After politely suggesting that opponents should not be allowed to use him as a crash test dummy, Norm was given a technical foul. In fact, don’t you dare even complain about it, Norman. ... Ben Simmons. The Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will be prior to the game, while the Dunk Contest will take place at halftime. "There's nights where I feel like I'm dominant but it may not look like a 40-point game, that I might have a triple-double and we might win by 20, whatever the case is," Simmons said. As fun as watching the diminutive point guard strip players a foot taller than him is, it is perhaps equally fun to watch what he does after. That’s A Rap #131: Recapping the first half of the season. Raptors hang tough, but lose to Celtics 132-125, Game Thread: Toronto Raptors @ Boston Celtics. He gets a cocky hop in his step and will often make something good happen, seemingly entering a state of flow after he rips the rock from an opponent. Whether its counted as a block or a steal (Fred wants it to be a steal), his knack for getting a hand on the ball and taking it for his own is uncanny. Here are some takeaways from the past seven days in 3 Lessons. I felt like it was a little bit of disrespect putting him on me, but it is what it is.". Although two losses in a row, at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, have put a slight damper on the Toronto Raptors revival, it should not take away from what the team has accomplished. The Rap-Up: Toronto hypothetically closes out its first half schedule. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving said on social media earlier this week that he would like to see the NBA's logo changed from a silhouette of Jerry West. Fred VanVleet’s hands have been a major talking point amongst Raptors fans this past week. Both teams will be in action Wednesday, when the Sixers return home to face the Houston Rockets and the Jazz travel to take on the Los Angeles Clippers in a battle of top Western Conference contenders. DeAndre’ Bembry is doing what he can to help the Raptors. Regardless, the Sixers star took advantage of the situation. A steal for Fred is like a shot of adrenaline for him. Rivalries in the NBA are not nearly as heated as they once were. Similarly, if a Patrick McCaw logs eight minutes and does not ever shoot the ball, did he really play? MailOnline - get the latest breaking news, celebrity photos, viral videos, science & tech news, and top stories from MailOnline and the Daily Mail newspaper. In all likelihood, they aren’t that bad of a dude, and you’d probably like them if they were on your team. How will the COVID-related issues affect the team? The foul sent Powell barreling into the stanchion, clearly shaking him up for a moment. Utah didn't have another perfect option available given Embiid's absence. "We won our division and set a franchise record for most consecutive wins to open a season, so there was a lot of good stuff. An ancestor of the Simmons line had been a founder of a secret organization known only as The Family. It's a great shot'. He posted a … Why, again, is there an All-Star weekend? In the meantime, .500, we hardly knew ya, and we’d love a chance to get to know you better. "With them saying they believe me, letting me be myself and embracing me, it plays into the whole role of who I am, and that gives me even more confidence," Clarkson told reporters. 3 Lessons: On VanVleet’s swagger, Ben Simmons, and the return of McCaw, 3 Lessons: On the skeleton crew, Jack Armstrong’s heat check, and the schedule. The Raptors crawl to the All-Star break wounded but not broken. Where all 30 teams stand during the All-Star break 📲, George gives Dame his flowers for playoff game-winner: 'I was criticized for the right reasons. "Or [my impact] might be on defense. "We think Ben played at a high level last year," Rooney said. Coming in at number two in steals per game with 1.7, VanVleet is at the core of the Raptors defense that is so adept at forcing turnovers, to say nothing of his “blocks”. That left Gobert, an old-school post player, without a clear defensive matchup. The dinos are not yet extinct. But until that happens, I will cringe every time he steps on the floor, knowing that we will get another few minutes of 4-on-5 offense and average defense at best. While the positional differential seemingly irked Simmons, being guarded by a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year probably lands more on the respect side of the scale.