Toronto Raptors Blog – Page 29 – NBA Blog

Jonas Valanciunas cleared to return to practice

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has been cleared to return to practice following an examination this morning by Dr. Brent Graham at Toronto Western Hospital.

Valanciunas has been sidelined the past 15 games after he sustained a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand during the second quarter November 20 at the Los Angeles Lakers.

In his 14 starts prior to the injury, Valanciunas averaged 12.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 27.3 minutes. He posted season highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds in the season opener October 28 versus Indiana.

The Raptors return to action Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. versus Dallas at Air Canada Centre (TSN1/TSN 1050 Toronto).

Anthony Bennett taking quick trip to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday forward Anthony Bennett has been assigned to their NBA Development League affiliate, Raptors 905. Bennett will play for Raptors 905 in its Sunday 2 p.m. tip against the Delaware 87ers.

He is expected to be recalled by the Raptors and available to play in their 6 p.m. game versus Sacramento at Air Canada Centre.

“Anthony came to us asking to use this double-header as an opportunity work on his game,” said Jeff Weltman, Raptors Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. “This is an example of how we envisioned using our D-League team to improve our players.”

Bennett has appeared in nine games with the Raptors this season, totaling 14 points and 15 rebounds in 48 minutes.

Raptors assign Norman Powell to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Saturday they have assigned guard Norman Powell to Raptors 905, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Raptors. Powell is expected to be in uniform Saturday when Raptors 905 plays host to the Delaware 87ers at Hershey Centre in Mississauga (2 p.m. ET).

Powell has appeared in 12 games this season with the Raptors, averaging 1.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 5.9 minutes. Powell was selected in the second round (46th overall) by Milwaukee in the 2015 NBA Draft. His draft rights were then traded by Milwaukee to Toronto along with a protected future first-round draft choice (originally belonging to the Los Angeles Clippers) for guard Greivis Vasquez.

Powell will remain on the Raptors’ roster and will be placed on the team’s inactive list.

DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week through Dec. 13

Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant were today named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 13.

DeRozan led the Raptors to a 4-0 week, averaging 24.0 points (third in the conference), 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 91.9 percent from the free throw line. DeRozan matched his career record, scoring 25-or-more points in three consecutive games, and led Toronto with a game-high 28 points against San Antonio on Dec. 9.

Durant led Oklahoma City to a 4-0 record behind averages of 27.3 points (third in the league), 8.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists (ninth in conference), and 1.8 steals. He shot 59.7 percent from the floor (fourth in the conference) while scoring 30 or more points in two games and was 26-of-27 (96.3 percent) from the foul line. Durant recorded his first triple-double of the season when he scored 25 points to go with 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Atlanta on Dec. 10. The next night, he scored 21 points, including the Thunder’s final 11, in a 94-90 road win over Utah.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, Chicago’s Pau Gasol, Cleveland’s LeBron James, L.A. Clippers’ Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor and Phoenix’s Eric Bledsoe.

Raptors step up and beat Spurs

Wednesday night in Toronto the Raptors defended home court and beat the San Antonio Spurs 97-94. It was only the Spurs’ 5th loss of the season. In the win, DeMar DeRozan shot 10-15 for 28 points and six assists, while Kyle Lowry had 19 points and eight assists. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

It’s a dangerous game but a fun one, watching a team rise to the level of good opposition and sink to the level of bad.

It can’t be a lot of fun when they lose to supposedly inferior opposition but when it goes the other way, it can be an awfully good for their souls.

The Raptors, who typify that up-and-down existence like few teams in the NBA, did it again Wednesday, upsetting the San Antonio Spurs 97-94 at the Air Canada Centre, battling injuries and foul trouble with a patchwork rotation for a well-deserved wire-to-wire victory.

It was a gut-check win for the Raptors, now 14-9, against the 18-5 Spurs, who had won nine of 10 coming into the game.

It was sealed with fewer than 10 seconds left when DeMar DeRozan, capping perhaps his best game of the season, scooped up an offensive rebound of a Kyle Lowry miss and Toronto ahead by just three.

DeMarre Carroll out with right knee contusion

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday forward DeMarre Carroll is expected to miss an indefinite period of time with a right knee contusion. His status will be updated as appropriate.

Carroll has averaged 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 34.2 minutes in 18 games, all starts. He had a season-high 21 points on two occasions: October 30 at Boston and November 22 at the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Raptors play host to the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Air Canada Centre (Sportsnet ONE/TSN 1050 Toronto).

Little playing time in Toronto for James Johnson

Here’s the Toronto Star reporting on Raptors forward James Johnson, who isn’t spending much time on the court these days:

James Johnson was in a long conversation with Raptors assistant general manager Jeff Weltman on Friday morning when the media was ushered into practice, one of a series of chats between management, coaches and the seemingly disgruntled forward over the previous 30 hours or so.

Johnson didn’t talk with reporters after that conversation and neither did anyone from management, but coach Dwane Casey said Johnson’s mid-week Twitter description of himself as “under-utilized” has been dealt with internally and the matter has been put to rest.

“In today’s NBA, you’re not surprised by anything,” Casey said. “It’s not a big deal, he tweeted something he probably shouldn’t have tweeted. We talked to James and handled it internally. Everybody understands their role and what his job is. We’ll move on.”

Johnson stepped back from his initial tweet hours later on Thursday, but the central issue is there just isn’t a lot of playing time available to him.

Raptors assign Delon Wright to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have assigned guard Delon Wright to Raptors 905, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Raptors. Wright is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday when Raptors 905 hosts the Idaho Stampede at Hershey Centre at 7:30 p.m.

Wright has appeared in four games with the Raptors this season, totaling four rebounds in 10 minutes of action. Wright was selected 20th overall by Toronto in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Wright will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will remain on the team’s inactive list.

Jonas Valanciunas injured in Raptors win

Here’s the Toronto Star reporting good news but also bad news on the 8-6 Raptors, who center Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 12.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 27.3 minutes per game this season:

Big win. Big loss.

Unleashing a barrage of three-point shots against a woefully inept opponent, the Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak with a 102-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night but the victory came at a substantial cost.

Jonas Valanciunas could be lost for a substantial stretch after suffering a broken finger on his left hand when he was fouled by Kobe Bryant driving to the basket in the final minute of the second quarter.

The team said he suffered a fractured finger on his left, non-shooting hand and that he will have further testing before any timeline for rehabilitation or a return is offered.

Terrence Ross suffers thumb injury

Raptors forward-guard Terrence Ross sustained a ligament injury to his left thumb during a Monday workout session. There is no timetable for his return to basketball activity. His status will be updated as appropriate.

Ross has averaged 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 17.5 minutes in seven appearances as a reserve this season. He had a season-high 21 points October 30 at Boston.

The Raptors return to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia. (TSN/Sportsnet 590 The FAN).