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Coaching styles across NHL under scrutiny — Toronto Sun

(11-6) PHILADELPHIA 76ERS, 96 VS. (12-4) TORONTO RAPTORS, 101 SCOTIABANK ARENA MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

TORONTO RAPTORS QUOTES

NICK NURSE (HEAD COACH)

On way the team executed in the last 90 seconds … Yes, really good defensively. I thought we really started getting into them and stopped some of that DHO action, we were just beating them to the spot and I think we ended up with eight consecutive stops to end the game. That’s pretty good, especially in a close game in like that.

On how the kids handled the game … I think they did okay. It was too nice to see, I thought OG (Anunoby) had a pretty solid game, he hasn’t played that much against them. We executed our schemes really well obviously on certain players, (Joel) Embiid especially. But yeah, I think Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), Terence (Davis), Chris (Boucher) all made some plays pretty good. I kind of just liked our composure. I thought all game long even though we didn’t shoot a really good percentage, I thought we were composed on offence and kept getting good shots, decent shots. We never really were panicked, we didn’t seem frustrated at the offensive end and whoever was out there. I think one time I had what we would probably consider four four-men and a centre at one point. Pascal (Siakam), OG, Rondae, Chris and Marc (Gasol) or something weird like that. But that’s okay we keep it simple, we get it to Marc like I said and do some cutting and those guys did a good job.

On the defence against Embiid … The first thing is that we have to guard him. Like, we try to take away his trail 3s, a lot of times he will come down and just be the last one down and they will flip it back to him and we just really tried to take those away and make him bounce it. We tried to stay a little closer to home on him, more than normal. A lot of times you are sending your big to help or rim protect or whatever, but that is kind of why you see a few breakdowns. You have to live with some of that stuff, like to start the half (Ben) Simmons came off the ball screen and went straight downhill a couple of times. That is because we are trying to not let the ball go back to Embiid as much, so we are not providing as much help as we should there. You have to change the scheme and bring somebody else over from the weak side, or whatever. You just keep making adjustments as you go. Just again, try to guard him in the low block, obviously we like to send a couple of bodies, don’t let him get his low post game going. Marc does a great job of fighting him for position. He doesn’t catch to many right under the rim and just turn and use his size and lay it in.

PASCAL SIAKAM (25 points, seven rebounds)

What did you learn from the playoff series, and the matchup with Embiid? Just that I had to work on shooting. I had to be able to shoot the ball, I had to be able to be dangerous, not only going to the basket but on the perimeter. That’s something that I continue to work on every single day, because when they put a big on me, I have to be able to make those shots, so they can come up a little bit and be able to take them off the dribble. That’s on me.

What were guys able to do to them defensively in the last four minutes? Just being physical. Just being physical with them, not giving them easy shots. Obviously making it tough for Embiid to catch it or anything like. They made a lot of threes so we had to make sure we got out on shooters, make them bounce it. So I think that’s what we did at the end there to get the stops that we needed.

What is Marc able to do to get under Embiid’s skin? Marc is a big body, he’s smart, he has being doing it for a while. He kind of understands how to guard, and positioning. Obviously, we’re helping but I think initially, his presence is a problem for a lot of people. When we are connected as a team on defence we can do a lot of things out there.

FRED VANVLEET (24 points, eight assists)

What was the team able to do to hold them scoreless the last four minutes? We just turned up the intensity, they missed a couple but I thought we did a good job at the rim covering for each other. Pascal had a couple of big blocks, Marc was great. OG got in there and Norm (Powell) got some rebounds. Just try and cover for each other, wasn’t perfect all the time but shrinking the paint on those guys is usually good, puts you in good position and then fire out to the shooters. They obviously missed some shots I’m sure they felt that they could make, but I thought we did a good job with our defensive intensity and coming up with the rebounds.

MARC GASOL (three points, six rebounds, nine assists)

What did the team do to hold them scoreless the last four minutes? We moved around and we were in front of the ball. I felt that we did a better job of taking away their drives to the basket and not allowing their size to enter the paint and making multiple efforts.

On team defence against Embiid… They have a few plays that they run for him to allow him to separate from you. I didn’t help much off those plays because it’s set up to allow him to roll and that’s the game plan we had. The coaches did a great job preparing us for the game plan.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS QUOTES

BRETT BROWN (HEAD COACH)

On the final 11 seconds … Well, we got a shot and we had an offensive rebound. There was more time available, maybe, to find something else. I give Toronto’s defence credit.

On the struggles of Joel Embiid tonight … It’s all about him quarterbacking the gym. They double teamed him every single catch and I thought there were times he did a really good job of inviting that, and passing out of it. We shot a lot of threes because they doubled him and that’s what the game produced. I thought we did a pretty good job from time to time of getting off the post, and passing it around and trying to find his floor spots. You give Marc Gasol, a former defensive player of the year, credit, and Toronto credit. But it was a long night for Joel.

At this stage of the season, are there any takeaways you can take from this game? If we are big boys, you’d say of course there has to be. You are going to walk out of here and find something that is going to make us better, and we will do it. At this moment, 10 minutes after the game, it stings. You’ll wake up in the morning; you’ll be wiser for it and learn things that we have to just respond to better. We had a stage where we missed four free throws, they came back and hit a three and it’s kind of like a seven point swing. You would like to have a few of those turnovers back, at the end of the game. That’s where I’m at.

JOEL EMBIID (13 rebounds, two assists)

What does this win say about the Raptors? It says a lot. They are a deep team. They’ve got guys that can do a lot of things on the basketball court. They’re well coached. They did their job and they made sure to stick with the plan they had, especially taking me out of the game. That’s also on me to try and figure out and take advantage of it. Defensively they are everywhere. They are so long and they make sure to pack the paint, and tonight we didn’t make shots. When you’re not making shots and you play against a team like that, it’s really hard. We still came pretty close, but we have to get better, especially me.

Were you fatigued, playing the fourth game in six nights? I didn’t look fatigued and I was definitely not fatigued. Obviously, the defensive scheme … they were trying to make sure I didn’t touch the ball, and that forced me into a lot of tough shots. It didn’t matter … Marc didn’t help on the picks I was setting and on the post, obviously, they were doubling from the time the ball was in the air. When you’re not making shots, it’s tough, but I tried to take advantage of it by setting screens and holding it until my teammates got open.

TOBIAS HARRIS (18 points, five rebounds, two assists)

On the team’s mental lapses … Yeah, definitely too many of them. The last three minutes, too many to count, so that’s the most disappointing thing about tonight’s loss, for sure.

What did you learn about this team today? I mean, we have to be better. (In) the late fourth quarter we have to be better engaged offensively and defensively — executing on both ends of the floor.

Did this feel more like a playoff game? Honestly, all the games feel the same. We are out there to win. Obviously, it was loud in there and whatnot, so I guess that may be where you’re getting that from, but for us it was a game that we wanted to win.

BEN SIMMONS (10 points, 14 assists, nine rebounds)

On the second quarter … I think it was just overall the whole game – a lot of mental errors that we didn’t correct. Joel had a tough night, so that also doesn’t help. When we look back at this game, we know that we should’ve won this one, but Toronto made plays.

Did this feel like a playoff game down the stretch? Yes, no. It just felt like a game.

FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 101, PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 96

DATE: November 25, 2019 ATTENDANCE: 19,800 (Sellout)

Tonight marked Toronto’s 244th consecutive sellout (including playoffs) dating to Nov. 11, 2014 – the longest streak in franchise history.

FINAL SCORE RECORD HIGH POINTS HIGH REBOUNDS HIGH ASSISTS Philadelphia 96 11-6 Richardson – 25 Embiid – 13 Simmons – 14

Toronto 101 12-4 Siakam – 25 Hollis-Jefferson – 10 Gasol – 9

KEY RUN Trailing 94-88 with 5:16 left in the fourth quarter, the Raptors ended the game on 13-2 run … Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam combined for Toronto’s final 10 points – scoring five points apiece.

KEY STAT The Sixers were held scoreless during the final four minutes of the fourth quarter … Philadelphia missed eight consecutive shots and committed three turnovers during this stretch.

RAPTORS NOTES: • With the victory, Toronto improves to 12-4 this season and a perfect 7-0 at home … The Raptors are one of just four teams in the NBA still without a loss at home … Toronto has tied the franchise record (set last season) with seven straight victories at home to open a season.

• The Raptors have now won 14 straight regular season meetings at home against the Sixers.

• Toronto has won 32 consecutive games at home vs. the Atlantic Division … The Raptors’ last loss at Scotiabank Arena against an Atlantic Division foe was Nov. 10, 2015 vs. New York.

• Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 25 points in 40 minutes – his 11th 20-point effort of the season.

• Fred VanVleet contributed 24 points and eight assists in 38 minutes … VanVleet has now scored 20 or more points in five of the last six games, averaging 23.0 points during this stretch.

• Rondae Hollis-Jefferson matched his season high with 16 points in 31 minutes off the bench … Hollis-Jefferson added a team-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

• The Raptors had six players score double figures – Siakam (25), Fred VanVleet (24), HollisJefferson (16), OG Anunoby (12), Terence Davis ll (11) and Norman Powell (10). • Toronto was missing six players due to injury.

SIXERS NOTES: • With the loss, Philadelphia falls to 11-6 on the season and 4-6 on the road … Tonight’s defeat ends the Sixers’ four-game winning streak.

• The Sixers outrebounded Toronto 51-40, including 14-8 on the offensive glass.

• Josh Richardson led the Sixers in scoring for the third time with 25 points in 35 minutes – his fourth 20-point game of the season and third in his last four games played.

• Ben Simmons recorded his seventh double-double with 10 points and a season-high 14 assists in 41 minutes … He finished one rebound shy of the triple-double.

• The Sixers had five players score in double digits – Richardson (25), Tobias Harris (18), Mike Scott (12), Al Horford (11) and Simmons (10) … Horford added 10 rebounds for his second double-double.

Joel Embiid was held scoreless in a game (0-11 FG, 0-4 3PT, 0-3 FT) for the first time in his career … Embiid grabbed 13 rebounds in 32 minutes of action.

INJURY REPORT:

PHI@TOR

Philadelphia 76ers

Korkmaz, Furkan Available Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Sprain Had been listed as probable.
O’Quinn, Kyle Out Injury/Illness – Left calf; Strain Had been questionable
Pelle, Norvel Out G League – Two-Way
Shayok, Marial Out Injury/Illness – Right quad; Contusion (G league 2 way)

Toronto Raptors

Hernandez, Dewan Out Injury/Illness – Right Thumb; Sprain

– Ibaka, Serge Doubtful Injury/Illness – Right Ankle; Sprain –

Johnson, Stanley Out Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Stress reaction

– Lowry, Kyle Out Injury/Illness – Left Thumb; Fracture – distal phalanx –

McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery

– Ponds, Shamorie Out G League – Two-Way

LAST GAME STARTERS

NBA Game #1: Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors We get a potential NBA playoff series preview with the 76ers and the Raptors on November 25. Both teams are solid Eastern Conference foes this season and have solid star players in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for Philadelphia. For the Raptors, they are led by Pascal […]

Key NBA Match-Ups to Watch: November 24-30, 2019 — CrownHoops

TORONTO MARLIES (13-2-2-1 – 29 Points) vs. MANITOBA MOOSE (10-10-0-0 – 20 Points)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
MANITOBA	0	0	1	–	1
TORONTO	0	2	2	–	4

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET |    PHOTOS    |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Manitoba: J. Harkins (6) PP (A. Chibisov, K. Vesalainen)
Goaltender: M. Berdin (25/28)

Toronto: K. Agostino (10) (J. Bracco, A. Brooks), T. MacMaster (4) (D. Archibald, P. Aberg), P. Aberg (9) PP (K. Agostino), T. Kivihalme (1) EN (Unassisted)
Goaltender: J. Woll (31/32)

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Kenny Agostino opened the scoring at 5:36 of the second period and later add the sole assist on Aberg’s third period goal. Agostino has nine points (6 goals, 3 assist) in six games. Agostino is tied for eighth overall in goals (10).
• Tanner MacMaster scored Toronto’s second goal at 6:06 of the second period. MacMaster has picked up a point (2-4-6) in each of his last six games. He has matched a career high in points (11) through 17 games this season.
• Pontus Aberg scored Toronto’s third goal of the game at 17:11 of the third period on the power play and earlierhad the secondary assist on MacMaster’s second period goal. Aberg has points (2-5-7) through six games.
• Teemu Kivihalme scored an empty net goal at 17:37 of the third period. This is Kivihalme’s first career AHL goal.
• Jeremy Bracco recorded the primary assist on Agostino’s second period goal. Bracco is now fourth for the Marlies in all-time assists (96).
• Adam Brooks registered the secondary assist on Agostino’s second period goal. Brooks has seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) through nine games this season.
• Darren Archibald collected the primary assist on MacMaster’s second period goal. Archibald has four points (3 goals, 1 assist) through 11 games this season.
• Joseph Woll stopped 31 of 32 shots he faced and was named first star of the game. Woll is now 4-1-1-1 on the season with a 0.902 Save Percentage and a 3.09 Goals Against Average.

OF NOTE…

• Toronto is undefeated at home this season and set a franchise record with their ninth consecutive home win. Toronto has outscored their opponents 38-20.
• The goals scored by Pontus Aberg and Teemu Kivihalme in the third period were 26 seconds apart, the fastest two goals scored by the Marlies this season. The previous record was set in the second period by Kenny Agostino and Tanner MacMaster whose goals were 30 seconds apart
• Assistant coaches Rob Davison and A.J. MacLean assumed duties behind the bench for today’s game against the Manitoba Moose.
• Toronto was 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and was 1-for-2 on the power play.
• Manitoba had a 32-29 edge in shots in all situations. Pontus Aberg, Jeremy Bracco, Adam Brooks, Hudson Elynuik and Garrett Wilson led the Marlies with three shots on goal.
• The Marlies are 7-2-0-0 against Central Division opponents and sweep their regular season series with four wins against the Moose. Toronto outscored Manitoba 15-5 through their four games.

REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

• Goals: K. Agostino (10)
• Assists: J. Bracco (13)
• Points: P. Aberg (19)
• PPG: E. Korshkov (4)
• Shots: P. Aberg (57)
• +/-:  T. Kivihalme (+11)
• PIMS: G. Wilson (43)

RECORD WHEN…

• The Marlies are 4-1-0-0 when tied after the first period and 9-0-0-0 when leading after the second period.
• Toronto is 7-2-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 3-0-1-0 in Sunday games and are 7-2-0-1 in November.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

• Pontus Aberg has points (1-2-3) in consecutive games.
• Kenny Agostino has points (2-2-4) in consecutive games.
• Adam Brooks has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
• Teemu Kivihalme has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
• Tanner MacMaster has points (2-4-6) in six consecutive games.

MARLIES UPDATES.

• Kevin Gravel (illness) did not dress for today’s game against Manitoba.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• November 18: Recalled forward Pierre Engvall from loan by Toronto (NHL).

POSTGAME QUOTES

ASSISTANT COACH A.J. MacLEAN

On whether he was happy with the team’s performance this weekend:
I was very happy. I thought with everything that went on this week I thought the guys, for the most part, were very focused, were dedicated to the plan. Tonight for moments I think Manitoba got to their game plan for a lot longer stretches than us. But when we stuck to our play and we were very opportunistic, it ended up working out well in the end.

On Joseph Woll:
Coming in I didn’t really know much about him. I knew he was a very good prospect for us but seeing him from day one at Leafs camp. He works incredible hard every day. His attitude is great. He smiles all the time. You literally have to drag him off the ice every day. He’s a true professional. I have no doubts in his game anytime he’s in the net.

NEXT GAME:

November 29 at Rochester – 7:05 p.m. ET
November 30 vs Utica – 1:30 p.m. ET (Scotiabank Arena)
December 1 vs Utica – 4:00 p.m. ET
December 4 at Rochester – 7:05 p.m. ET
December 7 vs San Antonio – 4:00 p.m. ET

The B

Braves sign Travis d’Arnaud to two-year, $16 million contract — HardballTalk

CANADA EARNS A HISTORIC FINAL BERTH AT DAVIS CUP
The Canadian squad overpowers Russia at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals

Madrid, November 23, 2019 – On Saturday, Canada qualified for the Davis Cup Final for the very first time in its history when the squad posted a 2-1 win over Russia at the outcome of a fight to the bitter end.

It came as no surprise when captain Frank Dancevic called upon Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) and Vasek Pospisil (Vernon, BC) to play the singles matches for the fourth time this week. Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev selected Karen Khachanov (17) and Andrey Rublev (23).

The tie was the first between Canada and Russia since 1969. The teams had previously met on only one occasion from which Russia emerged victorious.

Pospisil headed out first with a perfect 3-0 Davis Cup Finals record with his three wins over Top 40 players. But the World No.150 couldn’t keep the momentum going and fell in two identical sets (6-4, 6-4). He got off to a slow start, dropping the first eight points and losing his serve. The 29-year-old then tried hard to turn things around but, on his sixth try, Rublev secured the first set. The second set was a lot like the first, and Pospisil was broken again early on. He managed to level the playing field at 3-3, but was broken in the next game and never recovered.

Shapovalov had the pressure of an entire nation on his shoulders in his match against Khachanov. The World No.15 and World No.17 collided for the first time in their careers, and Khachanov’s strong start quickly led him to a 4-1 lead. But Shapovalov found his rhythm, got fired up and won five consecutive games to claim the first set. Khachanov stayed in it and forced a third set with a lone break at 5-4. The Canadian then broke Khachanov at 3-3. Serving for the match at 5-4, the Shapovalov clawed his way back from a 0-40 deficit and nabbed the point for his country.

For a second consecutive tie, Pospisil and Shapovalov teamed up to clinch the nation’s winning point. They fought until the very end—a dramatic third-set tiebreak—to confirm their supremacy over Khachanov and Rublev (3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)). Both teams demonstrated a tremendously high level of play, but Canada was able to come back from 3-0 and 4-1 in the tiebreaker and take its rightful place in the Davis Cup Finals for the very first time in its history. Canada had come up short in two previous semifinals, the last being in 2013 against Serbia.

The ultimate showdown gets underway at 10:45 a.m. EST on Sunday and will be televised on Sportsnet One. Canada will try to topple the winner of the other semifinal between Spain and Great Britain.  

With its semifinal appearance, Canada merited its place in the 2020 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals, which will also be presented in Madrid, and is therefore exempt from playing in the qualifying event next March.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Vasek Pospisil

“Today was an incredible match. The doubles, with the buildup, obviously; getting to this moment, the last five days took a lot of emotions, even to get to this match. It’s building, building, building in every match. It gets that much more emotional. It’s a huge success. To win that in the third set tiebreak made it that much more dramatic, that much more special. It’s pretty incredible to make the finals for the first time in history for Canada. And, to do it the way it happened, was very special to be a part of.”

“For me, I’ve been on the tour for 12 years now, and it’s an incredible moment to be a part of it. I was injured in the beginning of this year, had surgery, wasn’t sure how many moments like this I might have, but I got back at a really high level much faster than I expected, which was really nice. I worked really hard for that. Playing in the Davis Cup Final for Canada, it’s pretty incredible.”

Denis Shapovalov
“In terms of what we’ve been doing this week, there is really no word for it. I don’t think any of us expected that we could get this far. We knew we had a great team, but you need a bit of luck on your side and to play some ridiculous tennis—play at a ridiculous level—and we played at a ridiculous level today. I’m super stoked to be in the finals. It’s one of my dreams to play in a Davis Cup Final. To bring the country to this position, it’s just a dream come true.”

Frank Dancevic

“It’s been an amazing ride so far as a captain. It’s quite new to me. I’ve been doing this for two and a half years. To be in this position, this early in my captain career, has been amazing. It’s a great team to back it up. These guys are world-class players, and, this week, they’ve played lights out. I’m really happy with everything that’s going on. I wasn’t expecting it. I knew we had a great team, knew we had great players, but to play in a Davis Cup Final is a really big deal. It’s sort of surreal. We have a shot at the title. It’s great.”


About Davis Cup
Davis Cup by Rakuten is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 133 nations entered in 2019. The competition is 119 years old, having been founded in 1900. In 2019, the all-new Davis Cup by BNP Paribas finals will be hosted at the iconic La Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain. Twenty-four nations will contest the Qualifiers on 1-2 February, competing in 12 locations around the world on a home-and-away basis. The 12 winning teams will join the 2018 semifinalists plus two wild card teams in an 18-nation Davis Cup season finale.

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events and one professional ITF sanctioned event. Tennis Canada also owns and financially supports 13 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebookand Twitter.