TORONTO — What a fine line the Toronto Raptors have walked this season, and how successfully.
How much longer they can, or will need to, is the question.
Witness their opponents Tuesday night.
For years the Portland Trail Blazers were thought to be the Raptors’ counterpart in the Western Conference. It was deemed a compliment and translated to: stable, competitive, consistent.
Each club has made six straight playoff appearances with the Blazers advancing to the Western Conference Finals last year and the Raptors winning their first NBA title.
But consistent competence — let alone excellence — is a difficult standard to maintain in the NBA.
Stuff happens, basically.
As an example, when the two teams met at Scotiabank Arena they were tied in the most unlikely and unwelcome category: each club had missed 128 man games to injuries, third-most in the league.
From the Raptors’ point of view, that might not have even been the most significant numerical oddity.
“I think the stat of the night is this: We started five completely different guys in Portland when we beat ’em out there,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, referring to the win his club stole in Portland in early November when they were down three starters. “I don’t know if you can do that in a two-month span very often.”
This time around, the Raptors were down three different starters – Marc Gasol (hamstring); Pascal Siakam (groin); and the freshly injured Fred VanVleet (hamstring), as well as their top bench scorer, Norman Powell (shoulder) – against the Blazers. The first time it was Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka and OG Anunoby.
While it’s believed Powell could be back any day, the news on VanVleet was more vague and so – we’ve become programmed to assume – more foreboding.
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“He’s out,” said Nurse. “Think it’s gonna be a little bit before we know exactly how long.”
And yet? The Raptors have generally found a way.
They couldn’t this time around. Missing three starters and four of your top seven players is a burden almost no NBA team can weather game after game. The Raptors’ ability to make do with made-up lineups has been the exception to the rule, but as their 101-99 heartbreaker to the Blazers suggested, rules exist for a reason.
“We’ve got great guys, young kids going out there and trying to prove their worth,” said Lowry. “(We) go out there and execute and play. We’ve just got to continue to get better. Hopefully, these guys get healthy and get out there.
“(But) we’ve just got to play with what we have.”
The difficulty of what the Raptors were trying to do became clear down the stretch of the fourth as the Blazers were able to look to Damian Lillard – a borderline MVP candidate – and Carmelo Anthony, a 10-time all-star with a new lease on life on offence. Toronto had Lowry and not much else.
Each of the Blazers stars hit two threes late to dismantle what had been a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead. A Lillard bomb from 30 feet tied the game with 38.5 seconds to play — a shot Toronto contends was triggered by an illegal screen set by Hassan Whiteside — and the Raptors couldn’t generate any offence against a Blazers defence anchored by the paint presence of the big man, who finished with 16 rebounds and seven blocks.
Toronto’s best chance to break the tie ended in a turnover with 13 seconds left when Lowry and Patrick McCaw got their signals crossed on an inbound play. Then Anthony hit a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line with 3.3 seconds left to put the Blazers up for good. A desperate three-point attempt by Lowry rimmed out — “I thought it was going in,” he said — and the Raptors fell to 24-13 on the year as they head to Charlotte on the second night of the back-to-back. For Portland (16-22), it was just its second win in eight games as it tries to remain in the hunt for the eighth seed in the West.
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Lowry led Toronto with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting, while Ibaka had 17. Chris Boucher and Oshae Brissett each chipped in 12, but it was pretty slim after that as the Raptors shot just 36.5 per cent from the floor. Portland got loose in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Raptors 32-21, and Anthony finished with 28 — 10 in the fourth — while Lillard had 11 of his 20 in the final period.
The Trail Blazers are the more typical version of what happens around the NBA when injuries pile up with no end in sight. With two starters – Rodney Hood and Zach Collins – out for the season and another key rotation piece, Jusuf Nurkic, having not played yet this year, there is no question they have been up against it.
Portland has done its best to stop the bleeding. Knowing it was going to be without Nurkic for much of the year after he broke his leg late last season, it added Whiteside in the off-season. The Blazers even decided to bring Anthony back from a 12-month basketball exile and have watched the 35-year-old become their third-leading scorer.
Yet they came into the game Tuesday struggling to keep their season from slipping away on them.
That’s what’s supposed to happen.
The Raptors are what’s not supposed to happen. This many injuries to this many key players stretched out over two months is supposed to send a team spinning sideways, ever closer to the abyss.
The Raptors keep chugging along. They are now 5-4 without Gasol, Powell and Siakam. The last time they played Portland, they were in the midst of an 8-2 run without Lowry and Ibaka.
“I just want us to go out there and play with an honest effort,” said Nurse. “I think through those nine games, I’d say probably seven of them we have … to me, that’s all I want to do. I want to go out and let you know we’re guarding you, that we’re trying to take away things you like, and that we’re doing our best for the offence to go in the direction it needs, to go through the right people, and then have some other guys chip in. Then I can live with that.”
If there is a podcasting odd couple, this might be it. Donnovan Bennett and JD Bunkis don’t agree on much, but you’ll agree this is the best Toronto Raptors podcast going.
Other guys have been chipping in.
As an example, for the last 3:10 of the first quarter Nurse relied on the following lineup in an NBA game: Thomas (undrafted free-agent rookie, playing in his first NBA game in six weeks); Boucher (undrafted free agent in his second season); Brissett (undrafted rookie free agent, playing in his 11th NBA game); McCaw (undrafted free agent with 172 games’ experience) and Stanley Johnson (a busted former lottery pick on his third team in two seasons who has played just 11 games this season).
It is not an NBA lineup, by any conventional measure, yet the rag-tag group finished the quarter on an 8-0 run. Their most reliable offensive play was tipping the ball to themselves to gain an extra disjointed possession. Hey, whatever works. The Raptors took a 24-15 lead into the second period.
By that time, Lowry had gotten enough rest and picked up from there. As long as he doesn’t crumble under the load – Lowry is leading the NBA in minutes per game, averaging 38 per night – the husky point guard will be a lock for his sixth-straight all-star appearance. The 33-year-old Lowry hit a three and a floater in quick order and the Raptors were up by 12 early in the second quarter.
Incredibly, they were able to hold some version of their advantage for most of the period. The Raptors led 56-46 at half. Heading into the fourth, they led 78-69.
The highwater mark came with Lowry and Ibaka on the bench early in the fourth as Boucher scored 10 quick points to keep the Raptors’ lead in double figures.
But things got glitchy down the stretch. The Trail Blazers tightened up defensively and were able to focus more attention on Lowry. In the final 3:57 minutes, the only offence the Raptors could manage was a mid-range pull-up by Lowry and a tough finish by Ibaka off a Lowry feed.
Even the short-handed Blazers had more options than that, and eventually that was the difference.
Still, it was almost another unlikely Raptors win. Even in defeat, it was the most recent example of the Raptors scratching, clawing and almost finding a way. The Trail Blazers are proof that it’s not something that should be taken for granted.
MONTREAL – On a night when New York’s top line was missing in action, the bit players grabbed the spotlight and led the Rangers to a commanding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“That’s the kind of team we have,” said Filip Chytil, who led the Rangers with a pair of power-play goals Tuesday. “The guys on the top line had chances but when they don’t score we have three other lines to pick up the slack.”
The Rangers’ dominance was reflected in the amount of time they spent in the Canadiens zone and their 45-23 edge in shots.
“If you’ve watched us practice, you know that’s something we work on all the time,” said Chytil. “When we get the puck, we want to hold on to it.”
The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Mika Zibanejad at the 56-second mark and Jonny Brodzinski at 2:05, but it was Montreal which pressed the play in the first minute.
“I thought we had a good start but they turned it around on us,” said Montreal coach Martin St. Louis.
Lane Hutson controlled the puck off the opening faceoff and had two early shots, both of which were blocked by New York’s Jacob Trouba.
“That was huge for us,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “We know (Trouba) can generate offence but he can come up with those big defensive plays.”
Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault exited at 11:05 of the first period after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Zibanejad, Brodzinski, Chytil and Reilly Smith all scored on the Habs’ starter.
His replacement, Cayden Primeau, stopped 33 of 35 shots, giving up goals to Braden Schneider, Kaapo Kakko and Chytil.
Nick Suzuki scored both of the Montreal goals, his first strikes of the season
“It didn’t really feel like a 7-2 game until the end there when you look up at the scoreboard,” Suzuki said. “But we obviously keep digging ourselves these holes, and against a good team like that, our details early on have to be really sharp. And we were definitely a little sleepy coming out and they jumped on us.”
Hutson led the Canadiens in ice time with 24:10 but this wasn’t one of his better games. Smith scored on a breakaway after taking the puck off Hutson’s stick and the rookie was minus-4 for the night.
After Tuesday’s morning practice, the Canadiens announced forward Juraj Slafkovsky will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle missed a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury but the team said it isn’t a long-term ailment.
The injury situation didn’t get any better after Trouba flattened Justin Barron at 7:11 of the third period. Barron didn’t return to the ice but there was no immediate word on his condition.
The Rangers welcomed back defenceman Ryan Lindgren, who made his season debut after missing five games with a jaw injury.
Before the game, 14 players from the Canadiens’ team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups between 1976 and 1979 were introduced at the Bell Centre. Among them were Hockey Hall of Fame members Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey and Ken Dryden.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said Wednesday.
“We received bids from around the world, a testament to the significance of this iconic collectible and Ohtani’s impact on sports, and I’m thrilled for the winning bidder,” Ken Goldin, the founder and CEO of auctioneer Goldin Auctions said in a statement.
The auction opened on Sept. 27 with a starting bid of $500,000 and closed just after midnight on Wednesday. The auctioneer said it could not disclose any information about the winning bidder.
The auction has been overshadowed by the litigation over ownership of the ball. Christian Zacek walked out of Miami’s LoanDepot Park with the ball after gaining possession in the left-field stands. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov each claim in separate lawsuits that they grabbed the ball first.
All the parties involved in the litigation agreed that the auction should continue.
Matus’ lawsuit claims that the Florida resident — who was celebrating his 18th birthday — gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Zacek took it away. Davidov claims in his suit that he was able to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers are preparing for Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Friday night.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James gave his 20-year-old son a pep talk before they rose from the Lakers bench. Amid rising cheers, they walked together to the scorer’s table — and then they stepped straight into basketball history.
LeBron and Bronny became the first father and son to play in the NBA together Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers ‘ season opener, fulfilling a dream set out a few years ago by LeBron, the top scorer in league history.
“That moment, us being at the scorer’s table together and checking in together, it’s a moment I’m never going to forget,” LeBron said. “No matter how old I get, no matter how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever, I will never forget that moment.”
Father and son checked into the game against Minnesota simultaneously with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting a big ovation from a home crowd aware of the enormity of the milestone. The 39-year-old LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before he teamed up with his 20-year-old son for about 2 1/2 minutes of action.
LeBron James is one of the greatest players in NBA history, a four-time champion and 20-time All-Star, while LeBron James Jr. was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.
“Y’all ready? You see the intensity, right? Just play carefree, though,” father told son on the bench before they checked in, an exchange captured by the TNT cameras and microphones. “Don’t worry about mistakes. Just go out and play hard.”
Their time on court together was fast and furious, just as LeBron promised.
LeBron, who finished the night with 16 points, missed two perimeter shots before making a dunk. Bronny had an early offensive rebound and missed a tip-in, and his first NBA jump shot moments later was a 3-pointer that came up just short. He checked out one possession later with 1:19 left in the second quarter, getting another ovation.
“(I) tried not to focus on everything that’s going on around me, and tried to focus on going in as a rookie and not trying to mess up,” Bronny said. “But yeah, I totally did feel the energy, and I appreciate Laker Nation for showing the support for me and my dad.”
After the final whistle on the Lakers’ first opening-night victory in LeBron’s seven seasons with the team, father and son also headed to the locker room together — but not before stopping in the tunnel to hug Savannah James, LeBron’s wife and Bronny’s mother. The entire family was in attendance to watch history — on little sister Zhuri’s 10th birthday, no less.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. also were courtside at the Lakers’ downtown arena to witness the same history they made in Major League Baseball. The two sluggers played 51 games together for the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991 as baseball’s first father-son duo.
LeBron first spoke about his dream to play alongside Bronny a few years ago, while his oldest son was still in high school. The dream became real after Bronny entered the draft as a teenager following one collegiate season, and the Lakers grabbed him with the 55th overall pick.
“I talked about it years and years ago, and for this moment to come, it’s pretty cool,” LeBron said. “I don’t know if it’s going to actually hit the both of us for a little minute, but when we really get to sit back and take it in, it’s pretty crazy. … But in the moment, we still had a job to do when we checked in. We wasn’t trying to make it a circus. We wasn’t trying to make it about us. We wanted to make it about the team.”
LeBron and Bronny joined a small club of father-son professional athletes who played together. The Griffeys made history 34 years ago, and they even homered in the same game on Sept. 14, 1990.
Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines and his namesake son also accomplished the feat with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001.
In hockey, Gordie Howe played alongside his two sons, Mark and Marty, with the WHA’s Houston Aeros and Team Canada before one NHL season together on the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80, when Gordie was 51.
While the other family pairings on this list happened late in the fathers’ careers, LeBron shows no signs of slowing down or regressing as he begins his NBA record-tying 22nd season.
LeBron averaged more than 25 points per game last year for his 20th consecutive season, and he remains the most important player on the Lakers alongside Anthony Davis as they attempt to recapture the form that won a championship in 2020 and got them to the Western Conference finals in 2023.
Bronny survived cardiac arrest and open heart surgery in the summer of 2023, and he went on to play a truncated freshman season at the University of Southern California. He declared for the draft anyway, and the Lakers eagerly used the fourth-to-last pick in the draft on the 6-foot-2 guard.
LeBron spent the summer in Europe with the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the Paris Olympics, while Bronny played for the Lakers in summer league. They started practicing together with the Lakers before training camp.
The duo first played together in the preseason, logging four minutes during a game against Phoenix just outside Palm Springs earlier this month.
“It’s been a treat,” LeBron said at Tuesday’s morning shootaround. “In preseason, the practices, just every day … bringing him up to speed of what this professional life is all about, and how to prepare every day as a professional.”
The Lakers were fully aware of the history they would make with this pairing, and coach JJ Redick spoke with the Jameses recently about a plan to make it happen early in the regular season.
The presence of the Griffeys likely made it an inevitability for opening night, even though Redick said the Lakers still wanted it “to happen naturally, in the flow of the game.”
The Lakers have declined to speculate on how long Bronny will stay on their NBA roster. Los Angeles already has three other small guards on its roster, and Bronny likely needs regular playing time to raise his game to a consistent NBA standard.
Those factors add up to indicate Bronny is likely to join the affiliate South Bay Lakers of the G League at some point soon. LeBron and Redick have both spoken positively about the South Bay team, saying that player development is a key part of the Lakers organization.
Miami forward Kevin Love, who knew all the James children — Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri — from his time as LeBron’s teammate in Cleveland, said it was “an unbelievable moment” to see father and son playing together.
“I grew up a Mariners fan, so I got to see Griffey and then Griffey Sr. But this is different, because LeBron is still a top-five player in the league,” Love said. “This game, man. It’s why we have that ($76 billion) TV deal. The storylines and the things that happen like this, it’s an unbelievable story. This is really cool to see.”
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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed.
