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Raptors to lean on Lowry’s leadership with Nurse sidelined – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

February 26, 2021

Rules ruin everything.

When the news broke early Friday afternoon that six members of the Toronto Raptors coaching staff — head coach Nick Nurse and just about all of his staff — were being held out from Friday’s night’s game against the Houston Rockets due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19 testing, the first thing that leapt to mind was: Who was going to coach this team in their game Friday night against the Houston Rockets?

Natural reaction, right? Well maybe the very first thought should have been: Let’s hope all involved remain sound and healthy and the exposure throughout the staff and the team can be easily contained.

But that aside, it was back to who is going to coach, and please, please, please let it be Kyle Lowry.

What could be more perfect? The Raptors franchise player has largely shed the reputation that followed him early in his career that he was to coaches what sun is to soft ice cream — a bright light that could make things messy.

But as he matured the reason he was a challenge to coach remained. Lowry has been a high IQ player since he stepped into the NBA, and if he thought he knew better it was hard to contain himself, and he thought he knew better a lot.

It’s not all that unusual. There aren’t too many shrinking violets playing point guard in the most competitive basketball league in the world.

It’s just that early in his career Lowry had a hard time sharing his views diplomatically.

“When I was younger, I knew what I knew, but the emotional side would kind of get in the way and people wouldn’t listen to me,” was how Lowry explained it to me once.

And imagine how Lowry took that?

Those issues are in the past now. Part of being a franchise player is having the ear of the head coach and Nurse and Lowry relate more like partners or co-workers rather than boss and subordinate. They are two smart basketball minds that work — mostly — as one.

But imagine Lowry actually coaching? Drawing up plays in timeouts? Adjusting to match-ups on the fly? Refusing to sub himself out even with body parts showing through his skin? Sitting guys for not taking charges?

That seemed to almost be on the horizon given the Raptors’ sudden lack of options.

But alas, rules.

According to Raptors general manager Bobby Webster it is a technicality within the league’s collective bargaining agreement that would have prevented Lowry from becoming the NBA’s first player-coach since Dave Cowens did it for the Boston Celtics for part of the 1978-79 season.

“I don’t know if we have the budget to add that to his resume. I think there was probably some additional compensation,” joked Webster.

But seriously. It’s against the rules.

“You can’t really pay a player to do anything outside of his contract,” said Webster.

And how much does that suck, at least in this case?

Plan B for the Raptors turned out to be a pretty good one. Raptors assistant coach Sergio Scariolo has three European titles, two Olympic medals and a World Championship on his resume in his role as the head coach for the Spanish national team. This is his third year as an assistant to Nurse with the Raptors.

Luckily for the Raptors — as it turns out — Scariolo had been in quarantine in Tampa for the past week after returning from Poland where he coached Spain in FIBA qualifying. He was conveniently due to finish quarantine Friday morning and thus wasn’t included in the contact tracing that had eliminated the rest of the coaching staff after one of the coaches did test positive for COVID-19, according to sources.

“I just joked with him that the last team he coached he was out in Poland and I said you should be ready for this,” said Nurse. “But you guys know his resume. I don’t know how many hundreds or thousands of games he’s been a head coach, but it’s unique and he acknowledged that much as far as the NBA game and, obviously, under the circumstances. So look forward to it and I think it’ll be a new challenge for him, but I think everybody’s ready for it.”

Were it not Scariolo — and not Lowry — another option might have been to bring Raptors 905 head Patrick Mutombo over from the G-League bubble in Orlando. As it was, joining Scariolo as front-of-the-bench assistants were Mark Tyndale, Jamaal Magloire and Jim Saan. Nurse and the rest of the staff are able to participate in pre-game preparation but can’t communicate to the staff on the bench during the game.

Which brings us back to Lowry.

“Listen, we make jokes about it, but he does so much out on the court and he takes on a little bit bigger role,” said Webster. “I’ve spoken to him a number of times, spoke to him this morning, put in his head, he knew this was a possibility. Obviously with Fred [VanVleet], as well. Those guys are in many ways the de facto coaches out there, so just trying to get it in their head as early as possible so they could think about it.”

The Raptors are a deep team on the floor and off, and they had options and an identity.

“It’s Nick Nurse’s team. They run Nick Nurse’s stuff. He’s a great coach. I respect the heck out of him,” said Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. “Not having him over on the side doesn’t necessarily make me feel any better because it’s his team that’s coached. It’s the players that they have that make them really good.

“It’s a really tough situation they have for him and his coaching staff. But walking from the bus to the locker room, they have a bunch of other coaches. If that happened to me we’d be down to our trainer… or somebody would be coaching. For them, they have a bunch more guys.”

There was some consideration given to cancelling the game — a decision that rests with the NBA — said Webster, but once most of the players were cleared through two rounds of testing this morning it was judged reasonable to move ahead.

The exception was Raptors forward Pascal Siakam who — according to sources — had an inconclusive rapid test and required a more invasive PCR test as a follow-up with the result not expected to be available until after the game. If he clears that test he would presumably be available when the Raptors host the Chicago Bulls at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Sunday.

And so against Houston the band played on with their leader, Lowry, in his normal role as maestro on the floor. No harm in that, but those pesky league rules got in the way of Lowry coaching himself for at least one night and the possibility of the sharp-minded Raptors guard finally playing for someone who saw things exactly his way.

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

Published

9 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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Penguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season

Published

9 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

Published

20 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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