Without two key players, Pascal Siakam leads Raptors to win over Magic

Toronto quickly jumped on top of Orlando, and led for nearly the entire game on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak.

TAMPA, Fla. — Just two nights after Pascal Siakam criticized his team’s first-half effort in a loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Toronto Raptors came out of the gate on Sunday and set the tone early versus the Orlando Magic.

Siakam scored 30 points and 10 rebounds while Kyle Lowry, Terence Davis and DeAndre’ Bembry each chipped in 12 points to lead the Raptors to a 115-102 victory over the Magic to snap a three-game losing streak.

Toronto opened up with a 27-15 lead after the first quarter, and pushed that advantage to 14 points at halftime. Playing without OG Anunoby and Norm Powell, Toronto led for nearly the entirety of the game.

“We just came out ready to go,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said. “You could see it right from the defensive stand at the start. (We had) really good execution offensively and played pretty solidly throughout. There were really no dips in effort or energy.”

Siakam produced his second straight game with at least 30 points after tying a season-high 32 versus the Kings on Friday. The Raptors All-Star throughout the season has dealt with some minor injuries but appears to be on the mend with his last two performances.

“I think the biggest part for me is just to continue to work on my body and my game,” Siakam said. “I think for the past (few) weeks, I haven’t been feeling well with little injuries here and there. … I think if I feel good, I have that ability to go out there and just bring that energy every single night and live with the results.”

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Meanwhile, Magic rookie Cole Anthony scored a team-high 16 points while Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and Aaron Gordon contributed 14 points. Orlando briefly led in the first quarter, but quickly fell behind and never recovered.

The Magic endured yet another injury setback in the third quarter when Gordon was diagnosed with a left ankle injury and was ruled out of returning to the contest.

Gordon on two separate occasions was forced to the locker room, with the first time occurring during the second quarter after suffering a hyperextended knee when he was tangled up with Kyle Lowry. On the ensuing possession, Gordon checked Lowry with a shoulder and was assessed a flagrant-1 foul in what appeared to be a retaliation move following the incident.

“I have no update,” Magic head coach Steve Clifford said. “We’re actually lucky, by the way, that he didn’t get hurt worse in the first half with his knee with the Kyle Lowry, whatever you want to call it, block-out of the ball.”

Following the contest on Sunday, the two teams will meet again on Tuesday in Orlando.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Hornets vs. Heat: Lineups, injury reports, and broadcast info for Monday

On the heels of their two biggest wins of the season, Charlotte (9-11) will look to continue that moment on Monday in Miami against the Heat (7-12).

On the heels of their two biggest wins of the season, Charlotte (9-11) will look to continue that momentum on Monday in Miami against the Heat (7-12), and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Hornets picked up back-to-back wins over Indiana and Milwaukee on Friday and Saturday, respectively, for their two biggest wins of the year. Matters don’t get any easier on Monday, though, as they face the reigning Eastern Conference champoins.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: Monday, Feb. 1
  • Time: 8 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: Fox Sports Sun / Fox Sports Southeast

Probable starting lineups

Charlotte Hornets

  • Guard – Terry Rozier
  • Guard – Devonte’ Graham
  • Forward – Gordon Hayward
  • Forward – P.J. Washington
  • Center – Bismack Biyombo

Miami Heat

  • Guard – Tyler Herro
  • Guard – Duncan Robinson
  • Center – Bam Adebayo
  • Forward – KZ Okpala
  • Forward – Jimmy Butler

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Twitter reacts after Russell Westbrook hits game-winning 3 to outduel KD, Nets

Twitter reacted after Russell Westbrook hit the game-winning 3-pointer and led the Washington Wizards over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder watched the Brooklyn Nets put up 147 on them in regulation on Friday. On Sunday night, former Thunder star Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards had to face the same.

Brooklyn, this time with former Thunder star Kevin Durant in the lineup, scored 146. They led by five with 12 seconds to play. That wasn’t enough to stop Westbrook and Bradley Beal, who came through to put together an absolutely bonkers finish.

Beal drained a 3 and then Joe Harris rushed to get the inbounds pass in. Garrison Mathews got the steal and flipped it to Westbrook, who had run from near the baseline to get situated behind the arc. It was money, as Westbrook picked up 41st point and fourth 3 of the night.

Westbrook went 16-for-28 from the field and recorded 10 rebounds and six assists in the victory. He outdueled Durant, who posted 37 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Westbrook was aggressive all night, including this late play in transition in which he drove past Durant, picked up the foul from his former teammate and got the layup to fall.

Twitter reacted to Westbrook’s performance and game-winner.

Fans of the Thunder, Wizards, the NBA and Westbrook in general wanted to make sure everyone knows Westbrook is not washed.

Cheers to Westbrook being fully healthy and no longer “playing with one leg,” as he said after the game. Let’s hope this sticks. The league is a more fun place when he is healthy.

The Nets got a full dose of him Monday.

This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!

Random thoughts from a Sunday without NFL football

No football on the NFL schedule meant some time to reflect on the San Francisco 49ers, the Disney+ show Wandavision, and the Pro Bowl.

Football season isn’t quite over, but the down week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl became over more down with the cancellation of the Pro Bowl. Or rather, a virtually adapted version of the Pro Bowl.

Nevertheless, it’s the first Sunday since early September that hasn’t been heavily occupied by football, which left me some time to do a little thinking about the 49ers, other football stuff and some non-football stuff.

Here’s some random stream-of-consciousness from Sunday:

Pelicans vs. Kings: Lineups, injury reports, and broadcast info for Monday

For the third time in four days, the Pelicans will take to the court on Monday looking to rebound from a frustrating loss with a home game against Sacramento.

For the third time in four days, the Pelicans (7-11) will take to the court on Monday looking to rebound from a frustrating loss with a home game against Sacramento (8-11), and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The two sides are meeting for the second time this season. In that previous contest, New Orleans took advantage of a Kings defense that is still on a historically bad pace to earn a victory.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game on Monday:

  • Date: Monday, Feb. 1
  • Time: 8 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: Fox Sports New Orleans, NBC Sports California

Probable starting lineups

New Orleans Pelicans

  • Forward – Brandon Ingram
  • Forward –  Zion Williamson
  • Center –  Steven Adams
  • Guard – Eric Bledsoe
  • Guard – Lonzo Ball

Sacramento Kings

  • Guard – De’Aaron Fox
  • Guard – Buddy Hield
  • Center – Richaun Holmes
  • Forward – Marvin Bagley III
  • Forward – Harrison Barnes

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Joe Harris sets franchise record and career-high vs. Wizards

Joe Harris continues to be the reliable deep threat that he’s always been for Brooklyn, setting another Nets record on Sunday.

Joe Harris wasted no time on Sunday, breaking yet another long-range shooting record held by D’Angelo Russell on Sunday. Harris knocked down three of his five 3-point attempts in the first quarter to break Russell’s record for 3-pointers made in a calendar month by a Nets player (52 in January of 2019), getting up to 54. By the end of Sunday’s 149-146 loss, Harris had knocked down a total of eight 3-pointers in the win — which is a single game career-high — bringing his January total up to 59.

This record is the second Harris has set in this season, blowing past Russell’s franchise record for consecutive games with a 3-pointers made (61). Brooklyn’s sharpshooter got all the way to 79 consecutive games.

Following his 8-for-13 performance against the Wizards — in which he scored 30 points — Harris finished with a 50.6% shooting percentage from deep for the month of January. On the season, Harris is shooting 49% from 3-point territory.

This post originally appeared on NetsWire. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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Why Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis needs a lot more help against Tyreek Hill in Super Bowl LV

Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis had the worst game of his life against Tyreek Hill in Week 12. The Bucs need a better plan.

There are times at Touchdown Wire when our job is to dig deep into the stories, tape, and stats, hopefully to bring you a viewpoint you haven’t seen before, or to present something in a different way.

Then, there are other times when it is our job to beat everybody over the head (never literally, of course) with the most obvious thing possible — because sometimes, the obvious thing is the one true thing, and the only thing to which you really need to give your focus.

This articles focuses far more on the latter than the former, but it’s incredibly important for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Because if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t give cornerback Carlton Davis actual safety help against Chiefs speed receiver Tyreek Hill in Super Bowl LV next Sunday, it will distinctly reduce their chances of winning the game.

Hill is a nightmare to cover anyway, of course, and the specter of tight end Travis Kelce anywhere else on the formation present impossible scenarios for any defensive coordinator: How do you “double-one” on both Hill and Kelce and keep track of all the Chiefs’ other weapons?

How did Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles accept that challenge in Week 12, when Kansas City beat Tampa Bay, 27-24? Against Hill, and with Davis as his No. 1 cover guy, Bowles called up a lot of single-high stuff, leaving Davis on an island or with late safety help (which equates to no safety help against Hill), and Davis had the worst game of his life. Per Pro Football Focus, he allowed 12 catches on 15 targets for 236 yards, 50 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 158.3 — which is a perfect passer rating. Hill sliced Davis up like a tomato on a 3:00 a.m. Ginsu knife commercial, and if that happens again in the Super Bowl… well, it’s not going to be Davis’ fault. Because the Buccaneers should know better by now.

Patrick Mahomes, who was the primary beneficiary of Bowles’ generosity, certainly knew better. This is what he said right after the game:

“I don’t think it was necessarily a match-up. It was man coverage with no one over the top and so we don’t get that a lot especially with that guy and [Hill’s] ability, and whenever we do, we try to take advantage of it.”

Well, there’s your insult added to injury. Per Sports Info Solutions, the Bucs had Davis in Cover-1 on one of Hill’s touchdowns, and Cover-3 on the other two. Doesn’t really matter in the end if there isn’t a bracket. The other problem in the Week 12 matchup for the Bucs, as Mahomes pointed out, was receiver Sammy Watkins creating other openings.

“Sammy being able to work the middle of the field even when he wasn’t getting the ball, he’s getting our guys open. As well as at the beginning of the game, instead of that safety going over the top with Tyreek, they were going over the top with Travis, and that’s just a problem the defenses have when they go against us, we have so many weapons. It’s hard to try to take away one guy and go to other guys. This week it was Tyreek’s week, but I’m sure other guys will make big plays the rest of the season.”

Touchdown No. 1 was a 75-yarder with 6:49 left in the first quarter, and you can see how the speed discrepancy is a problem. This is not to malign Davis — he’s an above-average cornerback for the most part. But without help over the top, this is going to be very much like stealing for the Chiefs.

Touchdown No. 2 came with 1:32 left in the first quarter — a crosser for Hill out of what our good friend Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup recently called the most dangerous receiver positioning in football — Kelce as the “Y” iso to one side of the field, and Hill as the third option in the inside slot to the other side.

Mission impossible: How the Buffalo Bills might defend the toughest formation in football

This is generally uncoverable either way, and more so when your cornerback falls down.

Touchdown No. 3 came with 7:00 left in the third quarter. This is Davis trying to hold inside position, Hill finding just enough space, and Mahomes making yet another of his “Oh, he did it again” throws.

“We’ve got to cover tighter and we’ve got to get home faster,” Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said the day after the game. “We can’t let a guy in man coverage have 3.7 [or] 3.8 seconds to throw a ball – it’s got to come out in three or less. We can cover for 10 to 12 yards, but we can’t give them that much time. Again, Patrick [Mahomes] is an unbelievable guy and he just keeps backpedaling. He was backpedaling to his left for about 9.5 yards and then throws a dime. We don’t see him every week, but I think tighter coverage – against the Rams it was tighter coverage – but when we’re playing man, we have to get home.”

Yes, the pass rush is one thing, but again, you’re talking about Patrick Mahomes here. The usual rules do not apply.

As for Davis’ confidence?

“I think Carlton – he had a tough assignment when we were playing man,” Arians said. “He knew it. He got beat on a couple of really good throws and a double move. I don’t think he will ever lose any confidence. He is one of those guys that goes to the next play.”

For the Bucs and Carlton Davis in Super Bowl LV, the next play is the one where there is some sort of infrastructure to help him deal with the most uncoverable passing game in the NFL. Without that, all the confidence in the world won’t matter at all.

3 observations: Tobias Harris leads the way as Sixers storm back vs. Pacers

With the team missing Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris stepped up to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Indiana Pacers.

The Philadelphia 76ers found themselves in a tough situation as they were down 97-82 in the fourth quarter on the road against a very good Indiana Pacers team. Without Joel Embiid, this one looked like another loss coming their way.

Instead, Tobias Harris and the rest of the team put on a terrific effort and they stormed back to win it 119-110 to get their first win of the season without Embiid in five tries. Harris had 27 points with 10 coming in the fourth quarter and eight rebounds to lead the way.

Ben Simmons added 21 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, Dwight Howard played well off the bench giving 11 points and 15 rebounds, and Furkan Korkmaz played a key role in the comeback with 17 points.

Here are the observations following a thrilling win:

Where does UGA QB signee Brock Vandagriff rank among 2021 5-star recruits?

Bleacher Report recently released a list ranking all of the five-star recruits in the 2021 recruiting class.

Bleacher Report recently released a list ranking all of the five-star recruits in the 2021 recruiting class.

Of course, one of those talented recruits is 2021 Georgia quarterback signee Brock Vandagriff, the most highly-touted recruit to choose Athens since Justin Fields.

Watch his 2019 highlights here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKNH671Bnxk

Vandagriff is rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country and the No. 16 player overall, according to 247sports.

So, where does Vandagriff rank among the top athletes in the nation? According to the list, Vandagriff is rated as the No. 12 five-star recruit in the country.

A little high if you ask me. Those ranked ahead of Vandagriff include Georgia offensive tackle signee Amarius Mims at No. 5 and more importantly Oklahoma signee Caleb Williams, the only other quarterback ranked ahead of Vandagriff on the list, at No. 4.

Williams is ranked as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the nation ahead of Vandagriff.

How fun would a matchup between Oklahoma and Georgia be with Vandagriff and Williams battling it out in the future?

Other Bulldog signees on the list include linebackers Xavian Sorey and Smael Mondon at No. 19 and No. 30.

 


 

This week former Bulldogs Brandon Boykin and Chris Burnette joined UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton to talk Dawgs, their new podcast and more! Listen here for lots of laughs!

Projecting Oklahoma’s defensive depth chart for 2021 season

For the first time in a long time, the Oklahoma defense looks more than just stout on paper heading into a season. 

For the first time in a long time, the Oklahoma defense looks more than just stout on paper heading into a season.

The Sooners put up a No. 15 overall SP+ defensive performance in 2020. What that means is that Oklahoma’s defense, according to the advanced numbers, was among elite company at the top of the rankings on defense.

Alex Grinch will lose star Ronnie Perkins, starters Tre Brown and Tre Norwood, but there shouldn’t be too much of worry. Perrion Winfrey is back, as is Nik Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas to name a few.

Oklahoma’s defense looks the part as one of the best defenses in college football for 2021. The Sooners have depth, they have elite size and elite talent.

As Sooners Wire went over this look at the defensive depth chart, most things made sense about the front six. The secondary, though, is kind of a jumbled puzzle for right now.

Oklahoma’s five most athletic defensive backs may not be the best group of five. It’ll make things tricky, but that’s why there is some overlap on backups in the backend of the secondary on this look.

Here is how Sooners Wire would project the Sooners’ defense ahead of spring football.