Toronto Raptors Blog – Page 41 – NBA Blog

Sam Mitchell once banned Andrea Bargnani from shooting 3-pointers

Mitchell, who coached Toronto from 2004 through 2008, said he set aside one 10-game stretch where he forbade Bargnani from taking a three-point shot. He said he went so far as to tell the young Italian he would remove him from the game if he stopped to shoot from beyond the arc.

“My thing was, I wanted him to understand he used the three-pointer as a crutch,” he said. “He relied on it too much. I wanted him to use the three-pointer as a weapon. I wanted him to realize that, from 17 feet in, in one dribble, Andrea could get anywhere on the basketball court.”

Mitchell, who has spoken of management’s interference before, would not go into the specifics of what upper management told him. He would not offer names.

“Maybe, looking back, if I ever coach again and I want to do something like that, I’ll sit down with the general manager first and say, ‘this is what I want to do, this is why I’m going to do it, and after these 10 games, I’m going to turn him loose,’” he said.

— Reported by Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post

Andrea Bargnani out for rest of season with elbow injury

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday that forward Andrea Bargnani is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the 2012-13 season with an avulsion sprain of the right elbow. This injury is not related to his previous right elbow injury that sidelined him for 26 games (December 12 – February 3).

Bargnani left at the 3:08 mark in the first quarter March 8 against the Los Angeles Lakers and did not return. He appeared in 14 of 15 games prior to this injury, including four straight starts (March 2-8).

Bargnani this season was averaging just 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, on just 40% shooting from the field.

The 25-39 Raptors are currently the 9th seed in the Eastern conference, but a full eight games behind the Milwaukee Bucks at 8th.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Raptors appeared to be ready to flirt with making the playoffs in the East, but they’re pretty far behind the 8th spot right now. As for Bargnani, he was having a disappointing season, and I’m not sure this will affect them as the season winds down.

Warriors beat Raptors 125-118 to snap 4-game skid

David Lee had 29 points and 11 rebounds to back Andrew Bogut’s strong return, and the Golden State Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak by outlasting the Toronto Raptors 125-118 on Monday night.

Stephen Curry added 26 points and tied a season high with 12 assists, and Klay Thompson scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help the Warriors pull away with a 9-0 run late. Bogut had four points and eight rebounds in a season-high 30 minutes after missing the last six games because of a bad back.

Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points and tied a career high with five 3-pointers, and Amir Johnson added 23 points and 15 rebounds in Toronto’s fifth straight loss. Kyle Lowry finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Rudy Gay scored 26 points after missing the Raptors’ loss at Milwaukee on Saturday night with back spasms.

Golden State’s streaky shooting still proved to be too much. The Warriors outshot the Raptors 57 to 44 percent and made 23 of 28 free throws.

After a frustrating 1-4 road trip, Golden State began a stretch of seven straight and 16 of its last 22 at home. The Warriors improved to 19-7 this season at Oracle Arena, where the ever-loyal fan base has sold out 17 straight games and is begging for a playoff berth.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Sebastian Telfair is content to get out of Phoenix, come to Raptors

Dating all the way back to the franchise’s expansion draft, when B.J. Armstrong said he would prefer not to play in Toronto, there has always been a concern with the Raptors that players did not want to play for them.

Well, Sebastian Telfair, acquired before Thursday’s trade deadline, is happy to be a Raptor. He has already seen dysfunction this season.

“This is my ninth year in the league so I definitely don’t want to go through anything like we were going through in Phoenix,” Telfair, who will suit up for his first game as a Raptor on Monday against Washington, said. “You’ve got a goal to win and if you’re not winning you at least want to be out there competing at the highest level. We weren’t doing that over there in Phoenix this year. I’m happy to be a part of a team that got a goal for themselves and night in and night out they’ve got something to achieve.”

Indeed, the Suns are one of the most depressing teams in the league. They are last in the Western Conference, have a roster that is low on talent and have gone through a coaching change.

— Reported by Eric Koreen of the National Post

Raptors fans booing Andrea Bargnani

Quite obviously, things are getting ugly at the Air Canada Centre as it relates to Andrea Bargnani. The longest-serving Raptor is being booed every time he takes a shot now, with things getting particularly gruesome on Friday night against New York.

But, here is a question worth asking: Can the Raptors do anything to help Bargnani get out of his funk? The team has changed a lot since his December injury, with the pick and roll, where Bargnani has thrived before, rarely used since the arrival of Rudy Gay and departure of Jose Calderon. Bargnani has taken just six shots in 34 minutes in the last two games. For his career, Bargnani averages 15.2 field-goal attempts per 36 minutes.

The Raptors are barely looking his way. Given his defensive and rebounding deficiencies, there is little point using him at all if the Raptors are not going to use him on offence.

“We have some sets in that feature Andrea,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “We haven’t run them as much since he [has come back from injury], but we’re starting to run them more now. And [when] we run those for him, they’re basically his plays. Kyle [Lowry] is an effective pick-and-roll player, a different type of pick-and-roll player than Jose is, but there’s some things we can do in our pick and rolls with Andrea involved that can make sure we’re taking advantage of his skill set.”

— Reported by Eric Koreen of the National Post

Suns trade Sebastian Telfair to Raptors

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have acquired veteran point guard Sebastian Telfair from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for centee Hamed Haddadi and a protected second-round draft pick in 2014.

“Acquiring Sebastian Telfair, who has played and started a fair number of NBA games during his career, addresses our depth issue at the point guard position,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

Telfair, 6-foot, 170 pounds, is in his ninth NBA season and owns career averages of 7.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 21.7 minutes in 535 games (192 starts). He has totaled career highs of 30 points (at Miami, Feb. 18, 2009), 13 assists (at Denver, April 9, 2005) and 48 minutes (vs. Indiana, Dec. 21, 2007).

Telfair, 27, has played for Portland, Boston, Minnesota, Los Angeles (Clippers), Cleveland and Phoenix. He posted career-high averages in points (9.8), assists (5.9) and minutes (32.2) with Minnesota. He appeared in 106 games with Phoenix the past two seasons, averaging 6.1 points, 2.4 assists and 15.9 minutes. He shot .349 (76-218) from three-point range with the Suns.

Telfair was one of the most celebrated high school players in New York City history, leading Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School to three New York PSAL titles and one state championship. He was selected out of high school by the Blazers (first round, 13th overall) in 2004.

A 7-2, 265-pound center, Haddadi became the first Iranian-born player in NBA history when he made his debut with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008-09. Haddadi, who played his first four-plus seasons with the Grizzlies (2008-13), was part of the Jan. 30 trade between Memphis and Toronto that sent Rudy Gay to the Raptors.

Haddadi owns career averages of 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 134 career contests, and this season appeared in 13 games for Memphis before the trade. He has not played a game as a member of the Raptors.

Zach Randolph leads Grizzlies past Raptors

Zach Randolph had 17 points and 18 rebounds, Mike Conley scored 17 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won their fifth straight game Wednesday, beating the Toronto Raptors 88-82.

Toronto’s Rudy Gay came up short against his former team as the Raptors had their five-game winning streak ended.

Acquired from Memphis in a three-team trade on Jan. 30, Gay had 13 points and nine rebounds but struggled with his shooting, making just five of 15 attempts. He also had a game-high five turnovers.

Tony Allen scored 12 points and Tayshaun Prince had 11 as the Grizzlies won for the eighth time in nine meetings with the Raptors and posted their fourth straight win in Toronto.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Raptors beat Knicks 92-88 for 4th straight win

Reserve Alan Anderson scored 26 points in one of the few good offensive performances for either team, and the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 92-88 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for the Raptors, who overcame a 4-for-21 performance from Rudy Gay because Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was just as bad. Anthony finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds but shot 5 of 24 for the Knicks, who dropped their final two games leading into the All-Star break.

J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 26 points. Raymond Felton had 16 but shot 3 of 9, while Amare Stoudemire was 4 of 13 and had one particularly ghastly miss from right at the basket on his way to 10 points.

Gay finished with 11 points one night after hitting the go-ahead basket with 4.9 seconds left in a victory over Denver. That was his second such basket in three games since his trade from Memphis, but the Raptors had to look elsewhere this time for someone to pick them up in a game that was poorly played and poorly officiated.

They found it in Anderson, who finished a point shy of his career high. Kyle Lowry and John Lucas III both had 12 points, Lucas playing most of the second half after Lowry was ejected.

The Knicks shot 35 percent and settled for an ugly finish to their best first half in 16 years. They lost three of their final four games and take a 32-18 mark to the All-Star break…

Anthony said he was hurt early in the game when he was hit by DeRozan’s elbow, causing a deep contusion that caused numbness. He said he will wait to see how it feels before determining if he can start as scheduled in Sunday’s All-Star game.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Raptors edge banged-up Nuggets 109-108

Rudy Gay hit a pull-up jump shot with less than five seconds remaining and the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Denver Nuggets 109-108 [in Toronto] on Tuesday.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, Gay had 17 and John Lucas scored 12 of his 14 points in the final quarter as the Raptors won their third straight.

It was the second game-winner in three games for Gay, who beat Indiana with an overtime jumper last Friday.

Kyle Lowry had 11 points and 10 assists and Alan Anderson had 10 for Toronto, which made seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Ty Lawson led Denver with 29 points, Kenneth Faried had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Randolph scored 16.

Andre Miller scored 12 points for the Nuggets, who came in having won nine of their past 10 overall and 15 of their past 17 meetings with Toronto…

The Nuggets had to juggle their starting lineup due to the absences of leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (sinus infection) and third-leading scorer Andre Iguodala (strained neck). Corey Brewer started in place of Gallinari, while rookie Evan Fournier took over for Iguodala.

Denver was also depleted by the loss of forward Wilson Chandler, sidelined by a sore groin. Things got worse for the Nuggets when center JaVale McGee left at halftime with a sore left leg.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

John Lucas steps up in 4th, Raptors beat Hornets 102-89

John Lucas scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to match his season high, Rudy Gay had 20 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the New Orleans Hornets 102-89 on Sunday.

Kyle Lowry had 14 points and 10 assists and Amir Johnson scored 14 points for the Raptors, who won consecutive games for the first time since beating Philadelphia and Charlotte on Jan. 9 and 11.

Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors blew open a close game by outscoring the Hornets 33-23 in the final quarter.

Robin Lopez scored 19 points, Greivis Vasquez had 17 and Ryan Anderson 15 for the Hornets, who lost for the first time in three games. Brian Roberts had 13 points for New Orleans, which has won more than two straight just once this season…

Johnson scored 12 points in the first and Gay had eight as the Raptors took advantage of six New Orleans turnovers to take a 32-21 lead after one quarter…

Toronto C Andrea Bargnani did not dress because of flulike symptoms. … Valanciunas started for the first time in five games since returning from an 18-game injury absence. … Toronto F Landry Fields, returned after missing the previous three games with back spasms.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press