Morning Coffee - Feb. 27, 2025
Raptors go down swinging (and missing) to the Pacers; start road trip with an L | Toronto are the "favourites" to "maybe" land Embiid (fucking kill me)
Quick Reaction: Raptors 91, Pacers 111 - Raptors Republic
J. Mogbo - A
21 MIN, 16 PTS, 6 REB, 2 STL, 7-11 FG, 0-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -15 +/-
Mogbo has some good hands as he’s been winning quite a lot of on-ball steals on defence. Tonight was no different. This was a quality over quantity performance as Mogbo got relegated back to the bench due to a returning Jakob Poeltl, but he easily surpassed his points total from last night in fewer minutes tonight, even if you don’t include garbage time. He was good in the first half and finished the game even stronger in the second half.
Raptors' effort level not a problem amidst trying season - Sportsnet
It was the Raptors' second straight loss and fourth in their past five as they fell to 18-41 at the start of a four-game road trip that picks up in Chicago on Friday. It's a game that could be an important outing, regardless of whether you’re hoping the Raptors make a run at the play-in — the Bulls are 10th — or keep gathering lottery balls.
But there were some extenuating circumstances Toronto had to deal with against the Pacers.
Even as Jakob Poeltl returned to the lineup — and contributed 10 points, five rebounds and two assists while being limited to 24 minutes after being out since Feb. 4 with a hip pointer — the Raptors found themselves without Scottie Barnes who was scratched after bruising his hip in a fall early in the Raptors loss to Boston on Tuesday.
And the Raptors were playing on the second night of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights while Indiana was home and resting Tuesday.
And the Pacers (33-24) are pretty good. In their first full season with Pascal Siakam (who had a relatively quiet 15 points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes against his old team) in the fold they’ve followed up their surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season with a run up the standings so far in 2024-25. After starting the season 9-14, Indiana is 24-10 and would host a first-round playoff series if the season ended today.
None of those are excuses. Good NBA teams beat other good teams even in adverse circumstances. But the Raptors aren’t yet a good NBA team — no secret there as they’ve had the fifth-worst record in the NBA or thereabouts for most of the season.
But they aren’t a horrible NBA team. They can stand on that. They play an identifiable brand of basketball, built on cutting and ball movement — they rank ninth in assists per game and third in potential assists. They also make a point to run (ranking fourth in percentage of points scored in transition) and they pressure the ball (ranking 8th in deflections, for example).
But what should give the Raptors hope long-term as they sort through the inevitable roster shuffling and growing pains associated with a rebuild, is that nearly 60 games into a season in which they are 23 games under .500, they still try hard and are proud of it.
The Raptors hit the floor, get up, and hit the floor again on most nights.
“That’s part of the identity we try to bring into every single game, no matter what the result is,” said third-year wing Ochai Agbaji who had 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting (2-of-5 from three) in 31 minutes starting in place of Barnes. “We want to know that at the end of the game, we put our hardest effort out there, it’s what we’re all about. We know in the long-term it’s going to pay off, playing this way, and playing this hard.”
It's been the message Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic and his coaching staff have been preaching — if a player hits the floor drawing a charge or diving for a loose ball, it's Rajakovic who is leading the pack to offer high-fives and recognize the effort as much as anyone else — and it seems to be sinking in.
“For me, it's paramount. There's the foundation that you're building, the style of play, how we want to play, what style of game you want to play, and playing hard is something that has to be in our DNA,” Rajakovic said. “And that's what we're looking in players. That's what we're looking in coaches, that they have that fight, that resiliency — that's extremely important for us, and we're spending a lot of time trying to wake up that fight in the players that might not be showing it every night.
“It's a skill that you can learn. It's nothing. There's not something that you're born with. It's something that you develop.”
Questionable, huh? Tyrese Haliburton unquestionably good in comfy win over Raptors - Indy Star
Player of the Game: Tyrese Haliburton
On a night when it seemed like everyone else on both sides struggled to shoot the ball and to keep a good handle on it, Haliburton got hot early from outside and it fueled him the rest of the game.
Haliburton, who was listed as questionable with left groin soreness, hit a 27-foot step-back 3 one minute and 16 seconds into the game and then a 30-foot 3-pointer 2:42 in to the game. And whenever Haliburton makes two in a row he keeps shooting 3s until he misses and that took a while. He hit his first four 3-pointers before missing the fifth and had 12 of the Pacers' 26 first-quarter points.
He didn't force as many 3s after that, but he didn't necessarily cool off and he took advantage of the defensive attention by driving to the basket more. He also created offense out of defense by reading passing lanes and blocking shots. He finished with 33 points on 12 of 15 shooting including 7 of 9 from 3-point range to go with 11 assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Turning Point
The Pacers had an overall sloppy first half with 11 turnovers and everyone who wasn't Haliburton had trouble shooting the ball. He was 6-of-8 from the floor and the rest of the team was 13-of-31. He was 5-of-7 from 3 while the rest of the team was 2-of-11. For most of the first half they let the Raptors, who were struggling equally, hanging within one or two possessions.
They were up just 41-38 with two minutes to go in the second period, but they got themselves a necessary cushion with a 10-3 spurt to finish the half capped off by a pass from Siakam that went nearly the length of the court and found wing Ben Sheppard in stride at the other end for a dunk that made it 51-41 at the break. They Pacers built on that lead with a 30-23 third quarter and managed to cruise the rest of the way.
Tough start on the road as the Raptors fall to the Pacers 111-91 - Raptors HQ
Toronto was without Scottie Barnes, but the return of Jakob to the roster helped bolster the front court. Darko went deep into the bench tonight, with 10 players all seeing significant minutes. Quickley led the team in scoring, finishing with 18-2-6 with some creative offence around the rim. RJ struggled at times in this matchup but still ended with 16-2-5, and Mogbo led the bench with 16 and 6.
For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton undoubtedly was the driving force behind the win. With 33 points 11 assists and 5 stocks, he propelled them to victory. Myles Turner had his own double double with 18 and 10. A familiar face in Pascal also helped out, with 15-8-2. The offence certainly carried them, as is the case for this Pacers team, but their defence tonight was a difference maker, limiting Toronto’s ability to put up points or make their way back into the game.
The first quarter was intriguing, as Indiana managed to have exactly as many points (4) from shots that were not 3-pointers as they had personal fouls (also 4). Despite that, the Pacers had a two point advantage by the end of the quarter, the product of their long-distance shots falling. Tyrese Haliburton was showing off his skill with 12 points in the quarter, with Myles Turner cashing in a pair of his own. For Toronto, Quickley was the highlight of the frame, looking a lot more comfortable on the floor than he did last night. His movement on and off the ball opened up the lane, with 5 points and 2 assists early. Their defence looked engaged and physical, helping keep them in the game.
In the second quarter, the Raptors feasted on interior passing and lobs. The Pacers’ communication and coverage broke down a couple of times and Toronto took advantage quickly. Gradey and Ochai were both able to hit long range shots, and they stayed within a couple possessions throughout the period. Another savvy way the Raptors stayed in the game was their ability to draw offensive fouls and force turnovers. They kept momentum, but in the closing minutes of the frame, the Raptors had a scoring drought, and Indiana capitalized, building a lead. The reality of playing on a back to back seemed to set in too, as they started to look a little bit fatigued.
Coming out of the locker room it felt like every time the Raptors gained some ground, Indiana answered with another run. Tyrese Haliburton showed more of what makes him their franchise player with shooting, anticipating and stealing passes, and finding his teammates. Despite more strong guard play from Quickley and some support off the bench, the Pacers ended the frame up 17.
The physicality of the defence from both teams continued, with guys stepping in to take fouls and recover on closeouts. The defence was on, but the offence continued to struggle. Toronto tried to make one last push in the final minutes of the game, but the fatigue was apparent, and they weren’t able to find an answer for the Pacers’ offence.
Raptors minus Scottie Barnes misfire in Indianapolis. But the road gets easier - Toronto Star
The Pacers are not known for their defence, but on a night where they risked being swept in the season series by a faltering Raptors team that’s eyeing another lottery pick, the veteran coach seemingly wanted to send a message that a lacklustre effort wouldn’t cut it.
It eventually worked. The short-handed but pesky Raptors, on the second night of a back-to-back, kept the game close early but went cold in the final minutes of the second quarter, trailed by 10 at the half and ultimately fell 111-91 in Indianapolis.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton had been listed as questionable with a groin injury, but looked pretty fluid in going 7-for-9 from long distance and finishing with 33 points and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam added 15 points and eight rebounds against his former team.
The Raptors knew they were facing an uphill battle. With Scottie Barnes (hip) out of the lineup as the Raptors began a four-game road trip, head coach Darko Rajakovic focused on teamwork.
“There’s going to be an emphasis on the whole team — not on RJ (Barrett), not on Quickley,” he told reporters before tipoff in Indianapolis. “We need to play as a group. We can never have one player step up in the absence of the other players. That’s a big part of what we’re always talking about and trying to have, that team mentality first.”
They tried, with six players reaching double digits in points, but it wasn’t enough. Quickley led the way with 20 points and six assists. Barrett, who had averaged 34 points in the two previous encounters with the Pacers (both Toronto wins), added 16 points and five assists.
Like in Tuesday night’s home loss to the Boston Celtics, the Raptors were inefficient from long distance, shooting just 6-for-27 for a 22 per cent clip.
Centre Jakob Poeltl returned to the lineup after sitting out eight games with a right hip pointer, and had 10 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes.
The Pacers entered Wednesday’s matchup a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Takeaways for Toronto as Raptors Lose in Blowout to Pacers - Sports Illustrated
That was rough.
Back-to-back fatigue aside, Toronto’s offense looked completely out of sync Wednesday against a Pacers team that ranks just 21st in defensive rating. After a solid first quarter, the Raptors went ice-cold, struggling to generate anything consistent against Indiana.
Take the final four minutes of the second quarter, for example. Toronto mustered just three points in that stretch, missing six shots, two free throws, and committing two turnovers to close the half.
Things didn’t get much better in the third. The Raptors turned the ball over eight times as Indiana stretched its lead to 17. RJ Barrett had a tough night, finishing with 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Immanuel Quickley couldn’t find his rhythm from deep despite adding 18 points with just one three-pointer made.
Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton had no such issues. The Pacers’ star guard erupted for 33 points, including seven threes, and effectively put the game out of reach midway through the fourth. A defensive mix-up between Gradey Dick and Ja’Kobe Walter left Haliburton wide open behind the arc, and he capitalized, pushing Indiana’s lead back to 14.
Toronto certainly missed Scottie Barnes. Without him drawing attention, the Raptors were forced into uncomfortable roles, leading to players trying to do too much.
But beyond Barnes’ absence, the bigger issue remains Toronto’s three-point shooting—or lack thereof. The Raptors shot 6-for-256 from deep, continuing a season-long struggle in that department. They’ve ranked near the bottom of the league in threes made per game all year, and if they hope to be competitive next season, that has to change.
No Scottie Barnes, no defence, no win in Indiana for Raptors - Toronto Sun
Indiana led by two after a quarter, even though the Raptors missed 7-of-8 three-point attempts. Haliburton, who had been questionable to play, scored 12 in the first, hitting four three-pointers on his own.
The Pacers dominated the second quarter, holding Toronto to only 17 points, pushing the lead to 10 at halftime. The Raptors shot a dismal 30% in the half.
The visitors finally started hitting shots in the third, but didn’t make a lot of headway. And then the locks went back onto the rim and Toronto went nearly four minutes without scoring a field goal, Indiana went on a 12-0 run to end the third quarter (to lead by 17), and then added a couple more before five quick points from Quickley forced Indiana to call timeout. The Raptors kept coming though, closing to single digits several times in the fourth. Reserve big men Mogbo and Robinson did excellent work on both ends of the floor in the quarter.
But Haliburton put the finishing touches on the victory with a three-pointer, assist and dunk to erase any final Raptors hopes.
Other than a couple of early three-point Toronto advantages, the Pacers led the game the entire way.
Indiana has had a strange season, with Haliburton looking awful at times, an all-star at others. The team was under .500 as recently as Jan. 2, but has gone 16-6 since with Haliburton right around 50% on three-point shots over his last four games following the all-star break. He’d shot 44% form three in January, up from 45% in December.
Former Raptors star Siakam improved to 3-3 against Toronto since being traded to Indiana. He had lost the previous two meetings this season but was quiet in this one.
Ja’Kobe Walter found his stroke and maybe his place on the Raptors - Raptors Republic
When you look at the end of Walter’s college career and the start of his NBA one, you start to see a player who was looking for his shot for awhile. And he’d been doing so while navigating two vastly different roles, two vastly different leagues, and heaps of different teammates. Only, the things that were escaping Walter at the NBA level — like hitting open three-pointers — seemed a lot easier to get under control than what was being asked of him at Baylor – which was massive on-ball creation.
Regarding creating at the NBA level? It’s really hard. Walter is young, inexperienced, and lacking in a lot of the skills necessary to breakdown NBA defenders. His dribble is quite narrow and doesn’t possess much manipulation in it, his touch at the rim — especially when contested — has struggled a lot. Some players have a lot of on-ball wiggle, but I wouldn’t describe Walter as such, more so as having on-ball wriggle. In my mind wiggle on a basketball court is a more expansive movement pattern over larger spaces, and wriggle being a more discrete and contained jittering in small ones, let’s say. Could be nonsense. His C&S jumper though, that should translate quickly.
Walter’s jumper is one of the simpler shots you’ll come across. No wasted motion going east-west, no exaggerated dip, no hitch. A pretty high pickup point, a tucked elbow, and a very linear motion going from grab to release. Easily repeated, quiet mechanics. Also, anytime you go to a practice or a game to watch him hoist them up, he’d shoot great. It was pretty surprising, for all these reasons, that Walter was shooting roughly 20-percent on his unguarded threes halfway into his season. For all the little mid-range jumpers that he’d get to by inch-worming his way around in the middle of the court, he still needed some honest-to-God effectiveness from downtown, and now it’s come around.
Over his last 33 unguarded 3-pt attempts, Walter has connected on 39-percent of them. The Raptors are a team that hasn’t been able to sneak into the top-10 in the NBA in any of the major quadrants on the floor — rim, short mid-range, long mid-range, 3-pt — and that is largely due to the fact that their stars are not efficient relative to other stars (Scottie Barnes in particular has struggled with his efficiency) and their higher-usage role players don’t juice the efficiency numbers either. Gradey Dick, for example, hangs around 55-true shooting and he’s 3rd on the team in field goal attempts, Ochai Agbaji has been as efficient as they come but sits 200 attempts behind Dick.
With Brandon Ingram set to join the team (at some point), the Raptors don’t look to be on pace for elite efficiency, but at the very least a lot more creation. In the current Raptors environment, they ask everyone to create more than they probably should — Dick’s shot diet is probably the best indicator of this — and struggles have been abound. Ingram can set the hierarchy into its proper order (at least to some degree), and with Walter sorting out his 3-point stroke the roadmap to minutes and impact becomes extremely straightforward.
There’ll of course be possessions and opportunities for Walter to attempt to create for himself — he’s still young and everyone should get a shot at it — but with the Raptors clearly ramping up to compete at the outset of the 25-26 season, Walter providing a higher level of defense than Dick can, and the road to efficient catch-and-shoot, erm, shooting, emerging? There’s absolutely no reason why a rotation spot couldn’t fall into Walter’s lap. Once that foothold is established, that’s a great place to develop from.
While the Raptors have selected Dick & Walter in back-to-back drafts — and the fact that the top end of the 2025 Draft appears to have a lot of shooting guard talent — the Raptors look most ready to pivot around the backcourt.
Inside the Gambling Ring Allegedly Linked to Point Shaving Across Pro and College Basketball - Sports Illustrated
The scandal, which appears to touch both pro and college basketball, has already generated a few headlines, but the sports world has not come to grips with just how widespread this scheme could be. In a court filing last month, the office of acting U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny of the Eastern District of New York vouched for “substantial evidence” that Hennen was involved in “illicit financial transactions and fraudulent sports wagers totaling millions of dollars,” resulting “in potentially millions of dollars’ worth of illicit profits and money-laundering transactions.”
The links from Hennen to game fixing begin with former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter. Porter admitted to taking himself out of games in 2024 so gamblers could win prop bets on his performances. He pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July 2024 and is awaiting sentencing; the NBA banned him for life. Terry Rozier, a far more prominent NBA player currently with the Miami Heat, is under federal investigation for his performance in a 2023 game while a member of the Charlotte Hornets—his case is tied to Porter’s, three independent sources familiar with the probes tell Sports Illustrated. The NBA said it investigated Rozier and did not find any violations, and the league is cooperating with the Eastern District. Rozier has not been charged with a crime.
The scheme that ensnared Porter was fairly simple: He amassed significant gambling debts, and he repaid them by sabotaging his own performance. Porter’s salary at the time was around $400,000. Sources familiar with elements of the federal and NCAA inquiries tell SI that authorities are investigating potential links between the same gambling ring and wagering on at least nine college games across last season and this season. Investigators have flagged unusual wagering on games involving at least five college teams—and they are prepared for that number to increase.
The Justice Department alleges Hennen had five co-conspirators just for the Porter scheme. Only four have been publicly identified. Three—Timothy McCormack, Mahmud Mollah and Long Phi “Bruce” Pham—pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. A grand jury indicted the fourth, Ammar Awawdeh, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery. The Justice Department has said Hennen will be charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering, but delayed officially charging him while he negotiates a plea.
After Hennen was arrested at the Vegas airport, the U.S. Attorney’s office wrote that he was trying to flee the country before a “Jan. 15 deadline.” The publicly available letter, which has portions redacted, did not specify a reason for the deadline. According to a filing signed by Hennen and an attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s office, the two sides are negotiating a plea deal. If they reach one, and it includes a promise from Hennen to testify truthfully, we might learn the full scope of the game-fixing ring.
Hennen’s attorney, Todd Leventhal, tells SI, “It’s still early [in the case]. We’re reviewing everything. The government paints a very vivid picture, and I think that picture will have a hard time holding up at trial.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office letter says, “the proof of his guilt is overwhelming,” and includes “witnesses, phone records, financial records and betting records.” The government has not released most of that evidence.
The government says “numerous” Hennen schemes were “fraudulent.”
Through independent reporting, court records and other publicly available information, SI set out to explain how such an audacious—and reckless—scheme could unfold by following Shane Hennen.
