Jared Sullinger is about a month away from returning to the lineup for the Toronto Raptors.

Sullinger has been recovering from the surgery on his left foot he underwent in training camp.

Sullinger is no longer wearing a walking boot and has been able to put more pressure on the foot.

"He has been great with his insights. I tell him I would rather have him as the player Sully than the coach Sully, but he has a great basketball IQ and some great advice," said Dwane Casey. "You know when guys are pulling your tail and giving you bullcrap, but his stuff is real, really intelligent insight into who we are playing and how to play certain guys and certain situations. That has been very helpful. And it’s like I told him, this can help him when he goes on the floor so now he can think through situations so he has no excuse before he makes a mistake."

The Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 18.

DeRozan led the Raptors to a 3-1 week, averaging a league-high 31.5 points on 60.5 percent shooting to go with 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. This marks the second time this season he has scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games. DeRozan also shot over 50.0 percent from the field in all four games. On Dec. 16, he tallied 34 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 125-121 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. On Dec. 18, he finished with 31 points, three rebounds and three assists in a 109-79 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Harden led the Rockets to a 4-0 week behind averages of 27.0 points (third in the West), a league-best 12.8 assists, 9.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He recorded back-to-back triple-doubles in victories over the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, giving him six for the season and 15 for his career. Harden surpassed Hakeem Olajuwon for most triple-doubles in Rockets franchise history. He tallied at least 20 points and 10 assists in three of four games, giving him 18 such games this season, tops in the league.   

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Eric Koreen of The Athletic Toronto (@ekoreen) go in-depth on the Toronto Raptors.

They discuss the Raptors’ historically great offense so far, their dominant bench-heavy lineup, young talent, what to expect for the rest of the season and much more. 

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The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs walked away from the 2011 NBA Draft with Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard, but both teams were looking to trade into the top-5 to select Jonas Valanciunas.

Valanciunas fell to the Toronto Raptors at No. 5 as he wasn't planning on coming over to the NBA for one more season.

Bob Myers suspected the Spurs' Plan B in trading up ahead of the Warriors at No. 11 was to select Thompson, the player they were targeting with their lottery pick.

The Milwaukee Bucks also liked Thompson and they were picking 10th, but they moved out of the spot following a trade with the Sacramento Kings, who wanted Jimmer Fredette.