#precious-achiuwa

#precious-achiuwa

Early Monday afternoon, Fred VanVleet announced he would be declining his $22.8 million player option for next season.Heading into the open market, the former All-Star point guard is looking for a pay raise while hoping to test the waters of free agency.The Toronto Raptors now have a serious dilemma on their hands.

The Toronto Raptors faced the Detroit Pistons for the third time tonight at Scotiabank Arena.These two teams have developed quite the game atmosphere, with the usually lottery-bound Pistons always seeming to give the Raptors a run for their money.Tonight gave the opportunity for the Pistons to do that again, with several of the Raptors starters and role players out with injury.

After a brutal Friday night loss against Utah, Toronto will look to right the ship against Detroit.This is a team that has given the Raptors a lot of trouble ever since their acquisition of former Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, but Toronto got a win in their last meeting with a tight 115-111 victory at Detroit on November 14.
Raptors scope (26-31, 11th in East | Offensive rating: 11th | Defensive rating: 17th) Last five games: vs Jazz 122 - 116 L, vs Spurs 112 - 98 W, @ Grizzlies 106 - 103 W, @ Rockets 117 - 111 W, @ Jazz 131 - 128 L
Toronto's dreams of a perfect homestand came to a quick end on Friday night as the Jazz stole the game away from the Raptors late in the game, but an opportunity to get right back on track arises against a struggling side.

Following the success of his second NBA season, and first as a Toronto Raptor, Precious Achiuwa seemed poised for a breakout 2022-23 season.But instead of a Most Improved Player candidacy we got a roller coaster, which in some ways was a microcosm of the Raptors' season - the sum of the season, to put it bluntly, fell short of our ambitious hopes.

The trade deadline was not without its fireworks and Toronto made sure to get involved with the league's annual fire sale.They reunited with center Jakob Poetl in an effort to bolster the center position yet, they will most likely be without the new acquisition as the deal has yet to be made official and they will have to try to take down Utah tonight.

The Toronto Raptors' relative inactivity at the trade deadline has set them up for what promises to be a very busy offseason.Players like OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher could be on the move if the team believes they can get a haul of assets for them in a hypothetical trade.Boucher may not have the star power that a player like Anunoby possesses, but he earned himself an eight-figure, three-year contract in the 2022 offseason after putting together consecutive strong seasons as one of the first men off the Raptors' bench.

Looking back at the history of the Miami Heat, there are several players that perhaps were given up on too soon.Many people may not know this but the Miami Heat is actually one of the younger franchises in the league.Founded in 1988, the Heat is only roughly 35 years old.Despite that, and interestingly, the Heat is also one of the most storied and accomplished franchises in such a short time.

After last night's game the Toronto Raptors have moved to a record of 37-38 which has them tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the 8th seed.The Hawks own the tiebreaker over Toronto but winning the game last night has put them in great position to make a run for the 8th seed and only have to win one play-in game to qualify for the playoffs.

There's a scene in the 1997 movie Armageddon - one of the worst movies ever made, but maybe also the single best bad movie ever made? - where, as our heroes prepare to launch into space so they can go drill a hole in an asteroid, the NASA flight director says to all those assembled, "All right ladies and gentlemen, it's pucker time."

The Raptors have a huge game coming up tonight as they can further separate themselves from the Washington Wizards who are also eyeing a Play-In spot.It's the tie-breaking game for the series this season as they previously traded wins three weeks ago.Wizards scope (33-41, 11th in East | Offensive rating: 16th | Defensive rating: 21st) Last five games: vs Spurs 136-124 W, vs Nuggets 104-118 L, @ Magic 112-122 L, vs Kings 118-132 L, @ Cavaliers 94- 117 L.
Just a few weeks ago the Wizards and Raptors were fighting each other for a Play-In spot and now Washington has fallen off quite hard.

When: Sunday, March 26 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington, League Pass
WIZARDS - Kyle Kuzma, OUT (ankle); Bradley Beal, OUT (knee)
RAPTORS - Scottie Barnes, QUESTIONABLE (wrist); Precious Achiuwa, QUESTIONABLE (hamstring); Gary Trent Jr., QUESTIONABLE (elbow); Otto Porter Jr., OUT (foot)
The Washington Wizards make their one and only trip to Toronto on Sunday to take on the Raptors.

The Toronto Raptors will face off against the Washington Wizards for the second game in a row and they will look to bounce back and grab the crucial win.Last game we saw an unfathomable discrepancy between the bench unit and the starting unit and in order to win this game Toronto's bench simply has to play better.

The Toronto Raptors are trying everything in their power to make it to the postseason despite their injury troubles, lackluster bench, and issues with consistency making it very tough for Nick Nurse and the rest of the squad to sustain any sort of positive winning streak.The Raptors' depth has been the biggest bugaboo for this team, as a starting lineup that has been excellent following the addition of Jakob Poeltl has been consistently let down by a bench that will often fail to even crack 20 points in a game despite Gary Trent Jr. supplying double-digit scoring efforts every single night.

The Toronto Raptors have a lot of question marks as they head into their Friday Night game against the Detroit Pistons.Questions about the availability of a lot of players, and questions about their standing in the Eastern Conference.Toronto will have to play without several of their top players, including Scottie Barnes with a wrist injury, Gary Trent Jr. with an elbow injury, and Precious Achiuwa with a hamstring injury.

Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors had to feel pretty good after a 3-1 stretch in which they took down some very promising teams, but their home loss against an Indiana Pacers team that was playing without Tyrese Haliburton snapped them right back to reality.Not only did it show how lost this team can be without Gary Trent Jr. in the lineup, but it continued a puzzling trend of this team just not showing up when needed to.

After a crushing loss to the Indiana Pacers last game, hopefully it was the final wake up call that Toronto needs in order to truly lock in for this final stretch of games.The Detroit Pistons who are notorious for giving Toronto trouble in the past are coming to Scotiabank tonight and Toronto simply can't afford to drop games like this, this late in the season.

Starting on the Raptors side of things, this game was another blown opportunity.Opinions have been split all season on whether Toronto should be gunning for a playoff spot in the first place.However that quest would be significantly easier if the Raptors catch the Hawks, resulting in one play-in win to make the postseason instead of two.

The Indiana Pacers are visiting the Toronto Raptors tonight in an eastern conference matchup that holds serious implications for Toronto, like all of the remaining games will.Toronto needs this game to keep trying to rise in the standings and Indiana may be without their best player in Tyrese Haliburton tonight so that makes things a bit easier for Toronto.

Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a Neo-Impressionist masterpiece, a subtle story of modernity and degeneracy, urban and rural divide, and pet monkeys.It is also a pointillist painting, made up by uniform dots (anywhere from 200,000 to millions, depending on where you look) that each contribute to the story.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are stomping into Scotiabank arena tonight to face off against the Toronto Raptors for the second time this season and this time there is plenty at stake for both of these teams.OKC sits at a record of 34-35 and are currently the 9th seed so they are looking to get every win they can so they can rise up in the standings and the same can be said for Toronto who sits at a record of 33-36 and is also the 9th seed currently.

While the Toronto Raptors didn't make as bombastic a trade as shipping Kevin Durant over to the Phoenix Suns, they did manage to make a noteworthy move by acquiring Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Khem Birch, a protected first-round pick, and two second-round picks.San Antonio, who is right in the middle of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, clearly has no interest in retaining Poeltl long-term as they try to get younger and cheaper.

As the Toronto Raptors fans collectively freak out that they aren't sitting on two huge trade packages worth of picks, let's all take a second and appreciate that Masai Ujiri just plugged the roster's biggest hole.The lack of a rebounder and rim protector left a team that was advertised as a versatile defensive nightmare as more of the same over and over and over again.

Yikes.Despite the vote of confidence by Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, the Toronto Raptors rewarded him by showing how bad they can be defensively, especially in the fourth, choking a 14-point lead and surrendering to Utah Jazz, 116-122.The Raptors showed excellent ball movement to start the game and played better defense, especially once Jakob Poeltl was inserted into the game.

IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT SPORTS EVENT OF THE DAY!
Okay, that joke got old very fast - BUT the Raptors did manage to pull out their second win of the season against the Detroit Pistons.I'll go through it quickly, so you can get back to Rihanna watching and chicken wing eating.It was an interesting lineup to start, with OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. both out with injury, and Nick Nurse missing the game due to personal reasons.

First and foremost... Happy Valentines day
The Toronto Raptors will look to head into the all-star break on a win against the Orlando Magic at home.Pascal Siakam (all-star) and Scottie Barnes (rising star) will be heading to Utah during the break.On a Sunday afternoon game, the Raptors narrowly won against the Detroit Pistons.

The Toronto Raptors have one last game before the All-Star break, and they'll welcome the Orlando Magic to Scotiabank Arena.The Raptors (27-31) lost back to back games against the Magic (23-34) a few months ago.Now with the trade deadline passed, The Magic look different.The Raptors look a little different, but it's more the injuries impacting the lineup at this point.

The Toronto Raptors used a solid defensive effort in the second half to down the Orlando Magic 123-113 Tuesday night - and 30 points from new/old Raptor Jakob Poeltl were the icing on top.It didn't look like we'd be saying anything positive about the Raptors' defense following an atrocious second quarter - the Raptors gave up 43 points to the Magic, letting them shoot 70% in the frame and getting roasted on backcut after backcut.

Click here for player grades from this game.To nobody's surprise, a Dwane Casey game turned from "should be okay" to "this is uncomfortable" but Toronto came on on top vs Detroit at home for the first time since October 2019.As a result, the Raptors flip back on top of the Bulls via percentage points for the final play-in spot that the fanbase is still very split on.

The Toronto Raptors have had one of the most immutable starting lineups in basketball over the last few years.All-Star Pascal Siakam and second-year standout Scottie Barnes would make up the frontcourt, OG Anunoby would hang out in the corner, and the Fred VanVleet/Gary Trent Jr. duo would comprise the backcourt.

The Toronto Raptors are in the midst of a close game against the Utah Jazz to start the month of February.The Jazz dunk to stretch their lead to three as the game is about to enter clutch time.How do the Raptors counter?Fred VanVleet meanders the ball up the court and takes a screen, which the Jazz switch.

For much of this underwhelming 2022-23 season, the third quarter has spelled doom for the Toronto Raptors.But the team, with its fresh-look, balanced lineup, flipped the script tonight, outscoring the New Orleans Pelicans 38-32 in the third to take the control of a game they'd eventually win 110-115.

After a thrilling win over the Pelicans, the Toronto Raptors are back on the court this afternoon to take on the Detroit Pistons.It's a busy day of sports in Motown - with the Red Wings playing tonight, the Pistons are playing frighteningly early.So here we are, warming up brunch for a Raptors game with a noon start.

Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors came into their Saturday matinee against the Detroit Pistons riding a stretch in which they had won six of their last seven games and were a choke at home away from a season-long seven-game winning streak.Even without Fred VanVleet in the lineup, the team had rolled along to some quality victories.

It was a game befitting its start time - filled with ugly shooting, missed free throws and loose balls; at this point in the season, though, a win is very much a win for the Toronto Raptors.Facing the Detroit Pistons and a noon start time, the Raptors came away victorious on Saturday, 95-91.The win is their fourth straight and seventh in their last eight games.

The Toronto Raptors have a chance to get back to .500 for the first time since December 9, as the recent acquisition of Jakob Poeltl has given their defense the shot in the arm that they needed so desperately.However, the full body of work on the season has been less than impressive.The Raptors decided to run back essentially the same team from last season, but their continuity has not always translated to victories.

First of all, the travelling Raptors fans flooding Little Caesars Arena were loud and made their presence known once again.At one point a Detroit "defence" chant was simply drowned out by "Let's Go Raptors" during the fourth.Pascal Siakam had a shoutout afterwards.This was the Raptors first noon game (Eastern time) since Christmas Day 2019.

Nick Nurse will forever be remembered as the man who brought a championship to the Toronto Raptors for the first time, and his work in seasons since that victory has established him as one of the very best coaches in the league.The 2022-23 season, however, has been nothing short of a nightmare for him.

Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors may be the most disappointing team in the Eastern Conference this season.Fresh off winning 48 games in a season where everyone thought they were going to rebuild, Toronto ran it back with largely the same core (and Otto Porter Jr) as they tried to claw their way through a tough Eastern Conference.

The Toronto Raptors are adding free agent guard Will Barton to their roster as soon as he completes his contract buyout with the Washington Wizards, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.ESPN Sources: Free agent G Will Barton is signing with the Toronto Raptors.After completing buyout with Wizards, Barton will join Toronto and be eligible for a playoff roster.

Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors entered a pivotal two-game series against the Washington Wizards knowing that the team would need to flex their proverbial muscles to show that they can be a serious postseason squad that foes will have to take seriously.They didn't exactly get off to the best start on Thursday.

The Toronto Raptors are going to be faced with a very daunting West Coast swing.On top of the fact that the 32-33 team will have to take on both LA teams in their building, they will face off against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets twice in four games.The Raptors could go into eighth place in the conference, which would allow them the benefit of losing one of the play-in games and still staying alive, if they end up performing well on this trip.

6 minutes and 17 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Scottie Barnes just had his missed layup put back with an emphatic slam by Chris Boucher and the Raptors lead has extended to 13.After some free throws from Kelly Olynyk, Pascal comes down and sinks a mid range jumper to push the lead back to 13, after a layup by Walker Kessler Pascal comes down yet again and cashes a mid range jumper for his 35th point of the night, it feels like it's going to be a strong closing performance from Pascal as he just won't let the Jazz back in.

The return of Jakob Poeltl was not enough to help Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors keep their win streak alive against the Utah Jazz.A terrific night from All-Star nominee Pascal Siakam was utterly wasted thanks to more poor performances in the fourth quarter.Despite leading the game by 13 points with five minutes left at home, Toronto finished the game on the wrong end of a 24-5 run that knocked them down to a miserable 26-31 on the season.

The Toronto Raptors were supposed to be the most important seller at the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, as names like Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby were discussed as potential trade chips.However, Toronto made their first move of the deadline as a buyer, acquiring Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs.Anunoby and VanVleet had been connected to all sorts of teams in the last few days, as Western contenders like the Pelicans and Grizzlies were trying to pry OG away from Toronto.

The Toronto Raptors are fighting as hard as they can to make sure that they can stay alive in the Eastern Conference.Despite going into their matchup against the Golden State Warriors relatively healthy, the latest OG Anunoby injury update sandblasted all of their positive vibes away.Anunoby was fouled hard while going up for a shot in the second quarter, landing awkwardly on his arm and writing around on the ground in pain.

The dreaded seven game road trip everyone was waiting for has arrived.Raptors fans will not see their team at Scotiabank Arena again until February 8th, two weeks from now.It's anybody's guess what the roster will look like by then.In the meantime, Toronto will face quite a few exciting teams on the West Coast.

Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors had every reason to be thoroughly beaten down and discouraged before their road matchup against Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings.Not only have they been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season, but trade rumors are swirling around this team.

Host Samson Folk details the Raptors win over the Kings.QR comment: Arshdeep Singh
Reggie Evans Award: Precious Achiuwa
Make sure to check all our Raptors podcasts; all Raptors Reaction episodes are available separately as well.

Fred VanVleet and his Toronto Raptors saw most of the air leak out of their proverbial balloon over the last week, as they managed to lose three straight games against the Bucks, Timberwolves, and Celtics despite all three of those opponents missing most of their most impactful players.The New York Knicks aren't exactly playing tremendous basketball right now, and that is part of the reason that VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. started off the first half of their Sunday clash in such a dominant fashion.

The Minnesota Timberwolves caught a flight late Wednesday night, after an overtime loss at high altitude against the Denver Nuggets.They lost an hour of sleep because of the time change.Both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns were out due to injuries.They had every excuse in the book to lose this game, and the Raptors had none.