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One Play: Toronto Raptors fourth-quarter defensive lapse backs Kyle Lowry's comments on team's defence – NBA CA

Published

4 years ago

December 28, 2020

15h ago

The Raptors have built an identity around being an elite defensive team and through the first two games of the 2020-21 season, they have been far from that. Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet expressed their concerns about the team’s issues on that end of the floor and this one play late in the fourth quarter of their loss to the Spurs displays Toronto’s atypical production.

Welcome to “One Play!” Throughout the 2020-21 NBA season, our NBA.com Staff will break down certain possessions from certain games and peel back the curtains to reveal its bigger meaning.

Today, the Toronto Raptors early-season defensive struggles take centre stage.

Context: “We’re nowhere near it,” All-Star guard Kyle Lowry told the media when asked about how close the Raptors are to where they want to be defensively following the team’s 119-114 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Falling to 0-2 for the first time since the 2012-13 season – the last time they missed the playoffs – Toronto’s defence has been subpar of its typical standing and the team’s vocal leaders Lowry and Fred VanVleet had no hesitation in announcing their displeasures with that end of the floor.

“It’s not rocket science. I don’t wanna say it’s an effort thing, because I feel like guys are trying out there, I just think we’ve gotta make more plays at a higher level,” VanVleet echoed to the media. “We’re doing it in spurts but I think teams are a little too comfortable right now.”

And he’s not wrong there.

The Raptors currently own a defensive rating of 111.5, placing them in the bottom-10 of the league. Opponents are shooting 49.4% from the field and 43.4% from 3 against Toronto, ranking 26th and 27th in the NBA, respectively, proving that teams are very comfortable against the usually stout defence.

The play: Toronto led 114-110 with just over a minute remaining, needing one more stop to put itself in the drivers seat toward the first win of the season. DeRozan feeds LaMarcus Aldridge in the post, who looks to take Pascal Siakam one-on-one to make it a one-possession game. When it appears like Aldridge turned the corner on a spin move to get by Siakam, OG Anunoby slides down to help, leaving DeRozan wide open at the top of the key.

Aldridge feels the double team coming, sees his star teammate alone on the perimeter, makes the right read and DeRozan buries the 3-ball that extended San Antonio’s chances at a win.

While Anunoby certainly helps too far off of DeRozan (who was already 2-for-3 from 3-point land on the night), it’s Lowry and Chris Boucher that fail to rotate and pick up the open man.

Boucher is standing in what we like to call “no man’s land”, not defending any player. Lowry gets caught flat-footed as well, but is at least in a position to get out to the opposite wing or corner if Aldridge zips a skip pass.

By the time Boucher realizes DeRozan is unmarked on the perimeter, it’s too late.

Even closing out late, Boucher still hesitates to fully close out in case DeRozan tries to beat him off the dribble despite having plenty of help behind him.

The late rotation gives DeRozan an easy look from 3, putting his team within one point with a minute to go in the game. The Spurs would end up grabbing two offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession before Aldridge’s putback gave San Antonio the hard-fought win.

Why it matters: This isn’t to call out Boucher, who was a huge reason why the Raptors were even in the game in the first place with a monster night of 22 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks.

It’s more to show that a team that is typically the gold standard for defensive rotations failed to do what they usually do best and it cost them their first win of the season on Saturday.

Last year, Toronto boasted the second-best defence in the league in terms of defensive rating, only allowing 104.7 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. They’re nearly a full seven points worse than that through the first two games this year and the lack of continuity on defence doesn’t necessarily add up when you consider the majority of their rotation are players that have returned from last season.

While not having rim protectors like Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka leaves a void, it doesn’t explain slow rotations or defensive lapses. If the Raptors are going to shake off this slow start and return to prominence in the East, it’s going to have to start with adjustments on the defence.

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Sports

Red Wings sign Raymond to 8-year, $64.6 million contract

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.

Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.

The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.

Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.

Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.

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Cousins caps winning drive with TD pass to London as Falcons rally past Eagles 22-21

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.

The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.

Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.

Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.

The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.

And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.

Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.

Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.

Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.

Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.

Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.

With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.

Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.

Questionable call

Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.

Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.

Running wild

Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.

Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.

Foles honored

Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”

Injuries

The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).

Up next

Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.

The Eagles play at New Orleans on Sunday.

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

18 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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