Limited edition shirts were given away to fans sitting in the Drake Zone. The Cavaliers … The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West: Teams that advanced to the next round are boldfaced; those with home court advantage are in italics. They came within 1 game of making the conference finals for the first time, but lost Game 7 to the Suns. The Raptors' late-season surge was thus marred by a disappointing playoff exit; the Olajuwon experiment was also a bust, with the 39-year-old averaging career lows in minutes, points and rebounds. The Raptors have won the Atlantic Division seven times (2007, 2014–2016, and 2018–2020), and the franchise record number of wins in the regular season is 59 (2018). Read more » NBA: Without Joel Embiid, Sixers still crush Spurs. In the first game, Detroit overwhelmed Toronto 83–65, largely due to Ben Wallace's strong performance of 19 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. [75] In contrast to Bosh's emergence, Araújo struggled to keep a spot in the line-up, and became unpopular with fans and local media. The name "Raptor" is a common informal name for the Velociraptor, a swift medium-sized dromaeosaurid theropod non-avian dinosaur. After the 2014–15 season, Louis Williams won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first Raptor to do so. [45] On February 13, 1998, he was shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Walt Williams and Carlos Rogers for Kenny Anderson, Alvin Williams, Gary Trent, two first-round draft choices, a second-round draft choice and cash. [200], The Raptors have enjoyed a consistent fanbase throughout their history. The loser of the game would face Denver, whereas the winner would face fourth-seeded Dallas, who had the second-best record in the conference. Bold Series winner [192], Other jerseys worn by the Raptors include a green uniform worn from the 2007−08 season through to the 2011−12 season on St. Patrick's Day.[193]. [38][40] However, the Raptors struggled against teams who were not of championship calibre, including three losses to the 15–67 Boston Celtics. [213] However, beginning in the 2018–19 season, the promotion added an extra requirement of purchasing a first slice before receiving the free second slice, though it requires using the Pizza Pizza mobile app instead of using a Raptors ticket, allowing Raptors fans who did not attend the game to receive a free second slice after purchasing a first slice. The Raptors ended the season with a 24–58 record[73] and Wilkens was fired. Kevin Willis, another veteran acquired from the trade, solidified the centre position, while the coaching staff temporarily rotated Brown, Williams and Doug Christie to play point guard. However, the team's failure to reach the NBA Finals prompted Ujiri to fire head coach Dwane Casey after the 2018 playoffs concluded and conduct the high-profile trade of DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green later that summer, as well as acquiring Marc Gasol before the trade deadline. [1] The team originally competed in the Central Division,[25] and before the inaugural season began, sales of Raptors merchandise ranked seventh in the league, marking a successful return of professional basketball to Canada. [91] But less than a week later, the Raptors gave up an 18-point lead against the Los Angeles Lakers and allowed Lakers star Kobe Bryant to score 81 points, the second highest single-game total in NBA history. Masai was fined $25,000 by the NBA for the quote and later apologized for the excessive language. They went down 0–2 against the Boston Celtics in the next round, before OG Anunoby scored a buzzer-beater to win Toronto the third game. [153] The Raptors added DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo, and Luis Scola via free agency. [180] In doing so, the Raptors became the first non-American team to win the NBA title (and the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy) and the first non-American team to win a championship in any of the four major North American sports leagues since the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993, ending a 25-year-long drought from Canada-based major professional sports teams.[181]. [132] Around the same time, Parker headed for the Cleveland Cavaliers,[133] while Indiana point guard Jarrett Jack was added and Nesterovič brought back to provide cover for the big men. Although the logistics and costs associated with basing a team in Canada were often thought of as deterrents for Canadian expansion by American-based sports leagues; the size of Toronto's media market made its potential difficult to ignore. [1] The final selection—Toronto Raptors—was unveiled on Canadian national television on May 15, 1994:[1] the choice was influenced by the popularity of the 1993 film adaption of the 1990 science fiction novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. With the continued popularity of the Raptors, the value of the franchise doubled from US$148 million in 2000 to $297 million in 2004. The team's original colours were purple, bright red, black and "Naismith silver" (in honour of the Canadian inventor of basketball, James Naismith). Weaknesses in Toronto's game—rebounding, defence, and a lack of a swingman—were brought into sharp focus during the playoffs, and changes were expected to be made to the roster. [90] With losses mounting and media scrutiny intensifying, the Raptors hired ex-Purdue coach Gene Keady as an assistant off the bench to help develop the young Raptors team and establish a defensive persona for the team. [173] They reached the 20-win mark quicker than any time in their history when they won the 24th game of their season on December 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland. Thomas selected Damon Stoudamire, a point guard out of Arizona, around whom the franchise would seek to construct its near future. In 2009, the Raptors Foundation merged with the other charitable arms of MLSE's other sports franchises to form the Team Up Foundation. [157] Another seven-game series against the Miami Heat ensued, which Toronto also won. [53] In the backcourt, Carter, Christie and Dell Curry played at the shooting guard position and Alvin Williams and Muggsy Bogues at point guard. [66] However, they were able to win 12 of their last 14 games, clinching a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season. This was also the second time in NBA history that the road team won a Game 7 in overtime; the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings in the same manner in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. 7:30 PM: Tickets as low as $94: Sat, May 15 @ Milwaukee. [101] Bosh was given a three-year contract extension,[101] while Maurizio Gherardini of Benetton Treviso was hired as the club's vice-president and assistant general manager. [1] For the 2008−09 season, the franchise dropped the colour purple from the original logo, making bright red the predominant colour in both the logo and the team's jerseys. Detroit recovered and won the last 2 to take the series in 7. Through MLSE, the Raptors also operate the Canadian version of NBA TV (formerly known as Raptors NBA TV), which airs reruns of Raptors telecasts along with other news and analysis programs focusing on the team and the rest of the NBA. [88] The Raptors started their training camp by trading Alston to the Houston Rockets for Mike James and signing free agent José Calderón as a backup for James. The season was also the first full year played at the Air Canada Centre, after having played four years at the cavernous SkyDome, which was better suited to baseball and Canadian football. Each conference had three divisions of five teams each, and at this point in time, the winner of each division was guaranteed a top-three playoff seed regardless of whether the team had one of the top-eight records in its conference. 2006 marked the first time the Cavaliers had made the playoffs since 1998 with Shawn Kemp, and the first time that major professional teams from Michigan and Ohio met in a postseason series or game since 1957. Against the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons, the Cavs were routed in Game 1 and lost Game 2 by 6 before winning the next 3 and being 1 game away from beating the Pistons. [161] During the 2017 NBA playoffs, the third-seeded Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks during the first round 4–2, but lost to the defending champions Cavaliers in the second round 4–0. The logo proved to be very popular among fans, as by the end of 1994, the Raptors were seventh in the league in merchandise sales. [74] Head coach Kevin O'Neill and his four assistant coaches were also dismissed immediately after Grunwald's termination. Detroit was expected to win the series, and took a commanding two games to none lead with two wins at the Palace of Auburn Hills. For the 2018–19 season, the Raptors were one of the franchises awarded "Earned edition" uniforms, by virtue of qualifying in the 2018 playoffs. [14][35][36] The team improved on its win record by nine games. In Game 1, Dwight Howard gave the Magic their first playoff win since 2003 as they practically led the entire game. [198] During the 2019 NBA Finals, for simultaneous substitution purposes, Citytv (for games aired by Sportsnet)[199] and CTV 2 (for games aired by TSN) aired the ABC feed. Toronto nearly advanced to the next round, but Paul Pierce blocked a potential game-winner by Lowry in Game 7. [163] On April 6, 2018, the Raptors became Eastern Conference regular season champions, securing the number one seed for the first time in franchise history with a 92–73 win over the Indiana Pacers, in the process also setting new records for single-season wins at 57 and home wins with 33, with three games remaining on the schedule. [66] The comeback featured some of the Raptors' best defence of the season, along with inspired performances by Davis and Keon Clark. [129], The inevitable roster shakeup for the 2009–10 season began when Kapono was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for the aggressive veteran forward Reggie Evans. However, when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals, Dallas had home court advantage in the Western Conference Finals. [44] With Thomas gone, Stoudamire immediately sought a trade. With the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, in 2005, the NBA realigned its divisions. March 1 . [94], The 2005–06 season was not a total disaster. In the 1980s, the Cavaliers improved their game under the guidance of Coach Lenny Wilkens, who enhanced the team’s defensive play. At times, footage from the square is broadcast to the Raptors locker room. This was illustrated in the first round here when the 44-win Denver Nuggets won the Northwest Division and had the third seed, yet did not have home-court advantage against the sixth-seeded, 47-win Los Angeles Clippers. [92] With media scrutiny intensifying once more and the Raptors entrenched at the bottom of the league in defensive field goal percentage,[93] CEO Richard Peddie fired Babcock. Since being introduced as a uniform accent in 1999, the chevrons had pointed downward, the team said. The 2006 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Foundation strove to lift spirits and change lives for young people by supporting local and provincial organizations that provide recreational, educational and other youth-oriented activities. [57][60] Wilkens was praised for having Williams defend shooting guard Allan Houston and Carter defend small forward Latrell Sprewell, the two major Knicks offensive threats. [1][13] Bitove and Allan Slaight of Slaight Communications each owned 44 per cent, with the Bank of Nova Scotia (10 per cent), David Peterson (1 per cent), and Phil Granovsky (1 per cent) being minority partners. NBA News. Further, whenever Toronto scores more than 100 points in a home game and wins, fans can redeem their ticket for a cheese or pepperoni pizza slice at standalone Pizza Pizza locations throughout Ontario for the business day after the game that was played.
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