The Raptors are rolling. That’s the simple way to put it, that they’re a top-five team record-wise and just won Friday by a whopping 33 points over overmatched Brooklyn.
What’s weird is the Raptors haven’t made any massive changes from a year ago. It’s still the usual core, led by their backcourt, with a few role players pitching in, and coached by Dwane Casey. Yet being familiar with each other is actually a strength; for example, Toronto isn’t playing nice-to-meet-you ball like Oklahoma City.
Of course, the big test is what happens in springtime. Toronto has never advanced to the NBA Finals (coming close once with Vince Carter) and once again must go through LeBron James.
Here’s what James Herbert of CBS Sports wrote about the No. 3 team in the East (but charging fast):
Team president Masai Ujiri promised a “culture reset” two days after Toronto was eliminated in May. “To me, making the playoffs is nothing,” he told reporters. Some took that to mean that coach Dwane Casey’s job was in jeopardy. Others thought Ujiri might do a full rebuild, starting with letting Lowry walk in free agency. Instead, the Raptors got radical in another way.
Dating back to 2013-14, the year of the Rudy Gay trade and “F— Brooklyn,”Toronto’s offense has stagnated when dealing with trapping defenses in the playoffs. Miles recalled the Indiana Pacers’ plan to “make it as tough as possible for Kyle and DeMar” in their first-round series in 2016, and this was essentially the same thing that every opponent tried. The goal was to take the Raptors’ most reliable playmaking options away. The best way to beat that kind of defense is to keep the ball moving and make everybody a threat.
“The production in the playoffs was quite different than it was in the regular season,” Nurse said. “So, to combat that, we’re trying to raise our number of assisted baskets in the playoffs and we’re trying to be much more unpredictable. Instead of a dozen or so set plays that, when you get to playoff times, teams can sit on, we’re trying to have a bunch of actions — maybe multiple actions in one series or reactions to how things get guarded and being able to counter those things.”
Toronto asked its stars to get out of their comfort zone. DeRozan embraced it, telling The Athletic’s Eric Koreen in October that he wanted to lead the team in assists. Lowry took a while to adjust, telling reporters he was used to having the ball in his hands, but in the last month has averaged 18.6 points, 7.4 assists and 7.4 rebounds with a 63 percent true shooting percentage. Casey said that “it speaks well of their leadership” that they haven’t fought the stylistic shift. In the Raptors’ last eight games, DeRozan is averaging 6.8 assists. They’ve won seven of them.
If they remain healthy, yes, pencil the Raptors in as a contender. Still, who or what can possibly put them over the top? They’ll need Lowry to be consistent, for a change, in big postseason moments and a little luck. Also, they can and should play the odds: LeBron can’t possibly make a seventh trip out of the East, can he?
