As the Toronto Raptors prepare to face the Washington Wizards in the first round of the post season there are a number of highlights from the regular season to reflect on: :
Raptors Set New Win Record and Repeat as Atlantic Division Champions:
Toronto is headed back to the post season as back to back Atlantic Division Champions. Before you throw that achievement away, consider the fact the franchise has only accomplished this for the third time in 20-years.They did it while missing their top scorer for over 20 games and through growing pains of 2 third year players. Making the taste sweeter is the knowledge we enter the summer with $30+ million of available funds to tweak the roster and retained our draft picks.
Chemistry Remains Intact:
Despite periods of struggle the team has weathered storms, never falling below the top four seed. This speaks to the camaraderie of the players and their continued support of each other. While we heard rumblings out of Washington, Cleveland (and even Chicago) we never experienced the same type of player sound bites that spoke to discontent in the locker room. If anything, this unit may be more solidified than ever.
Each of the seeded teams in the East went through periods of extended losses, and other than Chicago no other team dealt with as many injuries to key players.
Adjusting to new player additions can take some time and when you factor in injuries it can take a toll. For example Houston who spent the majority of the season ranked top 3-defensively recently got Dwight Howard back yet his return coincided with a fall to 7th and over the past 15 days they’ve ranked 14th. Suffice to say there is something to the theory it takes time for a team to adjust with new personnel and find their rhythm.
To that end, Toronto have gone through several iterations of line-ups with DeMar DeRozan’s injury, Kyle Lowry out of the line-up for an extended period as well as the shuffling of Terrence Ross, James Johnson and Greivis Vasquez shifting back and forth between starting and the bench. Obviously our defense has slid from last year, but there are signs of the team finding their footing in the past few weeks. Lowry’s return will aid in this effort and a healthy Amir Johnson should equate to an improvement. The player most affected by Johnson’s absence was Jonas Valanciunas which speaks to the synergy the two have formed playing beside each other for three seasons.
Offensive Juggernaut:
The Raptors prowess in offense has been demonstrated throughout the 2015 campaign as they jumped out of the gates and continued to put up impressive numbers.
Like many young teams defense can take a hit when the offense is functioning on all cylinders. The team repeatedly said they knew defense was the key area they needed to improve, but we were anxious to see a return to the top-10 defense showcased to start the season. Through the last 5 games we’re seeing improvements::
- Opponent FG% – 41.4%
- Opponent 3-PT FG% – 33.8% (includes Hornet game when Raps held them to 35% overall but allowed 46% from 3)
- Raptors were a +9 in rebounding through these 5 games
Of note, when the Raptors have multiple days to practice/prepare for specific opponents they produce their best efforts:
- Atlanta immediately after All-Star break
- Memphis in November
- Clippers after Christmas break
- Spurs in February
- Miami and Houston in March
- Most recently our nemesis Charlotte.
Williams the 6th Man:
The award which should be renamed the Crawford in homage to perennial 6th man beast Jamal Crawford is likely to find its way into the hands of Lou Williams. Most pundits have him winning over Boston’s (via Phoenix) Isaiah Thomas and Crawford. He has given the bench scoring punch and although it took the majority of the season for Williams and Vasquez to find a comfortable working chemistry they appear to be functioning as a better tandem recently. When Williams leads the team in scoring Toronto is 14-4 and are 19-8 when he scores 18 points.
Taking Down Old Foes:
For years the Raptors have been the team sitting on the periphery of the playoffs. Specifically in the years our core players left we were never good enough to break through like Boston has and never quite bad enough to get the best lottery picks. During these years there were two specific Eastern foes that had Toronto’s number: Charlotte and Miami. Watching the Raptors beat these teams on the road was made even sweeter because they were still vying for a playoff spot and the losses essentially ended both their post season hopes.
The Play and Sound Bite of the Season:
Coincidentally the best play of the season also provided the best sound bite of the season. The BBoyz and I have added “I cocked that joint back and banged on him” to our basketball vernacular and for some reason we still laugh every time one of us says it.
And the infamous quote:
Back Court Remains top 3 in NBA:
I think we sometimes tend to forget how our two All-Stars are viewed by the NBA loving world. This recent article on NBA.com by Joe Boozell ranks the top-10 back courts with Golden State’s Splash Brothers ranking first and Lowry and DeRozan second. Incidentally the Wizards John Wall and Bradley Beal rank third.
Reserves Making a Mark:
Throughout the season the Raptor bench has ranked in the top-5 and often represent the top producing line-up for the team. Obviously Williams scoring prowess is part of the reason, but the bench also posts some impressive point differentials when utilizing the hockey line-up featuring Vasquez, Williams, James Johnson, Patrick Patterson and Tyler Hansbrough. In fact that line-up ranks 8th as the best 5-man line-ups in the Association.
“The Toronto Raptors’ five-man combination of Tyler Hansbrough, James Johnson, Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams ranks in the 85th percentile of total minutes played among all quintuplets and is outscoring opponents by 17.7 points per 100 possessions—which, for the record, puts it in the 88th percentile of net-rating finishes.” – Dan Favale, Bleacher Report
Entering the post season this factor could play a huge dividend especially versus Washington. The Raptors bench ranks 5th with a +7.3 differential to the Wizards’ 14th rank (+0.2). Furthermore, the Raptors bench rank 6th in scoring to the Wiz’s 15th rank
We The North Fan Base:
Give yourselves a round of applause, you’ve become known throughout the NBA as the most supportive fan base. Certain arenas like Oracle (Golden State), Moda Center (Portland) and Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City) are well known for their crowd support and noise level. But, are there any teams who can boast of having a fan base showing up in hordes to visitors arenas often audibly overtaking the home team’s support?
(picture: fans overtake the Detroit court)
This season was especially noticeable perhaps because social media makes us more aware, however we’re hearing our fans chanting on air during games highlighting the Raptor love. Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, Boston, Chicago and Brooklyn all witnessed droves of Raptor faithful showing up this season, however two specific road games stand out for me. The first visit to Cleveland when the fans were so loud you saw LeBron James get a little annoyed and Detroit was bedlam.
When Dennis Scott was asked on NBA TV last night who he felt would win the series he didn’t say Toronto, or Raptors he said “I’m leaning towards We The North…” Last season I felt the feel good story of the playoffs was the Jurassic Park crowd in front of the ACC and the fans who took over Brooklyn’s arena, but the Clipper situation drowned out all other stories unfortunately. This year the NBA is prepared with some prominent media/celebrities (Bill Simmons of Grantland/ Charles Barkley) publicly rooting for Toronto to make the Eastern Conference Finals. Coincidentally they both want a Chicago vs Toronto ECF, maybe they’ll pull a Tristan Thompson and join the crowd outside the ACC this year if the Raptors can make their aspirations come true.
(picture: fans in the crowd at Cleveland)
Raptors Enter Post Season Healthy:
Okay, so this isn’t really a regular season highlight, however the fact Toronto enters the post season with a healthy squad is key. DeRozan has looked more like the guy who showed up in camp this past month. He’s averaging 23.4 points per game since March, but more importantly he is jumping and driving without hesitation. Last night it appeared the rust was gone from Lowry as he resembled a closer embodiment of the player who carried this team while DeRozan was out and Johnson was sprly running the court on his tip-toes (always a good sign he’s feeling healthy).
NBA Standings in 1 point, 1 minute left games. Good for the Grizz and Rockets. Bad for the Spurs and Thunder pic.twitter.com/eKRR7gNhxk
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) March 18, 2015
Often teams have to use so much energy to just get into the playoffs and end up being worn down. For the Raptors to have these three players well rested and healthy it should equate to them having more in the tank in late game situations. The other positive is the last week to ten days of the season provided Toronto with an opportunity to play in close games versus desperate teams preparing them for playoff type basketball.
Bottom line, there have been times this season people questioned where the magical squad of 2013-14 had disappeared to, and still others were seemingly in the Paul Pierce camp flatly stating we didn’t have “IT” anymore. Personally I’ve enjoyed getting to watch consecutive seasons of my home team winning, breaking records and recently I’ve noticed a squad who looks focused on meeting another of their 2014-15 objectives: getting to the second round.
Watching the post game interviews last night provided yet another smile worthy moment when Lowry glared at the reporter for even suggesting he respond to Pierce’s comments.
And DeRozan showcased a grit and confidence we haven’t often heard from him (at least publicly) when his response pretty much summed up how the Raptors should feel going into this series.
“He just better hope Chicago win so he won’t see what the IT is”.
From my perspective I’m anxious for another post season to begin and feel optimistic. I believe the Raptors can and will move onto the second round after they Bring “IT” to Paul Pierce and company.
Enjoy the playoffs We The North and let’s make some NOISE!
