Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
It was the first few minutes of the third quarter that made Thursday night worthwhile for the Raptors, a stretch of when they combined tough defence with opportunistic offence and showed in a short spell the promise of the season to come.
asserted
they → make → season
Scottie Barnes had a couple of blocked shots, Kawhi Leonard’s intensity and swarming defence cut seconds off the shot clock and bamboozled ball-handlers, while Collin Murray-Boyles checked seven-footers and point guards.
asserted
Boyles → have → footers
It helped the Raptors turn a five-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead in about a six-minute span, a small sample size but an important one.
asserted
It → help → span
Given that the exercise of the pre-season is to work on cohesion and conditioning in short stretches, the night had to have been a success for Toronto.
asserted
night → give → Toronto
In about a 3:20 stretch when Murray-Boyles replaced starter Jakob Poeltl to get some time with Toronto’s four other starters, the Raptors forced six misses off seven New York shots, out-scored the Knicks 10-2 and gave coach Darko Rajakovic fodder to think about before the regular season starts Wednesday.
asserted
season → replace → fodder
That the Knicks escaped with a 122-120 victory was secondary.
asserted
escaped → escape → victory
Toronto got more time for Leonard (22 minutes spread over four different stints) on different combinations and that’s important.
asserted
that → get → combinations
There were good nights from Barnes (23 points and four blocked shots), RJ Barrett (21 points, eight rebounds) and Immanuel Quickley 18 points, seven assists) and they played basically New York’s top lineup — Josh Hart was the lone regular who didn’t play — even almost all night.
asserted
who → be → lineup
For Rajakovic, seeing how the combination of Leonard, Barnes and Murray-Boyles works is important and even while defending seven-foot centre Karl-Anthony Towns, the size-challenged Raptors were not hurt.
asserted
Raptors → see → Towns
The trio’s strength, quickness and versatility more than overcame any size deficiencies.
asserted
strength → overcome → deficiencies
It’s unlikely the Raptors will change their starting lineup but that group should close every close game.
asserted
group → ’ → game
Murray-Boyles made another three-pointer in his offensive development and had two blocked shots and three steals in about 22 minutes.
asserted
Boyles → make → minutes
The second-year forward looks like he’s going to be central to how the Raptors play at both ends.
asserted
Raptors → look → ends
Leonard, meanwhile, was not dominant but playing limited minutes while he’s still working himself into game shape, just getting him out there for almost a half game was significant.
asserted
getting → play → game
The Raptors committed 20 turnovers, defenders got caught ball-watching for backdoor cuts by Knicks along the baseline and New York had 15 offensive rebounds.
asserted
York → commit → rebounds
And the survey says …
The Raptors caught the attention of the league’s general managers according to an annual poll conducted by NBA.com.
Barnes is ranked second as the game’s most versatile player (behind San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama), the third most versatile defender (behind Wembanyama and Houston’s Amen Thompson) and got votes as the best small forward and the player most likely to have a breakout season.
uncertain
Barnes → say → season
Leonard is ranked as third best small forward in the league (behind Luka Doncic of the Lakers and Jayson Tatum of Boston), is tied with LeBron James behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown as the new player who’ll have the biggest impact and also got votes as the most under-rated player.
asserted
who → rank → player
Murray-Boyles tied for second behind San Antonio’s Dylan Harper as the player most likely to have a breakout season and No. 19 choice Allen Graves was tied for second as the rookie who was the biggest steal at his slot.
asserted
who → tie → slot
The Aporia
