Bruce Brown has since been limited by injuries Raptors acquired him from Indiana in January, but he feels ready to prove himself as he gets closer to his season debut, he writes SportsNet's Michael Grange. After going through it arthroscopic surgery As training camp approaches, Brown is expected to return to action at some point during the team's four-game road trip.
“I don’t know if you all noticed, but last year I didn’t seem really engaged and didn’t have as much energy as other teams because I was playing on one leg.” Brown said after attending Saturday's practice. “I want this to be addressed: I know a lot of fans didn't think I played with a lot of energy and I didn't want to be here – it's on social media – but I want to be here, I do.” I want to play with these guys, they're great people, great coaches, great organization, but I was literally playing on one leg. It was tough for me mentally, I couldn’t move the way I wanted to and play defense the way I wanted to, so it was tough.”
Brown served as a versatile reserve on Denver's 2023 title team and was one of the hottest names in free agency this summer before landing a two-year, $45 million contract with the Pacers. The Raptors exercised their $23 million team option on Brown in the offseason, hoping he would make a full recovery from the right knee issues that plagued him after coming to Toronto last season.
“I was on one leg. You could see I was feeling pretty good in the first half, but when the second half started it got really stiff.” he said. “I couldn't run, couldn't move, (but) we had so many people outside, I'm just not built (to sit outside). If I can go out and play, I'll go out and play. Of course it was hard, sometimes things didn't look good, I didn't perform as well as I should, but if I can do a little, then why not?”
There's more from Toronto:
- It is said that the Raptors are the only remaining team without an away win Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. One reason is that Scottie Barneswho returned on Thursday after suffering a fractured eye socket, only played one away game. That's another one RJ Barrett was a much different player in home games, averaging 29.3 PPG and shooting 50.8% from the floor at Scotiabank Arena with 19 PPG while shooting 37.2% in all other games.
- The Raptors are pleased with the progress of the second-round pick Ulrich Chomche with their G League partner. Appearance on the Raptors Show with Blake Murphy (Video link), coach of the Raptors 905 Drew Jones said the former Basketball Africa League big man is coping well with the adjustment. “He’s a sponge, man, and people use that term loosely, but he really is.” Jones said. “And not only is he trying to absorb the information, he’s trying to apply it in real time.”
- As the Raptors hit the road, rookie guard Ja'Kobe Walter Grange will remain with the G League team to recover from a shoulder injury Tweets.