The longest season in Toronto Raptors history came to a tough end with a 92-87 Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, a defeat that will sting even more given the Raptors’ 18 turnovers leading to 31 Celtics points.
But Toronto didn’t go down without a fight, and much of the feeling around the sports world is that the Raptors should exit the NBA bubble with their heads held high despite a difficult defeat to close out the 2019-20 campaign.
We’ve rounded up some takes to give you a taste of how things look south of the border. Here’s a closer look at what both national U.S. media members and Celtics beat reporters are saying about the Raptors today.
After a season in which the Raptors proved the doubters wrong by putting together a strong title defence without Kawhi Leonard, The Athletic‘s Michael Lee explores how Toronto used that disrespect as fuel for another great, although ultimately disappointing, campaign.
Of all the positives that came from the resumption of the season in Orlando, the Raptors’ ability to rightfully defend what they fought so hard to claim ranks near the top. It would have been a shame if Kyle Lowry hadn’t been given the chance to reassert himself as the impactful little irritant who could will his team to unlikely victories, if Fred VanVleet hadn’t been allowed to boost his value in the free-agent market with some 3-point barrages, or if Pascal Siakam didn’t learn that the higher you get, the harder it gets.
The Raptors turned the disrespect from Leonard’s departure into a defiant celebration, an if-you-don’t-know-now-you-know recognition of their talent and character. What made these Raptors special is that while they might accept the applause for exceeding outside expectations, they weren’t satisfied in coming up short of the ultimate prize.
Chris Haynes’ breakdown of the Raptors’ final game of the 2019-20 season focuses mainly on the growth of Kyle Lowry, from his past playoff disappointments in Toronto to the league-wide praise the 34-year-old garnered for his clutch performances against the Celtics in the bubble.
The young Celtics are in pursuit of consistency deep into the postseason and beating the Raptors is a significant accomplishment. Lowry, one of the shortest players on the court, gave the Celtics all they could handle. The praise and adoration he’s receiving at this stage of his career is warranted.
Lowry’s goal of defending Toronto’s title has evaporated, but he proved to the world that he’s a bona fide star and there are more battles to win.
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While the Raptors leave the NBA bubble, the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference Final “a more polished, experienced, and grittier team than they were two weeks ago,” according to the Boston Globe‘s Gary Washburn, who writes the team learned an important lesson from this seven-game series against Toronto.
They ground out a game that was never going to be pretty. It would have been too easy for this team to hit early shots, build a big lead, and then coast. Just like the series, the Celtics controlled most of the game, and then watched as the relentless Raptors kept charging and charging.
The Celtics didn’t score a field goal for the final 5:21. They scored only 5 more points, but bested the Raptors with defense and those grimy plays that win big games. Boston learned a lesson from this series. They learned that the Raptors weren’t defending champions because they were more talented than their opponents. They were successful because they were relentless.
The NBA on TNT crew weighed in on the end of the Raptors’ season during Friday night’s post-game coverage, discussing what’s next for Toronto and the struggles of Pascal Siakam in the series.
Here’s Shaquille O’Neal on Siakam:
“Not a lot of people expected them to go this far. They played very well, but, you know, the questions are, ‘What do we do now?’ … Being a great player is a mindset, because when you’re the best player on the team, they hand it over to you. So if you’re the best player on the team and you believe you’re the best, you have to have that mindset, and I don’t think he had the mindset the whole series. Still a hell of a player, still deserves all the accolades, but if they’re going to put all the onus on him, he has to have that mindset. For example, Fred VanVleet took more shots than he did. When you’re the No. 1 option on the team, nobody’s supposed to take more shots than you.”
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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.
While Toronto’s 18 turnovers and Jayson Tatum’s 28-point performance were both big factors in the Game 7 result, it was Marcus Smart’s last-minute block on Norman Powell that will be looked back on as the game’s most important play. Tim Bontemps dives deeper into that play, Smart’s impact on the series as a whole and Toronto’s never-say-die attitude toward the conference semifinal.
Smart played a huge role in the struggles of Raptors star Pascal Siakam in the series. He made multiple stops on Powell in the fourth quarter before his highlight block. And, if it wasn’t for Toronto’s late comeback in Game 6, Smart’s first playoff triple-double in that game would’ve been the thing that carried Boston into the East finals against the Miami Heat a game sooner.
Still, the Celtics will simply be glad to be getting there at all, after surviving this slugfest of a series against the Raptors, who gave Boston absolutely everything it could handle despite being outplayed for the vast majority of the series by the team’s own admission.
Kendrick Perkins Watch
It wouldn’t be a Rival Watch without Kendrick Perkins, who echoes the sentiments of most Raptors fans in the wake of another impressive season.
Hats off to Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors for having a hell of a season!!!
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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