When Toronto tipped off the season without superstar Kawhi Leonard, almost no-one believed the NBA defending champions would have any hope of repeating.
The Raptors apparently didn’t get the memo.
Toronto opens the playoffs on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets after bulldozing through the toughest schedule of the 22 teams in the NBA bubble seeding round (7-1), earning the second-best record in the NBA (53-19), and setting a franchise record for win percentage (73.6).
Persevering through a laundry list of injuries, and then a four-month layoff due to COVID-19, the Raptors’ season has come down to beating teams just four times. They believe they’re better at that than anyone.
“We know who we are and that we’re good enough to do it and that we’re tough,” said guard Fred VanVleet. “It’s going to be hard to beat us four times. If you can do that, we’ll shake your hand and congratulate you. But I think we all like our chances.”
The Raptors earned the No. 2 seed like they did last year, while Brooklyn is seeded seventh.
Toronto’s all-star guard Kyle Lowry said the Raptors have built a culture of winning. That ideology didn’t disappear when Leonard went to the L.A. Clippers last season.
“We’ve been continuously getting better every single season I’ve been here… on the same page from top to bottom,” he said.
And while Lowry and his teammates hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy last season in the Canadian team’s historic championship run, they didn’t plan on stopping at just one.
“That feeling is unmatched,” Lowry said. “Other than my children being born, I don’t think I’ve had a feeling like that, ever. And that’s the motivation to keep doing that.”
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Lowry plays with a 100-miles-an-hour motor that is virtually unparalleled — especially at 34 years old. He had 19.7 points, 7.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds this season, earned a spot on his sixth consecutive all-star team, and led the league in charges drawn.
The undisputed leader on the floor and in the locker-room said the Raptors are “the same exact team” they were last season.
“We play hard. We go out there and we defend. We’ve got pros. We’re just trying to win every single game. That’s what we’ve always done,” he said.
“We play to provide for our families and do what we can for our communities,” he added. “But we play to win championships. We play for a higher level and now we’re playing for social injustices and keeping that conversation going. But we’re also playing to win a championship.”
No Raptors were named to either the NBA seeding round’s first or second teams announced Saturday. Nick Nurse was fourth in voting for top coach of the eight games.
If Toronto were feeling any disrespect, they’re used to it. In fact the roster is built out of players with “chips on their shoulders,” said VanVleet.
“I think all of us at some point have had to work for it. Nothing has really been given to us. We kind of take that identity,” he said. “All of our coaches kind of fit that. It’s our identity from the top down. Whatever narrative people will write about is what it’s going to be.”
After Leonard’s MVP performance in last season’s playoffs, much of the narrative have been around who’ll be the clutch player to close out games?
But this year’s roster had five players who averaged 15 or more points: Lowry, VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Norm Powell and Serge Ibaka. According to Elias, the last team to do that with at least 50 games played for each player was the Buffalo Braves in 1973-74.
Is strength in numbers better than one superstar?
“We have a lot of guys who can take over at the end of the game. Maybe that’s better. Maybe that’s better than having one guy you can load up on,” VanVleet said. “We’ve got a bunch of different guys who can make shots. We’ll roll the dice and see what happens.”
This historical post-season at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., poses unique challenges, but also has some positives such as no travel.
Nurse said the verdict is still out on his thoughts on bubble playoff basketball.
“Right at this moment, it feels pretty similar. It’s actually felt a little easier to kind of get organized. Usually you’re flying back from Miami or something and you’re trying to recoup for a day, but we’re not. The coaches are all here. We go to breakfast, we get together, we start talking about the game plan,” he said.
He senses the extra energy and “blood pumping” that always comes with the start of the playoffs.
“(But) I just had a big thought of not doing this in front of fans,” Nurse noted. “Because as you know, man, that first game when the Raptors go to the playoffs and you walk into that arena and the fans get up, it’s really something. It’s really something for us to be a part of, and we’ll miss that, for sure.”
The Raptors faced the Nets in a thrilling 2014 post-season series, losing 104-103 in Game 7 after Lowry’s shot was blocked at the buzzer.
More recently, the Raptors beat Brooklyn six consecutive times before the Nets’ 101-91 victory in the final game before the all-star break snapped the Raptors’ franchise-record, 15-game winning streak.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
