During a loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday evening, Raptors coach Dwane Casey did that. Casey has been hesitant to use Valanciunas in fourth quarters, and with some good reason: Valanciunas has the worst net rating of any rotation player on the Raptors. (Interestingly, his presence hurts the team’s offence more than its defence.) The Toronto defence calls for strong hedging on pick-and-rolls and lots of scrambling to chase three-point shooters off of their mark, and Valanciunas’s lack of speed works against that strategy. That was exposed at times against the Cavaliers, with James Jones and J.R. Smith taking wide-open threes in Valanciunas’s final five-minute stint. The Raptors certainly had defensive shortcomings during that span, ones the presence of the fleeter Patrick Patterson or Amir Johnson might have helped address.
Casey isn’t condoning a style of physical play that results in players getting hurt, but he’s seen over the years how the game has changed, a perimeter-dominated game featuring more small ball than physical basketball. Jonas Valanciunas committed a hard foul on James late in the third quarter on Wednesday, the kind of foul playoff basketball would feature. After the officials reviewed the play, it was ruled a flagrant one. “Not just LeBron but anyone who drives the lane you want them to feel you,’’ said Casey. “That’s an old NBA adage and we’re not doing it enough. You don’t want to hurt anyone. “You don’t want free layups. I’m not promoting you hurt anyone.” After watching the Valanciunas sequence, Casey came to one conclusion. “It was a good, hard clean foul.” Good on Valanciunas for denying James a dunk.
Raptors Jonas Valanciunas Grows Up And Drops A King | Pro Bball Report
“He played huge,” Casey said. “This was one game that he came in and I thought he dominated. They were blitzing Lou (Williams) and DeMar (DeRozan), and Greivis (Vasquez) did a great job of finding him on the roll.” Dominated indeed, this night you could see the maturing of Valanciunas right before your eyes. With 18.8 seconds left in the third quarter, James is driving to the hoop and all of a sudden Valanciunas drops “King James” to the floor with a hard foul.
Kyle Lowry nears Raptors return | Toronto Star
Having lost six of their last seven games, there is immediate pressure on Lowry to return. But there’s also the need to have him healthy down the road, for the stretch drive and what the Raptors hope will be a long playoff run. “When you have your floor leader, your star . . . that’s what you want (available). They make those plays (that lead to wins),” Casey said with a bit of longing in his voice. The Raptors, though, need Lowry to be healthy enough to play his game. “There are things I want to get healthier,” Lowry said Thursday. “I want to get back to a higher level.” Lowry said he was proud of his teammates’ effort in Wednesday night’s 120-112 loss to the LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Air Canada Centre. The point guard was at his animated best on the bench as play got rough in the late going. Among the most physical Raptors was big man Valanciunas, who was a powerhouse with 26 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes — and hauled James to the floor, drawing a much-talked-about flagrant foul.
Dynamic between Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan limiting Raptors | Sports Glory
Aside from the fact that it was unbelievably naieve to think that one win over a team that began the current campaign 1-17 was enough to do anything more than temporarily change the mood in Toronto’s locker room, the issues presently plaguing this team simply can’t be solved overnight. At the front of the line, having Lowry serve as both the Raptors’ starting point guard as well as their main offensive weapon has provided endless opportunities for the entire team to suffer whenever he’s not playing well, and leaves Toronto offensively-rudderless the minute he gets hurt. Before Lowry guided the Raptors through their recent rise to relevance, just the potential of losing DeRozan was enough to send panic through the streets of the CN Tower city. But now, Lowry is this team’s unquestioned leader, and it’s the potential of his long-term absence that keeps Raptor-fans awake at night. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to further develop his offensive game by feeding-off of Lowry’s ability to draw double teams, DeRozan has often used the point guard’s presence as a reason to step out of the spotlight despite leading the team with a career-best 18.4 points per game.
Raptors Player Power Rankings: Feb. 25th – Mar. 4th | Raptors HQ
While that nastiness was a joy to see, the more notable development for Valanciunas has been his refinement as an offensive player. He was relied upon to keep the Raptors in the game during Saturday’s debacle in New York, draining 14 points on 71.4% shooting in the second half. He still struggles when teams bring the double-team at him, but he has made marked strides in his game this season – to the point where it seems Dwane Casey is finally ready to trust him late in close contests.
If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late: The Myth of the Toronto Raptors | Sir Charles in Charge
But a granular look at Toronto’s offense shows that success is simply not sustainable, especially in the playoffs. First and foremost, the Raptors lack any real continuity on offense, as they 22nd in the league in assists per game (20.6) 25th in passes per game (281.3) and 20th in points created by assists per game, meaning that they rely too heavily on Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan creating something off the dribble. Their lack of ball movement is not because of poor point guard play—Lowry averages seven assists per game—but because of head coach Dwane Casey’s apparent lack of offensive imagination. Which is obvious when the Raptors are forced to set up shop in the half court, where they seem confused and lackadaisical. Toronto holds the ball for 20.1 seconds per possession (3rd-longest in the NBA), which is an outcome of most of their players staring at Lowry dribbling for brunt of the possession, and then hoping something good happens at the end.
Toronto Raptors: Finding the Weakest Links | Raptors Rapture
Ross has been the real dud, regressing significantly from his sophomore campaign. Compared to Vasquez, he has the far higher sealing. Ross has freakish athleticism, a penchant for massive dunks and a smooth shooting stroke. However, he can’t seem to put his skills together. Instead, he looks lost offensively and defensively. His 3-point shot has fallen off the radar, with Ross only making 37% of his attempts. He lost his spot as a starter this season and he is quickly losing favour in Toronto. The team still wants to turn him into something, but it is unclear what.
Raptors Top Five: Worst draft picks | TSN
Much to the dismay of Carter, who pushed for Julius Erving to get the gig, the inexperienced Babcock was hired on to be the team’s third GM in June of 2004. A couple weeks later, he was tasked with making a crucial, possibly franchise-altering draft selection. So let’s face it, the setup here was not great. With Carter on the wing and sophomore Chris Bosh entrenched as the team’s starting four, Babcock looked to fill a need by adding a big body, the 6-foot-11, 280-pound Araujo. “He’s not a project,” Bobcock had said after going off the board to select the BYU product. At 24 years old and with a “hockey mentality” (again, Babcock’s words), he was touted as a player that could step in and contribute immediately, helping to turn around a talented roster in a tailspin. Less than three years later, Araujo’s brief and uneventful NBA career was over. He appeared in 139 games, starting more than half of them, without making an impact. Despite his size, he blocked just 16 shots and shot 41 per cent from the field.
Problems with the Toronto Raptors right now | RealGM
In this thread we will discuss some of the problems the Toronto Raptors are facing and how we, as RealGM forum posters, can help the team improve. Dwane Casey consistently does not play Jonas Valanciunas in 4th quarters, even when Valanciunas gets really good stats on the points and rebounds. He instead puts in players who average less points and rebounds, so statistically the team is scoring less points and grabbing less rebounds in the 4th quarter – a critical mistake. Any real coach would consistently play Valanciunas at least 38 minutes per game, including 10 or more minutes each 4th quarter. In addition, late-game play calling has always been an issue. Casey consistently runs plays for Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Lou Williams to take shots. However, when you look at the shooting percentage of these players, they only shoot around 40% while players like James Johnson, Amir Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas are shooting around 60%. Clearly, he should be running iso post plays for those players. He does not understand that these plays will have a success rate of 60%, while letting those guards shoot will only have a success rate of 40%. Clearly it is wrong for him to run these lower-percentage plays. Although James Johnson is starting, Dwane Casey still has trouble playing him in the 4th, just like Jonas Valanciunas. Last night against the Cavaliers, LeBron James scored 15 points in the final 6 minutes, all with James Johnson on the bench. We, as RealGM forum posters, know that if James Johnson had been in the game at the time, he would have held LeBron James at most 5 points in the last 6 minutes, guaranteed. Playing James Johnson would have resulted in an automatic win for the Raptors.
It’s About That Time — Toronto Raptors | Medium
The problem is that Toronto doesn’t have much experience at utilizing their edge in the paint. The Raptors live and die by the jump shot and this must change come playoff time. John Henson is lanky with good block timing but he doesn’t have the size or strength to match up with Jonas Valanciunas. His aggressive performance against the Cavaliers was a positive step but consistency is the key when it comes to Jonas. Valanciunas must be able to post up while maintaining control of the ball as Milwaukee’s guards will swipe at him every chance they get. Opponents know that Jonas wants to use his signature left to right hook and he must find some counter moves that he is comfortable with to keep the defence honest. The key to this series will be on the glass and boxing out will be essential as the Bucks rebound at every position. Milwaukee is probably the most favourable match up the Raptors could see but it will not be as easy some fans expect.
Toronto Raptors at Charlotte Hornets: Friday NBA game preview | Toronto Star
They might be the relatively easy mark on this three-game road trip, but the Hornets seem to have the Raptors’ number, winning the last five meetings. The Raptors haven’t won in Charlotte since March 29, 2010.
Keys to Beat the Raptors, Pistons and Wizards – 03/05/15 | Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets hope Gerald Henderson will be in line for another big performance against Toronto this Friday night when the Raptors come to town as he’ll likely square off against DeMar DeRozan, who missed the first game this season against Charlotte because of a groin injury… Gerald Henderson dropped a season-high 31 points in Toronto on Jan. 8 and has been really heating up lately in large part due to the Hornets recent acquisition of Mo Williams, who has done an exceptional job in Charlotte’s offense of helping to space the floor and facilitating for players like Henderson… Henderson is averaging 17.5 points over his last four games and has also hit two three-pointers in three of those four games despite averaging only 0.5 made three-pointers a game overall on the season… Averaging 18.4 points on the season, Toronto’s leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan, helped the Raptors snap a season-high five-game losing streak with a 35-point outing against Philadelphia on Mar. 2 after averaging only 13.8 points during the skid… DeRozan’s shooting has been an issue this year in Toronto as he is connecting on a career-low 39.4% from the field, including 23.2% from three-point range… With All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry sidelined with a finger injury, the Raptors have had to shuffle their lineup around a bit recently so don’t be surprised if DeRozan ends up starting at small forward against defensive specialist Michael Kidd-Gilchrist which would leave Henderson with a favorable matchup against backup Greivis Vásquez… Regardless of where he plays, DeRozan is still a dangerous scorer who will be relied on heavily for a Raptors teams seeking revenge against Henderson and the Hornets on Friday night in Charlotte.
The Hornets’ Jan. 8 victory at Toronto was as impressive as any this season. Henderson had 31 points in that game.
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