What the media is saying about the Toronto Raptors, including Bradley Beal rumours

A DeMar DeRozan vs Kawhi Leonard showdown, Bradley Beal rumours, and more. Here is what the national U.S. Media is saying about the Toronto Raptors.

Clearly, the US media’s headlines were dominated this week by the Toronto Raptors vs San Antonio Spurs matchup, and more importantly (to them), the return of Kawhi Leonard.

Outlets and fans both made predictions about what kind of response Spurs’ fans would throw his way as he walked back on the court at the AT&T Center on Thursday night. The fans lived up to the promise as Leonard was given the Vince Carter treatment immediately and thoroughly. It made for great theatre, even though the game itself was a bit of a blowout. Local and national media spent a lot of time on this, and so did we.

Lowry’s injury has created problems all over the place. Primarily, without him, the team lacks a true playmaker. VanVleet has filled in admirably but he’s not Lowry when it comes to executing half-court offences, especially the pick-and-roll.

His shift to the starting line-up also causes significant damage to the second unit’s productivity. The Sporting News postulates that a trade may be being explored between the Raptors and the Wiz to alleviate a potentially recurring Lowry injury.

What other pieces discuss the Toronto Raptors?

Local

The San Antonio Express was all over the Spurs-Raptors matchup this past week with a flurry of stories. In this first piece, Kawhi and Green reflect on their time in San Antonio as well as discuss their transition to Toronto. They also discuss the welcome each received in their first game back.

In a second piece, the Express focuses on Danny Green and his return to the city he called home for several successful seasons, including a championship year in 2014.

Finally, Jeff McDonald analyzes DeMar’s first ever triple-double and wonders why it took so long for him to achieve it.

National

Shea Serrano from The Ringer posted a great piece that asks, “Is it okay for a Spurs fan to boo Kawhi?” Raptor fans will be able to relate to how Serrano thoughtfully and humorously analyzes both sides of the argument and wonders, “should I boo or not?!”

"The whole entire night—the whole entire Kawhi situation, for that matter—felt like if you had been in a relationship and it ended but you never really got to say to the other person how you felt about it. There are still feelings there;"

ESPN asks Hall of Farmer Scottie Pippen about his meeting with Kawhi Leonard during a taping of The Jump. Pippen, who admits that Kawhi’s game resembles his own, stated that Coach Greg Popovich requested the meeting and solicited Pippen to give Leonard some advice on how he could improve his game even further.

Finally, The Starters look at the Showdown in San Antonio between former Raptor DeMar DeRozan and Kawhi Leonard. Starting at the 23:40 mark, the boys break down the Kawhi saga, including whether the Spurs handled the situation the right way.

Power Rankings

Despite the loss to the Spurs, ESPN had the Raptors at #3 this week due to strong bounce back performances against Milwaukee and Indiana. They cited the Lowry return with Leonard sitting out as promising, as is the schedule coming up.

"The Raps can look to fatten up over the next couple of weeks, with five of the next seven at home against sub-.500 teams."

S.I. has the Spurs climbing into the top ten this week, largely due to a 12-3 record in their last 15. The Raptors managed to climb to #2 with S.I. noting that they won the bigger game of the week-the one against Milwaukee.