Toronto Raptors’ Season Expectations

Adamo Marinelli

Oct. 26, 2021

     Four games into this new season, the Toronto Raptors sit at 1-3. However, they were very competitive in two of their three losses and they have a young team with a lot of potential, skill, and depth. Add that with the excellent coaching staff they have in Toronto and this team is just opening the lid of its jar of potential. 

     Despite entering a new era, playing without their franchise cornerstone in Kyle Lowry, Scottie Barnes has proved he’s worth all the hype of a top-five draft pick with his performances so far this season, and they are getting a lot of production from their young, talented leaders like OG Anunoby, Fred Van Vleet, Gary Trent Jr., and Precious Achiuwa. In addition, veterans like Goran Dragic and Khem Birch provide this team with stability and balance. 

     Pascal Siakam is currently recovering from a shoulder surgery he had in the offseason, and the timeline for his return is still up in the air but head coach Nick Nurse said he looks really good. “I mean he's moving full speed. He's in great shape, his conditioning looks good. He's done a great job,” Nurse said. He looks to be coming back around American Thanksgiving and his return will provide the Raptors with a boost on offense and on defense. 

     If Anunoby plays to his potential this season, paired with an excellent season from Fred Van Vleet as well as a healthy Pascal Siakam, the Raptors will have a scary big three on offense and defense with talent and depth to spare.

     In the meantime, Chris Boucher, Fred Van Vleet, OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr., and Scottie Barnes will all help fill the void until he returns.

     They also have a lot of depth with guys like Yuta Watanabe, Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton, Svi Mykhailiuk, and David Johnson.

     Right now, the Raptors starting five consists of Fred Van Vleet and Goran Dragic in the backcourt, OG Anunoby plays at the small forward spot, Scottie Barnes plays at the power forward spot, and Precious Achiuwa plays at the center position. But Siakam will likely start at power forward when he returns.

     On the bench are guys like Gary Trent Jr., Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton, Chris Boucher, Khem Birch among others, all of which are very solid options. 

     The Raptors have a lot of players at each position and will have the liberty to have guys play in different positions, and switch up the scheme. Whether they want to go big or play small ball, they have the personnel and skill to do so. 

     The Raptors finished 27-45, good for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. This was their worst season since 2011-12 and it was the first time they missed the playoffs in seven years. 

     However, for the first time in over 600 days, they returned to Toronto to play their first game at the Scotiabank Arena. The return home to play in front of a full-capacity crowd really rejuvenated this young Raptors’ team despite losing all three of home games thus far.

     Despite their talent, they are facing an uphill battle in a very deep and talented Eastern Conference. They will face teams like the Brooklyn Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, and they will also face sleeper teams like the New York Knicks, the Charlotte Hornets, the Washington Wizards among others.

     It won’t be easy but the Raptors have the potential to make the playoffs, especially with the NBA’s decision to bring back the play-in tournament this season, which means the top-10 seeds in each conference have a chance to make the 16 team playoff bracket.

     The Raptors win games by playing physical, aggressive defense. They limit the other team’s ability to create high percentage open shots, create a lot of turnovers, and force their opponents to do things they aren’t comfortable with on offense. Also, their defensive prowess leads to several fast-break opportunities in transition on offense. The Raptors play pretty well offensively too, moving the ball efficiently without turning it over very often, and generally, they shoot well from both the field and from three.

     There are not a lot of expectations on this young team to make the playoffs or to go far in the playoffs if they get there. But, with few expectations on them to succeed, it allows them to reach their potential without being questioned by the media. The Raptors are okay with being slept on and they are a scary team when flying under the radar.

     Currently, the Raptors are not rebuilding, they are in the middle of a reload. If they are not competitive for the play-in tournament at the All-Star break, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Raptors are sellers at the trade deadline and begin a rebuild for a new superstar to add to their roster after two seasons of ultimately missing the playoffs, but Ujiri may be hesitant to blow it all up, so a full-on rebuild is unlikely but not impossible.

     It’s very exciting that the Raptors are back in Toronto and they are due for a fun season. I believe with the talent they have they will finish with a record of 43-39 and claim the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference and host a play-in game. They'll struggle a bit until Siakam gets healthy, but once he does, this team will catch fire and remain competitive with any team in the league.

UEFA Nations League Semifinal and 3rd place match recap

Adamo Marinelli

October 10, 2021

     The world-record streak has officially come to an end. Italy, the defending European Champions, had held the record for most consecutive games unbeaten at 37. 

     On October 6, a 2-1 loss at the hands of their rival Spain in the Nations League Semifinal marked Italy’s first loss in over three calendar years. Their last loss came on September 10, 2018, against Portugal in the Nations League.

     This is only Roberto Mancini’s third loss as manager of the team. 

     Italy losing a football game simply does not happen all too often. Their last loss in a competitive match on home soil since 1999. 

     But against Spain, despite getting several scoring chances, the chips did not land in the Azzurri’s favor.

     Leonardo Bonucci was dismissed in the 42nd minute after two extremely questionable fouls that were both marked as yellow cards. 

     Ferran Torres was the hero for Spain, scoring two incredible goals in the first half. 

     Italy’s defense wasn’t as physical and controlling of play as they normally are. They didn’t disrupt Spain’s offense and left opponents open in scoring position. 

     They started the game without Giorgio Chiellini, an all-star and defensive anchor, but that doesn’t change the fact they did not look like themselves. Italy’s defense normally dictates play, controls the time of possession and uses the counterattack to generate offense. That was not the case against Spain.

     Spain took an early lead, gained all the momentum, and never looked back. They played their usual ‘ticky-tacky’ style of football. They dominated the time of possession, 75% to 25%, they controlled momentum and handily outshot Italy, by a 13-8 margin. However, Italy had five shots on target to Spain’s four. 

     Spain, like Italy, is a well-managed team under Luis Enrique. They have a lot of talent at both ends of the pitch and are hard enough to beat at full strength. But when you are playing down by two goals and with only 10 men on the pitch, beating Spain is nearly impossible. 

     When Spain is winning a match, it makes it even easier for them to follow their game plan and lay back on defense and play keep-away as they are in no urgency to score, unlike their opponents. 

     Italy, despite being down to only 10 men for the entirety of the second half, played well, generating several scoring chances and preventing Spain from doing any more damage offensively. 

     Italy ended Spain’s shutout bid in the 83rd minute when Lorenzo Pellegrini scored a tap-in goal which came from an assist from Frederico Chiesa who ran the distance of the field, past two Spain defenders, after Chiellini cleared a Spain corner kick. 

     Since winning the EUROs a mere three months ago, Italy hasn’t quite looked like themselves in their last four games, winning one, drawing two, and losing one.  

     Despite their recent struggles, including a blowout loss to Spain, Italy started to right the ship with a pretty convincing 2-1 win against Belgium in the third-place match of the Nations League Tournament. Belgium was without Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard who were both sent home after dealing with muscular soreness following their semifinal loss to France. Italy was without Bonucci who was serving a one-game suspension. Belgium won the possession battle 60% to 40% but Italy controlled the pace of the game, played solid defense, and opened things up in the second half with two nice goals, and never looked back. Belgium outshot Italy 13-12 but Italy had five shots on target to Belgium’s four.

     This was an important win for Italy and showed their resilience and ability to overcome adversity after an uncommon loss.

     Italy still controls its own destiny in the World Cup qualifiers. Through six games, Italy is three points ahead of Switzerland, which has a game in hand, but Italy has the better goal differential. Italy and Switzerland play each other on November 12. If Italy wins that game, they’re in the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

The 2021 Blue Jays: So Close, Yet so Far

Adamo Marinelli

Oct. 6, 2021

     The Toronto Blue Jays took care of business with a commanding 12-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday to close out the season with a record of 91-71. They went to the locker room in a jubilant mood looking forward to the potential of playing postseason baseball in the next few days.

     However, a walk-off RBI single from Aaron Judge lifted the New York Yankees to a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and a two-run home run from Rafael Devers in the ninth helped cap off a 7-5 win for the Boston Red Sox who trailed 5-1 earlier in that game against the Washington Nationals. 

     With a win from both the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Blue Jays were officially eliminated from post-season contention. They missed the playoffs by just one game. Of course, coming short of the playoffs hurts, but knowing that they played meaningful games in late September, early October is a success for this young team.

     The Blue Jays had quite the eventful season. They played their home games in three different ballparks and played well at each one, they lost many key players to injuries throughout the year, their offense clicked all season long, and their bullpen, after struggling for the first half of the season finally received some depth at the trade deadline which propelled the Blue Jays on a late-season run. 

     Despite a 91 win campaign, their best season since they went 93-69 en route to the ALCS in 2015, the Blue Jays finished fourth in the AL East. There were four teams in the AL East with over 90 wins. That is remarkable and shows how tough it is to win in the AL.

          Second baseman Marcus Semien said, “We became the best team in baseball, but it was a tick too late.” He believes the Blue Jays will make the playoffs and could possibly win the division next season.

     The Blue Jays are quite frankly the best fourth-place team in recent MLB history. They didn’t have enough, in the end, to extend their season to a 163rd game, however, with the way their offense was dominating their opponents down the stretch, with the way their defense was executing at a high level, and with the way their starting rotation and bullpen limited opponents’ offensive success, they would have been a tough out for any playoff opponent and would have been a dark horse to win the World Series.

     However, this team knows it’s not the end. They are a very young team with a lot of talent and playing high-stakes games towards the end of the season is a great learning experience for these guys. 

     Also, next season, they will play all their 81 home games in Toronto instead of being forced to play in Buffalo and Florida because of COVID-19. Based on the way the fans in Toronto reacted to having the Blue Jays back, it will give the team the boost they need to win a few more games here and there. Also, the Blue Jays only played in front of 15,000 fans at the Rogers Center except for the last homestand of the season where they played in front of 30,000 fans. Imagine next year when Rogers’ Center is at full capacity with 53,500 people. Not to mention, playing in Toronto the entire year will reduce travel and help the team be more rested.

     The Blue Jays will use this shortcoming as motivation to be even better as a team next year, which a lot of World Series Champions do the season before they become World Champions.

     Many fans will look back to this season and point out the early season bullpen struggles for why the Blue Jays lost games and therefore missed the playoffs. At one point, the Blue Jays lost eight relievers to injury, which contributed to some late-inning losses. 

     They addressed this issue and added more talent and experience at the trade deadline, but they will have to continue improving the bullpen this offseason by adding one or two more veterans to help the young closers. Jordan Romano, Adam Cimber, and Tim Mayza are all reliable closers, but you can never have too much depth. Relievers like Mark Melancon, Kendall Graveman, and Ian Kennedy are all free agents that come at a modest price.

     However, it wasn’t just the bullpen. Charlie Montoyo made some questionable decisions regarding his rotation and who to play in the bullpen and when. Also, the offense struggled at some points during the year, albeit on a rare occasion.

     This will be an important offseason for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays management and front office will do their own analysis and evaluation on where they came up short this year and how they can improve for next year. The Blue Jays have several key free agents like CY Young candidate pitcher Robbie Ray, and an electrifying second baseman Marcus Semien. I’d make it a high priority to sigh both of them as they both had tremendous seasons. 

     But if they could only afford to sign one, I’d take Semien, who contributes to this high octane offense on a regular basis and is a fantastic base runner and a great defenseman who can make any play look easy. He is also a great leader. 

     The Blue Jays could find another high-profile pitcher to be on the starting rotation in free agency and/or draft someone who they can develop. The Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker is one of the best in the league at getting his guys to make the necessary adjustments to deal with any scenario with several unique arsenals of pitches. However, Ray, a very talented pitcher, is not easy to replace.

     This offense, which was one of the best in the MLB this year is only going to get better next year after scoring over 260 HRs, having four players with over 100 RBIs, and having Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who tied Salvador Perez with a league-leading 48 home runs. If they can resign most of their key 2022 free agents like Ray, Semien, Kirby Yates, and Joakim Soria, their defense will get better, their starting rotation will improve and they will have a bullpen with lots of talent that plays consistently all season long. 

     If all goes to plan, barring any major injuries, next year, the Blue Jays have the potential not only to make the playoffs but also to win the AL East, one of the best divisions in the MLB.

2021 Panda Game Recap

Adamo Marinelli

October 5, 2021

     In the first battle for Pedro since 2019, the Ottawa U GeeGee’s held on to win a close game, 19-17 over the Carleton Ravens. The GeeGee’s have won three consecutive Panda Games.

      The COVID-19 pandemic forced the OUA to cancel the 2020 football season, including the Panda Game.

       A sold-out crowd of approximately 15,000 people braved the rain to see their schools compete against each other in the 52nd annual Panda Game.

      TD Place had full COVID-19 measures in effect for the game, including proof of being fully vaccinated to enter the stadium and masks to be worn at all times in the stadium.

      The rivalry was very strong between both schools and their fans after not being able to play in this game last year. 

     The Ravens took a 7-0 lead with a touchdown run from fifth-year running back Nathan Carter who broke the all-time Carleton rushing record. He broke Mark Brown’s record of 2,759 career rush yards which has stood since 1988. 

     The GeeGee’s scored 16 unanswered points, including a deep touchdown pass, two field goals, a safety, and a punt single, to take a 16-7 lead.  

      In the fourth quarter, the Ravens scored a touchdown and a field goal to take a 17-16 lead. The Ravens' comeback was aided by several GeeGee's turnovers including multiple fumbles, a few muffed punts, and an interception.

The Ravens took a one-point lead into the final three minutes of the game, looking to snap their losing streak against the GeeGee's at the Panda Game. However, they could not hold on.

      With a minute left in the fourth quarter, GeeGee’s kicker Campbell Fair tied Lewis Ward’s Panda Game record with a 45-yard game-winning kick to secure the GeeGee’s 19-17 win.

      With Pedro the Panda staying at the University of Ottawa for another year, the Ravens will look to snap the losing streak next season. 

      With the loss, the Ravens fall to 1-2 on the season. With the win, the GeeGee’s improve to 1-2 on the year.

      While this game certainly means a lot to the current players and fans of both schools, some long-time alumni of both schools, particularly those who played university football, still get together every year and watch the game as an annual tradition.

      Despite added security, the damage and destruction after the game were still rampant in the Sandy Hill area which may pose serious implications regarding future Panda Games.