Morning Coffee - Jan. 24, 2025
Raps get another win on the road | Long live watchable basketball | Road games in Europe?
Boucher and the Raptors stay solid in wild win over the Hawks - Raptors Republic
Chris Boucher’s tradition of offering points-in-a-can kept Toronto in front. He tossed in a 3, a floater, a put-back slam. But the turnovers were too much for Toronto to keep a firm first-half lead. It was only six entering the third. But of course, Boucher repeated the performance in the fourth, catching a tough pass under the rim to toss in a layup. Driving from the corner to draw free throws. When the Hawks took a lead midway through the fourth, and it looked like Atlanta would run away late, Boucher’s ensuing triple stabilized the Raptors.
But even though the Raptors never managed to turn the game into the blowout it looked like it was going to become, they kept the Hawks a safe distance for virtually the entire game. They did so in large part on the defensive end.
Toronto’s defence was generally strong against Atlanta. There were definite lows, especially in transition as Toronto gave up countless easy ones with all the turnovers. And in the fourth. But led by Barnes and Davion Mitchell, Toronto continued its good defensive performance that has become the norm over the last several games.
For three quarters, Trae Young really had trouble shaking loose from Mitchell’s shadowing, and outside of some pull-up shooting and a tough running floater in the lane, he was able to find his way as a passer but not at all as a scorer. He got some to go in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to take over the game. A Young bricked pull-up 3 one way turnover into a made Barnes pull-up 3 the other way late. Meanwhile, Barnes did what he always did as a stunter and helper and gap-filler and generally enormous body.
Of course, the defence did fall apart in the fourth. A lot of the on-a-string stuff turned into miscommunications, and Toronto stopped forcing turnovers. As Atlanta charged back into the game, Barnes and Barrett and Boucher hit some triples, and Barnes got some mid-rangers and free throws into the net (and blocked a clutch shot late), and Jakob Poeltl hit some free throws, it was enough.
And that’s what good teams do. Not good teams. Normal teams. Middling teams — not middling as an insult, but in this case, a compliment. They find ways into the game when others fall apart. At first, the offence was blistering. Turnovers derailed that, and Toronto’s defence managed to push the Hawks back under the water. Then in the fourth, when Atlanta really made a charge, Toronto simply held on. Outside of committing numerous frustrating turnovers, the Raptors outplayed a .500 team in virtually every way. There was no I-am-the-best-player-in-the-game performance from anyone, not even Barnes. Instead, there was solidity on a variety of fronts, with seven Raptors hitting double-figure points on the night.
That’s also what solid teams do. And increasingly, with Toronto having won three of its last four games — all against over .500 teams (at the time of the game) — the Raptors are starting to look relatively solid.
Quick Reaction: Raptors 122, Hawks 119 - Raptors Republic
R. Barrett - A
36 MIN, 15 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 6-9 FG, 3-3 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 5 TO, 5 +/-
RJ had a slow start where he left two shots at the rim early on. He also threw a couple of questionable turnovers which he has been making a habit lately. We saw RJ run to the locker room midway through the second quarter where it wasn’t apparent what happened to him. Luckily he was back out there just a few moments later. Barrett started the second half much better with a three-ball and a steal that led to an assist on the fast break. Star-J had a miserable first half but played amazingly in the second half, mostly in crunch time.
Raptors Takeaways: Tidy defensive effort seals rare road win - Sportsnet
It was the Raptors' second road win this season in 21 tries and arguably their first "real" one given the other came against the then-sinking New Orleans Pelicans back in November. It had all the hallmarks of a win against a quality opponent in their building. Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett helped keep the offence moving as the game got tighter. Barnes scored 11 of his 25 points down the stretch, a flurry that included him getting to the free throw line three times after the Hawks fouled him on post-ups while the Raptors kept going to him for offence in the halfcourt.
He also scored what proved to be the winning bucket on a tough pull-up jumper from the left elbow with 40 seconds on the clock and DeAndre Hunter draped all over him.
Prior to that, Barrett hit a pair of crucial shots, one on a spinning right-handed lay-up around Hawks defensive ace Dyson Daniels and then he calmly drained a three to give the Raptors the lead with 2:55 to play after Jakob Poeltl rebounded Barnes' lone missed free throw in the quarter. Then the Raptors got a pair of defensive stops in the final seconds as Barrett contested a Trae Young pull-up followed by Barnes challenging Hunter as he tried to drive the basket after the Hawks had grabbed the offensive rebound.
How tidy was the Raptors performance down the stretch? Poeltl — a 61.2 per cent free throw shooter this season — hit a pair with 2.7 seconds left to put Toronto up by three. That meant when the Hawks inbounded the ball, the Raptors only had to defend against a three-point attempt, and they were perfect: first forcing the Hawks to call another timeout after they couldn’t inbound the ball and then only allowing Atlanta centre Onyeka Okongwu to catch the ball and take a hurried, off-balance and well-contest shot that had no chance. That’s the way it’s all supposed to work.
The Raptors won for the fourth time in five games — doing so for the first time during head coach Darko Rajakovic's tenure — and improved to 12-32 overall. Toronto shot 58 per cent from the floor and 42 per cent from three. Barnes' 25 points led the game in scoring, and he added six rebounds and three assists. Barrett had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists on 6-of-9 shooting, and Poeltl finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The Raptors had 32 total assists, and their effort was only spoiled somewhat by 19 turnovers.
Toronto and Atlanta (22-22) get to do it all again at the State Farm Arena on Saturday night in the second leg of a two-game series. It wasn’t a perfect game by any stretch, the Raptors' transition defence in the fourth quarter was unjustifiably bad at times, with basic communication seeming non-existent.
It took 93 days but the Raptors finally have their second road win of the season - Toronto Star
“When the game was on the line and when they jumped in the lead, we did not quit, we found a way to get stops,” he said, praising Barnes’ poise and control of the game through that stretch.
The Raptors played an aggressive style from the get-go, forcing turnovers and often turning them into fast-break points through well-timed cuts to the basket. Despite sending the Hawks to the free-throw line 11 times in the opening quarter, the Raptors relied on high shooting efficiency and ball-sharing movement to lead 35-25.
Toronto stretched the lead to as many as 17 points but committed eight turnovers in the second quarter to allow Atlanta to pull within six at halftime. The Raptors finished with 19 turnovers that led to 28 Hawks points.
“It’s just impossible. You cannot play and win constantly with that number of turnovers,” Rajakovic said. “Our focus needs to be better. We know their personnel, we know what they’re doing, we need to do a much better job of protecting the ball.”
Davion Mitchell started for the Raptors again in place of the injured Immanuel Quickley. He scored just two points and seven assists but did an excellent job guarding Trae Young, who struggled offensively and finished the game with 18 points and 13 assists.
The Raptors have won four of their last five games but, at 12-32, still own the third-worst record in the league. The Hawks, led by Bogdanovich’s 23 points Thursday, have dropped three games in a row.
Takeaways for Toronto as Raptors Get Crucial Stops in Upset vs. Hawks - Sports Illustrated
Trae Young had Jakob Poeltl on an island.
Twice, the All-Star guard found himself isolated against Toronto’s slower-footed big man late in the fourth quarter. But when the Raptors needed stops, Poeltl came through.
The first time, Toronto blitzed Young, forcing the ball out of his hands with a perfectly executed rotation that led to a crucial stop. The second time, Poeltl found himself one-on-one again but held firm, shuffling his feet to stay with the lightning-quick guard and forcing a tough miss.
On the other end, Scottie Barnes nailed a clutch jumper to cap his 25-point night, giving the Raptors a three-point edge. One final defensive stand sealed the deal as Toronto escaped Atlanta with just its second road win of the season.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough.
The Raptors squandered a 17-point first-quarter lead with 19 turnovers, allowing Atlanta to surge back as Toronto surrendered 32 points off those miscues.
Still, timely defensive stops and a dominant fourth quarter from Barnes—who bullied his way into the paint and repeatedly got to the line in crunch time—proved just enough to get the job done.
Raptors stun Atlanta Hawks, earn only second road win of season - Sports Illustrated
The Raptors no longer have the NBA’s worst road record. Still, the franchise has never won fewer than six road games in a season, even shortened campaigns, and is now more than halfway through this year’s road schedule with only two.
But this was a positive night for the team. Toronto clung to a five-point lead after three, despite shooting 62.9% from the field. Young then wiped out an eight point Raptors edge with seven points and three assists, forcing the Raptors to call timeout.
Young then assisted on a dunk and followed with a three-pointer to push Atlanta’s lead to five points.
He did take some bad shots though, which allowed the Raptors to stick around. Barnes hit a three-pointer and Barrett hit a spinning layup as Toronto tied the game, setting up the exciting finish.
Toronto forced Young to give up the ball and the Hawks couldn’t beat the shot clock. Barnes then hit a tough jumper to stretch the lead to three with under a minute remaining. Poeltl then stayed right with Young, but Bogdan Bogdanovic got free for a layup. Barnes then missed, but the Hawks couldn’t get a Young three-pointer to drop, or a DeAndre Hunter layup and Poeltl finished it off with clutch free throws.
Atlanta entered scuffling, with two losses in a row, including one a night earlier, but beat Toronto by 29 on December 29 at Scotiabank Arena. That game had been a horrible one for Barnes, who committed a career-worst eight turnovers. But Barnes rebounded with a strong effort, including only one turnover.
The Raptors lost Kelly Olynyk, who had played well again with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds in only 14 minutes around the midway part of the fourth due to right calf tightness.
NBA trade deadline: Should your team buy, sell or stand pat as Feb. 6 looms? - The Athletic
Sell: The Raptors have no shot at the playoffs and an exceptionally easy schedule down the stretch. They have to find creative ways to lose some games. They can do that through their own, errr, roster manipulation, but if they can get some light draft compensation without taking on too much future money for the likes of Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, Davion Mitchell and Kelly Olynyk, that would be nice, too. And if someone bowls them over for Jakob Poeltl? Well, it’s worth considering, although that seems unlikely.
Inside the NBA’s growing talks to add a new league in Europe - The Athletic
While the economics of the sport in Europe are not as rosy as in the United States, with some top teams losing money, there is a belief that the NBA may be able to come in and increase revenue and improve the business model. The NBA believes that too. Silver said Thursday that European basketball has not kept up commercially with how it has grown as a pipeline for NBA talent.
If successful, the NBA’s project could rival or eclipse the EuroLeague and improve its standing on a continent that now produces the very best players in the world. It could also bring another important revenue source for the league as it tries to grow its global business.
But there is also risk. The new league could add more costs for the NBA and its owners but also tarnish its brand or create friction for European fans of existing teams who do not join the NBA’s league or feel slighted by it. It would inevitably put it in conflict with the EuroLeague.
Still, Silver believes that the NBA can bring a new approach to European basketball, along with the heft of its name and reputation. The stakeholders he met with this week, he said, have brought up its cultural relevance as well.
“I think there’s a real appreciation for that, that the NBA is even something a little bit different than basketball, than just pure basketball,” he said. “I think the way to grow the sport is to appeal to people beyond those who are hardcore basketball fans, and that’s where our success has come in the United States and elsewhere. It’s about the NBA brand. I think that the notion we’ve heard back is that if you can bring those elements of the NBA brand and bring those to Europe as part of some structured league potentially, we think there’s a real opportunity.”
The NBA is considering different models as it continues to size up its prospects. It could include new teams that are created for the league. It could bring in existing European teams. Or perhaps a combination of the two. Prominent European soccer clubs may also get involved. The league could draw fees from new clubs and investors, including from the Gulf states.
