2019-2020 Toronto Raptors Thread: “Hail to the Champions! In Masai We Believe”

[hockeyfan1]

Lowry having a banner year so far:

[tweet]1192487290788032514[/tweet]

[hockeyfan1]

Siakam is leading the pack into the Raptors record books...

[tweet]1192471856932106244[/tweet]

[hockeyfan1]

McCaw out (injury); Boucher, Thomas, & Davis in.

[tweet]1192157431721279497[/tweet]

[tweet]1192212553297993729[/tweet]

[hockeyfan1]

The Raptors this season have gotten the most minutes as well as points from seven players on the roster...more than any team in the league.  How long can they keep this up for and do they carry enough depth?





https://theathletic.com/1349364/2019/11/05/small-sample-theatre-three-early-raptors-trends-to-keep-an-eye-on/

[hockeyfan1]

Raptors win 122-104 over the New Orleans Pelicans but it came with a cost...Lowry (thumb) & Ibaka (ankle) both injured. 

Still, it was Siakam who led the way with a whopping 44 points & 10 rebounds.  OG Anunoby also contributed with 21 pts., 7 rebds., & 1blk, while Norm Oowell provided some bench strength with 18 pts., 4 rebds., & 1 stl.

Chris Boucher showed why he won defensive player honours in the G-league as he demonstrated some apt timing as well as contributing offensively no less. 
Matt Thomas went 5/8 on the 3-pointers— his specialty.

Toronto unleashed 45 points in the second quarter to vaunt ahead and never relinquished their lead.  Poor Pelicans.

Boucher!
[tweet]1192982134060916736[/tweet]

OG, oh yeah!
[tweet]1192984839206690817[/tweet]

Spicy's dance:
[tweet]1193000918888919040[/tweet]

Highlights:

https://www.nba.com/raptors/video/teams/raptors/2019/11/09/2877282/1573270772621-nba-web-191108-gamehil-torvsnopdigital-2877282

[hockeyfan1]

Raptors injury update:

[tweet]1193009826634305536[/tweet]

[tweet]1193022187277434880[/tweet]

[Highlander]

adversity is a bone for the dogs to chew on.  Now we have the test, a fracture in the thumb means at least 3 weeks for Lowry.   Serge almost looked like it would be a fracture as well, but I think that kind of sprain is around 4 weeks... Dr. Highlander has spoken.

[L K]

Hell of a win in LA.   Boucher and Davis really stepped up

[hockeyfan1]

It sure felt good beating LeBron at his own game.  Especially those blocks on his layups. 

Like the Raptors 'swarming' in the paint as defensive tactics particularly late in the game with L.A. threatening a comeback.  Overall, very pleased with  Toronto's performance.

So far, they are 2-0 on this five-game road trip.  Next up, Kawhi & the Clippers tonight.

GO RAPTORS!

Highlights:
https://www.nba.com/video/2019/11/11/0021900139-los-angeles-lakers-vs-toronto-raptors-game-highlights

[hockeyfan1]

Clippers coach Doc Rivers on Kawhi:

https://sports.yahoo.com/clippers-doc-rivers-on-kawhi-leonard-relationship-with-raptors-he-has-a-different-bond-with-them-042058793.html

For the record, Kawhi committed 9 turnovers (courtesy of the Raptors defence) but L.A. still managed to beat  Toronto team 98-88 Monday night.  Raptors appeared to tire in the later stages of the final quarter but they were a tough team to beat no question about it.
Kawhi didn't power the Clippers in so much as their bench did, outperforming the Raptors bench in the scoring department.

Hollis-Jefferson defence!
[tweet]1194118714590937088[/tweet]

Boucher!
[tweet]1194131441568960513[/tweet]

Highlights:
https://www.nba.com/raptors/video/teams/raptors/2019/11/12/2880643/1573539059647-nba-web-191111-gamehil-torvslacdigital-2880643

[hockeyfan1]

Raptors latest home win, (after winning 3 out of 5 on the road), a 132-96 blowout of the Charlotte Hornets Monday.

[tweet]1196622541504307205[/tweet]

Anunoby is flying:
[tweet]1196938737340551168[/tweet]

[hockeyfan1]

Keep on 'runnin...

[tweet]1199882739333451776[/tweet]

Raptors defeated R.J.Barrett & the Knicks 126-98.

Highlights:
https://www.nba.com/raptors/video/teams/raptors/2019/11/28/2914507/1574910927353-nba-web-191127-highlightsdigital-2914507

[hockeyfan1]

Make that six in a row...

The Raptors, powered by Norm Powell's 33 points and VanVleet's 22 pts., picked apart the Orlando Magic last night 90-83.  The score was indicative of low lying offence in this game as the a Raptors dominated both the third and fourth quarters to carve out the win.  Toronto's defence smothered the Magic when it counted most towards the latter stages of the game.

Powell!
[tweet]1200591384161529861[/tweet]

More Powell:

[tweet]1200589650227798020[/tweet]

Can these kids run! Davis:
[tweet]1200571905595625472[/tweet]

Anunoby!

[tweet]1200570067408359425[/tweet]

Highlights:
https://www.nba.com/raptors/video/teams/raptors/2019/11/30/2918183/1575081267634-nba-web-191129-highlightsdigital-2918183

[hockeyfan1]

There is something about the Utah Jazz that the Raptors like.  For the upteenth time in as many meetings between these two teams — the first a bottom six Conference occupier and second a top tier Conference occupier — Toronto won out again, a 130-110 outcome for their seventh straight win Sunday.  The Raptors are undefeated on home court this season.

Once again, the Raptor buzzword is their defence.  Suffocating defence coupled with sharpshooting equals a tough act to stop for just about any team that has played Toronto this year. 

Even in that awful performance Friday night in Orlando, the Raptors found a way to comeback and win.  But, when they take the lead, they're tough to contain especially at home...

[tweet]1201291502737149952[/tweet]

...get the picture.  Just ask the Jazz.  Chances are high they probably felt like fleeing at that point.

Siakam led the way with 35 points, 5 rebds., & 2 stls., followed by VanVleet with 21 pts., 5 rebds., Powell with 15 pts., Ibaka, Davis, Anunoby & Hollis-Jefferson all contributed one way or another.

Hollis-Jefferson:
[tweet]1201286622949658626[/tweet]

Siakam:
[tweet]1201288688975720449[/tweet]

O G!
[tweet]1201296344507396099[/tweet]

VanVleet:
[tweet]1201305295399653382[/tweet]

Highlights:

https://www.nba.com/raptors/video/teams/raptors/2019/12/02/2921196/1575251265667-191201-postup-torvsuta-highlightsdigital

[hockeyfan1]

Not including tonight's game against Jimmy Butler & the Miami Heat, the Raptors currently rank third in the NBA power rankings.  Here's a look at how they're doing so far:

Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)

Toronto Raptors
Record: 15-4
Pace: 101.3 (14) OffRtg: 111.2 (5) DefRtg: 102.3 (2) NetRtg: +8.8 (2)

The Raptors remain pretty, pretty good. They've won seven straight games, picking up wins over the Sixers and Jazz last week, holding Joel Embiid scoreless and dropping Utah from fifth to 11th in defensive efficiency in one night with a rather ridiculous performance from the perimeter. They're still just 3-4 in games between the 13 teams that are currently over .500, but they've joined the Bucks as teams in the top five on both ends of the floor, and they're the only team in the league that hasn't lost a game that wasn't within five points in the last five minutes. After the 77-point first half on Sunday, they've scored a league-best 118.4 points per 100 possessions at home, where they've had a much lower turnover rate (13.4 per 100 possessions vs. 16.5 on the road) and where they're 9-0, with their schedule remaining home-heavy through the end of the month. A couple of good teams are at Scotiabank Arena this week, and their visit to Philly on Sunday will obviously test their ability to take the show on the road.


Source:  NBA.com