Month: February 2021

RAPTORS-HAWKS PREGAME NOTES

INJURY REPORT 1:30 P.M.

TOR@ATL Atlanta Hawks Bogdanovic, Bogdan Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Avulsion Fracture
Dunn, Kris Out Injury/Illness – Right Ankle; Surgery
Huerter, Kevin Probable Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Soreness
Hunter, De’Andre Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Discomfort
Okongwu, Onyeka Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Achilles; Soreness
Young, Trae Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Calf; Contusion
Toronto Raptors Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain
Flynn, Malachi Out G League – On Assignment
Harris, Jalen Out G League – Two-Way
McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – rehabilitation

RAPTORS NOTES
• The Toronto Raptors play the second game of a back-to-back set (Feb. 5-6) Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. The Raptors have won 10 in a row over the Hawks, including the last six meetings in Atlanta. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet averaged 25.3 and 21.3 points, respectively,
in three victories vs. the Hawks last season. Saturday marks Toronto’s lone game with Atlanta during the first half of the season. The Raptors will host Atlanta twice in the second half. The Raptors are 0-2 in the second game of a back-to-back this season.
• Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 33 points (12-23 FG, 9-10 FT) last night at Brooklyn. Siakam has now scored 30 or more points in three of the last four games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 5). He is averaging 26.8 points, while shooting .506 (39-77) from the field and .853 (29-34) at the free throw during this stretch. Siakam scored 30+ points once in his first 15 games.
• The Raptors have won a season high-tying three straight games (Jan. 31 – Feb. 5). Over the last three games, Toronto is averaging 120.3 points and shooting .481 (130-270) from the floor. The Raptors have a +15 steal differential (32-to-17) and forced 46 opponent turnovers during the winning streak.
• Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 30 points (12-18 FG, 6-9 3PT) yesterday against the Nets. Lowry needs 13 rebounds to pass Amir Johnson (2,836) for fourth on the franchise’s career rebounds list and is 16
away from passing Antonio Davis (2,839) for third. Lowry already ranks first in Raptors history in assists (4,073) and third in scoring (10.092). Only three active players are inside the top-three all-time for a team in scoring, rebounds and assists, but none of those players are currently with that team; LeBron James (Cleveland), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City) and Marc Gasol (Memphis).
• The Raptors continue a six-game road trip (Jan. 31 – Feb. 11) – their longest in the first half – Saturday at Atlanta. Toronto is on the road for 11 days as Super Bowl LV festivities take over the Tampa area. The Raptors will play 10-of-15 games on the road in the month of February. Toronto visits the Hawks having
won consecutive road games (Feb. 2-5) for the first time this season.
• Toronto scored a season-best 64 points in the paint Friday at Brooklyn. The Raptors have now scored 50 or more points in the paint in three of their last four games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 5), averaging 52.0 points during
this span. Toronto currently ranks 26th in the NBA averaging 41.5 points in the paint this season.
• Fred VanVleet scored a franchise record 54 points (17-23 FG, 11-14 3PT, 9-9 FT) Feb. 2 at Orlando, surpassing the previous record of 52 set by DeMar DeRozan on Jan. 1, 2018 vs. Milwaukee (OT). FVanVleet became just the fourth player in Raptors history to record a 50-point game, joining Vince Carter
(51 – Feb. 27, 2000 vs. Phoenix, Terrence Ross (51 – Ja. 25, 2014 vs. L.A. Clippers) and DeRozan.

Toronto-Vancouver pregame notes

VANCOUVER CANUCKS (6-8-0 – 12 Points) vs.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (8-2-1 – 17 Points)

FEBRUARY 6, 2021 ▪ 7:00 PM EST

SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON) ▪
TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050

MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY versus VANCOUVER

ALL-TIME RECORD:62-62-22-3 (149 Games)
ALL-TIME AT HOME:36-25-11-1 (73 Games)
2020-21:1-0-0
LAST FIVE:4-0-1
LAST 10:7-1-2

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus VANCOUVER

GAMES PLAYED:Joe Thornton (70), TJ Brodie (37), Jake Muzzin (33)
GOALS:Joe Thornton (18), John Tavares (10), Jason Spezza (9)
ASSISTS:Joe Thornton (56), TJ Brodie (12), John Tavares (11)
POINTS:Joe Thornton (74), John Tavares (21), Jason Spezza (19)
PENALTY MINUTES:Joe Thornton (51), Jake Muzzin (24), Wayne Simmonds (23)

MAPLE LEAFS – CANUCKS TEAM STATS

 TORONTOVANCOUVER
GOALS FOR (Rank):40 (4th)47 (1st)
GOALS AGAINST (Rank):       32 (20th)55 (31st)
POWER PLAY [%] (Rank):14/35 [40.0%] (t-1st)8/49 [16.3%] (19th)
PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank):31/41 [75.6%] (23rd)49/61 [80.3%] (14th)
SHOTS PER GAME (Rank):30.5 (t-15th)30.4 (18th)
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME (Rank):26.8 (6th)36.1 (31st)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank):458 (t-9th)556 (1st)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank):51.8% (11th)46.3% (29th)
FACEOFF % (Rank):53.6% (4th)52.3% (7th)

MAPLE LEAFS – CANUCKS NOTES

First Matchup between Clubs:Oct. 11, 1970 (Vancouver 5, Toronto 3)
All-Time Record:62-62-22-3 (149 Games)
All-Time Record at Home:36-25-11-1 (73 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road:26-37-11-2 (76 Games)
Last Win vs. Opponent at Home:Feb. 4, 2021 (Toronto 7, Vancouver 3)
  

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

CATEGORYLEADER
GOALS8 (Matthews)
ASSISTS11 (Marner)
POINTS17 (Marner)
POWER PLAY POINTS6 (Marner, Tavares)
SHORTHANDED POINTSN/A
PIMs22 (Simmonds)
SHOTS46 (Matthews)
FACEOFF WIN%63.5% (Spezza)
5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT %66.3% (Thornton)
BLOCKED SHOTS17 (Muzzin)
TAKEAWAYS9 (Muzzin)
HITS21 (Holl)
TOI PER GAME23:45 (Rielly)
PP TOI PER GAME3:02 (Rielly)
SH TOI PER GAME3:55 (Holl)

MAPLE LEAFS PLAYER NOTES

Frederik Andersen– Tied for third in the NHL in wins (6).- Ninth among NHL goaltenders in saves made (218).- Has an 11-2-5 record with a 1.63 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in 18 career games against Vancouver. 
TJ Brodie– Averaging 18:51 in even-strength ice time, which ranks second among Toronto skaters.- Fourth among Maple Leafs defencemen in points (0-4-4).- Tied for second among Maple Leafs in slap shots taken (4).
Justin Holl– Ranks 17th among NHL defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (17:10) with a shot attempt percentage of 56.2%.- Tied for 18th among NHL defencemen who average at least 15 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (17:10) with a goals for percentage of 64.7%.- Ranks third among right-handed NHL defencemen in shorthanded ice time per game (3:55).
Zach Hyman–  Leads Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:49).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage (66.6%) at 5-on-5 among Toronto forwards.- One of 18 forwards in the NHL to start average over 12:00 minutes per game (14:25) of 5-on-5 ice time and start 40% or fewer of his 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone (40.0%), while having a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage above 50% (51.9%).
Alex Kerfoot– One of five Maple Leafs to average over 1:00 in ice timer per game on the power play (1:01) and 1:00 per game on the penalty kill (1:44).- Ranks seventh among Toronto forwards in shifts per game (20.3).
Mitch Marner– Ranks third among NHLers in points (6-11-17).- Tied for the NHL lead in even-strength goals (6).- Leads NHL forwards in time on ice per game (23:05).- Has played 44.0% of Toronto’s shorthanded ice time.
Auston Matthews– Tied for second in the NHL in goals (8).- Averaging 21:48 in time on ice per game, which ranks eighth among NHL forwards.- Ranks fifth among Maple Leafs in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage (54.9%).- Ranks second in the NHL in shots on goal (46).
Ilya Mikheyev– Ranks third among Maple Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:13).- Has an average of 19.7 shot attempts per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time, which ranks fourth among NHLers who have played at least 20 minutes of shorthanded ice time.  
Jake Muzzin– Ranks 10th among NHL skaters in shorthanded ice time per game (3:48).- Ranks 26th among NHL defencemen who average at least 15 minutes per game in 5-on-5 ice time in shot attempts per 60 minutes (11.94).- Has the highest on-ice goals for percentage among Maple Leafs defencemen who have appeared in every game this season (64.7%).
William Nylander– Has the third highest points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (2.93) among Toronto skaters.- Has a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 57.6%, which is the second-highest percentage among Maple Leafs forwards.- Has recorded six points (2-7-9) in five games on home ice this season.- Tied his career high for assists in a game and points in a game with his three assists performance on February 4 vs. Vancouver
Morgan Rielly– Leads Maple Leafs in average time on ice (23:45).- Tied for fourth among NHL defencemen in assists (8).- Has eight points (1-7-8) in 14 career games against Vancouver.
Jason Spezza– Has the highest points per 60 minutes rate (4.23) among Maple Leafs who have appeared in at least five games.- Recorded his eighth career hat trick on February 4 vs. Vancouver.
John Tavares– One of 34 NHLers to have appeared in at least 10 games while averaging at least a point per game (5-6-11).- Tied for third in the NHL in power play goals (4).- Has been on the ice for a team-high nine power play goals, which leads the Maple Leafs and is tied for the 12th most in the NHL.- Has the third-highest faceoff win percentage (60.4%) among NHLers who have taken at least 150 faceoffs (164).
  

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Zach HymanPoints (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.
Mitch MarnerAssists (8) and Points (3-8-11) in six consecutive games.
Auston MatthewsGoals (6) and points (6-1-7) in five consecutive games.
Jake MuzzinAssists (3) in two consecutive games.
William NylanderPoints (2-3-5) in three consecutive games.
John TavaresPoints (1-3-4) in three consecutive games.
  

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Zach BogosianThree points from 200 NHL points
Auston MatthewsThree points from 300 NHL points
Jake MuzzinFive assists from 200 NHL assists
  

RECENT MILESTONES

Zach BogosianFirst point as a Maple Leaf (Feb. 4 vs. VAN)
Mikko LehtonenFirst NHL point (Jan. 30 at EDM)
  

INJURY REPORT

Jack Campbell (Leg)Week-to-week.
Nick Robertson (Knee)On long term injured reserve.
Joe Thornton (Rib)On long term injured reserve.
 Man Games Lost: 19
  

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Feb. 2Added forward Nic Petan to roster.
  

49ers’ great Charlie Krueger dies at 84 — KRON4

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — Former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Charlie Krueger died on Friday at the age of 84, the organization announced. Krueger died in Clayton, California. He spent his entire 16-year NFL career with the 49ers, from 1958 to 1973, and had his number 70 retired by the 49ers in 1974. The…

49ers’ great Charlie Krueger dies at 84 — KRON4

Atlanta Falcons owner donating $17M to civil rights museum — WRBL

ATLANTA (AP) — The billionaire owner of the Atlanta Falcons is donating $17 million to help a civil rights museum expand and offer new programming. Arthur Blank’s family foundation announced the gift to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights on Thursday. The vast majority of the money will fund a new, three-story west…

Atlanta Falcons owner donating $17M to civil rights museum — WRBL

Arc rivals

STREAKING: Joe Harris has made at least one 3-pointer in a Nets franchise-record 54 straight home games, dating to 2/25/19 vs. San Antonio.
LAST THREE: Since scoring a season-low-tying six points and seeing his franchise-record 79-game streak with at least one 3-pointer made end on 1/27 at Atlanta, Harris has averaged 21.0 ppg (.561 FG), 2.0 rpg and
3.3 apg in 33.1 mpg in his last three games, scoring 20+ points twice and shooting 16-of-29 (.552) from 3-point range.
 1/31 at WAS: Harris scored a career-high-tying 30 points (also: 3/25/18 vs. Cleveland) and made a career-high 8-of-13 3FG in 32 minutes.
 Harris is the seventh player in franchise history to make eight or more 3-pointers in a game (a total of 11 times), and the first
since D’Angelo Russell sank 8-of-12 from distance on 1/18/19 at Orlando.
SCORING: Brooklyn is 8-2 this season in games that Harris has tallied 15+ points in (5-1 when Harris scores 20+ points).

Fred VanVleet has made at least one 3-pointer in a Raptors franchise-record 53 straight games entering Friday. He made 11-for-14 shots from beyond the arc in scoring a franchise-record 54 points Tuesday against the Orlando Magic.

Nets Big 3 tops in 4th

CLOSING TIME
 Kevin Durant (8.4), James Harden (8.3) and Kyrie Irving (8.2) are first, second and third in the league in fourth-quarter scoring this season. Next-highest: 7.3 points (Beal and Lillard).
 Since quarter stats were first tracked (1996-97), the highest fourth-quarter ppg a Net has ever posted was 7.3 fourth-quarter ppg for Vince Carter in 2005-06.

Player, agent say most NBA players reluctant about coronavirus vaccine — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

76ers center Dwight Howard and Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. have raised doubt about the value of vaccines.

Player, agent say most NBA players reluctant about coronavirus vaccine — ProBasketballTalk | NBC Sports

Kurtenbach: It’s time to recognize that Steph Curry is playing at an MVP level — Red Bluff Daily News

Steph Curry once had the greatest offensive season in the modern history of the NBA. He’s not far off the pace of it this season. But when conversations about the 2021 NBA MVP come up, I never hear Curry’s name mentioned. That needs to change. Related Articles For Warriors’ Kelly Oubre Jr., thinking less is…

Kurtenbach: It’s time to recognize that Steph Curry is playing at an MVP level — Red Bluff Daily News

CELTICS-CLIPPERS PREGAME NOTES

CLIPPERS NOTES

• PG FROM THREE: On 1/3 at Phoenix, Paul George had his 10th game as Clipper with at least six three-pointers made. George passed J.J. Redick for the
most such games in franchise history. On 2/3 at Cleveland, George was 8-for-9 from beyond the arc. It was the seventh instance in franchise history that a
player had made at least eight three-pointers. George is the only player in franchise history to achieve the feat twice. George currently is first in the NBA in 3P%
(.478, min 7.0 attempts) and fifth in three-pointers made (67).
• LAST 13: The Clippers are 11-2 in their last 12 games. Since 1/10 the Clippers have the second-best record in the NBA, rank first in 3P% (.431), tied for first
in plus/minus differential (13.3) and net rating (13.1), second in FT% (.851) and offensive rating (120.5), are third in points (118.8) and FG% (.491) and have the
fourth-least amount of turnovers (11.9).
• THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE: The Clippers are one of the best teams in the NBA in the third quarter. In the third frame the Clippers rank first in plus/minus
differential (4.7), 3P% (.485) and points (31.0), second in FG% (.525) and third in FT% (.850).
• HOLDING LEADS: The Clippers are 16-2 this season when building a lead of at least 10 points. LA is the only team in the NBA this season to not lose
consecutive games.
• BEYOND THE ARC: On 1/10 vs. Chicago, the Clippers were 20-for-38 (52.6%) from beyond the arc. It was the fifth game in franchise history that the Clippers have made at least 20 three-pointers. Kawhi Leonard was 7-for-9 from the three-point line which tied his career high. Leonard was 5-for-5 in the third
quarter alone, which was the most three-pointers he has made in a single quarter in his career. On 1/28 at Miami, the Clippers made nine three-pointers in the third quarter which was tied for the most three-pointers made in a single quarter in franchise history. On 2/3 at Cleveland, the Clippers made 20 three-pointers for the sixth time in franchise history and second time this season. The Clippers lead the NBA in 3P% (.423) and in most games shooting at least 50% from beyond the arc (6), and are second in most games with at least 15 three-pointers made (14). LA had a five-game streak with at least 15 three-pointers made (1/10 – 1/20) which was the longest such streak in franchise history.
• HOT START: The Clippers went 4-1 through the first five games of the season. It is the 11th time in franchise history the Clippers have at least four wins in
the teams’ first five games and the first time since 2017-18. The Clippers improved to 11-4 on 1/20 vs. Sacramento which is the third-best 15-game start in franchise history (13-2, 2016-17; 12-3, 1974-75). LA improved to 15-5 on 1/29 at Orlando which is tied for the second-best 20-game start in franchise history (16-4, 1974-75; 15-5, 2014-15 and 2016-17).
• HOME SWEET HOME: The Clippers are currently on a five-game home win streak and have the fourth-best home record in the NBA at 8-2. At home, LA
ranks second in 3P% (.411) and FT% (.837), third in plus/minus differential (7.4) and ninth in points (115.1).
• DYNAMIC DUO: Paul George (24.4) and Kawhi Leonard (26.2) are the fourth-highest scoring duo in the NBA so far this season.
• PERFECT FROM THE STRIPE: On 1/6 at Golden State, the Clippers were a perfect 25-for-25 from the free-throw line which was the third-most free-throws made without a miss in a game in franchise history. This is the 24th time in franchise history that the Clippers were perfect from the free-throw line. The last time an NBA team made at least 25 free-throws while remaining perfect was the Chicago Bulls on 2/2/19 at Charlotte. LA currently leads the NBA in FT% (.849).
• KAWHI: Kawhi Leonard is the winningest player in NBA regular-season history with a 408-135 (.751) record.

CELTICS NOTES

LAST GAME
SACRAMENTO 116, BOSTON 111 – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA (2/3/21)
Jayson Tatum missed a game-tying three pointer with the clock winding down as the C’s fell to the Kings 116-111…Tatum finished with a game-high 27 points to go along with 10 assists and nine rebounds…Tristan Thompson added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Jaylen Brown added 21 points, three rebounds and four assists…Daniel Theis added 11 points and four assists…The Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox and his 26 points and 11 assists while Harrison Barnes added 24 points and six assists…Tyrese Haliburton
scored 21 off of the bench for Sacramento as well.

BROWN GOES OFF AGAINST CLEVELAND…
Jaylen Brown netted 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting in just 19:14 of game time against Cleveland on Jan. 24 en route to the C’s 141-103 win…It was the most
points scored by a player in under 20 minutes of game time during the shot clock era.
TATUM NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK…
Jayson Tatum was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 10 when he averaged 33.0 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds
and 2.7 assists while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 52.0 percent from three…It was the second time in Tatum’s career that he was named Player of
the Week and the first time during the 2020-21 season.
BROWN/TATUM ENTER ELITE SCORING DUOS THROUGH FIRST 10 GAMES…
Jayson Tatum (269) and Jaylen Brown (263) have each surpassed the 250+ point mark through the first ten games of the 2020-21 season…They became just
the third pair of teammates in the past 20 seasons to each record 250 or more points in their team’s first ten games…They join Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe
Bryant (2001-02) and Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant (3x, 2016-17 through 2018-19).
PRITCHARD HAS IMPRESSIVE GAME OFF BENCH AGAINST TORONTO…
Payton Pritchard had 23 points and eight assists on 8-of-13 shooting against Toronto on Jan. 4…According to the Elias Sports Bureau he is just the fifth Celtic
rookie since 1970-71 to have at least 20 points and five assists while shooting 60% from the field coming off of the bench.
TATUM AND BROWN SHOW OUT IN SEASON OPENER EACH NETTING 30+ POINTS…
Jayson Tatum recorded 30 points including the game-winning three-pointer while Jaylen Brown added 33 points on opening night against Milwaukee on Dec. 23…According to the Elias Sports Bureau they are the first duo in C’s history to record 30 points or more in the season opening game in franchise history.
TEAGUE POSTS TERRIFIC GAME OFF THE BENCH FOR C’S IN OPENER…
Jeff Teague made his presence felt in his first game as a Celtics becoming the first Celtics reserve to tally at least 19 points and four three-pointers in the team’s opening game since Walter McCarty on Nov. 2, 1999….Teague finished the game against Milwaukee on Dec. 23 with 19 points and a perfect 4-for-4 from three.

LeBron James, Nikola Jokic split on NBA’s decision to hold All-Star game amid pandemic — Canon City Daily Record

The NBA’s decision to host an abbreviated All-Star weekend in Atlanta has drawn split reviews from some of the game’s biggest stars with LeBron James and Nikola Jokic on opposite sides of the spectrum.

LeBron James, Nikola Jokic split on NBA’s decision to hold All-Star game amid pandemic — Canon City Daily Record

Anunoby out, Baynes probable at Brooklyn

INJURY REORT AT 1:30 P.M.

TOR@BKN Brooklyn Nets Claxton, Nicolas Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Tendinopathy
Dinwiddie, Spencer Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Partially Torn ACL
Perry, Reggie Out G League – Two-Way
Toronto Raptors Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain
Baynes, Aron Probable Injury/Illness – Right Groin; Strain
Flynn, Malachi Out G League – On Assignment
Harris, Jalen Out G League – Two-Way
McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – rehabilitation