summer league

torjlopez

The Summer League Raptors have concluded their 2018 Las Vegas Summer League campaign. After dropping an 82-68 decision to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the tournament quarterfinals, the Raptors were eliminated after six games in 10 days.

Things fell apart for Toronto in the third quarter against the Cavaliers where they were outscored 21-4, leading to Cleveland taking a 15-point lead into the final quarter. Chris Boucher led the Raptors in the loss with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Giddy Potts added 12 points, and Alfonzo McKinnie and Malachi Richardson each added 14 points.

After leading the team in minutes through the first four games, the Raptors rested OG Anunoby for the final two contests. In four games in Vegas, Anunoby averaged 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 27.3 minutes per contest. He shot 40 percent from the floor.

Malachi Richardson ended up leading the team in minutes, playing six games and averaging minutes 27.7 and 12.8 points per contest. Chris Boucher had a strong showing in Vegas, averaging 10.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. Alfonzo McKinnie finished averaging 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, Malcolm Miller’s time in Vegas was cut short when he suffered a nasty fall and dislocated his shoulder in the team’s third game of the round-robin session.

Though OG didn’t suit up for the team’s final two games, he showed off fresh kicks on the bench:

Check out a compilation of some of the best plays from the Summer League Raptors here:

Though the ending wasn’t as desired, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was pleased with his team’s time in Vegas. Watching the team improve from the first day onward, getting to work with his coaching staff, and seeing the growth of OG Anunoby were all things Nurse mentioned after the team’s final game:

Matt Tierney delivered the final Summer League post-game recap outside the Thomas &amp; Mack Center before the team officially signed off from Vegas:

“For my coaches, for OG, for Malachi, Chris Boucher, Rawle [Alkins], Giddy Potts, there were some real bright spots that went pretty deep. I would imagine some of the names, a couple of them will help the Raptors and a couple will help the 905 Raptors and eventually help the Raptors one day too. It was really productive.”- Nick Nurse highlighting the bright spots of this year’s summer league session

“I waited, being patient. I was waiting for my chance. We have a good team. We just needed to find a good chemistry to make it happen. As soon as we found a chemistry it was easy for me to find a place and do my job and recognize what my role was on the team.”- Chris Boucher on getting more comfortable as summer league went on

“I love Coach Nurse. It was fun playing for him this summer league. We got to know him as a head coach. We knew him as the assistant least year, but now we get a chance to know him as a head coach, just see the different schemes he wants to incorporate with the big club come this season. It was good playing for him. I learned some stuff from him this summer and I’m going to take some of those things with me and it’ll always be with me.”- Alfonzo McKinnie on Nick Nurse

“He did a nice job with skill development to this point. Working on some new things, we tried a few of them out here. He will go back, take a little time off here, and then get into his body maintenance work. Getting himself as healthy and strong as he can and then he’ll get back on the floor with more skill development. He’s gotta continue to work on his perimeter shooting. He’s still going to be a catch and shoot three guy. I’d really like him to work on his post-up game in case there’s any switches, he can get them down there. And then just overall ball handling and passing.”- Nick Nurse on OG Anunoby’s summer league

“It was nice. Toronto, Canada, is back home for me. It felt good just to put the Raptors on my jersey. Its a learning process. I feel like I got a lot better.  I didn't know what to expect when I got here. I definitely got better. I know there’s still things I can fix, but that’s what you’re here for, to learn how to fix the stuff you’re not good at and get better at everything.”- Chris Boucher on getting to play with the Raptors summer league team

Players will go their respective ways, continuing on with summer training as they prepare for their upcoming seasons. Whether they will be played in the NBA, G-League, a combination of the two, or somewhere else entirely, the work continues.

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Summer League Concludes For Raptors In Las Vegas

The Toronto Raptors will advance in tournament play in Las Vegas Summer League thanks to an 85-77 victory against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. OG Anunoby led all scorers with 22 points as the Raptors used a late run to take control of the game and pick up their first victory in Vegas.

As mentioned above, OG Anunoby was fantastic against the Nuggets. The soon-to-be sophomore Raptor scored 22 points on Wednesday, shooting 9-for-17 from the floor, 2-for-7 from the three-point line, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line in 27 minutes of action. He added four rebounds and a blocked shot as well.

Check out a collection of OG’s best plays from Wednesday’s victory:

The Raptors summer league squad had its own bench mob boost from Giddy Potts and Chris Boucher on Wednesday. Potts scored 14 points, shooting 4-for-9 from the floor, and 4-for-7 from three, while Boucher added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, 2-for-3 from deep and was a presence on the defensive end of the floor, recording six blocked shots to go with six rebounds.

Despite trailing for much of the game, Toronto flipped the script late in the second half. After outscoring the Nuggets by four in the third to hold a slim two-point advantage to start the fourth quarter, the Raptors opened the final frame on a 16-0 run. Toronto would go on to outscore the Nuggets 28-18 in the quarter to stretch the lead to 17 points before Denver made up some ground in the final minutes.

The Raptors were 0-3 in the round-robin portion of the tournament, while the Nuggets entered tournament play a perfect 3-0. Toronto will now face the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday at 6 P.M. ET.

Matt Tierney and Akil Augustine recap the victory against Denver, paying particular attention to Chris Boucher and Giddy Potts.

The OG crew is back, bringing you behind-the-scenes action from Las Vegas where guys are hoping to leave an impression and make a name for themselves.

Watch (and listen to) Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby hit the high notes of a Beyonce classic in the car on the latest episode of #SummerSkills:

“We were just playing hard, getting stops, running out in transition. We all trust each other to make shotsm so we were moving the ball and shooting with confidence.”- OG Anunoby on the team clicking offensively against Denver

“You could see, even though the losses, the growth coming. We just had such a long way to go to start, but I thought you saw flashes in each game of extended minutes of good play. Maybe it was only eight [minutes] the first night, 12 the second and then 18 [the third], but we’re pushing it out, trying to get to a full game. It takes a little bit with a bunch of young guys.”- Nick Nurse on the team growing game by game

“I think everybody [has just had] overall growth each game. You know, we went 0-3 to start in pool play. Everybody came out Game 4 still mentally ready to win the game. We turned it up at the right time, you know, we got a win. I think that's something big, especially at Summer League, having a lot of your guys just being able to stay focused for Game 4 after losing three in a row, so I think that's always big.”- Alfonzo McKinnie echoing Nick Nurse’s thoughts on how the team has been improving since starting in Vegas

“Just show them I'm a complete player. I’ve come here, I’ve worked hard these past two months and I want to show that. I want to make shots, defend, rebound, try to be a leader on the court and do everything I can do get a win.”- Malachi Richardson on what he wants to show the team in Summer League

“I think this whole Summer League was pretty much just learn more on the defensive end. Coach Nurse wants us to get up, ball pressure, contest more shots, just be better overall defensively. I think that's something that I've been taking away from Summer League the most.”- Alfonzo McKinnie on the defensive emphasis in Vegas this summer

“We just keep playing good. You don't know if you're gonna win or who you're gonna play or whatever. We wanna win, man. We're gonna play and hopefully we grow some more, just keep playing, move the ball a little better, guard a little harder, and fight like heck. That's kind of the theme of the Summer League: Let's learn while we go and just stay with it. No highs and lows, and if there is, let's kinda treat 'em the same and just keep on playing.”- Nick Nurse on what would be defined as success for the team’s time at summer league

The Raptors will take on the Charlotte Hornets in the next phase of the tournament on Saturday at 6 P.M. ET.

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Raptors Advance With Win Over Denver At LVSL

The Raptors dropped a 92-82 decision to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. The loss moves the Raptors to 0-3 in the round-robin portion of Las Vegas Summer League, with tournament play starting on Wednesday.

Despite the loss, it was the best individual game OG Anunoby has had since arriving in Las Vegas. Anunoby played 27 minutes, scoring a game-high 19 points to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots. He shot 6-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-10 from the free throw line.

Malachi Richardson also had a strong offensive game on Monday, scoring 17 points on 5-for-12 field goals in a team-high 28 minutes against the Thunder. He added three rebounds and a steal while making 4-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc. While Richardson and Anunoby starred for the starters, Giddy Potts had an impact off the bench, scoring 15 points in 15 minutes, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-8 from three.

Malcolm Miller suffered an unfortunate fall in Monday’s game, crashing to the floor hard in the third quarter. He left the game immediately, and the team announced after the game that he had a dislocated right shoulder. Miller will be out for the reminder of Summer League. This is an especially unfortunate blow for Miller, a restricted free agent, who also missed last year’s summer session in Vegas after suffering an ankle sprain.

Matt Tierney and Akil Augustine wrapped up Monday’s game action and went over the round-robin results ahead of Thursday’s Summer League tournament:

Add Norman Powell to the list of Raptors veteran players who are in Las Vegas, showing their support for the Summer League roster. Powell spoke with Akil Augustine on Monday, sharing that he has been training in Vegas full-time since the offseason began. Powell also spoke about Nick Nurse taking over as head coach, saying that the two have talked a lot about his role this upcoming season.

When Powell wasn’t doing his own interviews, he was interrupting Fred VanVleet’s radio interviews:

And when media obligations were through, the duo sat courtside to take in the game action on Monday:

Pascal Siakam’s bestie Jakob Poeltl might not be present in Vegas this year, but that hasn’t stopped Siakam from giving a behind-the-scenes look at what goes down in the gym during these summer sessions:

“I just want to keep getting better. I think each game I can be better. I can make a couple more shots, get a couple of more stops on the defensive end, get a couple more rebounds. That’s my main focus.”- Malachi Richardson on how he’s approaching his time in Vegas

“With Malachi, his ability to shoot the ball is incredible. We need to really find a way to get that into our offensive more. Him starting and getting looks will hopefully come more attempts. [More attempts for him] is what we want, what we’ve asked him. Shoot more threes, you’re going make more threes. The biggest thing with him is defence, as with the rest of our team. Get back in transition, stop your guy first, and then shoot on the other end” - Assistant coach Jama Mahlalela on Malachi Richardson

“It’s been great so far. The Raptors organization is so hands on from the top to the bottom. They really focus on player development. It’s been a lot of hands on, working with me every day, and I'm definitely appreciative of that. I want to just keep working and keep getting better.”- Malachi Richardson on his first summer league experience as a member of the Raptors organization

“Great summer league for OG. I think people look at it and look at stats and all these things and we can’t get caught up in that. His growth and his leaning has been tremendous. We’ve put him in new positions, we’ve given him the ball in different places he’s never had the ball in before, and he’s learning what to do with it. For us that’s a huge success. His growth has been tremendous in summer league.”- Jama Mahlalela on how OG Anunoby has fared though the first three games in Vegas

“I’ve been focusing on a lot of things. Consistency with my shot, my ball-handling, and just really studying the game, studying myself, studying where I can improve. Studying how I can get better, the details of my game and other guy’s games as well.”- Norman Powell on his offseason training

The Raptors will face the Denver Nuggets at 10 P.M. ET on Wednesday night at Cox Pavilion in the opening round of the single-elimination tournament at NBA Summer League 2018.

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Round-Robin Complete At LVSL

The Raptors played their first two games for Las Vegas Summer League 2018, and now look forward to Monday’s match up against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 3:30 PM E.T where they are searching for their first win. Over the weekend, Toronto dropped games to the New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Raptors fell 90-77 to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday in the team’s first game in Las Vegas on Friday. While things were close after the first quarter with the Raptors only trailing by five, New Orleans made its mark in the second quarter, outscoring Toronto 27-12 to build a 52-32 lead at the break.

Alfonzo McKinnie and Rawle Alkins led Toronto in scoring with 12 points apiece in the loss. Alkins points came in just 14 minutes of action, all in the second half as he turned heads and earned praise from the Raptors coaching staff after the game. OG Anunoby had nine points with a team-high seven rebounds in a team-high 27 minutes. The Raptors were sloppy on the offensive end of the floor in the loss, shooting just 33 percent compared to New Orleans’ 49 percent shooting. Trevon Bluiett led all scorers with 24 points for the Pelicans.

While the Raptors were hitting the court to face the Pelicans, Fred VanVleet was finishing up a press conference in Toronto to announce he had re-signed with the Raptors.

Held at MLSE LaunchPad, VanVleet, Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster spoke with media while VanVleet’s family looked on proudly.

Toronto’s summer league squad had plenty of support from the team’s veteran players. As he does every summer, DeMar DeRozan was front and centre for Friday’s action:

DeRozan was sitting courtside before joining the television broadcast to talk about the team and the bench mob, and of course, his friendship with Kyle Lowry.

C.J. Miles joined Delon Wright and Pascal Siakam along the baseline to also watch the team. As DeRozan was chatting with the television crew, Miles was speaking with NBATV’s Akil Augustine about Fred VanVleet re-signing with the team.

In Miles’ words: “[VanVleet] got exactly what he deserved, man.”

With various media duties taken care of, the bench mob crew took their turns playing photographer, capturing game action:

Matt Tierney and Akil Augustine wrapped up Day 1 action in the Vegas heat to catch you up on the noteworthy items from Friday’s loss here:

The duo also wrapped up Saturday’s practice, including the part where another newly re-signed player showed up to join the crew and get to work:

The Raptors summer league squad dropped a 103-92 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their second game in Vegas. This was a close game throughout, with the Wolves pulling away in a decisive fourth quarter where they outscored Toronto 32-19 to take the win. The Raptors had led 73-72 heading in the final frame, but couldn’t match Minnesota’s output down the stretch.

Toronto had a strong effort from its bench on Sunday, with Jordan Loyd, Shevon Thompson, Malachi Richardson and Codi Miller McIntyre combining for 52 points. Loyd led the Raptors in scoring, with 17 points, Richardson added 15 points, while Thomspon and Miller McIntyre each scored 10 points.

Raptors sophomore OG Anunoby had 13 points in 26 minutes. He shot 5-for-15 from the floor, 1-or-4 from the three-point line and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He added led the team in rebounding for the second straight game, grabbing seven rebounds to go with three assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

In addition to that dominant fourth quarter for Minnesota, the Wolves also attempted 35 free throws to Toronto’s 15 attempts. Minnesota shot 83 percent at the line, making 29-of-35 attempts. In comparison Toronto shot 73 percent, making just 11 of 15 attempts.

OG Anunoby with the baseline drive and dunk on Sunday:

Fred VanVleet was courtside for the game, and was interviewed by NBATV:

After Sunday’s action, Matt Tierney and Akil Augustine recapped the day’s action and discussed OG Anunoby and Jordan Loyd’s performances:

Pascal Siakam thrilled Fred VanVleet joined the team in Vegas:

“He was excellent. Played with some spirit, used his body well to get to the basket. He just looked like a really good player. He took the opportunities that were there.”
- Raptors head coach Nick Nurse on Rawle Alkins performance in the second half of Friday’s loss to the PelicansM

“It’s definitely faster than college. I started off in the second half, that was my debut of the NBA pace and it just kind of hit me all at once. It was a fast-paced game. I was just looking at the statistics before I got here [to talk to the media] and I didn't even realize I shot nine shots. You play so fast you don't realize how much stuff you’re doing at once. It was great. It was a great opportunity.”
- Rawle Alkins on his summer league debut

“OG is a big piece of what we do. He’s very important to what we do. [We’re going to] keep working on his all-around game, really. Defensively he still has to be a presence, last year he guarded a lot of really good players, he has to keep growing in that area. The exciting part is he’s a year in now, and he’s a little smarter, learning the tricks and our system even better. For him, we’re looking at the whole package, but offensively and defensively. We’re also looking at his leadership role, quite frankly. In this setting, he’s got to be one of the leaders, which he has done, stepping up, not always with his voice, but with his actions, going out plying hard, etcetera. I think we’re all exited to see where OG goes and what this setting does for him.”- Assistant coach Patrick Mutombo on what the coaching staff is looking for from OG Anunoby at summer league

“I just wanted to keep being aggressive. Keep taking my shots and just try to make things happen.”- Malachi Richardson on his effort in Sunday’s loss to the Timberwolves

“I’m really comfortable, as far as me personally. It’s really an honour to play under Coach, the head coach of the Raptors. Him working with us has been awesome.”- Jordan Loyd on his second summer playing with Toronto in Las Vegas

The Raptors will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday afternoon at 3:30 P.M. ET.

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Las Vegas Summer League Weekend Recap

The Toronto Raptors will kick off their 2018 Las Vegas Summer League campaign on July 6. The team will face the New Orleans Pelicans on Fri. July 6, the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sun. July 8 and the Oklahoma CityThunder on Mon. July 9 in the preliminary round of action before being seeded in a tournament that will run until Tues. July 17. Depending on how the team fares in the tournament round, the team will play between five and eight games at summer league.

In addition to the actual games that will take place in Vegas, the two weeks provide an opportunity for younger players on the team’s roster to train with Toronto’s coaching staff. It also allows the coaching staff and front office an opportunity to get a closer look at players not currently under contract around the league, including those on their own summer league roster for both NBA and NBA G-League potential.

The 2018 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League marks the 14th year for the event. It will mark the first time that the entire league will be represented. All 30 teams will be in Vegas, up from the 24 teams that participated last season. With the entire league present, NBA Summer League will expand to 12 days, spanning July 6-17, with all games taking place at Thomas &amp; Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse will serve as Toronto’s head coach in Las Vegas. Jama Mahlalela, newly appointed head coach of Raptors 905, will also be on Nurse’s coaching staff. Mahlalela served as the head coach of last season’s summer league team.

Because Toronto didn’t have a draft pick this year, they won’t have a newly drafted rookie with them in Vegas, but there will be some familiar faces for fans watching at home. Soon-to-be sophomore OG Anunoby will be on the squad for the Raptors, as will Malachi Richardson, acquired from Sacramento in a trade-deadline deal in February. The duo will be joined by Alfonzo McKinnie and Malcolm Miller, each of whom played for both the Raptors and Raptors 905 this season.

Other experienced NBA players on the roster include Marquis Teague, the younger brother of Minnesota’s Jeff Teague is also on the roster. Teague has two years of NBA experience, playing his rookie season in Chicago after being drafted by the Bulls 29th overall in 2012. He has played for the Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies, as well as spent time in the G-League and overseas as well. Chris Boucher will also be on Toronto’s roster. Boucher went undrafted in the 2017 draft, but spent last season on a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors before being released in June.

Fred VanVleet gave everyone a glimpse of his sophomore season to come — the one that made him a finalist for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award — when he averaged 18.8 points on 55 percent shooting during last summer’s stint in Vegas. VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Delon Wright and Jakob Poeltl have all graduated out of the team’s summer league session, though Siakam and Delon Wright have already joined the team in Las Vegas to work out together.

The Raptors got off to a strong start in Vegas last summer, winning their first three games to earn a top seed in the tournament round. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well when the tournament began, with Toronto dropping two straight games and being eliminated. The Raptors rested rotation players during their final game of the tournament with the championship out of reach, but the summer session was still a success for the organization as it allowed young players the opportunity to show off their skills.

Raptors fans interested in keeping up with the action should follow the Raptors on Twitter and Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos and videos from each day’s practice session and game action.

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Las Vegas Summer League Primer

toralaksmana

The Raptors moved to 3-0 in Las Vegas after notching an 82-81 victory against the Denver Nuggets. One day after a dominant 97-72 win, Toronto was in a nail biter against Denver. In a back-and-forth final quarter, Alfonzo McKinnie gave the Raptors a three-point lead with 1:47 seconds remaining. The teams would trade turnovers and missed shots until Pascal Siakam was called for a foul against Juan Hernangomez attempting a three-pointer with 14.5 seconds on the clock. After Hernangomez made two of three free throws, the Raptors were ahead by one, learning to a wild close, with Siakam turning the ball over, stealing it back, then being called for a double-dribble with 2.1 seconds remaining. On Denver’s final possession, the Nuggets turned over the ball and Toronto escaped with the win.

Jakob Poeltl has had double-doubles in each of Toronto’s first two games. That streak continued on Monday as he led the Raptors with 17 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Poeltl shot 8-for-13 from the floor and 1-for-2 from the free throw line while adding those 10 rebounds to go with two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

In addition to Poeltl’s big night, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam continued to show off their skills in Vegas. The sophomore trio combined to score 48 of Toronto’s 82 points. VanVleet scored 17 points to match Poeltl’s team-high. He played 30 minutes, shooting 5-for-6 from the floor, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, while adding two rebounds and three assists. Siakam, late-game hiccups aside, stuffed the stat sheet in his 30 minutes, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocked shots.

The Raptors front office spent their weekend taking care of some paperwork. On Sunday, the team announced that it had officially signed forward OG Anunoby to his rookie contract. Toronto selected Anunoby with the 23rd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Indiana. Though Anunoby is in Las Vegas with the team, he has not participated in NBA Summer League as he is rehabbing from ACL surgery that ended his college season in January.

The team also announced the signings of guard-forward Malcolm Miller and forward Alfonzo McKinnie. Miller has not been able to participate in NBA Summer League after spraining an ankle prior to the team’s first game. He previously played for Alba Berlin of the German Bundesliga, and for the Maine Red Claws in the G League in 2015-16. McKinnie, who has been suiting up for the team in Vegas, previously played for the Windy City Bulls in the G League. He was named to the 2017 NBA G League All-Star teamster averaging 14.9 points and 9.2 rebounds in 50 games with the Windy City Bulls.

McKinnie had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double on Monday as he recorded a handful of highlight-reel worthy plays:

Following the victory, Matt Tierney was joined by Randy Urban to discuss the win. Urban was playing the role of Akil Augustine who was missing in action…until he was not.

“We’re playing to win this tournament. Winning is your best learning. Finding a way to win the basketball game, that’s the goal of the game. The more you practice that ultimate goal the better you’re going to be. This tournament is also about building confidence. For Fred, Jakob, Pascal, to go out here, have a really good tournament and win a bunch of games, [it] really builds their confidence as we head into our season.”- Jama Mahlalela

“It’s been pretty good so far. I really can’t complain. I’m just trying to be out there having fun. I’m trying to do everything for my team to win the game and I think rebounding is a big part of that. I’m trying to be more aggressive, especially on the defensive glass and so far think it’s shown in the stats.”- Jakob Poeltl on recording double-doubles in the first three games of NBA Summer League

“Just learning the system from those guys, watching Jak, watching P and Fred, they’ve been in the system for a year now. I’m just following behind them, trying to pick up stuff, pick up the little stuff and go from there.” - Alfonzo McKinnie on the opportunity to learn from teammates Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl

Up next: The Raptors will wait to find out the schedule and opponent  they will be facing for the tournament, but their 3-0 record means they will not play again until Thursday.

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2017 LV Summer League Recap - Raptors 82, Nuggets 81

The Raptors picked up a 97-72 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday to move 2-0 in NBA Summer League. After leading by seven at the half, the Raptors doubled up on the Wolves in the third, 30-15, to blow the game open and pick up the win. Though Toronto shot 50 percent from the floor, defence was the story as the Raptors held Minnesota to just 32 percent shooting in the game.

Siakam leading the way once more: One day after leading the Raptors in scoring with 24 points, Pascal Siakam was the team's leading scorer again, this time contributing 17 points in the victory. Siakam played 22 minutes shooting 6-for-11 from the floor, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and 4-for-6 from the free throw line while adding four rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot as he continues to show his expanding offensive repertoire.

Raptors president Masai Ujiri joined the NBATV crew courtside for an interview where he talked about keeping the core of the team together, his relationship with Wayne Embry, and coming back stronger than last season. Like head coach Dwane Casey on Friday, Ujiri talked about the importance of summer league for young players on the roster, pointing to Siakam, VanVleet and Poeltl's offseason development.

Kennedy Meeks had a solid debut for the Raptors on Friday, scoring 15 points to go with nine rebounds in the team's victory against the Pelicans. A day later, he came off the bench to score 12 points in just 10 minutes, shooting 5-for-7 from the floor. Meeks added four rebounds and an assist as he began to settle into a new system with new summer league teammates. His efforts earned him praise from Raptors summer league head coach Patrick Mutombo.

"He works hard," Mutombo said of Meeks. "He pays attention to detail. He's smart and he has a good feel for the game."

After the trio of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl led the way in Toronto's victory on Friday, they continued to show their experience and chemistry on Saturday. With Siakam leading the way offensively, VanVleet showed off his all-around game, finishing with nine points to go with five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Poeltl, despite receiving three stitches above his eye following Friday's win, posted a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. He shot 6-for-8 from the floor, 3-for-4 from the free throw line and added an assist as the team was a +22 when he was on the floor. The familiarity between the three was easy to see as they made everything look easy when on the floor together.

Toronto outscored Minnesota 54-16 in points in the paint.

Following the victory, Matt Tierney and Akil Augustine provided a recap of the game:

"The game started 0-0. Then we got to a blow out. Guys played hard from the start. I thought it was a good focus on the details and on preparation. Guys did a good job executing."- Coach Patrick Mutombo on his team's effort in a big victory

"It's obviously the fact that we got to play the whole year together, playing some G-League games together helped us out a lot. We're also familiar with the system already so it's most likely a lot easier for us to run through the whole system. It just makes it really easy playing with these guys because they're good basketball players. They'll find you, I'll find them, we've got a good chemistry going on there." - Jakob Poeltl on the familiarity playing with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet

"Fred is a carrier of our culture. He does it in practice. He does it off the court and then on the court also. Fred makes all of us look good. He's very smart, works extremely hard. Wants this opportunity. Wants it really bad. He doesn't talk about it, he shows it. He's everything a coach would ever want in a player."- Coach Patrick Mutombo on Fred VanVleet's leadership

Up next: The Raptors will have an intrasquad scrimmage on Sunday and then return to the court on Monday to take on the Denver Nuggets at 8 P.M. ET.

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2017 LV Summer League Recap - Raptors 97, Timberwolves 72

The Toronto Raptors kicked off their 2017 NBA Summer League campaign in Las Vegas with a 96-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. While the team got big contributions from a variety of players, Fred VanVleet's three-point play with 4.5 seconds remaining sealed the victory for Toronto.

While Toronto's Summer League team got started in Las Vegas, back in Toronto, Masai Ujiri was announcing the re-signings of Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka. Lowry and Ibaka both spoke with the media about their decisions to return to Toronto and continuing to build on the success the Raptors have had in recent seasons.

While head coach Dwane Casey and the rest of the coaching staff were watching the Raptors/Pelicans game action in the stands, DeMar DeRozan and Norman Powell were both checking out the game courtside. DeRozan has become a staple at Summer League over the years, often working out in Vegas and spending time with his teammates despite his years of participating being long gone.

Casey joined the NBATV crew to talk about the importance of NBA Summer League for player development, the return of Lowry and Ibaka, and pushing the pace this season:

DeRozan spoke about the return of Lowry, changes to the roster, and league-wide happenings with NBATV Canada's Akil Augustine courtside:

Malcolm Miller was ruled out for the remainder of NBA Summer League after sustaining a right ankle sprain. Jakob Poeltl received three stitches above his eye after taking a hit in Friday's game but was in good spirits after the win.

UNC's Kennedy Meeks had an impressive debut for the Raptors in Vegas, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds in just 17 minutes of action. Meeks shot 7-of-13 from the floor and made his only free throw attempt.

The sophomore trio of Pascal Siakam, Jakob Poeltl and Fred VanVleet had a great showing in the victory. Siakam led all scorers with 24 points in 30 minutes of action, making 10-of-14 field goals. He was 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 from the free throw line while adding two rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Poeltl played 22 minutes, posting a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. VanVleet played 30 minutes, scoring 18 points to go with nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. He shot 7-of-15 from the floor, 2-of-5 from three and 2-of-2 from the line.

"It's a Raptors coaching tradition. You've got to lose your voice on the first day." - Jama Mahlalela, following Toronto's Game 1 win

"It's leadership first and foremost. Fred and his leadership as a point guard, leading our team this year. Pascal being a leader on the court and finding ways for him to do that. You saw that today. Commanding the ball and doing something with it. That's a real growth for him as a mature basketball player. Jakob, I think really needs to find his own more, find his voice more, because his skills are there. As he increases his voice, he'll become more of a factor in terms of leading our team." - Jama Mahlalela on what the coaching staff is looking for from Toronto's sophomore trio

"Today is my dad's birthday. It's the same day I signed my first contract. For people that know me it's really a big thing for him, the fact that I was able to make this dream become a reality, make my family's dream become a reality. It was a little emotional day for me today, but I just had to think about it during the game and before, and just going to have him in my heart the whole day as I always do. It's a special day and it means a lot to me." - Pascal Siakam on the one-year anniversary of signing his first NBA contract falling on his late father's birthday

"It's my job to make their jobs easier. That's just a natural talent that I have and I just try to impose that throughout the game. Obviously me, Jakob and Pascal have a great rhythm together, but it's about getting the other guys in that rhythm and it'l take a little bit of time. I think you saw early on with the turnovers that we had, a little bit of off-rhythm stuff, but we'll get through that quickly and try to develop a good offensive rhythm and defensive rhythm." - Fred VanVleet on the chemistry he has with fellow sophomores Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl, as well as his role as a point guard on the floor

"I definitely think I did a better job as the game went on. Just feeling out everybody, the opposing team, everything that comes with it, the coaching staff, just getting all the way in it. I think I still need to improve on getting ready early, starting off and being aggressive early on. I know I missed a couple shots that I normally make and you can't really think about them at that moment. You've got to move past it to the next play and I think I did a good job of doing that." - Kennedy Meeks on his first NBA Summer League game

Up next: The Raptors look to add another win on Saturday when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at 6:30 P.M. ET.