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Toronto Raptors breaking point in collapse to Boston Celtics

Published

4 years ago

January 5, 2021

TORONTO – The time for sugar-coating, or even using the old “it’s still early” caveat, to justify the Toronto Raptors’ abysmal start to the season has passed.

Even if they haven’t reached the point of full-on panic, the level of concern is very real, and it’s rising fast. A 1-5 record, capped off by the team’s most worrisome loss to date, will do that.

“This is probably unchartered territory for most of us,” said Fred VanVleet – the lone bright spot in Monday’s embarrassing 126-114 defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics team that knocked Toronto out of the playoffs four months ago. “Just speaking for myself, I’ve never been a part of something like this.”

The final score was flattering considering how most of the evening played out. For the sixth time in six games, the Raptors went up by double digits in the first half, and for the fifth time to open the young season, they squandered that lead and went on to lose. This one cut the deepest.

It’s hard to overstate just how important this game was to them. It was a chance to alleviate some of the tension that’s been building and pick up a much-needed signature win against a rival team, ahead of a tough stretch of the schedule. Instead, it served as a reminder – there’s no quick or easy fix.

“It’s a fine line between being good and bad,” said Kyle Lowry, who was asked what he’s learned about this team over the past couple weeks. “There are things that have to be adjusted in the way we play and how we think. It’s about playing basketball harder and wanting to win.”

The loss highlighted many of the Raptors’ deficiencies.

Their unimaginative and streaky offence continues to result in lengthy scoring droughts, like the one that sparked Boston’s 38-14 second-quarter run, which turned the game. Their defence continues to show flashes but isn’t anywhere close to where they want and need it to be – the Celtics shot 52 per cent from three-point range and got 40 points from all-star forward Jayson Tatum.

Without Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, they’re still searching for answers in the front court (starting centre Aron Baynes was benched in the second half) and on the boards (they were out-rebounded 56-37). They’ve had to rely on the two point guards, Lowry and VanVleet (who combined to score 53 points) to carry the load, while Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby remain quiet, and Norman Powell and the bench (who were out-scored 60-29) continue to struggle.

Then there was their lack of fight – another alarming early-season trend.

Boston came in on the second night of a back-to-back, having barely escaped Detroit with a win 24 hours earlier. They’ve looked vulnerable so far, though not to the extent Toronto has, and they were without their three veteran point guards – Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Jeff Teague, who missed the game with various ailments.

The Raptors started the game on fire, hitting seven of their first nine three-point attempts to give them an early 13-point cushion. They got, and wasted, one of the best games of VanVleet’s career – he scored 35 points on 13-of-20 shooting and 6-of-9 from long distance. But it wasn’t enough.

Once the Celtics took control midway through the second quarter they never relinquished it, leading by as many as 26 points in the fourth.

That’s been the through line in each of the Raptors’ losses to begin the campaign – once they get punched, they’ve rarely punched back. It’s a complete 180 from a year ago, when they prided themselves on their unrelenting effort and ability to find ways to win.

They led by 10 or more points in 52 games last season, and only lost four of them. They’re already 1-5 when leading by double digits in 2020-21.

“I think we just need to get a little bit grittier, get a little bit tougher and a little bit nastier, and have a little bit of a swagger to us,” said Lowry. “And right now we have no swagger to us. We have nothing. There’s nothing to us. We’re just that team. Teams are looking at us like ‘all right, let’s go eat’, and that’s not a good feeling. I think we have to use that to fuel our own fire, somehow someway.”

One way or another, this always seemed like the type of game we would look back on, either as a turning point for this Raptors team, or as a breaking point. Unless something drastic changes, as they embark on a tough four-game West Coast road trip, beginning in Phoenix on Wednesday, it’s looking far more likely that Monday’s loss to Boston will be the latter.

“Nobody’s coming to save us, we’ve gotta do this ourselves,” VanVleet said. “We’ve gotta do a little soul searching and look ourselves in the mirror.

“We’ve just gotta find ways to get the job done. There’s no secret recipe, there’s a boatload of problems and we gotta find ways to solve them.”

Source: – TSN

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

Published

6 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

6 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

17 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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