The Press Stories
When Kavi Leonard Chose to join Los Angeles Clippers Last summer, it seemed Toronto Raptors‘The championship window closed quickly as soon as it was opened. Raptors, behind coach Nick Nurse and significant improvement Pascal Siagam, Fred Vanweed And Norman Powell, Ended the split regular season with the league’s second-best winning percentage – Leonard’s Clippers and LeBron James – It did little to prevent them from repeating the shouts involved.
Sure, they’re a great regular season team, thought went, but who’s going to replace Kavi as the Claw bucket recipient needed for each championship team? Will it be Sia? Maybe Vanveet?
After his amazing performance The Raptors’ 125-122 game won 6 double overtime On Boston Celtics Wednesday night, Kyle Lori He has definitely announced that he is looking for Toronto, and he has been under our nose the whole time. With 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists and one turnover in 53 (!) Minutes, Lori caught the Raptors for a game 7, looking to repeat alive for at least one game.
Lori had 15 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and with 12 seconds left in the game he skipped the game with a dim jumper to give the Raptors a four-point lead.
His performance was reminiscent of another Game 6 – in last year’s final, when Lori scored 21 first-half points to win the series. Golden State Warriors – And you wonder why Lori was not immediately pulled to fill Leonard’s clutch shoes.
As the game progresses to 6, you can hear the pundits shouting, “Climb up the Siakam.” “Siagam should be the best player in the raptors.” “They didn’t win a title because Siakam was playing like this.” It looks like Lori’s (mostly unqualified) reputation for shrinking this time around during a series of three post-season victories with the Raptors in the hands of LeBron James. Cleveland Cavaliers Made him ignore.
Lori’s playoff history is often linked to his former teammate and current best friend Timar Trojan, But Lori’s figures from those post – season runs are solid – 17.9 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 35 percent 3 – point shooting. Last week, with the Copts facing a 3-0 deficit, Lori came up with 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds, finding the highest clutch pass in Raptor history. OG Anonobi Across the court for the game-winning 3-pointer.
What Lori did, and what every clutch playmaker needs to do, reveals a willingness to change. In Game 3, he made up his mind to go to the margins early and often, basically removing Toronto’s brutality from the outside equation. Look at the first possession of the game.
However, in Game 6, Lori took a different approach. The Celtics were loading paint on their drives, so Lori did it from the outside, tapping 6 -10 3-pointers and creating a wide range of intermediate jumpers.
In Game 3, Lori took 12 shots on his way to his 31 points. At Game 6 on Wednesday, he only took three shots on the edge of the road leading to 33. Adjacent, shot charts tell the story.
This is a sign of a senior player who will take what gives him protection rather than forcing the issue. Coach Nick Nurse and the Raptors continued to work Kemba Walker Switched to Lori in Game 6, and he made them pay the price. The debate over whether Lori was a Hall of Famer erupted during the series, but it is difficult to argue against him after what he has done over the past two weeks.
“I like the privilege of standing on the sidelines to see it because it’s something to look at and see. I never minded this,” said the Sunday nurse at the Lori play. “It’s a great skill to play hard. It’s a skill that is often unspoken. … I’ve said this before, the highest compliment I can give him: it’s the hardest I’ve ever seen anyone play.”
But raptors know that playing hard is not enough. Eventually you need a close up to finish things off and do clutch plays. Last post season it was Kavi Leonard. This year it was Kyle Lori. If Toronto are to move forward, they need to be as smart as they can be extended in Game 7 on Friday.
“We had to work hard for this win,” Lori said after Game 6. “For us, personally, that’s what we do – play hard. We’ll go out there and play like we’ve every possession, find ways to get out of wins.”
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