The Toronto Raptors suffered a disappointing 116-107 loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. What made this loss even more disappointing for the Raptors was that the Thunder were shorthanded; The defending champions were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, but Toronto allowed Cason Wallace to score 27 points on 11-16 shooting from the field and 4-5 from beyond the arc.

Taken in isolation, this harm is not as worrisome. The Thunder have a deep team that remains dangerous despite the absence of SGA and J-Dub, and losing to the best team in the NBA is no shame. But a deeper look at the Raptors’ results reveals a very worrying trend that doesn’t bode well for their chances of making a deep playoff run.

As TSN’s Josh Levenberg reported, the Raptors are now 4-14 against NBA top-10 teams (in terms of win-loss record). Three of those wins came against the Cleveland Cavaliers before James Harden was brought in and rejuvenated the team, while the other win came against OKC in late January.

The Raptors have regularly struggled against the best teams in the NBA, but the old saying goes that to be the best, one has to beat the best. So far, Toronto isn’t passing that test.

The Raptors may just be a little short of being a legitimate contender

The Raptors may be struggling with the problem that their best shot-maker can get stuck against teams with elite defenses. Brandon Ingram has shown in the past that he can struggle when faced with defensive pressure, and Toronto’s other key players aren’t at a level where they can help compensate for each other’s weaknesses.

This doesn’t mean Toronto is a bad team; For some reason their record is a good 34-24. But the front office looking for stars on the trade market is making it known how they view this current squad.

MIAMI – The Miami Heat are getting a huge boost from Tyler Herro returning to practice after missing the last 15 games, another player on the team chasing consistency is Nikola Jovic. While Jovic’s fourth Heat season has been an extended slump, the 22-year-old spoke honestly about his year and what he wants to address.

With 26 games left in the season, Jovive looks to help Miami win games somehow, although his minutes have been up and down, averaging 17.9 minutes, his lowest since his rookie season. It’s no doubt been a tough season for Jovic, getting used to the team’s new fast-paced style of offense, as he averaged 7.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting 37 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from deep.

The “repeat” area the Heat’s Nikola Jovic is trying to get rid of

Jovic spoke to ClutchPoints in a one-on-one interview after Thursday’s practice, and emphasized how this season has been a “repetitive” trend with his inconsistent outings and interactions with head coach Erik Spoelstra.

When it comes to his performance, he describes how he would play well in some games, then lag, lose playing time and then find himself taken out of the rotation. In trying to shake off that tendency, Jovic is confident that it is not a mental issue that is hindering him.

“Spo [Spoelstra] He called me to his office several times. And it’s usually the same thing, he’s always asking me, how can he help me?… But at this point, it’s usually the same thing; I’ll play well a few games, and my minutes will go down, and then I’ll be out of the rotation. I’ll be back, looking good again. And it’s getting repetitive to such an extent that when I sit down with Spo, it feels like we’re trying to figure out what to do.

“But it’s not easy, but like I said, it’s not a confidence thing. I really believe in myself. I know how good I am. It’s just a weird season, the way we play, the way the team works. You know, it’s just weird. But Spo is really trying to help me, and I’m really trying to help the team. It’s just at this point, it’s really repetitive, where it’s kind of the same. Things are happening…so, yes, we’re still trying to figure things out.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic is on much-needed All-Star break

As the Heat are trying to turn their season around, Jovic is looking to do the same individually, as he has shown flashes throughout his young career that he can help the team in a myriad of ways. The team feels the same way, as the 2022 first-round pick was rewarded with a four-year, $62.4 million contract extension in October.

Having the ability to be a point-forward, providing Miami with positional versatility, he may want to come back to provide significant minutes off the bench or when he is in the starting lineup. There’s no doubt that the reset was needed for Jovic as the All-Star break comes at the perfect time, he told ClutchPoints it helped his body rest physically, but also took his mind off basketball for a while.

“Coming off a tough EuroBasket that I had, I came right here, and I was trying to look as good as possible. So I didn’t really stop working out. So this break really helped my little injuries, kind of, heal,” Jovic said. “Mentally, it was good. I was with some of my friends. Mentally it was a good thing for me, I wasn’t thinking too much about basketball, but at the same time, trying to figure out what I want to do and how to make sure I look my best when I come back.”

Jovic will talk about the importance of taking good care of the mental side and how important it is for any basketball player, but will also discuss how it hasn’t been a hindrance this season.

“I’m happy every morning, I’m happy every time I go to sleep. And I think that’s something that’s really important,” Jovic said. “Basketball is something I know I’m good at. And even though some people may think I’m not doing well this year…I also feel like I’m probably not the best version of myself…but I don’t think it has anything to do with the mental side of things.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic is on if offense is hurting his season

There may be a lot of talk about why Jovic has struggled to find a consistent role this season, with one possible reason being the new offensive identity the Heat are implementing. Although the team has regressed to the middle after getting off to an electric 14-7 start, Miami is still averaging 119.6 points per game (fifth in the NBA) and leads the league with 104.87 possessions per 48 minutes.

As for Jovic, he’ll say his down season “probably” has to do with the new offense, but more that it’s not a byproduct of the system.

“I mean, it’s probably, you never really know,” Jovic said. “The weird thing is we talk about how much better we look, but the reality is our record is the same as last year, you know. And people thought we looked really bad last year. So there’s both sides. Maybe it’s because of the offense, maybe it’s because I’m just not doing good enough. Me personally. I don’t think it has anything to do with the offense, the way I play, the way my minutes work…”

Jovic added, “I started at the beginning of the year, after the first game, I was eight, nine, games off the bench.” “So I got waived then, and then after five games I was out of the rotation. So it was a weird season, you know. And even now, I don’t know when I’ll go in, whether I’ll play 5, 12, or 17 minutes…So right now, I’m just trying to help this team win.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic talks about his goals for the rest of the season

If one thing is certain, it’s that the Heat want to move away from the eighth-seed purgatory and make another trip to the play-in tournament that they have been languishing in for the past three seasons. Jovic echoes the same sentiment, saying that his goal for the remainder of the season is to help Miami win more games, hopefully improving as a result.

When Jovic was asked what his mindset was going into the remaining 26 games, he said, “Help this team win as many games as possible.” “You know, it’s been the same thing since I’ve been here, you know, basically, if I played or I didn’t play, well, it seems like we’re always finishing in the play-in, you know. And it feels weird. So we’re trying to get in the top six, where we don’t have to be in the play-in.”

“And from there, I’m trying to figure things out. I’m really just trying to help this team win and then get to the playoffs and then figure out how to win the playoffs. So, I don’t personally look at my stats, or how I look personally, as long as we win, I know I’ve done my job,” Jovic continued.

As Jovic pointed out, Miami is in a familiar spot, where the team has a 29-27 record and is in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but a hopeful turnaround will begin on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s fair to say that Leeds United fans probably don’t have a lot of good things to say about Victor Orta. And his career after Elland Road is unlikely to change those views.

Marca covered the 47-year-old today And how, things are not looking too good at Real Valladolid either. It’s all to do with his debt to firing and hiring managers.

Orta joined the La Liga 2 team as their sporting director last summer on a deal running until 2028. It was his second job after leaving Leeds in 2023, following a two-year stint as sporting director at Sevilla.

leeds’ magic ends badly

Of course, he had previously spent six years at Leeds. The high-profile appointment of Marcelo Bielsa and his return to the Premier League defined his tenure there.

But he left Elland Road in 2023 amid fan protests and the club eventually being relegated back to the Championship. That last year was a disaster. After the sacking of Bielsa in 2022, he moved on to Jesse Marsh, Javi Gracia and then Sam Allardyce. And it seems this was a trend.

Marca points out that Orta has now reached his fourth consecutive season in which he has appointed at least two coaches.

Leeds had three, then Sevilla in 2023/24 with Jose Luis Mendilibar, Diego Alonso and Quique Sanchez Flores.

Leeds’ troubles continue

The following year, the Spanish club had Javier García Pimienta and Joaquín Caparros in the dugout. Now the latest dismissal is coming to Real Valladolid.

He joined last summer but could not fully settle in there either. Two coaches have again been replaced during his tenure as sporting director. The most recent fall is that of Luis García Tevenet. He lasted only seven games with the club in the relegation zone.

His appointment and dismissal are a ‘stain’ on Orta’s ‘already tarnished record’. He is amassing a growing list of failed coaches. Now Valladolid wait to see what he does next. They, like Leeds and Sevilla, are starting to ask questions.