The Brooklyn Nets had a couple of bright spots through the first two games of their first round series with the Toronto Raptors, with the brightest clearly the play of Jarrett Allen, who has blossomed into more than just a lob finisher and rim protector.
But, not satisfied with a 2-0 series lead, the Raptors ruined the fun of watching Allen make plays, erasing the 22-year-old center from the Brooklyn offense in Game 3 on Friday. After a scare in Game 2, the champs were back to taking care of business. And they put themselves on the brink of their first ever series sweep with an easy 117-92 victory.
Offensively, the Raptors got Pascal Siakam going offensively on Friday. After totaling 37 points and four assists through the first two games, the All-Star had 26 and five on Friday. Fred VanVleet remained aflame, scoring 22 points and draining 6 of his 10 3-point attempts.
But the Raps are a defensive team first and foremost. Game 3 was another example of how they can turn the screws on that end of the floor, and on this afternoon in Orlando, Allen was the focus of that screw-turning.
The Stat
12 — Restricted-area attempts for the Nets in Game 3.
The Nets’ 16 restricted-area attempts in Game 2 were a season low. And then they got four fewer in Game 3, with only seven restricted-area attempts through the first three quarters.
Brooklyn was a bottom-10 shooting team from every area (restricted area, other paint shots, mid-range and 3-point range) this season. But they were, at least, good at getting to the most important of those areas. The Nets ranked third in the percentage of their shots that came in the restricted area (36%).
They haven’t been so good at getting to the basket in this series. (Spencer Dinwiddie’s absence hurts in this regard.) And those layups and dunks have become more scarce with every game.
Some of the Game 3 shot distribution was by the Nets’ own design. Playing without seven guys who didn’t even make the trip to Orlando and Joe Harris (who left for personal reasons after Game 2), Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn knew his team was outmatched against the defending champs. So he went for a win by variance.
“It was part of our game plan to shoot 50 3s,” Vaughn said. “We were thinking that would give us a chance to be in the game, if we made a good percentage.”
The Raptors’ defense stifled the Nets, and their offense carried the day.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse was on the same page.
“We had talked about them shooting 50-55 3s today,” he said. “I think it is pretty smart by them to kind of go in there and do that. They have got some smaller lineups and some guys that can shoot it and let it fly.”
And the Raptors employ a defense that will allow you to do so: In the regular season, 44% of their opponents’ shots, the league’s highest rate, came from beyond the arc.
Alas, the Nets ranked 26th in 3-point percentage (34.3%) in the regular season and were missing their best shooter. They did reach their goal, attempting 51 3s (their third-highest total of the season) on Friday. But they made just 16 (31%) of the 51.
And surely, the Nets would have liked a few more layups or dunks, especially from Allen, who shot 72% in the restricted area in the regular season. Allen got fouled twice in the paint, but didn’t have a single field goal attempt in the box score.
The Nets’ 6-foot-11 center set more than 30 ball screens in Game 3. But not once did he get a clean roll to the rim. Those two trips to the line came off an isolation drive by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and an after-timeout play for him to catch the ball in the paint after getting a pin-down screen.
The Adjustment
In Game 2 on Wednesday, the Raptors focused their pick-and-roll defense on LeVert, with their bigs up at the level of the screen to corral the Nets’ primary ball-handler and plenty of space for Allen to roll into and receive a pass:
If none of the other three defenders met Allen in the paint, he got all the way to the rim. And if the Raptors rotated to the roll, he kicked the ball out to the open shooter, picking up five assists (all on 3s).
With the Nets’ young center having proven himself a pretty adept playmaker and with LeVert having shot 0-for-6 from 3-point range through the first two games, the Raptors switched things up for Game 3. They gave LeVert more space and Allen less.
On the Nets’ second possession on Friday, Marc Gasol was out near the 3-point line, but retreating to not allow Allen to get behind him.
Not having Harris’ floor spacing and offensive production certainly hurt Brooklyn. And the Nets’ weak-side defenders did do their part in keeping Allen from getting to the rim. But even if Harris was there, the Raptors’ Game 3 scheme required less help off the ball and enabled the other three defenders to stay closer to home on the Nets’ shooters.
If Brooklyn was going to take 50 3s, they were going to come from LeVert off the dribble or from more tightly-guarded shooters off the ball. Not only did Allen not get any shots off of rolls to the rim, none of his three assists were from pick-and-roll actions.
“We adjusted some coverages there,” Nurse said. “We kind of changed a lot to not let him get the ball.”
The quality of the Raptors’ defense — which ranked second during the regular season and now ranks second in the playoffs — goes well beyond their initial execution of the pick-and-roll game plan. Vaughn said that his team’s lack of layups in this series has been “byproduct of their ability to have multiple efforts.”
And maybe the adjustment wasn’t necessary. The Raptors could have won Game 3 by simply improving their execution of the Game 2 game plan. Heck, they won Game 2 despite all of Allen’s damage in the paint. But this team has dreams of another long run in these playoffs, you have to be able to win in different ways, and even against an outmatched opponent, every game is an opportunity to expand and fine-tune your skill set.
The “drop” coverage might not work well against the league’s best pull-up jump-shooting team in the next round (aka the Atlantic Division Finals), but that’s a conversation for another day. And even if the Celtics generally call for the Game 2 game plan, you can’t give a good team just one look.
“We tweaked some things,” VanVleet said, in regard to keeping Allen from getting his catches on Friday. “I think Caris got a little more loose than he did previously due to the scheme change that we did. [We] keep trying to give them different looks and not give them the same look every game.
“We gave Caris a little more. We gave Allen a little less. Obviously we know they missed Joe tonight. We were able to stay home on some of the other guys. It’s a chess match. You’ve got to keep continuing to make adjustments throughout the series.”
What’s Next?
Tyler Johnson on avoiding the sweep: ‘It’s up to us.’
The Nets might as well try for variance again in Game 4 on Sunday (6:30 ET, TNT), so expect another 50 3-point attempts. They might see more opportunities for LeVert against the drop scheme when they watch the Game 3 film, but they can’t be sure that the Raptors won’t change the scheme again. Maybe the champs will switch everything just for the heck of it.
The Raptors will be going for the first playoff series sweep in franchise history. And more important than making history is getting done with the first round so that they can get some rest and start game planning for a likely series against the Celtics, a much tougher opponent than the scrappy Nets.
Nurse admitted on Friday that, from night to night, he’s not sure who the eighth man in his rotation will be. (It was Terence Davis on Friday.) No matter what, he’s going to lean heavily on his top seven, a group with championship experience that’s finally healthy.
“They are going to play a lot of minutes for us,” he said. “I think taking care of business will help us.”
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
