Raptors

The Toronto Raptors could find a groove offensively while Scottie Barnes showed room for growth in Wednesday's preseason loss to the Boston Celtics.

- Brown won't make the roster for Toronto but his three-point shooting is a skill to keep an eye on. As for the actual game, the Raptors overcame a sloppy start thanks to a huge comeback from the team's third unit. The Raptors rookie showed a ton of progress Wednesday night, showing some refined post-moves, faking to his left before spinning around and nailing a floater over Derrick White. It'll likely come down to Jackson or Justin Champagnie for the final roster spot. Even in a 125-119 victory over the Celtics, the Raptors came out of the gate sputtering offensively but things slowed to a crawl once Fred VanVleet checked out. Eventually, though, that time will come and Barnes is going to have to prove he can keep the offense ticking even without VanVleet on the court.

A spirited fourth-quarter rally led by non-guaranteed roster hopefuls Josh Jackson, Gabe Brown and Jeff Dowtin Jr. erased a 19-point hole as the Raptors ...

“There’s always areas for improvement,” he said last week. [Skip Advertisement]

Christian Koloko and Josh Jackson were amazing in the Toronto Raptors' preseason overtime win against the Celtics, but Fred VanVleet struggled.

The Raptors need VanVleet to be a leader again this season, which starts by being more efficient. VanVleet shouldn’t be judged too harshly for this game, as fans and coaches know that he will be in line for another fantastic season as the team’s starting point guard. He and Jackson helped key an excellent start to the fourth quarter that gave the Raptors some life. While Toronto might not lean too heavily on Koloko this season, the goliath rookie showed that he is capable of Against all odds, the Raptors took a 19-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter and leaned on their backups to snag a one-point lead with one minute left. Unfortunately, the Raptors were scheduled to run into a brick wall known as the rival Boston Celtics.

Pascal Siakam and Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points apiece and the Toronto Raptors used a fourth-quarter rally and an early burst in overtime to beat the ...

Josh Jackson also had 13 points for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam and Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points apiece and the Toronto Raptors used a fourth-quarter rally and an early burst in overtime to beat the Boston Celtics The Toronto Raptors used a fourth-quarter rally and an early burst in overtime to beat the Boston Celtics 125-119 on Wednesday.

Jeff Dowtin et Josh Jackson ont été des plus efficaces en fin de rencontre. Dowtin a inscrit ses 10 points au quatrième quart, où Toronto a dominé 38-20.

Plus tard, il a saisi un gros rebond en défense, avant d'ajouter deux lancers francs. Le Montréalais Khem Birch a totalisé 10 points. Il a converti un tir dans le vide de Jackson en panier portant le score à 121-114.

Flynn devrait être de retour sur les terrains avant la saison et il portera un masque au visage à ce moment.

2022. Le match sera diffusé sur RDS.ca. Il amorcera sa troisième saison avec l'équipe.

NBA - Alors que les titulaires de Boston dominaient ceux des Raptors pendant trois quart-temps, les remplaçants des Celtics ont laissé filer le match ...

0 0/0 0/1 0/2 Mais en présaison, le dernier quart-temps est généralement réservé au bout du banc, et celui des Celtics n’a pas résisté à celui des Raptors. Encore bien chaud, Jaylen Brown a entraîné son équipe avec 23 points à 9/14 au tir en 27 minutes et si Jayson Tatum n’a toujours pas réglé la mire de loin (0/7), il est allé chercher des points près du cercle.

Khem Birch and Josh Jackson came up big in OT, as the Raptors clawed their way back from 19 down to win.

the Raptors still seem allergic to the most basic play in basketball, the pick and roll. He showed nice hustle in the first half, tracking down a VanVleet miss (that led to a FVV relocation three); he also, briefly, stayed in front of Jayson Tatum on a drive, before getting popped in the face and getting a bloody nose as a result. He seems to know where to go on the floor. Anunoby also showed some of that old Anunoby strength, backing down Marcus Smart and dunking over him; he also had a nice dish to Precious (on the move!) who was fouled going up for the jam. With both teams playing their core rotations in the first half, the differences between the two teams was apparent; the Celtics get into their offense, and generate quality looks, at much higher rate than the Raptors do. DJ Wilson slid in to take the charge, and it first it looked like he made it in time; the officials initially called a charge before they overturned it on a coach’s challenge. And the Raptors still don’t have consistent long-range shooters. As fun as the second half was, the first seemed to expose several flaws with this Raptors team (and yes, we’ll add the caveat that it’s still very early in the preseason!). Dowtin tied the game on a pull-up with 10 seconds to go, and Peyton Pritchard missed a runner at the buzzer. The win moves the Raptors to 2-0 in the preseason, while the defending Eastern Conference Champions fall to 1-1. Jackson, Dowtin, Wilson and Brown combined to shoot 11-15 in the fourth as the Raptors outscored the Celtics 38-20 in the frame. Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa and Josh Jackson and paced the Raptors with 13 apiece.

All 4 non-guaranteed players the Toronto Raptors have on their roster, including Dalano Banton and Josh Jackson, have a chance at making the final group.

If Nick Nurse wants a true point guard to take some of the pressure off Fred VanVleet, Banton would be a clear and obvious choice as a backup. Considering how Banton has made many of the offensive improvements that the Raptors required him to check off during the offseason, his spot seems all but secured. That may come down to who has the best combination of a preseason resume and a fit on their current roster.

Jeff Dowtin et Josh Jackson ont été des plus efficaces en fin de rencontre. Dowtin a inscrit ses 10 points au quatrième quart, où Toronto a dominé 38-20.

Plus tard il a saisi un gros rebond en défense, avant d’ajouter deux lancers francs. Le Montréalais Khem Birch a totalisé 10 points. Il a converti un tir dans le vide de Jackson en panier portant le score à 121-114.

Dalano Banton has so much to his game that makes him exciting, but limits held him back last year. So far, he's showing growth in just those areas.

Banton has a path to the court. The more he adds to the ceiling, the more opportunities he’ll have to work on his floor. Banton does a lot that the Raptors already do well — offensive rebounding, running in transition, and more. Banton isn’t even guaranteed to make the team, but he put himself in great standing after his offseason followed by the performance against Utah. Banton didn’t have a ton of opportunities to initiate the offense in the halfcourt, but his handle didn’t limit Toronto there, either. For now, Toronto would be thrilled for a 12-minute-a-game wing who forces turnovers on the defensive end, finishes in transition, and moves the ball with rapidity. But by far the more encouraging play came as he was guarding the ball, stayed with the drive, and used his enormous wingspan to force a nonsense play from Jared Butler, resulting in a turnover. That was actually Banton’s mistake, X-ing out to the wrong place.) And preseason is not the right place to look for off-ball defensive focus. Banton finished with two steals, one of which came off the ball as he poached in the passing lane. He used his romping steps and side-to-side motion to quiver around opponents, and he finished 2-for-2 at the rim on the fastbreak. He had the juice last year, but he didn’t have the same touch. Word out of training camp is that he is playing great there, and remember Nick Nurse is happy to publicly throw his players under the bus if they perform poorly no matter the venue.

Jack Harlow, a big basketball fan, had originally written the lyric about the Louisville Cardinals, his hometown team in the NCAA.

While Harlow performed the song, Drake’s verse was left out. “I’m in the club with the basketball team, me and the Raptors are sharing a section,” Harlow ad-libbed during a verse of “WHATS POPPIN.” Jack Harlow gave the Raptors a shoutout at his Toronto show (VIDEO)

It's about as safe a contract as the Raptors could sign, from the team perspective, which shows just how tenuous Jackson's standing in the NBA was entering this ...

The Raptors have spent a year developing Champagnie, and he has a bright future of his own. And he’s filled in the gaps on the offensive end that the team legitimately needs. And for one night, against the Celtics, Jackson and the very players against whom he is competing for the final roster spots put on a show. (Jackson had some ugly years driving the basketball too, to be fair.) In fact, Jackson is fighting against some of them, especially Justin Champagnie, who has yet to appear in preseason because of injury, for Toronto’s final roster spot. That’s not going to cut it for a role player who is low on the offensive hierarchy of a new team. Jackson is fighting just to make the Raptors, not to run the offense. So far, Jackson is proving to be built in a similar mold. The most Hollis-Jefferson ever scored in preseason with the Raptors was seven. Jackson is taking lots of shots, but he’s under control and finishing — with the highest true shooting percentage on the team outside of Malachi Flynn, who missed the second game of preseason. To prove that he’s not a prospect with promise but a veteran who can fill spot minutes and not make mistakes. He has averaged 0.5 blocks and 0.5 steals per game — modest numbers — but he’s not sacrificing positioning to chase gaudy highlights.

The nine Toronto Raptors players projected to start the season in the rotation struggled from 3-point range. Is this nothing, or cause for alarm?

As for the stars who struggled, this is likely a case of shaking off the rust rather than a sign that their ability to score from deep is fading away. The nine players projected to start the season in the rotation, should Porter miss time, went a nasty 3-23 from 3-point range. For the last few seasons, the two most significant issues that have plagued this team are a substandard bench unit and the lack of excellent 3-point shooting.