TORONTO – It was early in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s surprising road win over Milwaukee, and the Raptors were leading by two points.
OG Anunoby had just grabbed a defensive rebound and was bringing the ball up the court, something that Nick Nurse has been encouraging him to do more of this season. With Aron Baynes coming over to set the screen, Anunoby functioned as the ball handler in the pick and roll, which we don’t often see.
Getting the switch, Anunoby took Bucks forward Bobby Portis off the dribble, spun towards the basket, laid the ball up and banked it in as he absorbed the contact, drew the foul and fell on his backside.
“You read the defence,” Anunoby said of his crafty layup, which he converted into a three-point play, following Toronto’s 124-113 victory. “I knew once [Portis] turned his hips that I could spin, and then once he fouled me I just tried to get a shot off. But we all work on that kind of stuff.”
It was a productive return for the Raptors’ fourth-year forward, who had missed the previous 10 games with a calf strain. He scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds while spending the night chasing around the league’s reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, but if there was one play that screamed “I’m back,” it was that one.
It almost didn’t happen – the play, or the return. Initially, Anunoby’s injury – which he sustained late in last month’s loss to Indiana – was expected to be a minor one, an ailment that might keep him out of a game or two.
But it didn’t heal as fast as he or the team had hoped, and with Toronto and its medical staff exercising caution, he wound up sitting out for three weeks. Although he was listed as doubtful ahead of Tuesday’s contest, he felt good enough to play.
The Raptors are certainly happy to have him back. For Nurse, a head coach who wants to tinker and experiment with different lineups, Anunoby is invaluable.
His versatility on both ends of the floor unlocks a multitude of options they simply don’t have the luxury of trying without him. He can play and guard the centre position in some smaller units. He can be the two or three and defend elite perimeter players in bigger or more traditional units. He can switch across all five positions defensively, and with an expanding offensive toolbox, he’s a threat to knock down the three or beat you off the dribble.
“Having him back out there is a different feel,” said Fred VanVleet. “It gives us more flexibility. A lot of times this year it has felt like we were at the mercy of teams quite a bit, and tonight I thought from the tip we were pretty aggressive and a lot of that has to do with OG’s versatility and taking some of the pressure off Pascal [Siakam]… It just kind of put everybody in a better position, having one of our better players back on the floor. It’s not rocket science, but definitely good to have OG back.”
With Norman Powell playing so well in Anunoby’s absence, Nurse opted to start small on Tuesday, opening the contest with his five best players – Siakam, Anunoby, Powell, VanVleet and Kyle Lowry.
That unit was limited to nine minutes, with Lowry turning his ankle and leaving the game early in the second half, but it looked good. They shot 11-for-19 from the field and 5-for-12 from three-point range, outscoring the Bucks by five points during their time on the floor together. Despite giving up size, they even held their own in the paint and on the glass, mitigating some of the concerns with going small for extended periods.
The lineup change allowed Nurse to bring Baynes off the bench – a more suitable role for the struggling big man, who actually played well in 18 minutes as a reserve. It also enables them to use Chris Boucher in the frontcourt with Baynes, shifting him to his more natural position at the four.
It’s unclear if the small starting lineup is here to stay. Speaking earlier this week, Nurse wouldn’t commit to using it full time, indicating that it could be a situational thing, depending on the matchup. At minimum, you can probably expect to see it again in Thursday’s rematch against the Bucks, assuming that Lowry is able to play (he’s listed as questionable).
While rebounding and rim protection should continue to be a challenge for that group, those things weren’t exactly strengths of this team with Baynes starting either. Their upside – particularly on the defensive end, where they’re holding opponents to 88.1 points per 100 possessions in 38 minutes together this season –exceeds any potential drawback. The players themselves would seem to agree.
“It better be,” VanVleet said bluntly when asked whether that unit is sustainable. “We don’t have a choice at this point. We are past theories and hypotheticals. It was a good start tonight and it worked. When you win everything you did worked and when you lose it doesn’t. The bad part is we have to beat this team again in 48 hours, so we have our work cut out for us.”
Anunoby is the piece that ties it all together. He’ll take on the Antetokounmpo assignment again on Thursday, and if Nurse decides to stay small after that, he’ll likely become the de facto centre in daunting matchups when the Raptors seek revenge on Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Friday and then host Joel Embiid and the 76ers in consecutive games next week.
“I think he’s definitely a big piece and having him out there on defence, there’s a lot more switching that we can do knowing that he can hold up some of the bigs and guard the guards on the perimeter,” Siakam said. “So there’s just a lot that we can do as a team. His versatility as a defender definitely helps us, and I think the more guys like that that we have, the better our small lineup could work, because we can do a lot of different things.”
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
