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Raptors Notes: Lowry, Nurse, Playoff Rotation, VanVleet

April 2nd, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before returning to Toronto for the first time since signing with the Heat during the offseason, Kyle Lowry wrote a piece for The Players Tribune expressing gratitude to the fans who cheered him during his nine seasons with the Raptors. Sunday night’s game will mark Lowry’s first time in Scotiabank Arena since February 28, 2020, as that season concluded at Disney World and the Raptors played their home games in Tampa, Florida, last year.

In his article, Lowry details the phone call he made to team president Masai Ujiri to break the news that he was leaving and tells Toronto fans that he’s “excited as hell” to play in front of them again.

“I’m excited to be on a court with (Fred VanVleet) and Pascal (Siakam) and OG (Anunoby)  again — if Masai is big bro, then those are my little bros, and they’re the guys now, they’re taking over,” Lowry wrote. “And I’m excited to experience that energy of Toronto basketball again. But I also think it might just be a normal night in some ways, you know what I mean? Because regardless of the jersey I’m wearing, a lot still hasn’t changed … and won’t ever change. It’s never going to be a wrap between me and this city. With family, it’s never goodbye.”

There’s more from Toronto:

  • Lowry played a vital role in reviving the franchise, but the Raptors couldn’t have taken the next step in their development without him leaving, argues Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Lowry’s departure provided an opportunity for Siakam to become the primary ball-handler and it created a full-time role for rookie Scottie Barnes, who is seeing some of his 35 minutes per night at point guard. “We knew we were going to be losing a big leader,” coach Nick Nurse said, “… but for some of the guys that have been around here long enough, we needed them to understand they are the leaders of the team, and it’s up to them to perform and act like that.”
  • The Raptors’ recent hot streak gives Nurse the freedom to experiment with his rotation ahead of the playoffs, Grange adds in a separate story. In Wednesday’s victory over Minnesota, Precious Achiuwa, who’s shooting over 40% from three-point range since the All-Star break, started the second half in place of Barnes and provided a lot more spacing for the offense.
  • Lowry may be on hand to watch VanVleet break one of his franchise records, per Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. With 236 three-pointers, VanVleet is only three behind Lowry’s single-season mark.
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Raptors Notes: Anunoby, Siakam, Barnes, Birch, Achiuwa

March 15th, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward OG Anunoby, who has been sidelined since the All-Star break due to a fractured right ring finger, was reevaluated on Monday, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

“It’s kinda the same,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Anunoby’s finger injury. “It’s not fully healed. He’s got a decision to make.”

According to Nurse, the plan is for Anunoby to practice on Tuesday and see how he feels — the team will know more at that point about his status. Nurse’s comment about Anunoby having a “decision” to make suggests that playing through the injury before it has fully healed could be an option if the pain isn’t too bad.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • As Eric Koreen writes for The Athletic, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes are both technically forwards, but their versatile skill sets allows them to function as de facto point guards at times, and they’re developing intriguing chemistry together. “I think we have kind of like similar skill sets, and we always feel like we have a mismatch every time down the floor,” Siakam said over the weekend.
  • Noting that Toronto enjoyed success in Denver on Saturday with a shooting-deficient lineup made up of Barnes, Khem Birch, Thaddeus Young, Chris Boucher, and Dalano Banton, Eric Koreen explores Nurse’s unconventional rotation decisions, dubbing the Raptors the NBA’s “delightful weirdos.”
  • Birch appreciates the Raptors’ willingness to stick with him as a rotation regular and a frequent starter, given how much time he has missed this season due to injuries and illnesses. “Honestly, I feel like with any other team I probably wouldn’t even be playing right now,” said Birch, who has missed 26 of 68 games (link via Doug Smith of The Toronto Star). “The fact that they just have that type of confidence in me despite all the injuries I’ve had, all the setbacks, and I’m still getting minutes tells a lot about how they feel about me, and it gives me a lot of confidence to keep going despite my injury.”
  • Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com examines the progress that Raptors center Precious Achiuwa has made in his second NBA season and the areas where he still has room to improve.
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Atlantic Notes: Harden, Achiuwa, Pritchard, Quickley

February 27th, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden was brilliant in his Sixers debut Friday night, but he couldn’t escape questions about whether his reputation has suffered after issuing trade demands to two teams in 13 months, writes Brian Hall of The Associated Press. The former MVP put up a near triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in a win at Minnesota, but the postgame conversation centered around the circumstances that led to his departure from Brooklyn.

“Just because the current situation happened, whatever happened, happened,” Harden said. “It doesn’t mean that I’m a bad teammate. Me, personally, I feel like I needed to do what’s best for my career, and help myself and be happy. It doesn’t harp on whether I’m a bad teammate or not.”

Sixers players and coaches are extremely happy to have Harden on board. Doc Rivers raved about how Harden has raised the level of communication since arriving, and Joel Embiid noticed an immediate difference in the quality of shots that he’s getting.

“I’ve never been wide open like this in my life,” Embiid said. “Seriously, the passing, like I wasn’t even expecting it and it was just coming.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Although the Raptors were blown out Saturday for the second straight night, Precious Achiuwa continues to be impressive, notes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The 22-year-old big man, who was acquired from the Heat in the Kyle Lowry trade, put up 21 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. He could be on the way to replacing Khem Birch in the starting lineup, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports.
  • The Celtics‘ decision to keep Payton Pritchard at the trade deadline is paying off, says Trevor Hass of Boston.com. The second-year guard played an important role in Saturday’s win at Detroit, delivering 19 points and six assists in 27 minutes, the most he has logged in two months. “My confidence never should waver,” Pritchard said. “For me, it’s just staying ready and trying to find little ways to help this team win. That’s my job, so I’m going to keep doing it.”
  • The slumping Knicks could use a boost from Immanuel Quickley, who is mired in a long shooting slump, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Quickley, who’s expected to become a primary ball-handler off the bench with Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker both unavailable, is shooting 30.7% from the field and 26.6% from three-point range in his last 19 games. “Teammates tell me all the time, sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, but you just gotta keep the main thing, which is playing defense every night, playing hard every night and just bringing other things to the table,” Quickley said. “You can do other things good when you don’t shoot well. You can still bring other things to win.” 
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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Thibodeau, M. Robinson, Raptors

February 22nd, 2022 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

Despite being one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, the Celtics haven’t hosted the All-Star Game since Bill Russell played for the team, back in 1964. According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, the team may be interested in changing that. Sources tell Washburn that the Celtics’ ownership group is taking steps to submit an application to host the event.

As Washburn writes, the Celtics don’t own the TD Garden outright, which is a logistical hurdle that must be overcome, and the locales for the next two All-Star Games – Utah in 2023 and Indiana in 2024 – have already been set. But the fact that Boston is taking steps toward applying is noteworthy, according to Washburn, who says the ownership group’s interest level in hosting the game has long been “tepid” until now.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Marc Berman of The New York Post argues that Tom Thibodeau shouldn’t be the fall guy for a disappointing Knicks season, observing that the front office made multiple roster moves Thibodeau wasn’t gung-ho about, including adding Kemba Walker and letting Reggie Bullock walk in free agency. Thibodeau also reportedly wasn’t exactly pushing for last month’s Cam Reddish trade. “They haven’t collaborated with him like they did last year,” a coaching source tells Berman.
  • Sean Deveney of Heavy.com spoke to one rival general manager who thinks Mitchell Robinson‘s next contract will be in the range of the full mid-level exception, projecting a three-year, $33MM deal. The Knicks center, who is currently extension-eligible, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Eric Koreen of The Athletic looks at some of the questions facing the Raptors for the rest of the 2021/22 season, including how important Precious Achiuwa and Dalano Banton are to the franchise, both in the present and future. As Koreen notes, Achiuwa and Banton have played well enough to warrant regular roles, but they don’t contribute much in the half-court offense, which has been Toronto’s biggest Achilles heel.
  • Within the same story, Koreen suggests the most likely outcome for the Raptors‘ open 15-man roster spot is that two-way player Justin Champagnie is promoted to fill it.
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Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Smart, Achiuwa, Irving

February 19th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by JD Shaw

Celtics star Jayson Tatum still holds a strong desire to play with Jaylen Brown, he said on J.J. Redick’s podcast, The Old Man & The Three (Twitter link). The Celtics have faced questions over the last year or two about their ability to win with Tatum and Brown leading the way, but Tatum insisted that he and Brown are committed to making it work.

“I think we’re both still very far from our prime,” Tatum said as part of a larger quote. “And I think what people don’t understand is like, alright, if you want to break us up, the grass is not always greener. There’s not a lot of guys in the NBA like JB [Jaylen Brown].”

Tatum and Brown have combined to average 49.4 points per game this season. The duo has played five seasons together and has led Boston to a 34-26 record this year.

“I couldn’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to have two of the best players that are under 25 on your team,” Tatum continued. “And, yeah, there are certain rough patches, but we’ve won way more games together than we’ve lost.”

Here are some other notes from the Atlantic:

  • During the same appearance on Redick’s podcast, Tatum discussed Marcus Smart‘s early-season criticism, adding that the Celtics are “past it now,” Brian Robb of MassLive.com writes. As we wrote in early November, Smart called out Brown and Tatum for not passing the ball more. “I wasn’t angry or mad or anything,” Tatum said. “I just waited to the next day. I saw Marcus at the facility and we sat down and talked. It was a great talk actually. We had some time to sleep. The adrenaline was gone from the game. He apologized for what he said and that was something he shouldn’t have said in the media and that they got his words mixed up. I didn’t take offense.”
  • Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa is optimistic that his breakout is coming, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. Achiuwa is in his first season with Toronto after being acquired in a sign-and-trade with Miami. “I want to be lethal,” Achiuwa said. “Being lethal on both sides of the ball game, both offense and defense. I think I have the physical abilities and God’s given abilities to evolve into that player.”
  • Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Insider-only) examines 10 noteworthy stories around the NBA, including Kyrie Irving‘s future with the Nets. Irving has only appeared in 14 games this season, averaging 24.1 points and 5.4 assists per contest. He holds a $36MM player option for next season.
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2021/22 Rising Stars Team Rosters

February 4th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

As we previously relayed, the NBA announced a new format for its Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, which will take place on Friday, February 18. The event will feature four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament (two semifinals and a final).

The player pool is comprised of 12 NBA rookies, 12 sophomores, and four players from the G League Ignite, while the games will be played to a target score: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

The rosters were announced on February 1, but now the four honorary coaches (75th anniversary team members Rick Barry, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton and James Worthy) have selected their seven-man teams, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Here are the rosters:

Team Barry:

Team Isiah:

Team Payton:

Team Worthy:

James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat provides (via Twitter) the full draft results.

The top 10, in order, were: Edwards, Mobley, Ball, Anthony, Giddey, Barnes, Cunningham, Bey, Bane, and Wagner. It’s worth noting that Worthy and Anthony both went to the University of North Carolina, so Anthony’s selection at No. 4 is less surprising given that context.

What do you think of the teams? Who do you think will come out on top? Head to the comments section and let us know your thoughts!

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NBA Announces 2021/22 Rising Stars Rosters

February 1st, 2022 at 6:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has revealed the 28 players (12 rookies, 12 sophomores, and four G League Ignite players) who will suit up for the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars Game in Cleveland this year, per its official PR account (Twitter links). There are a few intriguing surprises among the first-year NBA players.

Here are the players who made the cut:

Rookies:

Sophomores:

Additionally, four players from the G League Ignite will participate in the Rising Stars Game based on voting from NBA G League head coaches. The NBAGL has announced (Twitter link) that MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Jaden Hardy and Scoot Henderson will partake in the action. Players will be separated into four teams, and each G League player will be drafted to join one of the teams later this week.

Among the rookie NBA players, the additions who would be most surprising ahead of the 2021/22 season would be Dosunmu and Jones, both of whom were second-round draft selections. 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Ziaire Williams, James Bouknight, Joshua Primo and Moses Moody were all omitted from inclusion this year.

Among the second-year players, Ball could be appearing on multiple nights during All-Star Weekend this season, as he appears to be a very possible first-time All-Star this year thanks to his outstanding work with the upstart Hornets.

The lottery-bound Magic, Pistons, and Rockets can boast having the most inclusions here, with three players apiece.

As we detailed last week, this year’s Rising Stars event will look a little different, with the four teams taking part in a mini-tournament and playing to a target score in each game: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

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COVID-19 Roundup: Raptors, Kings, Thunder, Knicks

December 28th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The hits keep coming for the NBA. While some good news has arrived regarding the health status of a handful of players, several more have been sidelined in the league’s coronavirus protocols. Here are the newest developments concerning which players have entered or exited the health and safety protocols:

  • Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa and point guard Malachi Flynn have exited the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN. Lewenberg notes that power forward Pascal Siakam and wing Gary Trent Jr., who cleared protocols yesterday, have been listed as probable ahead of Toronto’s game against the Sixers this evening. Center Khem Birch, who also cleared protocols yesterday, remains questionable to play, as do Achiuwa and Flynn. Following this news, the total sum of Raptors players still in the league’s COVID-19 protocols has fallen to five.
  • Kings center Alex Len has exited the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per James Ham of ESPN 1320 (via Twitter). Because the 7-footer has not played a game since December 15, Ham notes that Len remains questionable to play tonight against the Thunder.
  • Thunder center Derrick Favors is now in the league’s coronavirus protocols, reports Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. Favors is the sixth Oklahoma City player currently in COVID-19 protocols. Head coach Mark Daigneault also entered the protocols today.
  • The Knicks have announced (Twitter link) that little-used guard Wayne Selden has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The 6’5″ veteran wing has not been a part of the rotation this season for New York, having suited up for just three games thus far.
  • Keep tabs on all the NBA’s current coronavirus absences via our daily tracker.
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Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa Enter Protocols

December 21st, 2021 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

After placing guards Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn in the health and safety protocols earlier in the day, the Raptors have now added two frontcourt players to that list. Rookie forward Scottie Barnes and center Precious Achiuwa have become the sixth and seventh Raptors in the COVID-19 protocols, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

If Barnes and Achiuwa have tested positive for COVID-19, they’ll be out for 10 days or until they return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. VanVleet, Flynn, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and Dalano Banton are the other players in the protocols for Toronto.

The injury report is getting crowded for the Raptors, who will also be without Justin Champagnie (non-COVID illness), David Johnson (left calf strain), and Goran Dragic (not with team) for Wednesday’s game in Chicago. That leaves the club with just six of its initial 16 players available, and one of those six – Khem Birch – is listed as questionable due to a right knee issue.

However, as Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links), there’s no indication at this point that Wednesday’s game will be postponed. Toronto has reportedly reached deals with four replacement players – Nik Stauskas, Brandon Goodwin, Tremont Waters, and Juwan Morgan – and could sign more before tip-off tomorrow night,, assuming there’s time for those players to clear COVID-19 testing and travel to Chicago.

The NBA already postponed one Raptors/Bulls contest last Thursday, so the league will likely want to avoid having to push back a second game between the two teams.

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Lakers’ Westbrook, Cavs’ Okoro Enter COVID-19 Protocols

December 16th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Lakers guard Avery Bradley has also been placed in the protocols, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Westbrook and Bradley are the fourth and fifth Lakers to enter the protocols within the last three days, joining teammates Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, and Malik Monk.

It’s unclear if the two Lakers guards have registered confirmed positive tests for COVID-19, but if they have, they’ll be sidelined for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

The news of Westbrook and Bradley entering the protocols coincides with reports that the Lakers have agreed to sign Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception. Westbrook’s and Bradley’s absences should open the door for Thomas to get some run at the point guard spot.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates from around the NBA:

  • Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro has entered the health and safety protocols, sources tell Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). No other Cavs players are currently in the protocols, so we’ll have to wait to see if Okoro is a one-off or if any of his teammates join him in the coming days. If Okoro tested positive for COVID-19, he’ll be in the protocols for at least 10 days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
  • Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, that Coby White and Javonte Green are the only two players on the team who have cleared the health and safety protocols and have been conducting individual workouts. That leaves eight players in the protocols, and many of them – including Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Alize Johnson, and Troy Brown Jr. – may not be back until after Christmas, according to Donovan.
  • Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa has cleared the health and safety protocols, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen also provides a few injury updates on Raptors players — Dalano Banton (illness) is good to go, while OG Anunoby (hip) and Khem Birch (knee) will be listed as questionable for the club’s game vs. Golden State on Saturday.
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