The Raptors have been building toward this for years, trying to assemble a collection of multi-faceted, above-average defenders who will give them a chance every night they take to the court.
asserted
they → build → court
They want a group that may not be the quickest, but can deal with the best guards around the league.
uncertain
that → want → league
The first showed up Friday night.
asserted
first → show → ?
The second will face a big test Sunday night.
asserted
second → face → test
After negating seven-footers Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr and DeAndre Ayton in a 112-102 win over the Wizards in Washington on Friday, the Raptors will get an all-star backcourt in Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball in Minnesota on Sunday.
asserted
Raptors → negate → Sunday
The Raptors defence has passed every test so far, and there’s no reason to think they won’t have a chance against the Timberwolves as Toronto chases a 3-0 start to the regular season.
asserted
Toronto → pass → season
It’s proving their grand plan predicated on stopping any kind of offence is on the right path: be aggressive, be everywhere, disruptive and pesky.
asserted
plan → prove → path
The Raptors did not trail for a second in their first two games and forced 20 turnovers against Washington on Friday, after 27 against the Chicago Bulls in Wednesday’s season opener.
asserted
Raptors → trail → opener
“I really believe that it’s really hard to play against defences like that,” coach Darko Rajakovic said.
asserted
Rajakovic → believe → that
“You want to impose your will on the defensive end, you want to get teams out of their comfort level, out of their sets, out of their Plan A so that they have to go to their counters and Plan B and Plan C.
“So we’re always encouraging that aggressiveness, knowing that there’s going to be mistake, there’s going to be a drive that we don’t want to allow.
asserted
we → want → that
But understanding that the effort does not stop there, we’re going to continue covering for each other.”
asserted
we → understand → other
On Friday, Toronto was able to negate Washington’s size advantage easily.
asserted
Toronto → negate → advantage
The trio of Davis, Sarr and Ayton was a paltry 7-for-18 from the field (all-star Davis was 3-for-12) with a total of 19 rebounds and committed six turnovers.
asserted
Davis → commit → turnovers
Jakob Poeltl, the lone seven-foot Raptor, harassed Davis all night.
asserted
Poeltl → harass → Davis
Six-foot-seven Collin Murray-Boyles fought foul trouble, but was a terror all over the court, and even six-foot-eight rookie Allen Graves added a few key first-half minutes.
asserted
Graves → fight → minutes
The varied looks perplexed the Wizards enough that they never got into an offensive flow, and it’s the same tactic the Raptors will employ against the top-shelf guards they’ll face in Minnesota.
asserted
they → perplex → Minnesota
Edwards and Ball can be dominant individually and present difficulties in tandem, and it will force Toronto to use a variety of schemes to contain them.
asserted
it → present → them
Walter had two steals against Washington and hounded Trae Young all over the court, after three steals against the Bulls in the opener.
asserted
Walter → have → opener
If Walter can do that when he’s guarding Ball or Edwards, Toronto’s chance at a 3-0 start improves considerably.
asserted
chance → do → start
The ball-hawking skills Walter’s showing come from preparation.
asserted
Walter → hawk → preparation
“You watch a lot of film, you kind of get confident knowing that you know what they’re about to do,” Walter said before the road trip began.
asserted
trip → watch → what
“You pick up all tendencies and it really just builds the confidence, knowing that you’ve got something over the offensive player.
asserted
you → pick → player
“That’s just something I really enjoy, knowing that I got one up on the offensive player, knowing that I have the ability to get a stop on it.”
asserted
I → enjoy → it
The Aporia
