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10 things: COVID-wrecked Raptors completely fall apart against Pistons – Yahoo Canada Sports

Published

4 years ago

March 4, 2021

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ 129-105 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

One — Yikes: The Raptors were not prepared to play this game, which is understandable with at least a dozen members of the organization in COVID-19 protocol. But to be outplayed to this extent by the Detroit Pistons, who were also without several starters, is unacceptable. The Pistons don’t even have the likes of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby to miss in the first place, so there really isn’t an excuse to not at least compete. This is the worst defensive effort by the Raptors stretching back a decade, and that’s not even hyperbole.

Two — Flat: The Pistons scored 43 points in the first quarter, making 16 field goals and every single basket was assisted. The Raptors actually took a 10-3 lead to start which prompted a quick timeout from Dwane Casey, and the Pistons were nowhere to be seen from that point onward. It was the 73-win Golden State Warriors the rest of the way, with Wayne Ellington playing the role of Stephen Curry, and Svi Mykhailiuk as Klay Thompson, and Mason Plumlee as a more bruising version of Draymond Green. The Raptors, meanwhile, looked like the Pistons.

Three — Mistakes: The Raptors should submit tape of this game to the Basketball Hall of Fame because every coach at every level should show this game as an example of what not to do on defense. Name any mistake, and the Raptors made it. Leaving shooters wide open? Yes. Two players rotating to the same man without communicating? Yes. Giving up open driving lanes for no reason whatsoever? Yes. Doubling the post against a pass-first, score-never center? Yes. Failing to box out and giving up four offensive rebounds on the same play?

Yes. Not giving any effort to defend in transition? Yes. Reaching in at half court when your team is in the bonus? Yes, again. Even high school players would be scolded for the mistakes that the Raptors made, and at no point did they even come close to stringing together three competent possessions.

Four — Worst: The worst offender on the night was Terence Davis, who turned a rare opportunity to start into a showcase as to why he’s normally benched. Davis was a trainwreck on both ends. Offensively, he forced contested shots that were either bricked jumpers, or wild drives that left him on the floor and unable to get back. Defensively, he kept losing Ellington in rotation and was just straight-up guessing on his rotations, which left his teammates completely out to dry. Davis was even committing lane violations, which just speaks to a lack of concentration. He’s making it up as he goes and almost never has a game plan for what he’s about to do.

Five — Empty: The Raptors also turned to Yuta Watanabe for his first career start, and although he wasn’t actively destructive like Davis, it was still glaringly obvious that Watanabe just wasn’t doing anything. Watanabe is an energy player who is the fifth option regardless of who else is on the floor, and energy players can’t be invisible, because all that’s left to notice is him missing open jumpers or botching a transition layup. Watanabe can be an effective glue player, but there was nothing to be held together tonight.

Six — Silent: The reserves weren’t any better, and were utterly demolished by the Pistons’ reserves. Even the most hardcore NBA fans couldn’t identify Pistons reserve Saben Lee, but now the Raptors will know him as a Chris Paul impersonator, because that’s how badly he torched them. The entire second unit for the Raptors was a drag, as Chris Boucher couldn’t defend a lick at the basket, while the rest of them couldn’t score if their careers depended on it. Matt Thomas broke free at the end for a few jumpers, but he missed every look that actually mattered, and was so porous on defense that career journeyman Rodney McGruder zoomed past him like a Ferrari on Highway 407.

Seven — Wasted: Norman Powell did his best to keep the Raptors alive. He scored at will to start and finished with 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting with five threes. Powell reached deep into his bag to keep pace with the Pistons, including hitting a rare turnaround jumper out of the post, but he couldn’t do it on his own. The Pistons were more physical with Powell in the second half, and oriented most of their help defenders toward cutting off his drives, and yet he was still able to break free. He just ran out of gas in the end, and really, there was no more point in chasing the game. The game cannot be won by one man.

Eight — Valiant: Kyle Lowry tried to support Powell every step of the way. He nailed a handful of pull-up jumpers, baited his way into free throws, set up Aron Baynes for rolling dunks, took a charge in transition, and he even passed up open shots in an effort to get his teammates going. But there is only so much Lowry can do, especially when he was tiring by the third quarter, and at some point his teammates need to match his effort. Lowry can do a lot with very little, but even very little was beyond most of the Raptors tonight.

Nine — Tricks: Acting coach Sergio Scariolo left no page unturned in Nick Nurse’s playbook. He shifted into zone defenses, deploying a triangle-and-two on the Pistons (really, it was that bad) and calling upon every player on the roster who wasn’t a G-League call-up, but nobody answered outside of Lowry and Powell. It’s hard to fault Scariolo for this, as everyone is just trying to do their best. The Raptors were off for several days, then had to call a rare evening practice on Tuesday with Jalen Harris and Donta Hall crashing in last minute, and this was the result.

Ten — Schadenfreude: It’s been three years since the Raptors dismissed Dwane Casey and replaced him with his assistant, and while time heals all wounds, there might always be some bitterness. Casey issued a coach’s challenge on Boucher’s drive with four minutes left and his team comfortably leading by 22, which dragged out a game that was decidedly finished regardless of the review. The Pistons have really relished playing against the Raptors over the past few years, and honestly, it’s good that the players respond so strongly to their coach. Casey is a good man and an energetic coach, and it’s really too bad that he’s stuck in a rebuild.

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

9 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

9 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

Published

9 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.

It won’t be an easy assignment.

Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.

“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”

Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”

Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.

After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.

“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”

Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.

“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.

A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.

“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”

But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.

“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”

Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”

“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.

Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.

“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”

While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.

“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”

The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.

“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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