with 13 points, but he only shot 5 for 14 from the field. "Give kudos to them (the Raptors), they made use of the home-and-home series and made the proper adjustments. I think we got a little to complacent out there because we beat them so easily last game," admitted Knicks coach Mike Woodson.

It appeared as if there was a complete reversal of strategies this game. Last game, the Knicks pounded the basketball inside for multiple trips to the free throw line while the Raptors were content to settle for outside jumpers. Instead, it was the Raptors who did all their damage by attacking the basket, going to the line 29 times. The Knicks were content to rely on their three point shooting, shooting 9/18 from three this game. At first glance that number might have seemed spectacular, but 8 of those attempts came in the second half with none of those attempts finding the bottom of the net.

"We were kind of getting pushed around that game, but we made the right adjustments at half time to really stop their hot shooting," said Kyle Lowry, who was two rebound shy of a triple double and finished with 0 turnovers. This was night and day compared to Lowry's previous game against the Knicks where he had 5 turnovers.

The upgraded bench of the Raptors also finally came through tonight, as Tyler Hansbrough led all bench players with 10 points. New comers Michael Carter-Williams and Spencer Hawes each chipped in with 6 points apiece. Dwane Casey found himself impressed by the productivity of the bench, claiming that they "did not disappoint tonight." "That's how we're going to win games as the season progresses; by having everyone play their role and pull their weight," he said.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Knicks:
C. Anthony: 32 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts, 11/18 FG
J.R. Smith: 19 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts, 6/12 FG, 6/9 FT
A. Stoudemire: 13 pts, 8 rebs, 2 asts, 5/14 FG
R. Felton: 7 pts, 2 rebs, 5 asts, 3/15 FG

Raptors:
R. Gay: 19 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts
D. DeRozan: 18 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts
K. Lowry: 16 pts, 8 rebs, 10 asts ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
J. Valanciunas: 13 pts, 12 rebs, 6/16 FG
T. Hansbrough: 10 pts, 4 rebs, 5/6 FG



RAPTOR OF THE WEEK:

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DeMar DeRozan
22 ppg
3.6 rpg
4.7 apg
45% FG
50% 3PT
75% FT

*note: averages are for the week, not over the entire season.

DeRozan had the most note-worthy offensive performance this week with a 32 point outing against the Spurs. The usual Raptor of the Week contenders Rudy Gay, Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry all put up pretty big numbers as well, but struggled from the field for the majority of the games. What made DeRozan's week stand out during week 9 was his passing ability. The draw and kick game was in full effect for DeMar this week, creating a lot of solid looks for others with his dump off passes to cutting big men or simply taking it to the rim himself for two foul shots. DeRozan has Tyler Hansbrough to thank for his up-tick in assists this week; Hansbrough has recently come back from injury and has developed some nice chemistry on the floor with DeRozan by being the main recipient of his passes.

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Trade

Postby Its_asdf on Thu Sep 26, 2013 11:07 am

Vespasian92 wrote:MCW will probably help some of your bench players get better shots, particularly Ross. The first-round pick is always difficult to let go of, but you might be able to regain one later on if someone like Gay or Lowry end up needing to be moved before they expire. I don't really think it's that bad of a trade.


Yeah, my hope with that trade was that by 2015 I'd be a pretty decent playoff team and that Carter-Williams will develop into something solid; whether it's as a starter or as a back-up I'm not too sure yet though.

dascoot wrote:I love the trade of Augstin and Fields for MCW and Hawes. I think that should improve your bench some.


So far they've been pretty good to me. Hawes definitely isn't starter material but tends to play pretty well against back-up big men. He's really mobile and can hit some longer range twos which is a boon for players like Ross, DeRozan and Gay who need the lane open to slash. MCW's jumpshot is dreadful in this game, but his length and his passing are really nice. It can be hard to go from a short, stocky dude who shoots 3s all day to a bricklaying 6'6 lanky dude.
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 9 Recap

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Sep 29, 2013 1:44 pm

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Casey Calls out Rudy Gay
Star Forward "Needs to Stop Being Passive" Says Coach


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Gay has been effective attacking the basket this season, but needs to do so more often.


Published on Dec 31, 2013

With 2013 soon to be behind them, Toronto is looking to turn over a new leaf and build up some chemistry between their new players after completing a 4 player trade with Philadelphia. However, in Dwane Casey's mind it's not the new players that he's worried about, it's Rudy Gay.

When asked about his New Years resolutions, Dwane Casey jokingly brought up Gay's passivity during games. "My resolution would probably be to try to get Rudy to score the ball more attacking the basket," laughed Casey.

Toronto's star small forward has seemingly performed up to par, at least statisically speaking. Gay is averaging 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game which are well in line with his career averages. What has people's heads turning in surprise is Gay's upswing in efficiency; particularly behind the three point arc. The 27 year old is shooting a career high 40% from three and is second in the team in three pointers made after Kyle Lowry. One could argue that Gay's productivity from the perimeter has been one of the main reasons why the Raptors as a team brandish a solid 38% three point field goal percentage. This is a huge turnaround from last season, where the Raptors were sixth from the bottom but are now the sixth best team in terms of three point field goal percentage.

"He's been huge for us when it comes to making people respect our outside shooting," said Casey. "But at the same time we're starting to live and die by three point shot now, and that's just not how we're going to win games against tougher defensive minded teams." This statement comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed Raptors games, particularly if they have been watching during the fourth quarter. Toronto's offence either seemingly implodes or flourishes, depending on how hot the team is feeling for that quarter. "We get leads by being aggressive and Rudy has got to be the one who sets the tone for us on that end. He's playing way too passively out there," Casey added.

In the past, Gay has been routinely criticized for being a ball stopper on offence who takes questionable shots at times, and this season is no different. The 6'9 forward has launched 135 three pointer attempts this season but has only attempted 129 free throws, a scary number for a player with as many tantalizing physical gifts that Gay has. At the same time, his reluctance to attack the basket has also caused his free throw shooting to suffer, as he is currently shooting a career low 71% from the line.

It's no secret that Rudy has worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon this off-season, and the improvements do show. Whenever Gay has established position at the free throw line area or closer, he puts on a display of artful spins, fakes and dribble moves that can leave his defenders in a daze. The only problem is getting him to actually execute these moves on a more consistent basis, Casey says. "He's worked with Hakeem and it shows. He's so tough to guard down low now, but every time we try to run a set for him, he ends up deviating from the plan and just settling. I think we might have come away with a few more wins under our belt if Rudy took charge of the offence and attacked their defence more."

Gay seemed to agree with some of Casey's points, but dismissed the criticism of his tendency to float more on the perimeter. "Yeah, I think I have gotten away from slashing to the basket a little bit this season," admitted Gay. "But I'm not doing it to shy away from contact or anything." Rudy then pointed out the team's balanced scoring and the utilization of other scorers in the paint like Jonas Valanciunas and slashers like DeMar DeRozan. "I'm not saying that I don't need to change anything right now, because I do think I can get to the freethrow line a bit more, but I'm not going to be going to the basket as often if we got other guys who can do it too. But if coach wants to change something up and play me more inside then I'm fine with that. Whatever help us get the win at the end of the day, I'm all up for it."

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 9 Recap + Casey Calls Out Gay

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:09 am

Week 10 Featured Game: Raptors Survive Rose Onslaught

Image 115 (15-14) vs Image 110 (21-9)

Tor: 25|37|22|31
Chi: 22|27|28|33


Image
Terrence Ross was out to prove that he was the most athletic guard on the court with this vicious poster dunk.

2013/12/31

Derrick Rose tried to keep his team in the game, but it just wasn't enough. Rose, after missing an entire year of basketball last season due to a torn ACL, dropped a season high 41 points and also chipped in with 4 steals. "He started off the season a bit slow but you can tell that he's really comfortable now," observed Raptors coach Dwane Casey.

Ultimately, Rose's fantastic play would be the Bulls' undoing. While scoring an impressive 41 points, Rose also needed 43 shot attempts in order to do so. This was reflected in the assists totals, which the Raptors dominated 29-19. "We shared the ball and it showed," said Kyle Lowry, who had a team high 6 assists. "We're at our best when everyone keeps the ball moving. We're not the best team when we rely on one hot hand, we have to play as a team to make this offense work."

The Raptors were able to take hold of the game early thanks unsurprisingly to the trio of Lowry, Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan. All three players demonstrated their tremendous impact on all facets of the game, combining for 67 points, 29 rebounds and 15 assists. Gay and DeRozan in particular were tremendous on the defensive glass, each securing double digit rebounds to lead the team. "There are a lot of rebounds to be had when you have one guy taking 43 shots," joked DeRozan.

Chicago managed to keep the game close thanks to their usual calling cards; rebounding and defence. The Bulls managed to secure 18 offensive rebounds to go along with 14 steals. "I feel like they roughed us up a little bit throughout the game but we responded pretty well by showing our own toughness," Casey said.

While Rose was unstoppable for 3 quarters, he eventually ran out of gas. The former MVP went 1 for 8 in the fourth quarter despite his team having a 33 point outburst.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 29 pts, 13 rebs, 4 ats, 2 blks, 2 stls, 12/22 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. DeRozan: 19 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts, 8/23 FG
K. Lowry: 19 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asts, 3 blks, 7/12 FG
J. Valanciunas: 10 pts, 10 rebs, 2 blks, 2/7 FG 6/8 FT

Bulls:
D. Rose: 41 pts, 3 rebbs, 8 asts, 4 stls, 16/43 FG
T. Gibson: 17 pts, 17 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks, 7/10 FG
C. Boozer: 14 pts, 17 rebs, 1 ast, 7/15 FG
J. Butler: 12 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 5/10 FG



Raptors Beat Pacers at Their Own Game

Image 84 (16-15) vs Image 113 (16-14)

Ind: 27|23|22|13
Tor: 32|25|30|26



2014/01/01

The Indiana Pacers are known to be a gritty team that hangs their hat on defence and team play. However, it was the Toronto Raptors who showed up with those qualities tonight. Toronto managed to cruise to a 30 point victory thanks to fantastic defence. Usually a team reliant on the three point shot, the Raptors struggled from beyond the arc, going 4 for 14 from three. Fortunately for them, superior ball movement was once again the Raptors' calling card for the game, as they racked up their second consecutive 29 assist night.

Toronto remained agressive all game long, relentlessly attacking the paint and getting Pacer big man Roy Hibbert in early foul trouble. Hibbert's impact on the game was menial, tallying only 6 points and 4 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Raptors wing duo of DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay continued their dynamic play, notching their second consecutive game with strong overall performances. With Indiana's main rim protector playing poorly, Gay and DeRozan were also complimented by strong performances from the Raptors big men trio of Jonas Valanciunas, Spencer Hawes and Amir Johnson.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Pacers:
CJ Watson: 17 pts, 2 rebs, 6 asts, 4 stls, 6/19 FG
L. Scola: 14 pts, 13 rebs, 2 asts, 5 TOs, 7/14 FG
P. George: 14 pts, 12 rebs, 5/13FG

Raptors:
R. Gay: 29 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 11/20 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
D. DeRozan: 21 pts, 8 rebs, 8 asts, 8/19 FG
J. Valanciunas: 14 pts, 8 rebs, 4 asts, 6/10 FG



Inside-Out Combo of Nene and Wall Too Much for Toronto

Image 98 (16-15) vs Image 109 (13-17)

Tor: 31|21|26|20
Was: 28|28|22|31


2014/01/03

After a stellar defensive outing against the Pacers to start off the New Year, the Toronto Raptors managed to follow it up by allowing the Washington Wizards to shoot 57% from the field and 54% from three. Toronto was able to keep up a high level of intensity as they shot 48% from the field and 50% from three themselves, but it was not able to overcome their incredibly pourous defense.

John Wall and Nene carved up the Raptors on the inside, leading the Wizards to 42 points in the paint. This opened up room for the Wizards' shooters. Bradley Beal and Martell Webster combined for 6 three pointers, and Beal in particular scored 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 30 pts, 3 rebs, 1 asts, 2 stls, 9/25 FG
D. DeRozan: 27 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls, 12/19 FG
S. Hawes: 11 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 4/6 FG 1/2 3PT

Wizards:
J. Wall: 27 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls, 12/18 FG ***(PLAYER OF THE GAME)***
Nene: 23 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts, 9/13 FG
B. Beal: 19 pts, 5 rebs, 7 asts, 7/11 FG, 3/4 3PT



Heat Get Payback Against Raptors

Image 98 (16-16) vs Image 115 (28-6)

Tor: 24|26|24|25
Mia: 28|28|28|31


2014/01/05

The Raptors gave the Heat a thorough beat down back in November, and Miami was eagerly awaiting to return the favour. Without stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami faltered to the Raptors 103-71. Now at full strength, Miami showed the Raptors what they were missing, as Wade and Bosh led the Heat in scoring. Surprisingly, the league's leading scorer LeBron James contributed only 18 points, but didn't need to as Wade and Bosh combined to hit 17 of their 27 shots.

On the Raptors' end, Jonas Valanciunas and Rudy Gay led the way for Toronto. Valanciunas managed to take advantage of Miami's small front court, bulldozing his way to 20 points but also had 5 turnovers. The Raptors as a whole tried to match the Heat's fast pace, but fumbled their way to 15 turnover night.

KEY PERFORMERS:

Raptors:
R. Gay: 23 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 3 blks, 7/17 FG
J. Valanciunas: 20 pts, 5 rebs, 10/21 FG
D. DeRozan: 13 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 3/11 FG, 7/10 FT
K. Lowry: 8 pts, 4 rebs, 9 asts, 3 stls, 3/10 FG

Heat:
D. Wade: 28 pts, 3 rebs, 6 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks, 10/14 FG
C. Bosh: 22 pts, 5 rebs, 7/14 FG, 7/8 FT
L. James: 18 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks, 6/14 FG
R. Allen: 14 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 6/9 FG



RAPTOR OF THE WEEK:

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Rudy Gay
27.8 ppg
7.8 rpg
3 apg
1 spg
1.5 bpg
46% FG
30% 3PT
75% FT

*note: averages are for the week, not over the entire season.

Gay managed to start off the week on an incredible 29 point 13 rebound double-double. While his other numbers (namely his shooting percentages) have wavered, his scoring prowess has not; Gay's lowest point total this week was 23 against Miami's top tier defence. Speaking of defence, Gay's stellar defence this week has showcased why he has the potential to be a devasting two way player. When he feels like it, Gay can really leverag his length and athleticism to become the most versatile defender on the team.

Next Week's Games
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 10 Recap

Postby Its_asdf on Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:25 am

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Raptors December Report Card

Published on Dec 31 2013

A 6-7 record for the month of December isn't exactly anything to write home about, but it was to be expected with more road games and tougher opponents cropping up in the schedule. It was pretty troubling to see Toronto fare incredibly poorly against upper echelon Western Conference teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors. All of those games were losses by a wide margin, which showed a lack of competitiveness when playing against teams that are disciplined and can execute plays effectively. The recurring theme of fourth quarter meltdowns or explosions also continues to be prevalent for the Raptors.

Last but not least, the Raptors also struck a deal mid way through the month by trading DJ Augustin, Landry Fields and a 2015 first rounder for Spencer Hawes and Michael Carter-Williams. While this move does bolster the Raptors talent level to perhaps compete for a playoff seed, mortgaging away future assets such as a first round pick could be a dangerous game to play with a team as volatile as this.

The Grading System
A - Above expectations. This player has gone above and beyond what has been expected of him and has performed at a high level consistently.
B - Hit expectations. This player has met or has gone slightly above what has been expected of him, but still needs to fine tune a few things.
C - Below expectations. This player has produced slightly below what has been expected of him. Can be sporadically effective at times, but is still a net positive.
D - Well below expectations. This player is severely lacking in several key areas and has performed poorly as a result. Overall he does more harm than good for the team.
F - Probably shouldn't be an NBA player.

Guards
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K. Lowry: B+
Lowry continues to stuff the stat sheet with his fantastic all-around play, but he hasn't had as many nights where he would flat out carry the Raptors like the ones back in November. It's hard to complain about Lowry's production as it is still near all-star caliber levels, but has had some drop off in productivity for the month of December. It seems that opposing teams are doing their homework on Lowry now as he has relied more and more on his erratic mid range jumper when teams take away his drives to the rim and his three point shot.
Statline: 15.9 ppg, 5 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 46.2% FG, 39.1% 3PT, 82.1% FT

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DeMar DeRozan: A
Much like his progress from season to season, the production of DeRozan has gone up slowly and steadily from the month of November to December. Aside from his field goal percentage, all of DeRozan's stats have seen a slight increase. The drop off in his shooting percentages were to be expected, but DeMar's all around game continues to flourish. What has impressed most people about DeMar's game this season is definitely his ability to rack up assists in transition, particularly while utilizing his drive-and-kick ability. There are some nights where DeRozan acts as a secondary playmaker on the floor and has done a good job in getting others (particularly big men who can cut to the rim) involved.
Statline: 19.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 0.9 spg, 44.9% FG, 41.8% 3PT, 78.8% FT

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Terrence Ross: C
Two things of major concern regarding Ross' game. First, his free throw percentage has dipped into the 50% range, which is absolutely unacceptable for a guard. Second is his tunnel vision on the floor. With his minutes getting cut a bit this month, Ross has made it even more of a priority to get his shots up. Ross has become much more predictable to read as people are keying in to the fact that he's a bit of a black hole on offense. Defensively, Ross has shown some nice development on the ball, but also remains a bit of a liability against stronger, lankier guards. What prevents Ross from having his grade drop too low is his potential to be an energetic 6th man scorer that we see glimpses of every now and then.
Statline: 9.6 ppg, 3 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.7 spg, 46.4% FG, 42% 3PT, 56.3% FT

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Michael Carter-Williams: C+
While an upgrade from DJ Augustin as a back-up point guard, Carter-Williams hasn't set the world on fire after coming in from his trade from the Sixers. Instead, Carter-Williams was just as advertised; a smooth offensive playmaker who lacks the perimeter skills to consistently hit the open jumpshot. Carter-Williams also displays a lot of potential as a defensive playmaker as well, racking up 1.1 steals per game in just 17 minutes a contest (the highest rate out of all the rookies.)
Statline: 6.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.1 spg, 41.4% FG, 36.1% 3PT, 77.9% FT

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Dwight Buycks: C
Buycks had a nice game in his NBA debut with 8 points, but that's about it from him. The addition of Michael Carter-Williams will probably keep Buycks limited to the bench barring any major injury. He definitely looks like he has the tools to be a solid combo guard scorer when he's given the minutes.
Statline: 0.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 50% FG, 50% 3PT, 100% FT

Forwards

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Rudy Gay: B-
While we were initially concerned about Gay's freethrow percentages, he hasn't done anything to stop those concerns as he continues to shoot a pretty lackluster percentage from there. Gay was also recently criticized by his head coach for coasting on the perimeter a bit too much. When Gay's jumper is falling, he is one of the most dangerous players in the league as he has shot the Raptors in to and out of a lot of games this month. It can be hard to blame Gay for his offensive shortcomings as he does seem to have recommitted himself to being a more impactful player on the defensive end by posting some really nice rebound/steal/block totals this month though.
Statline: 21.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.9 bpg, 45.3% FG, 39.7% 3PT, 71.2% FT

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Amir Johnson: B+
With virtually the same stats as last month, one would wonder why Amir would receive a bump in his grade. The fact that he maintained the same level of productivity while getting his minutes cut in favour of new big Spencer Hawes is quite remarkable. In fact, one could argue that Amir is even more effective in shorter spurts. Amir is able to play at his maximum energy level without worrying about having to play 30 plus minutes a night.
Statline: 7.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.6 bpg, 50.2% FG,, 71.9% FT

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Tyler Hansbrough: C
Hansbrough continues to be the agitating, hard-nosed workhorse off the bench. However, Psycho T sustained a heel injury that sidelined him for a two week stretch. In the mean time, the Raptors struck a deal for Spencer Hawes, whose finesse oriented play replaced Hansbrough's physical presence on the inside. Hansbrough still plays meaningful minutes doing what he does best, but he is definitely not as relied on as much as he was before.
Statline: 4.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.5 spg, 48.5% FG, 70.6% FT

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Quincy Acy: D+
Acy has been moved even further back in the depth chart on a team loaded with big forwards and centers. Acy has been caught trying to do too much at times when he does see action on the court, hoping to impress the coaching staff by playing more on the perimeter as opposed to being the hustle and energy player that he's supposed to be.
Statline: 0.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.5 apg, 47.4% FG, 75% FT

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Steve Novak: N/A
Novak has yet to see a minute on the court this season, and with the recent Philadelphia trade it doesn't look too promising that he will either.
Statline: None

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Austin Daye: N/A
Daye has officially been moved to the inactive list. Barring any major injuries it is doubtful that we will get a very good look at how he performs this season.
Statline: 0.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 25% FG

Centers

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Jonas Valanciunas: B
The future of the Raptors has made some strides during December by bumping up his field goal percentage to respectable (but still somewhat lacking) levels. Like most promising young big men, he is best off being the recipient of passes off the pick and roll and lobs at the rim. In November, it seemed that he tried to display his unrefined but promising 15 foot jumper way too often. It looks like the coaching staff has got through to him though, as he has seen a slight upswing in productivity by understanding his role as the fourth option on the court.
Statline: 11 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 bpg, 48.9% FG, 73.9% FT


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Spencer Hawes: B+
Hawes has come in to the Raptors and has been a stable contributor off the bench. This is surprising considering his reputation as a player who takes games off on a regular basis. Hawes has been a great back up center for Valanciunas as he brings a nice package of size and skill which he can use to full effect against opposing teams' weaker bigs.
Statline: 10.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.2 bpg, 44.2% FG, 31.4% 3PT, 73.1% FT

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Cole Aldrich: D
When Tyler Hansbrough was injured, it was the perfect opportunity for Aldrich to shine and showcase that he could be a reliable back up in this league. Unfortunately for him, he looked uncomfortable being given more minutes.
Statline: 1.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.6 bpg, 35.7% FG, 54.5% FT

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Aaron Gray: N/A
Nothing to say really. Gray's just doesn't have much going for him in comparison to all of the other big men on the roster.
Statline: None

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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 10 Recap + November Report Car

Postby Valor on Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:38 am

Just got a chance to check this out, solid stuff you got here man, love the report cards! Raptors are an intriguing team for sure, interested to see where you go with this roster. Keep it up! (Y)
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Re: Its_asdf's Raptors - Week 10 Recap + November Report Car

Postby Radioman on Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:36 pm

Great read so far, you have a really awesome Dynasty going on. Lets see how the acquisition of Michael Carter-Williams turns out.
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