Raptors revelling in some beautiful chemistry | Toronto Star
So is it a chicken-and-egg thing? Does good chemistry beget team success, or does team success allow relationships to blossom that would otherwise be contentious? If Toronto was 15-32 rather than 32-15, would we be talking about good relationships or would players be sniping privately about roles and responsibilities or wanting some kind of change?
Stories of teams not necessarily close but still finding success are legendary and present a solid counter-argument to the “chemistry is everything” school of thought.
The Oakland A’s of the early 1970s won multiple World Series while battling each other; no one would have suggested Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal would break bread while they were winning a series of NBA championships; Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson took enough time away from considering beating each other to a pulp to become champions.
As Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy put it Saturday in Toronto — if you don’t win, chemistry is just something a few people might have taken in high school.
Lowry and DeRozan’s plan of success is working | Toronto Sun
The payoff was immediate both for Lowry and his team. This season he’s lighter on his feet, quicker to the basket and making opponents look silly as he stops on a dime and reverses course buying him the space he needs to get his shot off.
DeRozan has changed too, although physically he doesn’t look significantly different than he did a year ago. But on the court he is much more polished and effective. Now he bounces off defenders looking to muscle him and impede his path to the basket, where before he would get pushed off his line to the basket. Rarely has that happened this year. This season he powers through the contact and if he is driven off course finds a way back to finish at the rim.
Both men have put in the work and are seeing it pay off. Because of that, with 35 games remaining in the season the Raptors are five games clear of the third-place Chicago Bulls for second place in the East. They are 21/2 behind the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers for first in the East. Lowry and DeRozan are the primary reason for that standing and the rest of the league is taking notice.
DeRozan officially joined Lowry on the Eastern Conference all-star team this past Thursday when the coaches added him as a reserve. The announcement was mere formality. It was a given that DeRozan would be added.
Going to the mid-season classic together clearly makes it even a little more special for both.
Views From The Six: The Toronto Raptors Are Ready To Make Some Noise | The Sports Quotient
As Kyle Lowry enjoys a career year, Toronto still wouldn’t be making this much headway without a similar year from the second man of this dynamic duo, who was also named an all-star this year.
DeRozan is ninth in the NBA averaging over 23.1 points per game, but it’s how he’s scoring that’s taken his game to another level. While #10 can hit open threes in a gym, it’s just not his forte. Some people prefer blondes to brunettes. DeRozan prefers twos to threes. It’s no surprise that he’s second in the league in two-point field goal attempts. That being said, he is hitting a career high 32% from three and says he will take the open looks the defense gives him.
Now, how exactly does a volume shooter hit 44% of his shots when he’s not a good three point shooter? It’s not a simple answer; he does so in a lot of ways. DeRozan has improved as both a post-up player and pick and roll ball handler, which is easier with Lowry as a spot up threat. All of this has led to mismatches from switching, as well as more fouls drawn. DeRozan is currently taking a career-high eight free throw attempts per game (he’s 3rd in the league in free throws attempted) and hitting almost 85% of them, also a career high.
For Raptors James Johnson The Mad Scientist Approach Works | Pro Bball Report
“(I) come in here at nighttime, come here first, just shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot til I find a rhythm,” Johnson explained to Pro Bball Report. “I finally recorded it. Told myself what to do like a mad scientist while I was feeling good. Told myself what I was feeling good about so I wouldn’t forget.”
For most of the season, it would have been hard to pick up on the fact Johnson was shooting better from range. He just didn’t shoot the long ball often enough to notice and it’s far easier to remember the bricks as that’s what everyone had come to expect when Johnson got brave enough to hoist from distance. However, his teammates have noticed. They are in the practice gym with him and can see the work Johnson’s been putting in.
“The guys are giving me opportunity to shoot and are trusting my shot and that’s a big key,” Johnson continued. “When your teammates are trusting your shot and passing you the ball when you are open in the corners or the wing, you feel some type of way about that.
“It feels good coming in at nighttime. I’m in the gym two hours, 2.5 hours, come down see Kyle (Lowry) and DeMar (DeRozan) in here, so they know I want it. They know how hard I work.
Five reason the Raptors will win a playoff series | Toronto Sun
Chemistry. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy made a strong argument against its importance, suggesting friendship off the court doesn’t necessarily translate to chemistry on it. But in the case of the Raptors, the chemistry off it and togetherness within the locker room has transferred. The biggest thing, and DeRozan mentions this often, is everyone is playing for the guy next to them. It’s a sports cliche but for this team it’s reality. Success is team earned within that room so there is simply no room for selfish agendas.
Raptors-Denver Nuggets: Monday game preview | Toronto Star
Need to know: Nuggets are back home after a three-game road trip that ended with a Saturday overtime loss in Indiana . . . The rebuilding Nuggets are 18-30 and only 9-15 at home, where they usually have a decided advantage in the thin air . . . Rookie point guard Mudiay averages 11 points a game and is tops among rookies with 5.6 assists per game . . . The Raptors will be out to avenge a one-point loss earlier this season in Toronto . . . Denver struggles defensively, giving up more than 104 points per game on average.
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