TORONTO – “Not sure on the starters tonight. We’re thinking of mixing it up.”
That was Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse before the start of Wednesday’s decade-ending 117-97 demolishment of the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night.
And in a decade that saw this franchise go from a league-wide afterthought to NBA champions, why wouldn’t there be one more surprise from these Raptors?
Approximately 30 minutes before tip-off, Nurse revealed that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson would be making his first start of the season for the Raptors in place of OG Anunoby.
An odd choice at first glance, but consider this for just a moment: Coming into Tuesday’s contest, Anunoby had quietly struggled over his previous five games, averaging only 7.8 points per game on poor 39.5 per cent shooting and an abysmal mark of 10.5 per cent from deep.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, those figures drop to a horrendous 6.0 points per game on 36.7 per cent shooting from the floor and 1-of-13 from three-point range if his relative outburst in Indiana last week is not included, when he went for 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
Pretty good reasons to boot Anunoby out of the starting lineup, if looking at it purely from a statistical standpoint.
But when you consider the fact Anunoby is only 22 years old and viewed as one of the cornerstones of this franchise, would it not do better for the young man’s confidence to let him work his way through a shooting slump rather than reprimand him for his spotty performance of late?
So then, what was the justification for relegating Anunoby to the bench and going with Hollis-Jefferson on the final night of 2019?
“You guys know, I like to mix it up a little bit, haven’t been doing it all that much this year,” said Nurse after the game. “I thought maybe get both of them going, both Rondae and OG. [Cavaliers forward Kevin] Love with the big matchup, maybe a little bit more of a banging type guy for Rondae to start on.”
OK, so this was purely matchup-based and in no way an attempt to send a message to Anunoby over his recent shooting struggles?
“No, not at all.”
And how did Nurse think the decision turn out?
“Seemed like it worked out OK, they both played really well tonight I liked the energy from both of them,” said Nurse.
Given the results from both men, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.
Anunoby finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds and four assists on 5-for-8 shooting, and Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points and five rebounds while shooting 5-for-9 from the field.
This success, facing a lowly team like the Cavaliers notwithstanding, appeared to stem from the fact Nurse played both Anunoby and Hollis-Jefferson in their natural positions of the three and four, respectively. Ever since Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell all went down in Detroit two weeks ago, Nurse has been starting Anunoby at power forward, something he’s capable of, but maybe not entirely at ease with.
“Out of position sometimes is out of position and getting him back there, getting him more comfortable,” said Nurse. “Again, I thought both of them were more focused, way more energetic, they were down and guarding, they were rebounding. When you’re like that, other good things, like your shooting and making strong moves seems to follow.”
This was especially the case for Anunoby, who first entered the game with 4:42 left in the first quarter and only took another two minutes and 12 seconds for him to get his first bucket of the game, a layup coming off a post-up designed for him.
Then, with 1.8 seconds left in the frame, Anunoby took an inbounds pass from teammate Kyle Lowry and let fly from near the top of the key on another play that looked to be made for him. Splash! Anunoby hit his first three-pointer since the start of the second half in Toronto’s emotional win over the Boston Celtics last Saturday and appeared to finally put to rest a dreadful 2-for-19 run from three-point range over his dismal last five games.
And from there, Anunoby’s offensive game appeared to fall into place as he hit one more three-pointer near the beginning of the second quarter and finished 2-for-3 from outside, and looked strong cutting and driving to the basket for finishes at the rim, while also making good reads and finds as a playmaker.
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It’s hard to say for certain that Anunoby’s shooting slump has officially been busted, but Tuesday’s performance can be seen as a step in the right direction.
The same can be said for Hollis-Jefferson – also given the honourable distinction of wishing the Scotiabank Arena crowd a “Happy New Year” just before tip-off – who enjoyed his best performance since the Raptors’ epic 30-point comeback against the Dallas Mavericks.
“I haven’t started in a while. So it just felt good to be out there,” Hollis-Jefferson said.
In fact, he hasn’t started since Feb. 13, 2019, when he was still a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
Hollis-Jefferson said he likes to meditate before games and his routine got a little disrupted when he heard he was going to start, but other than that there’s not much difference between starting and coming off the bench.
“You never know. Anything can happen. Things change and you’ve just got to be ready, man,” he said.
This applied to Anunoby as well, who had to adjust to coming off the bench for the first time since last season, and he handled it without any difficulty.
“You expect a guy to play no matter what position he’s in,” said Fred VanVleet of Anunoby coming off the bench. “He did a good job of coming in ready to go, he played pretty much identical to the way he’s been playing, he just made shots.”
“Being ready” is one of the oldest clichés in sports but that doesn’t discredit its importance. For his final act in a very memorable 2019, Nurse decided to throw one last curveball, and both the direct actors involved and team responded well. A good omen for 2020, as there is likely even more experimentation to come within the starting lineup.
“Mixing up the starting lineup here for a little bit is something you’re probably going to see,” said Nurse. “I’m just going to see what it looks like and feels like depending on who we’re playing a little bit and go from there.”
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.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
