What did Toronto Raptors folks think of Victor Wembanyama’s performance in the 122-99 San Antonio Spurs win?
There’s a reason the San Antonio Spurs picked Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 20-year-old Frenchman is one of the most impressive rookies in recent memory, capable of incredible things on both sides of the ball. And on Monday night against the Toronto Raptors, he showed off exactly why he’s held in such high regard.
In the 122-99 Spurs win, Wembanyama became the youngest player ever to record a triple-double with blocks as one of the stats. He ended the night with 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and 10 blocks while shooting 10-of-14 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.
Following the game, the Locked On Raptors podcast gave some perspective on what it was like to watch Wembanyama absolutely dominate the Raptors.
The new-look Raptors were ultimately no match for the talent of Wembanyama and his Spurs teammates.
After the San Antonio Spurs’ blowout win over the Toronto Raptors, Victor Wembanyama spoke about how he felt during his monster night.
Everyone knows that Victor Wembanyama is one of the most unique players in the sport of basketball. But it’s hard to quantify just how special he is until he puts up a ridiculous statline. And that’s exactly what he did in the San Antonio Spurs’ Monday night blowout win over the Toronto Raptors.
The 20-year-old Frenchman finished the game with 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and 10 blocks while shooting 10-of-14 from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line. He became the youngest player ever to record a triple-double with blocks. And best of all, the Spurs walked away with a 122-99 win.
After the game, Wembanyama spoke about how he felt throughout the game.
“I felt great today,” Wembanyama said via ESPN. “Great rhythm, started the game strong. I guess it’s just the NBA, you know. We’ve got ups and downs in terms of shape, and today was an up day.”
The Spurs will be back in action across the state on Wednesday when they take on the Dallas Mavericks.
Meanwhile, despite recently making the NBA All-Star Game as one of the injury replacements in the Eastern Conference, this was also one of the worst performances of the season for Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.
The former Rookie of the Year winner was 3-for-15 (20.0 percent) from the field, which marked the worst shooting percentage of his 2023-24 campaign to date. He had three shots blocked by Wembanyama.
It wasn’t just Wembanyama who made Barnes have a difficult night, though. San Antonio’s Jeremy Sochan did an outstanding job as the primary defender against Barnes during the victory.
Before the game was officially over and while his teammates were still on the court, Barnes made his way back to the locker room.
After the game, Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said that this was “not the standard” that the organization expects to see from Barnes (via TheStar.com):
“It is definitely a learning opportunity for all the players on the team,” he said at the post-game news conference. “From young guys to all the vets. And this is not the performance that we want to have, the competitive spirit that we want to have.”
Here is what some of the fans thought about Barnes’ decision:
Justise Winslow, who helped Duke to a national championship during his only year in Durham, signed a 10-day contract with Toronto on Saturday. He had been with the Raptors’ G League team.
Former Duke basketball star Justise Winslow found another NBA home on Saturday.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Winslow signed a 10-day contract with Toronto after spending time with the Raptors’ G League team.
Winslow spent one season with the Blue Devils in 2014-15, but he made his freshman campaign count. He averaged 12.6 points. 6.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game and helped lead Duke to its fifth national championship. He also contributed 1.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game on the defensive end, and he was drafted by Miami with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
Toronto will be Winslow’s fifth NBA team in his nine-year professional career. He spent five seasons with the Heat before playing with the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Trail Blazers.
His best season as a pro came in 2018-19 with Miami, when he averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. He started 52 games that season, the only year he’s been named a starter more than 25 times.
Free agent F Justise Winslow is signing a 10-day deal with the Toronto Raptors, sources tell ESPN. Winslow has been playing with the Raptors’ 905 G League team.
The Rockets are now a woeful 5-19 on the road this season, and the loss of Cam Whitmore (right ankle sprain) added injury to insult in Toronto.
On the third stop of a four-game road trip, the turnover-prone Rockets (22 total) delivered one of their worst performances of the season in Friday’s 107-104 loss (box score) at Toronto. After trailing by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, Houston’s late comeback bid came up just short, just as it did in the previous game at Indiana.
The Raptors (19-33), led by 25 points from Immanuel Quickley, dealt Houston (23-29) its fourth straight road loss.
Cam Whitmore scored 17 points in just over 17 minutes, shooting 5-of-9 overall (55.6%) and 3-of-5 from 3-point range (60.0%). But fittingly, on a night where so many things went wrong for the Rockets, Whitmore left in the second half and couldn’t continue due to a right ankle sprain — which he suffered late in the first half during a controversial no-call sequence that didn’t go Houston’s way.
The Rockets did not immediately offer a timetable for Whitmore’s return, but his availability for Saturday’s game in Atlanta — which takes place less than 24 hours from the injury — is in doubt.
For better or for worse, other notable stat lines included:
Dillon Brooks: 20 points, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers in 30 minutes; 6-of-13 shooting (46.2%), 4-of-5 on 3-pointers (80.0%)
Jabari Smith Jr.: 12 points, 11 rebounds in 33 minutes; 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%), 2-of-6 on 3-pointers (33.3%)
Jalen Green: 7 points, 2 rebounds, 4 turnovers in 22 minutes; 3-of-11 shooting (27.3%), 1-of-5 on 3-pointers (20.0%)
Aaron Holiday: 12 points, 5 assists in 30 minutes; 5-of-13 shooting (38.5%), 2-of-8 on 3-pointers (25.0%)
Jeff Green: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists in 27 minutes; 3-of-11 shooting (27.3%), 1-of-6 on 3-pointers (16.7%), 4-of-5 on free throws (80.0%)
Neither Jalen Green nor Sengun were part of Houston’s closing lineup. Sengun struggled to handle Raptors big man Jakob Poeltl, who had with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots while shooting 7-of-11 from the field (63.6%). It was a dramatic reversal from when Sengun had his way inside during last week’s meeting.
Houston routed Toronto in that Feb. 2 game, but that was at home, where the Rockets are 18-9 this season. They are a staggering 5-19 on the road, and that discrepancy is a big part of why they’ve fallen to No. 12 in the Western Conference standings, with a potential run to the play-in tournament becoming increasingly unlikely.
Another factor in their recent regression is injuries. Fred VanVleet (left adductor strain) and Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) both remained sidelined, although there is hope that each could return within the next few days. The Rockets are now 0-5 in the 2023-24 season without VanVleet and 11-18 without Eason.
Here’s our look at Friday’s highlights and postgame interviews from Toronto, along with reaction by media members and fans. As the road trip finally concludes, next up for Houston is Saturday’s game at Atlanta (22-29), where tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.
Fred VanVleet (left adductor strain) will have to watch his tribute video from the sidelines when Houston makes its only visit of the season to Toronto.
After a long and distinguished run in Toronto that included the 2019 NBA championship, Fred VanVleet returns to Scotiabank Arena on Friday as a member of the visiting Houston Rockets.
Unfortunately, due to a left adductor strain, VanVleet will have to watch his tribute video and applause from the sidelines. Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) remains out, as well.
Nonetheless, with no changes at Thursday’s trade deadline, the Rockets have most of the group that routed the Raptors last Friday in Houston. Rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore each posted career-high scoring totals in that game, and they will likely be asked to take on more playmaking duties in VanVleet’s absence.
The Raptors will be short-handed, as well, after moving veteran guard Dennis Schroder to Brooklyn at Thursday’s deadline.
The Brooklyn Nets announced on Thursday that they have officially waived forward/center Harry Giles III.
The Brooklyn Nets managed to get involved in the trade deadline madness after being quiet for all of Thursday morning. In the afternoon, the Nets traded Spencer Dinwiddie to the Toronto Raptors for Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young, but due to roster constraints, someone had to be waived.
After the Nets dealt Dinwiddie, it was reported by Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report, and later confirmed by Brooklyn in a press release, that the team waived forward/center Harry Giles III in a related move. Giles, 25, suffers another setback to his career as he works his way back from some major knee injuries that have robbed him of his athleticism and agility.
After signing with the Nets this past offseason, Giles appeared to be on the right track to getting back in the NBA as he was on an active NBA roster for the first time since the 2020-21 season. It seemed like a complete comeback from his injuries after Brooklyn guaranteed his contract for the rest of this season after entering the season on a partially-guaranteed contract that became fully guaranteed if he wasn’t waived by Jan. 8.
However, after seeing how this season has gone for Giles, it makes sense why he was waived at this time. Giles played just 5.1 minutes per game in 16 appearances this season due to Brooklyn’s logjam in the frontcourt with starting center Nic Claxton and backup center Day’Ron Sharpe playing well throughout this season.
It should be noted that when Giles was on the floor, usually when the outcome was decided, he showed glimpses of why he was one of the best high school players that America has seen in recent memory. With him being waived, Giles will have a chance to find a team that offers him more of a role than the Nets could.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday that the Brooklyn Nets were trading Spencer Dinwiddie to the Toronto Raptors for two players.
The Brooklyn Nets were one of the teams expected to be active with the 2023-24 NBA trade deadline on Thursday at 3 PM ET approaching quickly. It took Brooklyn some time to get into the mix, but it looks like they were able to trade away someone who was not expected to have a market.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Thursday that the Nets are trading guard Spencer Dinwiddie to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for guard Dennis Schroder. Shortly after his initial report, Wojnarowski added that forward Thaddeus Young was being sent to Brooklyn along with Schroder.
This trade ends Dinwiddie’s second stint with the Nets franchise that saw him grow from a fringe NBA player to someone who showed that he was a starting point guard in the league as well as someone who could fit on any team due to his versatility. This season proved to be a trying one for Dinwiddie as he looked disengaged at times on the court due to how much his role was changing because of the Nets prioritizing the growth of Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas.
In the end, Dinwiddie gets to presumably be the starting point guard for a Raptors team looking to find a direction for its franchise soon. In exchange, the Nets get a player in Schroder who can step in as a ball-handler/scorer, filling a need for Brooklyn whether Ben Simmons is healthy or not.
Young has been reduced to a bench player who has averaged no more than 18.3 minutes per game during his time in Toronto as the organization has focused its efforts to be around budding star forward Scottie Barnes. It remains to be seen what Young’s role with the Nets will be, but most likely, he will be coming off the bench for Brooklyn and could possibly not play in some games as well.
Clarify: Thad Young is coming to the Nets in the trade with DENNIS Schroder, sources said. https://t.co/wBNclK9TNu
While it was reported that Spencer Dinwiddie did not have a market because of his $20 million salary for this season, the Nets managed to turn him into a Dennis Schroder who is making a little over $12 million this season and $13 million next season. https://t.co/2uZZ43KxkL
Aaaand we’re off, folks! The NBA trade deadline is underway. Nothing big has happened yet, but the Jazz and Raptors have given us a bit of action.
Toronto just traded a bunch of stuff for Kelly Olynyk, who is certainly a solid player in today’s NBA. He fell out of a starting position in Utah when the Jazz traded for John Collins over the summer, but he’s still very good.
It’s just kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what the Raptors are trying to do with the roster here.
We’re going to make our best effort here as we grade the trade. Let’s dive in.
Rookie Wire is keeping track of every trade ahead of the Thursday deadline based on the latest intel available.
The week of the trade deadline is in full swing around the NBA, with teams working the phones in an effort to improve their rosters ahead of 3 p.m. EST on Thursday.
Since the start of the season, several notable names in the game have relocated after various trades. The moves have helped teams add more firepower to their rosters, while others have solidified their futures with draft picks and additional assets.
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The buyers and sellers around the league should become known as the action figures to heat up over the next 24 hours, with conversations and trade calls ramping up. The recent rumors and speculation should, once again, create another action-packed trade deadline.
Rookie Wire is monitoring the latest news and compiling each trade ahead of the deadline in this tracker. The list will be updated as news becomes available.
