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[Toronto Raptors]

What an NBA Cup would mean for the Toronto Raptors

Coming off three losses in a row from the Raptors, victory is not exactly at the forefront of the minds of the Toronto faithful. The NBA Cup knockout game against New York could look very different, especially if RJ Barrett makes a comeback. What if the boys in red take it all the way and win the Cup? Let’s take a look at what victory in the In-Season Tournament could mean for this Raptors team.

Change from past champions?​

For the two previous winners, the Lakers and the Bucks, the NBA Cup had not made a significant impact on conversations surrounding either team. Granted, it didn’t help that both franchises were taken out in the first round of the playoffs in their winning years, but the relevance of the NBA Cup must be understood in the context of its past wins not generating more than momentary hype.

While taking home the NBA Cup gets your team’s name in the news, the lack of any added advantage for the regular season or the postseason has been detrimental to making players and fans alike really care about the winners of the Cup. However, despite the playoff woes of both teams, the Lakers and Bucks were both laden with superstars when they won, something that the Toronto Raptors are decidedly not. Rather than a veteran roster, the Raptors are young and scrappy this season, with a half-decade since winning a round in the playoffs. This means that a small victory means much more relatively, and could serve as a rallying point for a young team chasing a first taste of postseason success.

All about the money​

With youth comes (relatively) small salaries, and the financial incentive of the Cup could mean a lot for some players newer to the league, and on smaller contracts. While the Raptors’ starters are all on eight-figure deals, the bulk of the bench players are making between 5 million and 2 million. With the NBA Cup rewarding its winners with upwards of half a million dollars, and runners-up with more than $200,000, the cushion of cash right before the holidays is a meaningful incentive for players to leave everything out there on the court. Someone like Jamison Battle, on the salary of just under two million dollars, would receive a roughly 25% Christmas bonus, no chump change for a player on a smaller deal.

Indeed, before winning the In-Season Tournament, LeBron James dedicated his play to the younger Lakers, knowing what a difference that kind of money makes for someone not on a massive contract. With the team chemistry as good as it is this year, Scottie and Brandon Ingram giving it their all for their teammates not getting paid as much is a narrative I can see arising as the Raptors make it closer and closer to a taste of real victory.

The future of the NBA Cup, and the role the Raptors play​

The NBA is a living, changing organism that does things like introduce a tournament for money after decades of no such thing existing. I believe that the NBA Cup, in its infancy, little more than a chance for some fast cash, could become a cornerstone of the NBA season if given some postseason or draft lottery weight. The potential for the Cup is limitless, and if the Raptors were to be one of its early winners, the bonus to the franchise’s legacy could mean a lot for the next generation of Toronto basketball fans.

With the Raptors’ top four in the East, and the first post-rebuild postseason appearance looking more and more likely, winning an NBA Cup could be a great highlight of the 2025-26 season for the Raptors: a benchmark from which to look back upon as an early moment of this roster’s growing legacy.

Tune into the Toronto Raptors’ first NBA Cup QF appearance Tuesday night at 8:30pm ET

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/general/4...barnes-brandon-ingram-lebron-james-lakers-win

 

[Toronto Raptors]

NBA Cup Matchup Should Reveal Everything About the Toronto Raptors

Something about the Toronto Raptors is broken. That much is clear ahead of their NBA Cup quarterfinal debut against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Sportsnet.

After winning 13 of 14 games, including a stretch of nine straight, the Raptors are currently in the middle of a maddening downward spiral. The schedulers haven’t been the nicest this holiday season, with the calendar steering the Raptors to play seven games in 11 days, but that doesn’t excuse the lapses on defence nor the tendency to play down to opponents.

But what’s splintered can be mended, and nothing could better cure the Raptors’ woes than a win against the Knicks in a pseudo-playoff environment.

Other than an opportunity to wipe the disappointment of the last two weeks with four clean quarters, here are three additional storylines to look out for in the historic matchup.

Cue the “White rabbit pointing at clock” meme​

This feels like an oversimplified type of assessment, but considering the scale of the matchup against the Knicks, the surrounding cast around Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram must show up – especially with RJ Barrett expected to miss additional time. Barnes has been electric this season and has secured his position as the team’s best player. And despite Ingram grappling with a cold slump that rivals Toronto’s most bitter winters, his presence still generates unreal levels of gravity.

With Jakob Poeltl clearly battling some kind of injury, Sandro Mamukelashvili needs to continue playing within himself. Immanuel Quickley must fight on defence as teams continue to hunt him in the half-court.

But the biggest spotlight remains on the trio of Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Ochai Agbaji. The latter had one of his best games of the season against the Boston Celtics but the Raptors are desperately searching for consistency to anchor them back to their previous winning ways. Dick and Walter’s poor play finally forced Raptors Head Coach Darko Rajakovic to deploy the Raptors 905 players A.J. Lawson and Alijah Martin.

The fun part about this specific matchup with the Knicks is that it’ll become a valuable data point in the evaluation process. Is the team one or two trades away from making a deep-ish run in the Eastern Conference? Or are the Raptors built on a flawed structure, where the removal of one Jenga-type piece will cause it to topple?

Deep Waters​

In their last outing with the Knicks – a 116-94 loss at Madison Square Garden – the Raptors conceded 45 three-point attempts. After allowing the Celtics to jack up 47 shots on Dec. 7, the Raptors now give up the ninth-most deep-ball attempts per game at 37.6. Before this current stretch of dropping five of their last seven matchups, the Raptors had managed to minimize their opponents’ efficiency from beyond the arc despite the barrage of attempts. But through a combination of their luck running out – teams hitting more open shots – and an unnecessary amount of help rotation, it seems the floodgates have opened.

The writing might already be on the wall and there’s potential disaster waiting for the Raptors when it comes to guarding the Knicks’ high-powered offence. New York ranks sixth in three-point attempts (41) and fifth in percentage (37.5).

OG Anunoby missed the last game against the Raptors in New York but he’s expected to be available against his former team in Toronto. He shot 5-of-7 from three in their win against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 7.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 22 points and eight rebounds against the Raptors but could miss this game with left calf tightness. With all of the Achilles injuries occurring throughout sports, the Knicks could play it safe by holding Anthony Towns out for a second straight game.

Miles McBride is out with an ankle sprain. McBride knocked down four triples on his way to finishing with 14 points against the Raptors.

It starts with Shead​

Jamal Shead is currently listed as doubtful with a quad contusion, but should the scrappy guard suit up, he’ll play an instrumental role in a potential Raptors victory. Shead is 3-for-19 from three dating back to the 118-111 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 29. Despite his recent struggles, something has fundamentally shifted, either schematically or from a mindset perspective, because Shead is averaging 11 shots per game in the last two contests.

The issue with Shead’s aggressiveness isn’t necessarily that he’s missing the open shots that opposing defences are daring him to shoot. It’s the shots he’s taking halfway through the shot clock or from an unrealistic distance behind the three-point line. Shead needs to get back to farming assists, knocking down the occasional jumper and using his effective floater.

There’s also a growing concern about the fact that the team’s best lineup has defensive issues. The double point guard combination, which also features Quickley, manifests advantages on offence, but creates as many drawbacks on defence. Raptors fans have seen it in old-school duos like T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. Or Calderon and Kyle Lowry. The duo of Lowry and Fred Van Vleet were able to offset it with enough defensive grit and a super-powered offence.

Shead’s responsibility will be serving as the connective tissue between the times Barnes and Ingram are on the court together. He’s trusted to defend the extremely slim margins for the Raptors, and he can do so by winning key battles throughout the game.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-g...d-reveal-everything-about-the-toronto-raptors

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Davis to Toronto? What does is mean to trade for the big man?

Things were supposed to be different for Anthony Davis. The number one pick out of Kentucky made his way out of the muck and mire of New Orleans to the glitz and glamour of the Los Angeles Lakers, won a championship alongside LeBron James, and seemed fixed for his legacy to be cemented on the West Coast. Now, stuck in the purgatory of the injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks, it seems that the Mavs’ front office is mulling over whether to let Davis go to exchange for more pieces to support rookie Cooper Flagg. With Shams Charania reporting that the Raptors are amongst the potential suitors for AD, let’s take a look at what a potential trade package for the Maverick would look like.

New Inside Pass:

Giannis and the Bucks
Anthony Davis suitors
Mavericks, Warriors, Clippers latest

and much more on ESPN: https://t.co/HXLK4TxpZE

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 9, 2025

5 for 5​

As an asset, AD brings with him not only his otherworldly basketball capabilities, but a great deal of baggage in terms of his injury history and availability. Davis’ health struggles have been widely publicized, and he has already missed a number of games this season, after playing only 51 games in the 2024-25 season. As such, the ten time all-star’s value is a contentious topic that the Raptors would likely be able to leverage for a good deal.

A trade package centred around Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett, and picks, is the most likely offer that Toronto puts out for AD. In exchange for an injured, aging star, Dallas would receive a serviceable centre in Poeltl to shore up their roster. With centres Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II both out, having more backcourt depth in a slightly younger package would benefit the Mavericks.

With Kyrie Irving out and Davis having dialled back his offensive output, getting a temporary scoring punch would be of great benefit to the Mavs as well, which is why the production of RJ Barrett would hold some significant weight in trade talks. Not one player for the Mavericks has cracked 20 points per game this season, and exchanging some of Davis’ defence for Barrett’s offence would be worthy of consideration for both parties involved. At 25, Barrett is young enough to fit better with the developmental timeline of Cooper Flagg, but has enough experience that he could remain a valuable mentor for the rookie.

Davis’ reputation has enough weight that despite his risks and regression of late, the Mavericks would likely be able to demand some draft capital on top of players, likely in the form of two first round picks from the Raps. Considering that Toronto looks like a contender now, those picks might be a small price to pay in exchange for a veteran centre who could prove to be the true upgrade at the five that pushes Toronto over the hump. Shams has noted that Davis’ other Texas teammates might be on the trading block as well, so Davis might be paired with Klay Thompson in a package to make the Mavericks younger, more befitting of a place for Flagg to play his first NBA seasons.

The uncertainty that comes with Davis is a risk that seems even more pronounced now, and giving up one of our most reliable and important offensive pieces seems risky when we don’t know what our current roster looks like in the playoffs. That said, adding a veteran presence with real two-way capabilities could be the very thing the Raptors needs to take the next step for contention. My take? Too early to make this kind of trade: let this season play itself out. Even if Davis returns to his all-star form, the risk is too high, especially considering how well our current roster is playing. One misstep could send the franchise back into a pseudo-rebuild, the very state that the Mavericks find themselves in now.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-rumors/48838/anthony-davis-toronto-raptors-trade-shams

 

[Toronto Raptors]

Toronto Raptors’ woes continue as they lose NBA Cup QF to Knicks — but don’t panic yet

It’s been the closest thing we’ve had to playoff basketball in Toronto for a little while, as the Toronto Raptors played in their very first NBA Cup knockout game Tuesday night against the Knicks. Winner moves on to play the Orlando Magic in Las Vegas next weekend, losers head to Miami for a regular schmegular game next week. This game also counts as a regular-season game against the Raptors ’ record.

The Raptors came into this one as underdogs. As much as they killed the NBA Cup group stage, winning every game and being the first team to clinch a spot in this round, it’s been weeks since those games. Now, RJ Barrett is out with a knee injury (that seems to be healing well, but he’s still not back on the court), and Immanuel Quickley was out with an illness.

The energy going in was interesting to say the least. It’s hard, being down two very key players in a game with high stakes. Plus, after being questionable, Karl Anthony Towns turned out to be available for the game, another tough reality for the Raptors. You’d hope they’d pull something together of course, but it seemed very David vs Goliath from the start.

Brandon Ingram took on the burden of those absences and came out of the gate to have a massive first quarter. He scored 17 points in the first frame alone, making 6 of his 7 field goal attempts and bringing the Raptors to a 39-35 lead. Talk about respecting the Cup. It didn’t end up being enough to hold off Jalen Brunson though, who scored 20 of his own points in the first quarter, shooting 7-9 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range.

Anyway, things went south from there. The Knicks spent the second quarter icing out the Raptors on the offensive end, and Karl Anthony Towns went to work on both ends.

The offense has dried up for the Raptors in a big way. They have 11 points in the second quarter.

Knicks lead now up to 15.

— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) December 10, 2025

At halftime, the Knicks led 69-52 over the Raptors.

As the season goes on, the Raptors’ woes are becoming more and more evident. Maybe one of the biggest is the need for another big man. It’s funny how it doesn’t seem like too long ago that the team didn’t have a true centre at all, and that’s why Poeltl was brought in. Yet, it’s becoming clearer with every game that Poeltl’s back is bothering him, and even with him playing on the court, the Raptors don’t have a clear backup big.

Of course, there is Mamukelashvili and Collin Murray-Boyles, but both play that big-4, small-5 stretch big kinda position, which is good, but doesn’t replace what Poeltl brings to the team when he is at his best. Poeltl’s physicality, length, and rim protection are helped along with his size, and he has a few inches on both of his back-ups.

That’s when Poeltl is healthy, too. Which he clearly isn’t at the moment. His problem is described as back tightness, and it seems like something that is either taking a long time to heal or is something he just can’t shake at all. Regardless, you can see he is having a hard time moving out there, which is hard when you’re trying to match up with the size, speed, and skill of someone like KAT.

As trade deadline season begins to open up on Dec 15 — that’s the date a lot of the trade holds on certain contracts are lifted — the Raptors’ need for a big man seems to be the theme of their trade talks. They have already been named in some rumours associated with Anthony Davis, who seems to want out of Dallas, but it’ll be interesting to see what routes the team pursues.

So far this NBA season, the Toronto Raptors have been living in two extremes: The extreme GOOD of the winning streak and that stretch, and the extreme BAD of the past week and a half. Neither extreme truly represents what this team really is. They aren’t a top-seed in the East, sure, but they also aren’t a lottery team. At least, they shouldn’t be. They have enough talent not to be.

Three things need to happen for the Toronto Raptors right now. The first is that they need to take some days off, which thankfully are coming now. They’ll have a good stretch now to reset before having to return to action, at least a few days off in a row. Which is more than they have had for weeks. The next thing they need to do is get this team back to a level of health that is sustainable — get RJ Barrett and Quickley back into the lineup, and assess how bad Poeltl’s back is. What is the baseline of this team? We don’t know that right now.

That’s the third factor — figure out the authentic ceiling of this team, and address the weaknesses. Shop around for a big at the deadline. The reality is, this isn’t a team that needs to tank; they need to adjust. They need to figure out their true identity. Which is hard to do when you’re injured and playing such a condensed schedule.

When you think about it, their successes this season have already been a huge improvement from last year. This team was barely a .500-level team a year ago, and even making the NBA Cup knockout round is an improvement. Anything above being the 12-seed is an improvement. That’s not what people want to hear, but it’s true.

Things never turned around for the Toronto Raptors in their debut NBA Cup knockout game. The Knicks ended up dominating the game after the first quarter, Brunson finishing with 35 points on the night. The final score was 117-101. Brandon Ingram had his own 31 points, a silver lining for the Raptors, shooting 11-18 from the field.

The Raptors now have 5 nights off before they play their make-up game against Miami, in Miami, on Monday. The team says they will not practice for two days now before getting back into the gym, for rest. They also only play 2 games in the next 10 days, a contrast to their condensed schedule over the past two weeks where they played 7 games in 11 days.

Source: https://www.raptorshq.com/raptors-s...ptors-new-york-knicks-nba-cup-tournament-game