Sports

Raptors’ trio of the future reunite at last, but old rotation questions linger

Published

4 years ago

March 20, 2021

The Toronto Raptors could look very different in the coming week, with the NBA trade deadline looming, the Raptors sliding and Kyle Lowry and Norman Powell – the club’s longest-serving players – each widely rumoured to be available.

But on Friday night against the Utah Jazz, the Raptors finally looked familiar. All three members of their future core were available, with OG Anunoby the last to return, joining Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam one game after they came back from missing nearly three weeks due to health-and-safety protocols related to COVID-19.

And for long stretches, the results looked familiar, too, as the Raptors showed elite flashes both offensively and defensively against one of the NBA’s best teams, before eventually falling 115-112.

They showed fight and they showed that when operating at close to full capacity, they can be competitive with almost anyone, but also that their margin for error is razor thin and they’re basic flaws – the lack of rebounding and a tendency to foul far too much – seem to be ingrained.

After what had been a nip-and-tuck game all night, the Jazz broke away with a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter to open up a 10-point lead with 7:43 to play. But a late spurt by the Raptors, including consecutive threes by Powell and Lowry saw the Raptors gain a five-point lead with 1:36 to play. But Raptors couldn’t hold it. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (31 points) responded with an eight-point burst that saw Utah go up by three with 12 seconds on the clock. The Raptors got a quick lay-up from Siakam, but Utah’s Mike Conley iced the game with a pair of free throws.

The Raptors had one last chance to send the game to overtime but a good look at a game-tying three at the buzzer by Siakam rolled and then rolled out, a fitting symbol of what has been a frustrating season for one of the NBA’s most successful teams of the past eight years. Siakam is now 1-of-7 on shots to win or tie at the buzzer in his career, and has missed three of them this season.

“I told him we ride or die with him,” said Lowry, who scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. “… For a guy who is going to be in that situation, you know, you are going to miss a few, but you are going to keep shooting them because we believe in what you can do.”

The loss was Toronto’s seventh straight, and ninth in their past 10 games, dropping them to 17-24 as they try to dig out from 11th place in the East.

Still, there were plenty of positive signs against a Jazz team that improved to 30-11 to remain on top of the Western Conference. VanVleet, Siakam and Anunoby were each strong in all facets in their first game on the floor together. VanVleet finished with 17 points and nine assists; Siakam led the Raptors with 27 points and nine assists and Anunoby had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and was a big reason the Raptors turned in their best defensive performance in weeks against the potent Jazz.

But some of the problems remain. As has been the case all season, the Raptors were out-matched on the glass. Toronto came into the game ranked 29th in defensive rebounding and the Jazz – who still have the NBA’s best record despite going 5-6 over their previous 11 games – are fifth in offensive rebounding and second on the glass overall. Utah had nine offensive rebounds, compared to three for the Raptors and enjoyed a 19-7 edge in second-chance points as they out-rebounded Toronto 48-31.

Similarly, the Raptors getting left behind at the free-throw line is nothing new either, although this was extreme, even for the Raptors who send opponents to the line 26.1 times a game, on average. tied for the highest rate in the league – while taking only 21.7 free throws a game, which is 15th.

When your opponent makes 27 more free throws than you – the second-largest discrepancy in the NBA this season — it’s hard not to lose.

“I don’t know, just didn’t seem like they were gonna let us win tonight,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “A lot of calls, man. Every trip, every possession was free throws.”

Between the free-throw difference and lost rebounding battle, the Raptors have found themselves playing uphill too often this year. Both problems reflect a lack of quality size that has been an issue since training camp opened and Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol were playing for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively.

They’ve been season-long themes, and it will be interesting to see this week if management sees enough in this group to keep it together or if they decide it’s time to punt on the season and change the shape of the franchise for years to come.

The pressure is real. You could sense the exasperation from Nurse prior to the game. All season long, he’s been trying to find some consistency in the bottom half of rotation. Some of it is circumstantial – injuries and illness – but Nurse’s willingness to experiment with rotations means roles can be inconsistent and appear and disappear out of nowhere.

With some sense of normalcy having returned, Nurse said he wanted to curb his own urge to mix and match and find the hot hand in favour of some steadiness.

Nurse went with Paul Watson and Malachi Flynn and his bench rotation along with Chris Boucher and Aron Baynes and in the end, didn’t get much out of them. Watson picked up four quick fouls in the first half and was a non-factor after that in 15 minutes, while the rookie Flynn was minus-9 in his 18 minutes.

“Malachi just has to play. We just got to put him on the floor,” said Lowry. “Given the opportunity, he’s going to be able to be out there. I still think he’s learning how to play the game of basketball right now. The game is still different. He played well in the G-League but the big club is a little bit different. The more repetitions he gets, the better he will be.”

On the whole, it turns out getting good players back on the floor goes a long way towards making the Raptors look like they might be worth investing in rather than holding a fire sale. Between a calf injury that kept him out of 10 games, and the most recent six-game absence due to health-and-safety protocols, Anunoby has played just six games since January 25. Prior to that, he was playing the best basketball of his career, averaging nearly 16 points a game and shooting nearly 50 per cent from three for the month of January.

The big wing made his presence felt early, knocking down a jumper and a triple, and more importantly forcing a turnover; swallowing up Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic on a three-point attempt and even teaming up with Boucher to block Jazz giant Rudy Gobert at the rim as the Raptors jumped out to a 13-10 lead early. It helped also that VanVleet looked more comfortable in his second game back from being out five games as he scored seven points to help the Raptors to a 27-23 first-quarter lead.

“I think it gives us a bigger lineup,” said Lowry of Anunoby’s return. “OG is a really aggressive defender. Long arms. He’s really talented on the defensive end and gives us an opportunity to switch more. He can guard bigger players and he can disrupt a little bit more … It’s one of those things when he’s back and going, we are a better team.”

But are they good enough to be kept together past this week?

The Raptors trailed 55-54 at half and were down 79-77 heading into the fourth. It was a game there to be taken, but Toronto found a way to let it be taken from it as the Jazz, coming off a loss and playing on the second night of a back-to-back, were able to wrestle it away.

They were close, but couldn’t close. The Raptors season in miniature.

Source: – Sportsnet.ca

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

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.

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AP cricket:

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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