The Valanciunas Era in Toronto began on Wednesday night with a close pre-season loss to the Pistons in Detroit.
Here are some thoughts and observations:
Archive for the ‘Detroit Pistons’ Category
It’s Happening: Valanciunas Expected To Play Against Pistons
Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Detroit Pistons, Jonas Valanciunas on Oct 09, 2012
I won’t waste too much of your time since after reading this you’re probably going to want to go out and celebrate, but as you might have already heard, Jonas Valanciunas is expected to make his Raptors debut Wednesday night against the Pistons (assuming there aren’t any setbacks) after returning to full practice on Tuesday.
I figured we were getting close after Valanciunas was taking part in the layup line and throwing down some dunks before Monday’s pre-season opener and during halftime. If he makes it through the game in Detroit and the next couple of days without any setbacks, that would set up a home debut against the Pistons on Friday night.
Lastly, I know pre-season results mean nothing, especially for a couple of young big men who still haven’t played a regular season NBA game between them, but I would absolutely love to see Jonas go to work against Andre Drummond.
Until then, the premature celebration is on.
UPDATE: With no setbacks in the news, it now appears all but certain that Valanciunas will make his debut tonight in Detroit. Given that the Raptors don’t want to rush JV into anything with the regular season still three weeks away and that the big man hasn’t done much in the last few weeks, he’ll probably only play about 10-12 minutes tonight, though.
Raptors Release Pre-Season Schedule
Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Pre-season, Washington Wizards on Aug 17, 2012
It’s not as exciting as the announcement of the regular season schedule, and it’s not as interesting to discuss and debate as ESPN’s “Future Ranking” of the franchise, but in case you missed it, I thought I’d pass along the news that the Raptors’ pre-season schedule was released on Thursday.
Game Thread: Raptors @ Pistons
Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Detroit Pistons, Game thread, Tank Nation on Apr 22, 2012
Start time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Channel: Sportsnet One
Probable starting lineups
Toronto: Ben Uzoh, DeMar DeRozan, Alan Anderson, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray
Detroit: Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiell
Injury Report
Toronto: Jose Calderon and Linas Kleiza are questionable, Andrea Bargnani and Jerryd Bayless are done for the season.
Detroit: No injuries to report.
In case you haven’t heard, this seemingly meaningless game is actually kind of a big deal…in the Tank Nation standings.
With teams like the Warriors, Cavaliers, etc. tanking like nobody’s business, and Dwane Casey keeping the Raptors respectable over the last month or so, the Raps now sit tied with Golden State for the seventh and eighth worst records in the league at 22-41. The Pistons, meanwhile, are just one game ahead of Toronto in the standings, so a Raptors win today would actually move the Raps up (or down, depending on how you think of it) into a tie for the NBA’s eighth and ninth worst records.
While we’ve seen time and time again that any team in the bottom eight or so has a chance on lottery night, we’re also aware of the percentages, and the fact that finishing that “high” brings the chance of falling out of the top-10 in the draft, which would be devastating for a rebuilding team like the Raptors.
I’m not saying to expect a game between two organizations that are trying to lose, but I’m not exactly giving this game a ringing endorsement either.
While the Raptors are banged up and come into this game at 10-21 on the road, the Pistons appear to be healthy and surprisingly, have a winning record at home (16-15), so Detroit can probably help Toronto’s lottery chances tonight.
On a sidenote, it may have been a tough season for us Raptors fans, but I’d be a hell of a lot more depressed if I was a Pistons fan right now. The Pistons have some nice young pieces in Brandon Knight, Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko, but they need a ton of extra talent and youth if they are going to build this thing the right way, and as it stands, the organization seems confused as to how to go about those building plans.
Detroit already has about $50 million committed for next season, with $40 million tied to veterans like Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva and Jason Maxiell. I’m assuming they’ll use the amnesty clause to get out from one of their bad contracts, but this has “mess” written all over it unless the Pistons get some lottery luck or can hit a home run on Draft night.
Just so you know, Scott and I aren’t available to post our thoughts on this game, but we’ll be back with a thread and recap for Monday’s game in Milwaukee.
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Lastly, if you need any more indication that this game is basically a Tank-fest, I just read on twitter that MC Hammer will be performing at halftime in Detroit.
P.S. - Jonas Valanciunas’ Lietuvos Rytas team won a big game yesterday to advance to the VTB United League (think of it like a basketball champions league for teams in Northeastern Europe) semifinals. Valanciunas posted 20 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) to go along with nine rebounds, two assists and a couple of blocks (plus three fouls) in about 27 minutes of action.
Game Thread: Raptors vs. Pistons
Posted by Scott Carefoot under Detroit Pistons, Game thread on Mar 10, 2012
Start time: 7:30 PM ET
Channel: TSN2
Probable starting lineups
Toronto: Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, James Johnson, Amir Johnson, Aaron Gray
Detroit: Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiell, Greg Monroe
Injury report
Toronto: Andrea Bargnani is out for tonight, while James Johnson is expected to play.
Detroit: No injuries reported.
It’s the rivalry of all rivalries! Which of these teams will finish with the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference? Who wants that top-five draft pick the most? This will be the 21st straight game Andrea Bargnani will sit out with what seems to be a severe charley horse, while the Pistons have a conspicuously empty injured list. It appears the Raptors want it more.
These teams met previously on Feb. 22 and the Raptors won 103-93 as six of their players scored in double figures. The Pistons have actually won three out of five games since then, including back to back wins over the Lakers and Hawks. OK, those wins were by a combined four points, but still!
Detroit’s best player is 21-year-old center Greg Monroe, and while I can’t blame Pistons fans for feeling disrespected that he doesn’t get more attention, I can’t get excited about a center who averages just 0.6 blocks on 32 minutes per game. He’s obviously a very offensively skilled big man who is also a pretty good rebounder, but I need my seven-footers to protect the rim. I’ll primarily be watching this game to figure out if I’ve misevaluated him.
Would you be completely surprised if whoever wins the Republican nomination for President this year runs on a platform based on blowing up the moon?
Edit: Turns out Bargnani is not only playing tonight, but he’s starting. Turns out Twitter isn’t the most reliable source, after all.
