Goran Dragic getting swept is awesome news for Raptors fans

The Toronto Raptors spent most of the first half of the year being held hostage by Goran Dragic. A veteran who clearly did not want to be in Toronto after being included in the Kyle Lowry trade, Dragic soured relations immediately after arriving by saying he had “higher ambitions” than playing for the Raptors. Dragic […]
Goran Dragic getting swept is awesome news for Raptors fans – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Nick Nurse, Joel Embiid have heated exchange after Raptors loss

The Toronto Raptors have spent the last two spurts of game time getting absolutely pummeled into submission by Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. The first two games of their series have seen Toronto get beat by a combined 35 points, as their much-vaunted defense has eroded. The performance of Embiid might be the biggest […]
Nick Nurse, Joel Embiid have heated exchange after Raptors loss – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

have last Raptors spent spurts Toronto

Travis Dermott knows his time with the Maple Leafs is nearing an end

NASHVILLE – Travis Dermott has spent the last five years living out his childhood dream of playing for his favourite team.
Even though it’s becoming evident that he could be waking up from that dream to a new reality at any moment, Dermott couldn’t help but feel lucky that everything perfectly aligned for him to get to this point.
“I keep pinching myself even to this day. Like, there’s no way? Like, I’m still dreaming from Draft Day, right? They didn’t actually call my name,” Dermott said as he reminisced about his tenure. “This was just a five-year-long dream. But yeah, you try to take it for all it is and really appreciate it.”
Dermott returned to the Maple Leafs’ lineup on Saturday after he sat out as a healthy scratch for the past nine days. Bouncing in and out of games had been commonplace for the 25-year-old. When the Leafs had seven fully healthy defenceman this season, Dermott was part of a regular rotation that included Timothy Liljegren, Justin Holl, and sometimes Rasmus Sandin as players who sat out.
But things appeared to take a turn over the course of the last month.
Veteran defenceman Jake Muzzin …

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Author: David Alter / The Leafs Nation

Dermott Five last NASHVILLE spent Travis

Raptors draft: Mark Williams and Toronto are a perfect match

The Toronto Raptors have spent the last two NBA Draft cycles using their premium draft capital on guards like Malachi Flynn and wings like Scottie Barnes. The management team has largely ignored the state of the team’s frontcourt. Bobby Webster and Masai Ujiri could rectify that by drafting Duke big man Mark Williams in 2022. […]
Raptors draft: Mark Williams and Toronto are a perfect match – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Jason Mills / Raptors HQ

draft have last Raptors spent Toronto

Raptors mock draft: Toronto takes supremely athletic point guard

The Toronto Raptors spent nearly a week off due to COVID-19 outbreaks both internally and externally, and that pause gave the Raptors mock draft experts plenty of time to cook up additions for a potential lottery team lacking in both frontcourt and backcourt depth. The Raptors appeared to do a very good job of finding […]
Raptors mock draft: Toronto takes supremely athletic point guard – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

COVID19 nearly Raptors spent Toronto Week

Chanukah gifts and wishes for Toronto Raptors fans this holiday season

For us in the Jewish community, the last week was spent celebrating Chanukah, the eight-night festival of lights. There’s plenty to be thankful for this holiday season, even amid some iffy performances from the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are still trying to wiggle their way into the play-in tournament this season amid a series of […]
Chanukah gifts and wishes for Toronto Raptors fans this holiday season – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Aaron Gluck / Raptors HQ

celebrating community Jewish last spent Week

The Leafs will have to sort out the salary cap as players return from their injuries

I spent Tuesday afternoon trying to crunch the numbers on the Leafs. They didn’t really seem to add up, so I tried to crunch them again. Every time I looked at the Leafs cap situation I could feel my head start throbbing more and more, thinking it didn’t make a lick of sense, but I was determined to figure out how Mrazek and Mikheyev return, while the Leafs cut back their lineup, but also have to deal with injuries to Sandin, Marner, Dermott, and the suspension to Spezza. I gave up anyway.
Luckily, our favourite TLN capologist, Earl Schwartz sent out some tweets later this evening that made me feel less stupid, because I was write that the numbers didn’t work, but he also made provides a timeline and outline for how to make things work for the Leafs…

Here’s the timeline for the Leafs:
Dec 11, last day for Mrazek to return from LTIR conditioning loan.
Dec 19, Spezza returns from suspension and roster freeze starts.
Dermott/Sandin back around Dec 23, earliest Marner can return if placed on LTIR retroactively is Dec 29. https://t.co/SorA0IuAj6
— Earl Schwartz (@EarlSchwartz27) December 8, 2021

Qualifiers: technically Mrazek could remain on LTIR …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

afternoon crunch numbers spent trying Tuesday

Did losing to Montreal wake up Toronto like getting swept woke up Tampa?

A couple years spent falling short of expectations, an embarrassing first round loss, an abysmal start to the new season, and then suddenly becoming the NHL’s hottest team. It’s a sequence of events both the 2021/2022 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2019/2020 Tampa Bay Lightning took that got fans excited that this year may be different. For Tampa Bay, that sequence ended with the Lightning winning their second ever Stanley Cup, and then repeating as champions the following season. For Toronto, the end result is still waiting to be seen.
It’s hard not to notice the parallels between the path that these two teams took after one of the most embarrassing first round exits in franchise history. Much like how Toronto entered last season’s matchup against Montreal as heavy favourites, Tampa Bay was expected to walk all over Columbus during the 2019 playoffs. Instead, the Lightning were not only swept by the lowly eight seed but were absolutely dominated in the process, getting outscored 19-8.
The next season, the question on everyone’s mind was how Tampa Bay would redeem themselves after a monumental choke that was only made worse by one of the most mocked social media posts …

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Author: Filipe Dimas / The Leafs Nation

couple expectations falling short spent year’s

What will the Toronto Raptors do with their unused roster spot?

The Toronto Raptors spent a good portion of the preseason figuring out how to fill out the back end of the roster, ultimately choosing to waive players like Ishamil Wainright and Freddie Gillespie to get to 15 players. While Sam Dekker, Yuta Watanabe, and Isaac Bonga made the final roster, they haven’t provided a ton […]
What will the Toronto Raptors do with their unused roster spot? – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

good portion preseason Raptors spent Toronto

Raptors: Sam Dekker’s goodbye to fans after being waived is touching

Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors spent a good chunk of the preseason figuring out if non-guaranteed players like Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Ishmail Wainright were good enough to make the initial roster. After some tough competition, Dekker and Bonga were selected for inclusion while Wainright and Freddie Gillespie were waived. While Dekker, a […]
Raptors: Sam Dekker’s goodbye to fans after being waived is touching – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

good Masai Raptors spent Toronto Ujiri