Morning Coffee – Wed, Mar 30
this tweet was BAD when it was posted, and aged even worse. lol https://t.co/igNWHlARfl
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) March 29, 2022
Oral history of Raptors’ Morris Peterson’s shot vs. Wizards | The Star
Peterson checked into the game with just 9.3 seconds left but after a quick three from teammate Juan Dixon, the Raptors were down 105-104, and he was subbed out. He checked back in after Arenas was fouled. The Wizards star hit two free throws with 3.8 seconds left.
Mitchell: It was a desperation thing because, when they hit two free throws, we were out of timeouts. Anthony Parker tried to throw a long pass to Chris Bosh. I think we were trying to do something with Chris trying to seal (Michael) Ruffin and catch it and just try and get a shot off.
Peterson: When Anthony Parker threw the ball, I looked and I was like, we threw it away. I think we were trying to throw the ball in and shooters run wide to try and get a shot.
Mitchell: In those cases, 99.9 per cent, you will lose the game.
Peterson: We brought it down the court and we turned it over. But Ruffin threw the ball up, I guess?
Mitchell: I looked down at (Wizards coach) Eddie Jordan and he gave that congratulatory wave. I knew Eddie, we were friends. So we kind of gave each other that pleasant nod, like, ‘Hey, good game, you got this one.’
Swirsky: When Ruffin threw the ball in the air, he just threw it up thinking, ‘OK, I’m gonna throw this thinking that time is going to expire,’ or ‘By the time I get the ball, throw it up, by the time it comes down, no one’s going to be able to just catch and shoot.’
Peterson: To this day, I don’t know if Ruffin didn’t want to get fouled because he wasn’t a good free-throw shooter or he just threw it up and he just miscalculated it.
Mitchell: I believe Ruffin did that because he was a poor free-throw shooter and he didn’t want to get fouled. What I learned from that night is you can’t put guys in at the end of the game that are afraid to shoot free throws. Because a play like that may be 1 in 100 from happening, but it happened.
Peterson: When he threw it up, I saw the ball coming down, and I was just thinking to myself, ‘Man, this ball looks like it’s coming back my way.’
Swirsky: If you look at the tape, you’ll see Eddie Jordan, the head coach, going to midcourt to shake Sam Mitchell’s hand.
Mitchell: While Eddie waved and turned to walk, my eyes were still on Mo. I’m looking at Mo, and Mo was looking at the ball. And I said, ‘What in the hell is Mo doing?’ And the ball came down again.
Thaddeus Young’s addition proving to be a wise one by Raptors | Toronto Sun
Young didn’t come with the same needle-moving potential as the two additions the Celtics made at the deadline, but for one his impact on the game was bigger than either of the Boston adds.
Siakam joked after the game that Young, given his age, needed a little more time in the hot and cold tubs as well as the sauna before he would be ready to address the media.
We suggest with some certainty the smile on Siakam’s face put there by Monday’s win would not have been there without Young’s contributions.
Best of all, Young says he’s still in the process of finding his full rhythm with the team, though that has clearly been much better of late.
“It took me a little minute to kind of get myself back in a rhythm,” Young said of his progress since coming to Toronto. “Like just with playing because I wasn’t playing at all in San Antonio. But now I feel like I’m getting in a good groove. I feel like I’m acclimated to what we are doing. And I feel like I’m back to my old self, getting in a good flow.
“I just want to keep that going and ride this wave into the playoffs.”
And as for that extended time in post-game recovery, Young assures us he’s handling things.
“My body is fine,” he said, repeating himself once more for emphasis. “Just my ankles are a little beat up right now from the little spill I had. Other than that, I should be fine. Just got to get treatment and make sure I work through it. Be ready for the next one.”
Pascal Siakam May Miss All-NBA Due to Raptors Innovation – Sports Illustrated
Today, it would be the top 15 players to fill the three teams. Is there a problem if Jokic, Embiid, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo shared first-team honors together? In a hypothetical game, would that team struggle? I think not.
“To be honest with you, if you go by position, I feel like some bigs are really good, some point guards are really good, but if you go by position you may have to take someone out,” said Chris Boucher, another one of Toronto’s forward-center hybrids.
Changing the rules, however, would impact Siakam who is very much in the race for one of the league’s six All-NBA forward spots. He won’t beat out James, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, or DeMar DeRozan, but he’s certainly in that next group alongside Jimmy Butler for the final of the ‘traditional’ forward spots.
But all that could change if voters decide to do something different this season and disregard tradition to ensure the league’s top players earn All-NBA and first-team honors. There’s no doubt Siakam is playing at an All-NBA level, but, truth be told, he’s not a top 15 player in the league this season.
In the end, his candidacy may fall because of Toronto’s innovation and the death of traditional basketball.
Thad Young shows veteran savvy in crunch time for a young Raptors team | The Star
That’s the thing the Raptors need most from Young — an impact that is as much steady as it is spectacular. He won’t have to shoot much, he won’t have to guard the best player on the other team, but as long as he gives the Raptors something and doesn’t hurt them, he’s going to play because he knows how to.
“He definitely knows the game and he’s been around for a while,” Pascal Siakam said. “He’s out there moving, talking, getting rebounds … and I think that he’s someone who’s a veteran and knows how to play the game.”
Young played nearly 28 minutes Monday, the most he has played in a game this season, and he was on the floor for the entire fourth quarter and all of overtime. In a game that was full of physicality, he provided more than the Raptors were getting from the likes of Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher.
It was an unexpectedly long run for the six-foot-eight forward and he was certainly feeling it after the game. But a win makes the pain easier to deal with. Being around a young, energetic group has infused Young with the necessary energy.
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) tries to get past Toronto Raptors forward Thaddeus Young (21) on Monday night.
“I played over 1,000 games, and they’re just getting to, like, 20,” he joked. “So (it is) just realizing the spurts where I can have energy and the spurts where I don’t have to use as much.
“When you start getting to my age — although I’m not that old, I’m only 33 — you start getting into the years, you have to find ways to keep yourself going and stuff like that. I think I’ve done that, just coming in and making sure that I bring the energy … and making sure that I’m putting maximum effort out there.”
It’s unlikely Young will be asked to play 28 minutes a game very often but that doesn’t mean his impact will be lessened.
NBA Future Power Rankings – Predicting best, worst franchises – ESPN
This week: 11
Last week: 15Toronto’s move up the rankings here is almost exclusively due to its jump from 18th to 13th in the player category. That jump corresponds with Scottie Barnes emerging as a franchise cornerstone as a rookie, Gary Trent Jr. continuing to come into his own and Pascal Siakam returning to his pre-bubble form. Pairing that with one of the league’s best management teams in Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse has the Raptors, despite not having a superstar, moving up this list with more room to grow in the future as Barnes, in particular, continues to develop. — Bontemps
This week: 11
Last week: 14Weekly slate: Loss at Bulls, Win over Cavs, Win over Pacers
Promising lineup: Fred VanVleet | Scottie Barnes | OG Anunoby | Pascal Siakam | Chris Boucher
Last time we checked: 26 minutes | -2.0 net rating
Updated numbers: 36 minutes | +2.9 net ratingWell, this Toronto Raptors lineup didn’t exactly get fleshed out over the past two months, so let’s look at something different. The second most-used lineup for the Raptors this season has VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Barnes, Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. This lineup has played 158 minutes, they defend the air out of the ball and they’re beating teams down by 7.9 points per 100 possessions. I love this lineup for them because it has so much versatility, and I think it’s impressive to see how successful they’re capable of being without relying on Siakam to be out there. The Raptors have been resilient for a couple of years now, and it shows they don’t necessarily need their top guy to play great basketball.
Morning Coffee – Wed, Mar 30 originated on Raptors Republic.