# Raps Summer League Thread 2013



## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

I've just returned from my holidays, so let's get back to business.

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday their 15-man roster for the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Current Raptors Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross and Quincy Acy will headline this year’s squad. Assistant coach Nick Nurse will serve as the team’s head coach.

Roster.



> 1	Trevor Mbakwe	F	6-8	245	1/24/1989	Minnesota / USA	Minnesota (NCAA)	R
> 2	Jordan Taylor	G	6-1	195	9/30/1989	Wisconsin / USA	Acea Virtus RM (Italy)	R
> 3	Ricky Harris	G	6-2	175	8/12/1987	Massachusetts / USA	Biancoblu BO (Italy)	R
> 4	Quincy Acy	F	6-7	235	10/6/1990	Baylor / USA	Toronto Raptors (NBA)	1
> ...


Schedule.



> Wednesday, July 10	Practice	De Sol High School	9-10:30 a.m. (media following)
> Thursday, July 11	Practice	De Sol High School	9-10:30 a.m. (media following)
> Friday, July 12	Practice	De Sol High School	9-10:30 a.m. (media following)
> Saturday, July 13	Shootaround	De Sol High School	10-11 a.m. (no media availability)
> ...


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

I wish we had managed to sneak Kabongo, however it looks like he'll be playing for the Miami team. 

Jonas is going to tear this league up. I really am looking forward to the team running through him. 

Ross needs to show up with a shot and the ability to make defensive plays, I won't be happy if he doesn't show any progression.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Tweets.



> At Raps summer league workouts and who comes strolling in : Trio of Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.





> Lowry is as cut as any Raptors' fan has ever seen him. Looks like a different dude.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Toronto Sun Link



> Dwane Casey is almost sheepish discussing his good fortune.
> 
> What other NBA coach comes to Vegas and has pretty much his entire team show up of their own accord and actually work out together?
> 
> ...


Not great news regarding Val... 



> After a trip home to Lithuania where he caught up on some much needed rest and even got engaged, Valanciunas was back in Toronto in June for a few weeks of some one-on-one time with head coach Dwane Casey.
> 
> The goal was to improve his post game, specifically his offensive post game, and Casey is convinced his soon-to-be sophomore centre has come a long way in that department.
> 
> ...


Nurse speaks about the Raptors offense



> He has already watched every game the Raptors played since the acquisition of Rudy Gay.
> 
> Now he’s got to familiarize himself with the players, but he’s got some definite leanings when it comes to offence. Whether those work with the personnel who will run Toronto’s offence remains to be seen.
> 
> ...


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

The boys after getting together... 












> Me @demar_derozan and @rickyharris5 going to go get some good eats after a good workout!!! #RaptorGang!!


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## ozzzymandius (Jun 9, 2003)

Great posts PP!! I had no idea the team had self assembled like that. I really like it though. Some extra practice and team bonding before training camp will definetly work in our favor. Jury is still out on the direction MU is taking this year but this screams volumes for where the players themselves want to go.

Keep up the great posts


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

> Lowry is as cut as any Raptors' fan has ever seen him. Looks like a different dude.


I really hope that his work ethic rubs off on Rudy Gay.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

RollWithEm said:


> I really hope that his work ethic rubs off on Rudy Gay.


I'm not sold on Lowry looking 'cut' ... Gay has supposedly put on 10-15lbs of muscle. Aaron Gray clearly forgets to mean mug


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Some news after Day 3 of practice together, focused primarily on T Ross



> In the bigger picture, Ross wants this off-season to bring about three definite changes in his game.
> 
> “I have to get stronger, improve my ball handling, and work on my defence,” he says rhyming them off like a mantra. “Those three things will help get me to the next level. That’s what I have been working towards.”
> 
> As a rookie there were times both on and off the court that Ross looked overwhelmed by his surroundings. But here in Vegas surrounded by the young summer leaguers looking to hopefully find a niche on this team and the veterans who already have, Ross seems totally focused, energized even, by the task at hand.





> Ross is fully on board. One look around the high school gym this week that has served as home to the Raptors and Ross realizes to do anything less would be tantamount to letting his teammates down. He sees Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and pretty much the entire team make the effort to be in Vegas of their own accord just to get a little extra time working together and it makes him want to keep pace. Ross knows what is at stake.
> 
> “It’s because everyone is trying to get to the playoffs,” Ross said. “It’s crazy how much everything switched around once Rudy (Gay) got here. How much more intensity we’ve had. If we can start off that way at the beginning of the season, and fight through that fatigue and get back to winning basketball games it’s going to be just fine.”


Buyks already with the team in Vegas



> Buycks was in Vegas on Friday after travelling from Orlando where he had been playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder entry in that summer league. Until he completes his physical, the deal remains unofficial.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Buyks suiting up for us. Val looking big.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Quick recap of the star performers from the Orlando league. Makes me wince with pain every time I see Drummond play thinking we skipped him. 



> Andre Drummond, Kelly Olynyk, Jeremy Lamb, Victor Oladipo and Terrence Jones were named to the 2013 Orlando Summer League All-Tournament First Team.
> 
> On the Second Team were Reggie Jackson, Miles Plumlee, Ian Clark, Tyshawn Taylor and Solomon Hill.
> 
> *Dwight Buycks,* Michael Carter-Williams, Tony Mitchell and Mason Plumlee were amongst Honorable Mentions.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)




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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Raptors at Summer League: Game 1 Preview...

Great news that Val will be playing the entire tournament.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

We lost against the Heat in our first game. I wasn't surprised, the Heat played out in Orlando and I think the second half showed a tired Raptor squad. 

Jonas was the only notable for me going for 23 points and 7 rebounds and showing some really nice moves. He looks bigger and stronger and still as athletic as ever. 

Terrence Ross continues to drive and not seem to be able to map out the floor leading to bad attempted shots or passes. I'm starting to worry about this kid.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

LOL @ this. 



> Zach Harper ‏@talkhoops 29m
> Heckling fans trying to instruct Jonas Valanciunas to check himself back into the game. "Kobe does it all the time."


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## Mr_B (Mar 6, 2004)

Havent seen the game yet but from looking at the box score Val was the only one to show up today I hear he has a post game now very encouraging to hear


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Mr_B said:


> Havent seen the game yet but from looking at the box score Val was the only one to show up today I hear he has a post game now very encouraging to hear


You got lucky. I think something like 86 fouls were called in the game. 86. 

Val dominated the first half and with him we looked pretty good. He sat in 2nd half which led to a 3rd quarter collapse. Sounds a lot like last regular season huh? 

Acy looked out of sorts but he did make a couple of nice plays. Ross played some nice D to start but he supposedly has been suffering with bad leg cramps because of the 3-a-days and that's why his shot is suffering and his performance in the 2nd half wasn't great. I don't really buy that, everybody else is dealing with the same stuff and he's been in the league for a year now.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Terrence Ross played a lot better last night, really started to find his rhythm. His vision seems improved and his handle actually broke a couple of players down, although it still looked out of control at times. His defense really cut off the driving lanes for the opposition, something I've always been impressed with due to his lateral quickness. 

Jonas looked in beast mode again. 19 points, 14 rebounds and some blocks (although the box scores didn't register on the box score). He really looks like a man among boys. 

Acy is still playing hard but he's probably not NBA talent at this moment. We'll see where he can take his ability this year I guess.

Oh, and we won


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Hopefully Ross' improvement relegates Landry Fields to spot minutes this season.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)




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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Stats through 2 games. 

JV - 21ppg, 10rpg, 55FG%, 86FT%
Ross - 11.5ppg, 3rpg, 2apg, 1.5spg, 45FG%, 33 3PT%, 75FT%
Acy - 9ppg, 5rpg, 1.5apg, 1spg, 39FG%, 0.000 3PT%, 50FT%


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Another win last night, against the Kings (Mclemore went off for 26pts). 

Jonas with another very solid showing, 19pts and 8rbs although he made a lot more mistakes and committed a lot of fouls, probably due to fatigue. (they also took 2 points and 1 rebound from Val).

Ross with 14 points (although should have been 16, they took 2 away), and really impressive D when he was in the game. He still continues to make some dumb decisions leading to bad passes and those moments where he will take off 'look around' 'see nobody' 'throw to nobody'.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)




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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

DeMar loves the Drew league, he has a lifetime pass. The off the back board self oop was incredible.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)




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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)




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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Jonas might be sitting against the Suns tonight in the Elite 8 round. 

Unimpressed.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Jonas wins MVP 



> Jonas Valanciunas has been named MVP of the 2013 Vegas Summer League.
> 
> Valanciunas averaged 18.8 points and 10.0 rebounds over four games for the Toronto Raptors.
> 
> Blake Griffin, John Wall, Jerryd Bayless, Nate Robinson, Josh Selby, Damian Lillard and Randy Foye have previously been named Summer League MVP.


These go along nicely with his other accomplishment;

MVP - FIBA European Under-16 Championships
MVP - European Under-18 All-Star Game
MVP - FIBA European Under-18 Championships
MVP - FIBA World Under-19 Championships
MVP - LKL All-Star Game (twice)
MVP - LKL Regular Season
MVP - NBA Summer League


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)




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