Celtics 109, Raptors 116 – Box
There’s already a reaction post for this game which is all a pre-season game deserves, but there are traditions to follow so here goes a post-game report.
The Raptors beat the Celtics despite playing in a low gear for most of the evening. Dwane Casey extended Kyle Lowry to 31 minutes, including the full fourth quarter, to test out how he was coming along and the results were fantastic. Lowry hasn’t been going full throttle the first two games of the preseason, often drifting in and out of possessions and taking shots that seem to be born out of boredom rather than constructed out of rigour. Last night, though, it was a return to form for Lowry who inundated the Celtics with his tenacity and zeal for playing both sides of the court, as he manifested himself into the battering ram of a player he’s capable of being.
The question surrounding DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas is whether they’re able to maintain the forward progress of the summer, and on both counts the matters are affirmative. DeRozan’s mid-range game looks more refined, and it has more to do with him simply practicing the jumper. He’s peeling off screens very well, going the right direction on the picks set for him, and making incisive decisions in favor of having lingering thoughts about what to do. There’s nobody on the Celtics, and certainly not Evan Turner, who can stay with DeRozan in a face-up or post-up situation. With his recent experiences as a ball-handler with Team USA, when sizing up the opposition he’s now able to see beyond just what his options are, but reflect on where on the court he needs to be to operate optimally for the pass out or the drop underneath. Looking past the lack of execution at times, you have to be pleased with the thought process DeRozan is displaying on offense. Defensively, he was never quite put to the test.
For Valanciunas, it’s all about converting Dwane Casey’s defensive message to action on the floor. His offense is definitely quicker and more deliberate, and in a game like this his size becomes an automatic factor on the offensive boards and in the block. However, it’s what he does defensively that will ultimately dictate his minutes since the coach isn’t shy about benching players who aren’t pulling their defensive weight. Watching this game, you would have noticed Valanciunas always trying to establish rebounding position on any shot that went up, and that’s something you may not have seen last year. Instead of vaguely pretending to be active on the boards, he’s trying to cut his way through players into the paint and it’s naturally causing disruption. He may not always get the boards, and may even look silly trying to maneuver against more coordinated players like he did last night, but he forces a defender (or even two) to box him out, opening up rebounding opportunities for guards venturing underneath the three-point line, or other bigs.
There’s also plenty to be pleased about some of the secondary players. Patrick Patterson looked to have recovered from his earlier injury issues as he picked up where left off from last season. The movement off the ball, the confident long-range jumper, and the controlled yet forceful drives to the rim were a welcome sign. At 25, he’s soon to be entering the prime of his career and if his improvements over the last 12 months are any indicator of the progress he’s doing to make over the next three years of his contract, Raptors fans have a lot to look forward to. People tend to forget that he’s also a capable defender who can move his feet, and as part of a second-unit that involves James Johnson, he can be a force on both ends.
Speaking of James Johnson, he’s gradually easing into his role of a floor stretcher, garbage man, and defensive specialist. He made a few attempts to come up with offensive rebounds by crashing in, and met with success a couple times. He tended to cut to the rim where he thought he had a chance, but with Greivis Vasquez operating and looking for a big to cut right down the middle, you could sense that Johnson didn’t want to get in the way of the play and hung on the perimeter instead of perhaps following his instinct. The positive is that he appears to know what his role on the team is, and if he sticks to that, there’s enough support on the team that his skills will shine through.
The same is true for Lou Williams, who despite going only 2-10, had a positive impact on the game due to his presence and reputation. He’s a player that teams have to respect, whether it be turning on a screen, pushing in transition, or simply stepping back for a jumper. When you look at the second unit, which has undergone a big change with Johnson and Williams stepping in, you have to feel positive about the balance on the court. The Celtics, missing two of their better players in Rondo and Green, aren’t exactly a measuring stick of any kind, so watching the Raptors second unit tilt and twist their defense isn’t indicative of too much. What we can take away from the game is Vasquez and Williams have an understanding of each other’s roles, and both being relative veterans instead of unbroken players, has a lot to do with it. There’s a balance of offense and defense in that unit, that if fine tuned, could produce some great results, especially when you throw in a starter (like we usually do) such as Terrence Ross into the mix. It should be noted that Vasquez was quite bothered by Pressey’s defense (great name for a defender, BTW) because he didn’t expect Brad Steven’s side to show that kind of pressure that early. This isn’t concerning because we’ve seen Vasquez excel in negotiating this kind of pressure to good effect.
Ross’s ball-handing isn’t necessarily better so far this season, it’s that that area of his game seems to have been made a focus by Dwane Casey. We saw him be the primary ball-handler on offense with Lowry and DeRozan on the court, and he did well to handle Avery Bradley’s pressure, and allowed Kyle Lowry to play off the ball, thus increasing the latter’s three-point threat. The main benefit of Ross assuming this role is that it gives the defense a look that they may not have been used to during the course of the game, and when you present something like this in the fourth quarter, it forces the opposing team to make an adjustment. It’s like a card in Casey’s hand which, I’m sure, he’d love to play more often. Sort of reminds me when Phil Jackson used to surprise teams with Toni Kukoc at the point, or a more recent example might be Manu Ginobili handling point-guard duties,
Defense is one of the last things to come around because that’s where the need for communication is the highest. So, when I see Valanciunas being unaware of a cutting guard, or a guard not dropping down to help on a beaten big, or Williams trailing a screen instead of anticipating it, I’m not too worried. I have some faith in Dwane Casey that he can instil the required rigour in his players, and that over time we’ll see the weaknesses of players concealed, and their strengths emboldened. The Raptors did allow the Celtics to shoot 49% on the night and 50% from three-point line including 14 threes, which is poor. Too many players were beaten in one-on-one situations, and the confusion on perimeter and interior coverage responsibilities was blatantly evident, but that’s exactly what preseason’s for. I’d rather the Raptors go .500 in pre-season and identify their weak points rather than go undefeated thinking they’re infallible.
There was no Bruno Caboclo, Jordan Hamilton, Will Cherry or Greg Steimsma (concussion) and I’m sure all will feature in New York on Monday. To sum it up, this was a night where the Raptors were rather casual with the Celtics for most of the night, but when they decided to take things seriously, the Celtics had no chance.
Finally, our own Lou Williams William Lou was at the game and offered up some observations:
- I’m very impressed by Brad Stevens. His team was very well-coached, and executed a concerted strategy on both ends of the floor. He also used timeouts and late quarter scenarios to practice running sets.
- The Raptors, by comparison, looked rather sloppy on defense, and wasted a few opportunities to practice plays. For example, Casey called a timeout at the end of the first half only to run a straight iso for DeMar. Why does that even need to be practiced?
- Marcus Smart reminds me of a larger version of young Kyle Lowry. Dogged competitor, a bit of a bully, and can’t shoot yet.
- Kelly Olynyk can only shoot the three if he does a little hop first. It’s a tell that gives his intentions away.
- For a preseason game, there was a lot of excitement. Good crowd, all things considered.
