TORONTO – The Raptors went from spending more than $50 million on the centre position in 2019-20 to less than $16 million this season and, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.
When they lost Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol in free agency over the off-season – partially of their own volition – they knew and accepted that things were going to be different in the frontcourt.
Having one of the league’s best big men tandems had been a nice luxury – it helped propel them to a championship – but it was ultimately deemed just that; a luxury. So, Toronto cobbled together a makeshift group of replacements and hoped that would be enough to fill the void, while banking on internal growth and its strength at other positions to make up the rest of the disparity.
Through seven games to open the new campaign, and with a disappointing 1-6 record, that appears to be wishful thinking now.
Veteran journeyman Aron Baynes, who was signed to supplant Gasol in the starting lineup, has underwhelmed and even seemed unplayable at times. He was one of the best centres left on the market after Ibaka and Gasol turned down modest offers from Toronto, and he’s been a serviceable big for good teams in the past, but he’s looked lost on the floor with his new club.
Since scoring 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting in his first two games as a Raptor, the 34-year-old has totalled 13 points on 6-of-25 over his last five. He played 27 scoreless minutes in their most recent losses to Boston and Phoenix, and was benched for all but six second-half minutes in those contests.
The Raptors are essentially playing four-on-five offensively when he’s on the floor. Teams aren’t respecting his jumper – he’s shooting 3-for-16 from three-point range, so far – and he continues to have difficulty catching and finishing around the basket. He’s not a rim protector, like Ibaka was, and he hasn’t been as defensively sound as Gasol to make up for the lack of offensive punch.
Alex Len – the former fifth-overall pick who was signed as a reclamation project after spending his first seven NBA seasons with three losing clubs – hasn’t shown much, either.
In 25 combined minutes against their former team, the Suns, on Wednesday, Baynes and Len recorded one point and six rebounds. Together, they’re averaging 8.5 points and 7.9 rebounds on the season. To put that into perspective, Gasol and Ibaka averaged 22.9 points and 14.5 rebounds last season, while shooting 39 per cent from three-point range and anchoring the team’s second-ranked defence.
As it stands, the Raptors’ best option at centre might be to go without a traditional centre.
Chris Boucher has impressed in his expanded role, and while his tendency to get overmatched by bigger and stronger post players make him more of a natural power forward, he’s easily the most dynamic and higher upside alternative at the five.
The obvious question, and concern, is whether he can man the middle in certain matchups without sacrificing too much on the boards or in the paint. Toronto has been out-rebounded 147-104 with Boucher on the court this season. The counterargument is that rebounding has also been an issue with Baynes (minus-48 on the boards) and Len (minus-14 on the boards) out there, so are those guys really helping you enough in that area to make up for all the things they’re not doing as well as Boucher?
For now, it appears Baynes will remain a starter, but the leash is getting shorter, especially as the Raptors continue to lose games. Boucher has been Nick Nurse’s most consistent source of energy coming off the bench, and Toronto’s head coach may prefer to keep him in that role, but the continued struggles of Baynes and Len could force his hand and prompt a change sooner rather than later.
“Gotta evaluate everything,” Nurse said following Toronto’s 123-115 loss to Phoenix – arguably its most complete performance of the season, and certainly Pascal Siakam’s best game in months, but another loss nonetheless.
“Aron’s had a couple of tough ones here after having a couple of real good ones at the beginning, Gotta get him back playing to at least a sustainable level, just an average or maybe slightly above average level. He seems to be a real good game or a real not-so-good game [player]. We just need a little bit in the middle, but we’ll probably keep looking at that.”
Another option is to go small, as they did to close Wednesday’s game. For the final eight minutes, Nurse went with Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby and Siakam. Although they weren’t great offensively, they held the Suns to a remarkable 75.0 points per 100 possessions and outscored them by 4 – cutting the deficit, which was as large as 15 points, down to six on a couple occasions.
That was the team’s second-most used five-man unit in last year’s seven-game playoff series against Boston – it held the Celtics to 85.0 points per 100 possessions and outscored them by six in 32 minutes – though it had only logged three minutes this season, prior to Wednesday night.
It’s hard to see Nurse starting games that small, but you can expect to see a lot more of that unit moving forward, especially in crunch time.
“I thought tonight it looked pretty good,” Nurse said of the small lineup. “I thought we cut a lead down and it seemed like the defensive possessions were really good in it. It enabled us to switch. [Phoenix] did try to force-feed it inside a little bit and we did a good job of swarming [Deandre] Ayton and making some good switches to get some size back on him. So yeah, we could see it but it’s tough when they have a big big like that out there.”
The reality is the Raptors don’t have an optimal solution at the centre position, not on the roster, at least not anymore. Individually, Gasol and Ibaka were imperfect options – with the former regressing on the offensive end at this stage of his career, and the latter beginning to slip on defence. Together, they complemented each other well, though, and either of them would be a significant upgrade over what they’ve got now.
It makes you wonder whether Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster would do things differently, in hindsight. Would they have offered Ibaka a second year of guaranteed money if they knew Giannis Antetokounmpo – their presumed target in the summer of 2021, and the biggest reason why they were hoarding cap space – was going to sign his extension? Would they have been more aggressive with their one-year offer to Ibaka – which reportedly started at around $12 million – if they knew Gasol was headed to the Lakers, or realized how difficult those guys were going to be to replace?
That Ibaka wanted, and expected, to remain with the Raptors makes this rare misstep from Toronto’s front office even more glaring. Ibaka wasn’t perfect, but he checked off a lot of boxes. He was a steadying presence on offence – virtually automatic from mid-range and somebody that would keep the defence honest with his ability to step out and drain the three. He was a good, albeit declining, defender that could still protect the rim at a high level and switch or close out on the perimeter. He was a proven winner and an important voice in the locker room.
It’s not easy to find serviceable modern bigs – let alone really good ones – that you can plug into a consequential role on a team with winning aspirations, as the Raptors have learned. They had one, let him get away, and are now reaping what they sowed.
Production from the centre position, or the lack thereof, isn’t the only issue responsible for the team’s slow start. It’s not even their most pressing issue. It has been an issue, though.
Ibaka isn’t walking through the door. Gasol isn’t walking through the door. Whether they address it internally, or look for an upgrade on the trade market, the Raptors need more from their overhauled frontcourt.
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.
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.
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.
