Category: Toronto Raptors Blog

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Raptors, playing in Tampa Bay for season, will soon allow limited fan attendance

The Toronto Raptors are using Tampa Bay, Florida as their home base this season due to the coronavirus pandemic making travel complicated, and soon, some fans will be allowed to attend the team’s home games.

Vinik Sports Group and the Raptors will welcome a limited number of fans, with a capacity of 3,500, back to AMALIE Arena for games starting on March 19 when the Raptors face the Utah Jazz. Tickets for the 18 remaining Raptors games at AMALIE Arena will go on sale to the general public on March 11 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster following pre-sale opportunities for Raptors and Tampa Bay Lightning members on March 10.

FROM THE TEAM

The health and safety of fans, staff and the teams were prioritized in the process with local healthcare and government officials to determine the protocols for welcoming guests back to AMALIE Arena. In December, Vinik Sports Group announced its ‘Play it Safe’ campaign, providing a roadmap to ensure the safety of guests and those around them.

Upon entering AMALIE Arena via mobile ticketing, fans will notice increased measures to promote physical distancing, including entry points, concessions and restrooms. Concession and retail stands will be cashless and contactless and hand sanitizing stations have been installed throughout the facility for use. Arena staff will increase frequency of cleaning and sanitation in all areas being used with an emphasis on commonly used surfaces such as seats, handrails and bathrooms. Signage and physical distancing measures have been added to assure six-foot separation between patrons. Ultra-violet disinfectant lights have been installed at various locations including escalator handrails and the number of people allowed on elevators at one time will also be limited. Masks will be required throughout the arena concourses and seating areas when not eating or drinking.

Bulls at Raptors game scheduled for Feb. 28, 2021 is postponed

The NBA game scheduled for tonight between the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.

Because of positive test results and ongoing contact tracing within the Raptors, the team will not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with the scheduled game against the Bulls.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse and his assistants will miss games due to health and safety protocols

Due to health and safety protocols, six members of the Toronto Raptors coaching staff, including head coach Nick Nurse, will not be on the bench beginning with Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets.

They will continue to work remotely. There aren’t any details yet on their eventual return.

Per the Toronto Star, “the Raptors had been one of the few teams to escape any significant issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic this season. No player or coach had missed a game before tonight, and they have not had a game postponed.”

Raptors sign forward Donta Hall to 10-day contract

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed forward Donta Hall to a 10-day contract.

Hall will join Toronto’s G-League affiliate Raptors 905 and is expected to be in the lineup tonight against the Greensboro Swarm.

A native of Luverne, Alabama, Hall is averaging 8.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 23.5 minutes in nine games with Team Ignite of the NBA G League this season. He is shooting .614 (35-for-57) from the field and has recorded three double-doubles.

Hall, 6-foot-10, 230 pounds, split the 2019-20 season between the Grand Rapids Drive of the G League and Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets in the NBA. He began the season with the Drive, posting averages of 15.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 28.6 minutes in 38 games. For his efforts, Hall was named to the All-NBA G League Second Team and All-Rookie Team. Hall signed the first of consecutive 10-day contracts with the Pistons in late February before signing as a Substitute Player with the Nets for the Orlando bubble. He averaged 4.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 14.8 minutes in nine games with Detroit and Brooklyn.

Hall went undrafted after a four-year career at Alabama (2015-19) where he averaged 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 20.8 minutes in 135 games and was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team his final two seasons.

After slow start to season, Raptors winning a lot lately

The Raptors are hot lately. Via the Toronto Star:

Toronto has been on a torrid stretch as of late, winning nine of their last 12 games and turning their season around after a miserable start…

The Raptors started the season 2-8. The Boston Celtics, labelled by many as a contender in the East before the season, started the year 8-3.

And now? The Raptors currently have a better record than the Celtics.

For the season, the Raptors are 16-15, good for 4th in the East, while the Celtics are right behind at 15-15 for 5th. Their leading scorers are Pascal Siakam at 20.5 points per game, Fred VanVleet at 20.1 ppg, Kyle Lowry at 17.7 ppg, Norman Powell at 17.0 ppg, OG Anunoby at 14.1 ppg, and Chris Boucher at 13.4 ppg.

Timberwolves hire former Raptors assistant Chris Finch as new head coach

Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas today announced he has named Chris Finch as the Timberwolves Head Coach.

“I am excited to announce Chris Finch as our next head coach,” said Rosas. “Chris brings a wealth of basketball experience from his time in the NBA, G League and Internationally. He is one of the most creative basketball minds in the NBA, has success maximizing players, and I am excited to see him bring our team to the next level and beyond.”

“I would like to thank Glen Taylor and Gersson Rosas for this incredible opportunity to be the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves,” said Finch. “I look forward to working hand and hand with Gersson to build and lead a team that Timberwolves fans will be proud of. We have excellent pieces in place and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Known as one of the best offensive coaching minds in the NBA, Finch has coached the likes of Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden, Nikola Jokić, Zion Williamson and Kyle Lowry.

Finch, 51, has over 24 years of NBA and G League experience, serving most recently as an assistant coach under Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors this season. Prior to that, he made coaching stops with the New Orleans Pelicans as associate head coach from 2017-20, the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach from 2016-17 and the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach from 2011-16. Finch was named the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rocket’s G League affiliate in 2009. He led the Vipers to back-to-back G League Finals appearances, compiling a 67-33 (.670) record in his two seasons. After leading Rio Grande Valley to the 2010 G League Championship, Finch received the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the league’s best head coach.

The Reading, Pennsylvania native played overseas in the British Basketball League (BBL) for the Sheffield Sharks from 1993-97 before coaching the same team from 1997-2003. Finch was named the BBL Coach of the Year in 1998-99. He continued to coach overseas for 12 years including in Germany and Belgium.

Finch also served as the head coach of Great Britain’s National Team from 2006-13, where he led the national team in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He also led them to a European Championship berth in 2009 and 2011, the team’s first appearances since 1981.

A Franklin & Marshall College graduate in 1992, Finch was as a two-time All-American, and was inducted into the F&M Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. He started the final 115 games of his collegiate career and compiled a 102-13 record (.887), which stood as the most career wins as a starter in NCAA Division III history.

Toronto Raptors will stay based in Tampa, Florida for entire 2020-21 NBA season

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that they will finish the 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida. Because of ongoing border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mindful of public safety measures in Canada, the team has decided they will continue to play their home games at Amalie Arena.

“Florida has been really welcoming to us and we’re so grateful for the hospitality we’ve found in Tampa and at Amalie – we’re living in a city of champions, and we intend to carry on the tradition of winning for our new friends and fans here,” Raptors President Masai Ujiri said. “But home is where the heart is, and our hearts are in Toronto. We think often of our fans, of our Scotiabank Arena family, and all those we are missing back home, and we can’t wait until we can all be together again.”

The Raptors initially announced in November that Amalie Arena, in downtown Tampa, would serve as their home court for the first half of the 2020-21 season. A schedule release for the second half of the season is expected in the coming days.

Kevin Durant removed from Raptors vs. Nets game due to COVID-19 contact tracing concerns

It was an unusual situation in Brooklyn tonight, centered around Nets star forward Kevin Durant.

Via the Toronto Star:

Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant was going to play, then wasn’t allowed to play, then got clearance to play and finally had to stop playing in the third quarter of a truly odd Nets-Raptors game in Brooklyn.

The Durant saga underscores the oddities in a testing/contact tracing world the NBA is trying to navigate through this regular season.

It put a damper on, and added considerable confusion to, a delightful offensive display by both teams but highlights the inherent difficulty with pulling off games and seasons with daily testing, contact tracing and other aspects of dealing with a raging pandemic.

The game itself was delightful as Kyle Lowry simply willed the Raptors to a 123-117 win with typical fourth-quarter brilliance.

Lowry finished with a season-high 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Pascal Siakam added 33 points as the Raptors played one of their best games of the season.

And the New York Post:

Kevin Durant was a last-minute scratch from the Nets’ starting lineup Friday night, then was inserted into the game late and finally pulled for good, all due to COVID-19 contact tracing.

Durant will not travel with the team to Philadelphia on Saturday, according to ESPN.

The NBA said in a statement that Durant was pulled from the game “out of an abundance of caution” after someone he interacted with tested positive for coronavirus after their initial test was inconclusive. The league also said Durant tested negative three times in the past 24 hours.

The entire world is learning to navigate through the the coronavirus pandemic. And it’s certainly a learning process for any event-based organizations, especially sports leagues. The NBA certainly has to examine exactly what happened today, and what to take away from this going forward.

Raptors sign general manager Bobby Webster to contract extension

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have signed general manager Bobby Webster to a multi-year contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Webster, 36, a native of Hawaii, was named Raptors general manager in June 2017. He was one of the main architects of the 2019 NBA Championship team and has been part of a leadership team whose rosters have earned six Atlantic Division titles.

“I think everyone knows what Bobby brings to our organization: intelligence, poise, and creativity,” Raptors President Masai Ujiri said. “I’m very pleased that our team will continue to benefit from his many skills for seasons to come.”

“It’s great to be able to continue the work of building the next Raptor championship team – a goal which is part of our organizational DNA,” Webster said. “I’m grateful to Larry Tanenbaum, MLSE ownership and leadership, our great players and staff, and the people of Toronto for making this my home for the past years, and for the future.”

Webster has also held the title of assistant general manager and vice president, basketball management and strategy. He joined the Raptors after working for the NBA league office in New York the previous seven seasons.