Well, the preseason is, anyway. It feels like just yesterday we were bidding the 2019-20 season farewell. Still, in what has been a pretty dang miserable year, it is nice to have the Raptors back in our lives, isn’t it?
And lucky for us, our first preseason action showed us that this year’s Toronto Raptors team, despite the new faces, might be just as fun as last year’s, as they spent the middle two quarters of last night’s game just steamrolling the Charlotte Hornets on their way to an easy 111-100 win.
Let’s quickly run down a few thoughts:
Let the Malachi Flynn Hype Begin
Last night saw the debut of a much-herlanded rookie point guard who ran the show and played both ends like a seasoned vet.
It also saw LaMelo Ball play his first NBA minutes.
I kid! LaMelo throw some highlight-worthy passes in his debut, and hauled in 10 boards (though he was shut out of the scoring column).
But how about Malachi Flynn!?
I’ll be honest, I had no expectations for Flynn coming in. For all the draft reports that said he was a perfect fit in Toronto, he was still the second-last pick in the first round. Guys picked that low rarely find roles early on.
But if one preseason game is any indication (it’s probably not! but) I may have to readjust my thinking. Flynn looked great out there, playing in control, making smart decisions, shooting the ball well… and, perhaps most importantly, he looked like a great fit on the defensive end. He was in the right spots, kept himself wide, and didn’t reach or gamble.
Perhaps my favourite Flynn moment came early in the fourth quarter, when, after he missed a layup, Flynn immediately jumped back into the play and knocked the rebound away from Hornets centre Nick Richards as the teams went the other way. Flynn then gathered the ball and dished it to Deandre’ Bembry for a layup.
It was positively Lowry-esque! I’m still not sure Flynn will be a contributor this season, but he’s off to a great start.
More Matt Thomas
Speaking of great starts, how good did Matt Thomas look? He was featured in the offense much more last night than we’d seen in the past, coming off screens and curls and popping threes. He finished with 16 points on nine shots.
He also looked to be moving at a more natural pace; even though Thomas was an “old” rookie, players always say it takes some time in the NBA before things start to slow down for them.
If things are slowing down for Thomas, and he can play decent defies, he should get consistent minutes this year (and maybe challenge for the league lead in three-point percentage).
Extension-Ready OG
OG Anunoby had a solid game too, perhaps sending a message to Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster that wants that contract extension. I don’t think that’s in the cards just yet but regardless, it was great to see him playing inside-outside and flashing a little juice with the around-the-back dribble leading to the slam:
I have no idea if OG is ready to take that leap we’ve all been waiting for, but if he plays like that all season, that next contract — whether it comes now or later — will take care of itself.
Rust, Shake Thyself
It sure didn’t look pretty early, did it? I guess we all know what to expect in preseason games, but because it wasn’t so long ago that we last saw the Raptors, it didn’t quite have the same feel going in.
Didn’t take long to acquire that feel though, as the Raptors looked like they’d never seen each other before in the first six minutes, falling behind by as many as 19 points.
Fred VanVleet in particular looked a bit rusty, as he couldn’t break anyone down off the dribble (including Bismack Biyombo) and needed to bank in his only three pointer of the night. He also looked, maybe, kinda sort… a bit out of shape? Not that I would blame him — besides the short offseason, trying to manage two young kids in a pandemic makes maintaning healthy eating and exercise habits tough for anyone, even NBA players! Pascal Siakam’s jump shot looked nice and smooth, but he still seems a bit off around the rim. Chris Boucher looked exactly the same as the last time we saw him— flying all over the place and causing chaos, in both good and bad ways. Aron Baynes and Norman Powell both looked lost most of the night.
With a short preseason there’s not a lot of margin of error here, so let’s hope everyone gets on track soon.
Enough with the Fake Crowd Noise
The crowd noise from the Charlotte arena last night was horrendous. Way too loud, and not at all dynamic/reacting to the action — it was just a din. It sounded awful and made the broadcast noticeably worse.
I have to ask.. who is this for? Does anyone actually want fake crowd noise? It’s clearly not for the fans — I haven’t seen anyone say how good it sounds or how natural it is — everyone is complaining about how bad it is and how much they’d rather just have the actual sound. Is it for the broadcasters themselves? Do they feel more comfortable with the noise?
I really don’t get it.
******
So after that one… who’s excited for more Raps-Hornets!? Let’s do it all again on Monday.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
