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Matt Thomas establishing himself as Toronto Raptors' secret weapon – TSN

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TORONTO – Given all of the challenges that the Raptors present to opposing defences, it’s hard to imagine that sparingly used guard Matt Thomas was featured heavily in Milwaukee’s scouting report going into Tuesday’s battle of Eastern Conference titans.

If you’re game planning for Toronto, you’re almost certainly starting with the team’s budding superstar Pascal Siakam. From there, you’re worrying about Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet and Serge Ibaka, and so on – they’re one of the deepest clubs in the NBA.

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But Thomas? The 25-year-old rookie is averaging just 10.3 minutes per contest and has sat out of more games than he’s played in this season. His role has fluctuated, he’s bounced in and out of Nick Nurse’s rotation, and he missed significant time with a fractured finger.

You can understand how he would have evaded the Bucks’ radar, but his name is one they’re unlikely to forget after his brief, but impactful, stint in the first half of Milwaukee’s 108-97 victory in Toronto.

Thomas checked in to begin the second quarter. After picking up a couple quick fouls, the Raptors’ sharpshooter came off a good screen set by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to drill his first jumper, a three-pointer from the elbow. On the next possession, Lowry found Thomas open in transition and he hit another, forcing Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer to call a timeout.

Clearly a topic of conversation in the huddle, the Bucks had a defender draped all over Thomas, but after using a screen from Chris Boucher a minute later, he drilled his third consecutive three. Toronto’s lead, which was two points when Thomas entered the game, grew to nine after that bucket and was as large as 12 in the quarter before Milwaukee seized momentum going into the halftime break.

“I think my minutes have been so up and down that I probably miss [coming up on] the scouting reports of some of the teams we’re playing,” said Thomas, following Toronto’s Thursday morning practice. “But as games go on, especially against Milwaukee, they defend me differently in the second half than they did in the first half. I’m sure that may continue to ramp up as the season goes on and obviously in the playoffs.”

Undrafted out of Iowa State in 2017, Thomas spent a couple seasons playing in Spain, where he became known as one of the best shooters outside of the NBA. He finally got his opportunity in the league when the Raptors signed him over the summer, and his most lauded skill has certainly translated.

Through 27 games, Thomas is shooting 34-for-66 from beyond the arc and leads the NBA in three-point percentage (52 per cent) among players that have attempted at least 50 treys.

Thomas on his game: ‘Shooters need to have a different mindset’

Nick Nurse spoke after shoot-around today about just how much Matt Thomas has improved as a player since he’s arrived in Toronto, both as a shooting threat and on the defensive side of the ball. Thomas himself spoke about what he has done to work on his game and how he feels about his usage.

While opposing teams may not be spending time preparing for him directly, most of them know what he’s looking to do – and what Nurse wants him to do – when he comes into a game. He’s out there to stretch the floor. He’s out there to shoot. Generally, that means those shots aren’t going to come easy. Teams will face-guard him and make sure he doesn’t have much time or space to square up and release the ball.

“They certainly know,” Nurse said. “Sometimes a guy will come in that hasn’t played in forever and the guys are immediately asking, ‘Hey, we didn’t cover this guy in the scouting. Who is he? What’s he do?’ And you’re saying, ‘Shooter, you got to press up on him.’ They’re going to get some information on him.”

He’s made the adjustment, though. Nurse compares him to veteran shooter J.J. Redick in the way he’s learned to move without the ball, come off screens, find separation and get the shot off.

A natural shooter, Thomas doesn’t have a strict regimen in terms of the number of jumpers he fires up per day, like some guys do. He doesn’t count them. Instead, he “listens to [his] body” and goes by feel. Some days that means getting up more shots, some days it’s less. 

Even as word is starting to spread around the league – he can shoot the hell out of the ball – Thomas doesn’t want to be typecast. He’s shown that he can capably put the ball on the floor and pull up from mid-range when his defender closes out.

But, more than anything else, he’s tried to prove himself on the defensive end. That was the knock on him coming into the league and the big question entering his rookie campaign: could he guard his position well enough to stay on the floor? It’s something he’s worked hard on throughout the year, especially when he was out with the finger injury and couldn’t shoot.

“I’ve always had the ability to make shots, and all the footwork and flying off screens,” Thomas said. “I’ve done that stuff for a number of years. Defence, I still have a lot of room to improve and I know that and I’m going to continue to work on that side of the floor. But I think I’ve made good strides this year in that area.”

“I don’t really notice him being a big problem [on the defensive end],” said Nurse. “He plays great team defence, he plays hard, he’s not afraid to go up and challenge and pressure the ball. That’s what we’ve wanted him to do, so he’s been good. They try to go at him a bit and I haven’t really noticed it being a big problem.”

Sometimes Thomas will ask a teammate to play one-on-one after practice to help him work on his defence. He also watches plenty of film. But there’s another important part of his routine that he brings up: meditation.

“I need to be more consistent, but it’s one thing I try to do in the morning,” he said. “It helps me with my clarity and my decision-making. I feel like my interactions with people are better and how I feel about my day when I’m in tune with myself.”

How much has Thomas’ role fluctuated this season? Just take the last six games, for instance. With the team undermanned, he’s gotten a chance to play in each of them – his longest stretch of consecutive appearances since November. However, in three of those contests he logged fewer than three minutes, with all of his run coming in garbage time. In the other three, he totalled 41 points in 49 minutes, shooting a remarkable 11-for-16 from three-point range.

On Thursday, Nurse indicated that Thomas’ recent play should earn him more time. Although, it could be difficult to find him minutes with a couple players at his position nearing a return from injury. Patrick McCaw, who has been out with an illness, is expected back on Friday when Toronto hosts the Charlotte Hornets, and Norman Powell, who’s missed the last month with a broken finger, shouldn’t be far behind (he’s listed as questionable for Friday’s game).

At full strength, Thomas probably slots in as the Raptors’ 11th or 12th man, but Nurse has shown a willingness to tinker with his rotation and keep things fluid, especially when somebody is performing well enough to force his hand. Thomas’ role will likely continue to be situational. Still, as the season rolls on and even going into the playoffs, having one of the best shooters in the world sitting on your bench, ready to come in and potentially shift the momentum of a game at a moment’s notice, is a pretty nice luxury.

“I said it when I first got here – I’m open to anything,” Thomas said. “I’m just here to help this team win. Whether I’m on the bench supporting and waving a towel and cheering guys on, or I’m on the court competing and trying to knock down shots and defend. Whatever my role is that day, I’ll make sure I’m ready to contribute.”​

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Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

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Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

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Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

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NHL analyst gets absolutely roasted for ‘insanely rich’ take on Zach Hyman

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They say everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when you’re a member of the media and you share a truly awful take, you’re going to get called out for it.

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That’s what happened when NHL analyst/podcast host Andrew Berkshire decided to post a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) mainly attributing Zach Hyman’s success to the fact that he grew up “insanely rich.”

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The post came on the heels of the Oilers winger reaching the 50-goal milestone for the season and was rightly ripped apart by several notable colleagues, former players and fans in general.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 5.4 million times as of Wednesday morning, begins by stating that he has been in the sports media industry professionally since 2012 and that the industry “has to do a better job of telling truthful stories,” before discounting Hyman’s accomplishment.

“The story that’s being sold right now … is that, you know, if you work hard, if you stick to it, you can get there too, 31-year-old guy finally hits the 50-goal mark, harder worker, all that,” Berkshire said.

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“Yeah, great, except you’re missing the part of the story where Zach Hyman grew up insanely rich.”

Berkshire, who works as an analyst and host with the Steve Dangle Podcast Network, then details how Hyman’s parents bought a league to “guarantee him playing time,” and that he did “exclusive training that only a rich person … could afford.”

“This is a person that has had every single possible advantage to get where they are today,” Berkshire continued, before also bringing up the fact that Hyman has been fortunate enough to play on teams and lines with Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid most of his career.

While Berkshire does state that Hyman is a hard worker and brings grit when he plays, he also discounts it almost immediately.

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“Working hard, everybody works hard. You think every NHLer didn’t get there by working hard?” he asks. “Let’s not build this stupid narrative of ‘work hard, you’ll succeed.’ It’s just not true.

“There are people who’ve worked as hard as Zach Hyman their entire lives and never got a sniff of the American Hockey League, let alone the NHL because they didn’t have the advantages he had.”

Former Leafs defenceman turned NHL analyst Carlo Colaiacovo thought the whole take was ridiculous, posting the following: “Let me tell you something Andrew. You can’t buy your way to the NHL. You definitely can’t buy your way to having the career Hyman has had which includes scoring 50. Pretty ridiculous thing to say.”

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Retired NHLer Bobby Ryan was one of the first to weigh in, calling the opinion “purely false.”

“As someone who has maybe lived on both ends of the ‘financial edge’ I can say this is just purely false. Who cares, he accomplished a feat not many do and to downplay the way it’s reported is just wrong. You show up, do the work, good things happen,” Ryan posted on X.

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Jonathan Goodman, who claims he was Hyman’s personal trainer and tasked with getting the budding pro ready for the combine, had a glowing review of his former pupil’s work ethic.

“Yes, he had advantages. His family was wealthy and father obsessed with his success,” he said. “But the dude worked hard. Harder than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

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But, perhaps another former NHLer, Jason Strudwick said it best, replying to the video by asking: “Did Hyman not sign an autograph for you one time?”

 

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