Tag: Toronto Raptors

How would Spurs’ DeMar DeRozan fit on the Orlando Magic?

The Orlando Magic are reportedly interested in acquiring DeMar DeRozan. How would he fit with their current players and offensive system?

DeMar DeRozan is the main asset the San Antonio Spurs received when they traded Kawhi Leonard, but he may not be in their long-term plans.

As noted by The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the four-time All-Star was “quite a ways apart” from agreeing to a contract extension with San Antonio before the season. As such, it remains possible that the Spurs decide to trade the 30-year-old wing before the deadline in February to get something back for the veteran shooting guard.

According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, one team that has expressed interest in DeRozan is the Orlando Magic (via The Ringer):

“The Spurs could always deal him sooner rather than let him walk for nothing. Multiple league sources say the Magic are scouring the trade market for scoring help and have already expressed interest in trading for DeRozan. It would surprise none of the front-office executives I’ve spoken with if the Spurs did move DeRozan.”

Orlando would certainly not be willing to part with Nikola Vucevic or Aaron Gordon for a 30-year-old DeRozan. But perhaps for one of the Magic’s more ancillary pieces, a deal would be realistic.

Considering that DeRozan is one of the most prolific mid-range shooters of the last decade, the first question is whether the Magic would allow him to play that style if such a transaction occurred.

First, to properly contextualize just how important this is to his offensive role, the San Antonio wing is currently averaging more mid-range field goal attempts per game (7.0) than any other player in the league. In fact, he has connected on more mid-range field goals (33) than six different NBA teams have so far this season.

Orlando would be a natural fit in this regard considering they rank third among all NBA teams in frequency of mid-range shots, per Cleaning the Glass.

Last season, Magic wing (and former DeRozan teammate) Terrence Ross ranked ninth in mid-range field goals attempted. Considering that coach Steve Clifford allowed Ross to fire so often in this zone, the expectation should be that DeRozan would be given a similar green light.

When including passes, DeRozan has finished nearly half of his offensive possessions as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll. That would also make him a strong fit alongside Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, who leads all active players in scoring (6.6 ppg) from these sets.

Vucevic ranks Top 5 in total scoring on pick-and-pop opportunities and just a few slots behind current DeRozan teammate LaMarcus Aldridge. The two-man offense of Vucevic and DeRozan is quite a bit better than anything else Orlando has on their roster.

But perhaps the biggest need that the Magic have right now is a lack of any one-on-one scoring threat. The team currently ranks 29th in isolation points, averaging just 3.1 ppg.

DeRozan ranks Top 20 among all NBA players on ISOs (2.5 ppg), more than doubling the output of Orlando’s current isolation-scoring leader DJ Augustin (0.9 ppg). For context: DeRozan has finished Top 20 in isolation-scoring each season since 2012-13.

In fact, he averaged almost exactly as many points (4.1 ppg) on ISOs as the entire Magic roster (4.2 ppg) last season. When including his passes in 2018-10, only Houston’s James Harden produced more points per game on this play type.

For the Magic to return to the playoffs after making it last year, a scorer like DeRozan would go a long way. If San Antonio is willing to accept a discount on a trade just so they don’t lose him for nothing as a free agent in July, he could be an interesting addition for Orlando.

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Rajon Rondo says Lakers told him calf issue similar to Durant’s from Finals

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo told reporters he was eager to return before learning of similarities to his injury and Kevin Durant.

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have to try hard to prevent Rajon Rondo from rushing his return from a sore calf that has bothered him since the second week of the preseason. All they had to do was tell him the most recent example of someone with a similar injury returning too soon: Brooklyn Nets forward and former Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant.

Rondo, who was expected to play on Sunday but was scratched following a workout on Saturday, told reporters at Monday’s Lakers practice that the team’s medical staff let him know the similarities between his current condition and the one that eventually led to Durant’s torn Achilles during the NBA Finals in June.

While Rondo’s return seemed imminent as recently as this weekend, it’s clear that both he and the Lakers training staff are taking a most cautious approach with the veteran point guard in his 14th season.

Davis says shoulder is ‘fine’ and hopes to play Tuesday at Phoenix

Davis added that he won’t know for sure that he will play against the Phoenix Suns until going through shoot around on Tuesday.

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Anthony Davis told reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers first loss in over two weeks that he does feel discomfort in his shoulder fairly often when he’s playing after aggravating it on a block attempt in Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. But come Monday afternoon, Davis was already past his discomfort while also admitting he’s not 100 percent sure he will play Tuesday night against a strong Phoenix Suns group.

Davis told reporters on Monday that he hopes to play Tuesday at Phoenix but won’t make the final call on whether he will play until he goes through shoot around in Phoenix, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

Davis also suggested that his shoulder is much better than it was when he initially injured it on a missed dunk during the team’s victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 27, according to Mike Trudell for Lakers.com.

We can forgive Davis for holding saying two disconnecting thoughts at once because it seems like his shoulder is going to be a day-to-day thing as the season goes on, so his outlook on his shoulder will likely vary from one day to the next.

Until Sunday night’s game, Davis had gone quite a while without enduring a shoulder discomfort but it’s been something he’s had to deal with for a long time. He had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after the 2015-16, but it’s his right one that is currently ailing. Either way, it looks like it will be something he’s going to deal with all season. Sometimes like Monday, it will be simple for Davis. But as Sunday showed, there will be complicated moments as well.

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Anthony Davis admits he is still feeling discomfort in his right shoulder

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis admits he is still feeling discomfort in his right shoulder following loss to the Toronto Raptors.

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The Toronto Raptors snapped the Los Angeles Lakers seven-game winning streak on Sunday. Playing without Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry, the Raptors used a 13-3 run with just over nine minutes left to help secure the 113-104 victory. LeBron James posted his fourth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds during the loss, while Anthony Davis paced the Lakers with 27 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Following the game, Davis admitted that he’s still feeling the lingering effects of the shoulder injury he suffered on a dunk attempt earlier this season. He told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that he re-aggravated the injured shoulder on a block of Pascal Siakam during the Toronto loss which increased the level of pain that he played with throughout the night.

“There’s really never a play I don’t feel it,” Davis said of his injured right shoulder. “I’m going to go out there and play. I try not to let it affect my game. I just play through it and then worry about taking care of it after the game.”

A.D. hasn’t missed a game all season despite the ailing shoulder and is averaging 26.6 points and 10.2 rebounds in 35 minutes of work. He’s also been critical in helping to establish the Lakers interior defense while offering a career-high of 3.1 blocks per contest. His treatment for the aggravated shoulder includes wearing a compression T-shirt under his jersey and having a heat pack applied while he’s on the bench. Davis was not removed from the game due to injury on Sunday and logged 38 minutes in defeat.

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Savvy Raptors snap Lakers streak despite LeBron’s triple-double

The Raptors turned on the afterburners in the second half and showed their championship pedigree in the win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Anthony Davis had 27 points and four blocks while LeBron James recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds but the defending champion Toronto Raptors snapped the Los Angeles Lakers seven-game win streak on Sunday, 111-102.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 24 points, including a couple of huge transition baskets in the final seconds of the game when the Lakers had cut the Raptors lead to just four points in the final two minutes to seal the game.

After the Lakers jumped out to an 11-point lead in early in the first quarter, the Raptors showed their mettle by coming back to slice the Laker lead to just one point heading into the quarter. Energy plays and big shots by the Raptors bench helped neutralize what had been an otherwise terrible quarter.

The Lakers starters again asserted their dominance towards the end of the first half, with James coming close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds at halftime while Anthony Davis and Avery Bradley each scored nine points as well. In addition to the play of the starters, Troy Daniels broke out of a shooting slump to score 11 points off the bench in the first half. With the strong finish, L.A. led by eight at halftime.

The two teams continued to play to a standstill the fourth quarter when the Raptors showed their championship pedigree, going on a 13-3 run to go up by 10 with just over nine minutes left in the games. In addition to the strong play of VanVleet and Siakam, the Raptors got a major lift off the bench from Chris Boucher who had 15 points, three blocks and two steals.

The normally great Lakers bench didn’t make the same impact they have over the course of their seven-game win streak, even against a slightly depleted Raptors group missing both starting point guard Kyle Lowry and power forward Serge Ibaka.

Up next for the Lakers will be an interesting test against a surprisingly strong Suns team in Phoenix on Tuesday night.