When the Raptors started looking to fill a vacancy on the assistant coaching staff, the search centred on someone with a long and varied career on NBA benches.
asserted
search → start → benches
They got their man, someone with a connection to one of the most storied moments in the team’s pre-season history.
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They → get → history
New Raptors staffer Stephen Silas, who has been an NBA assistant or head coach since 2000, was part of an ill-fated Toronto-Cleveland exhibition game that never took place in St. John’s.
Silas, the 53-year-old son of legendary NBA player and coach Paul Silas, was an assistant on the 2003 Cavaliers team that had a game against the Raptors cancelled because of condensation on the court, robbing fans there of seeing what would have been the final pre-season appearance of then-rookie LeBron James.
It’s part of Raptors lore and not only because the organization has failed to keep a vow to return to Newfoundland.
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organization → fat → Newfoundland
For the Cavaliers, who were hustled onto their bus and out of the arena even before the cancellation was made public, it was to be their eighth pre-season game — an arduous schedule teams had to deal with — and, incredibly, the second of an odd Cleveland-St. John’s back-to-back.
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teams → hustle → back
The Cavaliers had played on the Wednesday night before, beating Washington at home, and took about a five-hour flight to St. John’s.
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Cavaliers → play → John
They sat around the hotel most of the day, got ready to warm up, found the court was unplayable almost immediately after walking on it and returned to the airport for the flight back.
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court → sit → flight
Now 23 years later, Silas is on the Raptors staff after spending last season with the Detroit Pistons.
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Silas → spend → Pistons
He spent three years as head coach of the Houston Rockets (59-177 from 2020-23) and has been an assistant in Charlotte (both Hornets and Bobcats), Cleveland, Golden State and Dallas.
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He → spend → Charlotte
That vast experience made him a valuable target for head coach Darko Rajakovic to chase in the summer after Mike Batiste returned to coach in the Greek pro league, where he once starred as a player, and James Wade left the organization.
“We wanted to bring in another assistant coach who has a lot of experience and … coach Silas was available,” Rajakovic said.
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Rajakovic → make → experience
“Talking to other head coaches around the league everybody spoke so highly on him, so it was very easy decision for us to bring him on board.”
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us → talk → board
Kawhi and the guru
If there’s one thing Kawhi Leonard has learned over the past few years it’s his body, and the nurturing it needs.
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it → ’ → years
Troubles with knees and quads and the demands of his profession have taught Leonard the value of top-notch conditioning.
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Troubles → teach → conditioning
It’s why he’s not rushing anything now that he’s 35 years old.
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he → ’ → anything
“This game is fast-paced,” the Raptors forward said this week.
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forward → pace → ?
“You’ve got to be in condition, able to sit in the stance on defence … that’s what me and the staff (are) focused on.
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me → get → what
Make sure our lungs are conditioned … muscles, legs, tendons.
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lungs → make → ?
So we take it step-by-step.”
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we → take → step
And since Toronto’s the team that kept him healthy in the past — for the key part of the 2018-19 season: the playoffs — he was glad to be reintroduced to Raptors medical training guru Alex McKechnie.
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he → ’ → McKechnie
“Everybody knows what he’s done, how much of a legend he is and how focused he is in his work,” Leonard said.
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Leonard → know → work
Leonard isn’t expected to play Saturday in Vancouver against his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
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Leonard → expect → team
The plan is for him to make his return to the court with the Raptors in their lone home pre-season game on Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
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him → make → Knicks
It’s easy to dismiss some of the quotes from the Raptors about the love they feel across Canada.
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they → ’ → Canada
But if you’re around them long enough in different Canadian cities, it’s obvious they aren’t just blowing smoke.
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they → ’re → smoke
We heard it last week in Quebec City, and you’ll hear it again this weekend in Vancouver.
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you → hear → Vancouver
These guys take being Canada’s team as a responsibility.
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guys → take → responsibility
“I think we are a little bit spoiled,” Rajakovic said in Quebec.
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Rajakovic → think → Quebec
“Everywhere we go in Canada, arenas are sold out.
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arenas → go → Canada
We’re super grateful.
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We → ’re → ?
We understand what kind of influence the Raptors have at every level, in every city and community.”
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Raptors → understand → city
There was a full house of about 3,700 for a practice at Laval, and the game in Quebec drew a sellout crowd of 18,474 at the Videotron Centre.
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game → be → Centre
There is a connection, and the Raptors do what they can in every city.
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they → be → city
Mail call
Thanksgiving notwithstanding, the weekend mailbag never takes a weekend off, so we’ll be back as usual on our website Sunday morning.
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we → take → website
The Aporia
