For all of his limitations, the Raptors are a much better offensive team when Williams is on the floor compared to when he is on the bench. The team has found enough ways to compensate for his poor individual defence that his presence is a massive positive for the Raptors. Although he is having the worst shooting year of his career and has fallen off dramatically as a three-point shooter in the new year, he is getting to the free-throw line at the highest rate of his career. He shoots 86 per cent from the free throw line, which more than makes up for his at-times frustrating choices. Of the Raptors’ five main perimeter players, Williams has the best true shooting percentage — which factors in three-pointers and free throws. “I told him one game — this was at the beginning of the season — ‘I thought I was good at getting to the free-throw line, but you’re up there as well,’” DeRozan said. “It’s just fun when he’s out there because he’s competing. With him only weighing 120 pounds to be able to do the thing he’s doing, it’s definitely amazing to witness.” Two main questions surround Williams, who becomes a free agent this summer: Should the Raptors bring him back? And should this team, given its flaws, rely less on Williams than it currently does?
DeRozan finally finds his groove after mid-season injury | Toronto Star
“He knows when to tag, he knows the system … He’s kind of the anchor on defence,” said Casey. “It took him a while longer to get his sea legs, to get in NBA condition, to get into a situation where, mentally, he could take the hits, the blows, the bumps without being affected by it. And I think now he’s getting to that stage of the season.” With just 12 games left until playoffs, DeRozan’s solid game couldn’t come at a better time, especially as the Raptors have struggled to play to their early-season groove. They have won just six of 17 games since the all-star break, four of which have come in the past week and a half. “If (DeRozan) remains focused like that I think we can do some special things,” said Vazquez, who has been starting at point guard in Lowry’s place. “He works extremely hard and, unfortunately, this year injuries held him back just a little, just a touch. But he’s getting back to his own and he’s helping us win.”
DeRozan peaking at right time for Raptors | TSN
“Just getting my rhythm [back],” the 25-year-old told reporters following practice Monday afternoon. “Ever since I came back, it was tough, bouncing back from my injury, just getting my legs back under me, getting my rhythm that I had before I got hurt. Really just playing with the ultimate confidence and feeling good again.” “It took me a while,” he continued. “It took me a while but even when I was struggling when I first came back I was trying to fight through it the best way that I could and I knew it was going to come around at some point.” Indeed, DeRozan never seemed to get down on himself. Even after that Feb. 28 loss in New York, he insisted that he’d bounce back from the mid-season slump and be better for it by the time the playoffs rolled around. The following game, and first in March, he dropped a season-high 35 points on Philadelphia and hasn’t looked back since.
Jonas Valanciunas Has Quietly Killed The Raptors | BBALLBREAKDOWN
However, a closer examination of Valanciunas’s impact yields observations that are a far cry from what most NBA fans think about the young big man. With the deadline for an extension of his rookie scale contract approaching quickly, the Raptors will have to make a critical decision. Early deals for players finishing their rookie contracts are the best bargain the league offers, but Valanciunas may represent a case where the team is best off staying put. This season, Toronto’s overall net rating is +3.2, ranking ninth in the league and sandwiched between the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies, per NBA.com/stats. However, when Jonas Valanciunas is on the floor, that rating dips all the way to -1.1, closer to low seed teams like the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. Via NBA.com/stats, Valanciunas is the only Raptor with more than 212 minutes [of whom there are 11] to hold a negative net rating. In fact, when he’s on the bench, their net rating skyrockets all the way to +7.8, a figure that would rank second only to the Golden State Warriors. No other member of the team has an off-court net rating higher than +5.3 (Terrence Ross). In near dramatic fashion, Valanciunas is easily the Raptor of those qualified 11 with the worst on court/off court split. In total, the Raps hold a top five offense (107.8 points per 100 possessions) and a bottom 10 defense (104.6). When Jonas plays, though, the offense falls from fourth to 11th (104.5) while the defense becomes worse than every team besides the Minnesota Timberwolves, L.A. Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks (105.6). It’s a significant swing that puts a mid-to-high Eastern Conference playoff seed in the company of lottery teams.
Raptors just not equipped to make long playoff run | Toronto Sun
Whether it is lack of basketball acumen, a deficiency in leadership, defensive breakdowns that have gone unaddressed for far too long, whatever the case may be this Raptors team is not equipped to win a playoff series — no matter the opponent. Too many people in this market know very little about basketball and for too long the many mavens in the media, which grows with no end in sight, keep feeding the masses this bunch of crap that the Raptors are playoff-worthy. They’ve entertained and they’ve put together win streaks that have inspired, but at the core of this team is a lack of defence and a toughness that can get easily exposed.
Why the Toronto Raptors will hit 50 wins this season | Raptors Cage
If the Raptors take care of business, they should realistically be looking at anywhere between 50-52 wins. Simply put, they will be favored in essentially every game moving forward, and should start to pick up some steam late in the season. While they will likely lose a few just because of the nature of the game, every game aside from Chicago and Houston should be a win if the Raps are playing with the intensity that is needed.
Raptors-Pistons: Tuesday game preview | Toronto Star
The 26-44 Detroit Pistons come into Tuesday’s game against the Raptors having won three of their last four matchups, including a hearty comeback victory over the Chicago Bulls Saturday night. A highlight through this stretch has been shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He drained 27 points in an overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday, and has scored 21.5 points on average over the past four games. Greg Monroe, meanwhile, is reportedly not likely to suit up against the Raptors because of an injured leg.
NBA Preview – Toronto Raptors at Detroit Pistons – Mar 24, 2015 | CBSSports.com
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored seven of his 27 in overtime, Andre Drummond had 18 with 22 rebounds and Reggie Jackson added 17, 11 assists and nine boards as Detroit even helped the Raptors move closer to the Atlantic title with Sunday’s 105-97 win at Boston.
Photo by Lucas Oleniuk / Toronto Star File
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