The Toronto Raptors had a second consecutive day off for the second time already in this series, and it’s pretty clear that nobody likes sitting around for the next game, at least not coming off of a loss. Spirits and confidence once again seemed high at Monday’s session, which was more of a normal practice after a light Sunday, but at this point, most of what can be said has been said.
That didn’t keep a few of the Raptors from providing some pretty great quotes. They’re just new, fun ways of saying what we’ve been hearing since the team’s disappointing Game 4 loss.
Ride or Die
The Raptors’ stars, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, know they need to play better. Lowry’s turned in some solid performance outside of his poor shooting nights, and he’s mostly been moving the ball well, which could be a focus for the All-Star duo moving forward.
“Of course. It’s always better when you pass the ball, it’s always better to get guys open,” Lowry said Monday, while pointing out that he’s still doing a fine job distributing. “That’s just a lot of things we’ve gotta do with screening. It could be better to get guys open. Driving harder. Getting out in transition. A lot of different things can contribute to that. We’ve just gotta do things, just, better, in general.”
Head coach Dwane Casey has tried to shoulder some of the blame, suggesting he needs to find better ways to get Lowry and DeRozan looks. That’s a tough thing for him to put on himself, given that the quality of looks they’re getting, in broad terms, hasn’t changed a great deal. They’re just shooting – and playing – worse within the confines of their normal system.
But the Raptors can’t really change their stripes at this point. Or scales, as it were. Or whatever the scientifically correct term for the skin of a dinosaur is. This is what got the Raptors here, saw them win 56 games, and still has them favored in the series. Three games isn’t much of a sample to expect regression within, but it also wouldn’t be surprising to see Lowry, DeRozan, or both have big games at some point. In any case, this team is built on their two stars, and they’re going to win or lose with them.
“They’re our guys.,” Casey said. “They’re like your kids. You get upset with your kids sometimes, you argue with your kids, you go back and forth. But at the end of the day, they’re your guys. They’re our guys. We’re gonna ride or die with DeMar and Kyle. They haven’t shot the ball great, but it’s still basketball. We’re gonna go with them. They’re our star players, they’re All-Stars for a reason. As a coach and as our staff, we’re trying to put them in the best position to be successful.
“It’s gonna be hard, everything you do in this league is hard. But at the end of the day, DeMar and Kyle are our guys, I don’t care what their numbers say. They’re still, to me, two of the best guards in the NBA.”
There’s really no other attitude to approach it with than that.
Long hair, don’t Carroll
DeMarre Carroll had his minutes restriction lifted ahead of Game 3 and has responded with maybe his two best outings in a Raptors uniform. With DeRozan and Lowry struggling some and Paul George proving a serious problem, the timing for Carroll’s reemergence really couldn’t have been better.
“What DC’s doing is incredible,” Lowry said. “From not really being with us for half a season and now he’s coming in and giving us all that he’s giving us is amazing. He’s bringing that toughness, and he’s a guy that’s been playing this way his whole career. And you know DC, he hasn’t been this guy. He had to work hard to get to this position and he’s not going to give it up easily. So for us, you just love the effort he’s giving us, the fight he’s giving us, the mojo that he’s playing with is good.”
George vs. Carroll as primary defender
Game 3: 2-for-13, 4 points, 19.1 ft avg FG distance
Game 4: 1-for-5, 6 points, 21.4 ft@ESPNStatsInfo— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzESPN) April 25, 2016
Carroll has seemed in much better spirits as a result, brushing aside earlier complaints from George about the officiating and then dropping a few gem quotes Monday. Carroll and George are friends thanks to formerly sharing an agent and the workouts that came as a result, but all of that stays outside of the lines.
“I know Paul left and right. “I know what he’s trying to do. I know his personality. It is what it is,” Carroll said. “When I’m on the court, I’m nobody’s friend except these guys in the locker room. I don’t care who you are. You could be my pops, I don’t care.”
An underrated aspect of Carroll’s presence may be the additional playoff experience he’s bringing to the team, too, having made an Eastern Conference Finals run last year. That can help keep an even keel, and while the Raptors have been in the postseason the last two years, the team’s added experience of deep playoff runs can only help. In the case of Lowry and DeRozan struggling, Carroll even has experience with the supporting cast having to step up as star players shift into facilitating more.
“I been through it before,” Carroll said. “I been through it in Atlanta last year. We had guys like Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague, they had to use their selves for the team. it allowed guys like me and Kyle Korver and the other guys off the bench to play to our capability. That’s all we gonna have to do now, do the same thing that I felt we did last year.”
And then, of course, there’s the added toughness Carroll’s bringing, like backing his teammate up when things get heated.
“I just try to, when I see my teammate in a fight, I’ma go help him. I don’t care where he at. If we’re in an alley, I’ma go help him,” Carroll said of helping Jonas Valanciunas opposite George in Game 3.
DeMarre Carroll is a treasure.
Say adjustment again
Two days off can lead to some impatience on the part of fans. It also leads to the same questions, answers, and – and I’m guilty here – articles kind of rehashed during the long break. Ahead of Game 3, it was about how the Pacers would adjust to Valanciunas. Ahead of Game 5, it’s how the Raptors may adjust to Myles Turner. That back-and-forth chess match
“Games 2 and 3 we made adjustments and we won those. Game 4, they made a great adjustment, now we have to make an adjustment,” Lowry said. “One thing about playoff basketball, every game is different. You guys have seen it. Every game has been different ion the aspect of shooting, turnovers, assists, tempo. Everything is completely different. It’s just a different type of game every game. So you gotta go in there with the expectation that it’s going to be a new game.
“That’s the great thing about basketball.”
Even with all the talk about adjustments, though, Lowry was clear that it will get to a point where you just have to play. He knows that time is ticking, and as we’ve kind of pounded around here, the sample is shrinking to just assume things will even out. “You just gotta go hoop,” in Lowry’s words.
For his part, Casey understands all the talk but kind of laughs at the attention it gets, given the realities of what the media is actually privy to.
“I know it’s the so-called buzzword to do in the playoffs is to make adjustments,” Casey said. “Everybody makes adjustments. But not gaping, huge adjustments. There’s just not enough time, and you don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water as far as changing everything. Everybody’s making adjustments now. The hard thing is getting up here and talking about it, because guess who’s listening? Everybody’s listening. That’s the hard thing to do.
“Coaches aren’t going to be honest with you right now. They’re gonna lie to you. Big time.”
So he’s lying to us. Unless that’s a lie, and he’s actually telling the truth. But the truth is a lie. TRUST NOBODY.
Other news and notes
*There was a lot of talk about Indiana’s transition offense and how well they’ve been doing in that regard. One of the big keys to stopping it is limiting turnovers, but Lowry also said “four guys back” multiple times when asked about it, suggesting the Raptors will be pretty conservative on the offensive glass. It’s a tough trade-off, because that’s an area the Raptors can have an edge, but every extra body that crashes is a body that’s not getting back.
The Raptors started the season out chasing offensive rebounds more than almost any other team but grew more conservative as the season wore on, and it’s likely that Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo will be the only players tasked with going after second chances in Game 5.
*The Raptors seem to have done plenty of homework on how the Pacers neutralized Valanciunas to a degree in Game 4, and it sounds as if they’ll approach things a little differently. They could do themselves a major favor by starting Patrick Patterson and making helping off the weak side a much more difficult choice for Indiana, but if that’s not going to happen, there are other wrinkles the Raptors can throw out, like dual screener actions, screen-the-screener stuff, and even post-ups for Valanciunas.
“It’s very important,” Casey said. “He has to establish deep post position. For whatever reason, Mahinmi was pushing him, getting him off his sweet spot. Jonas can’t allow him to do that…You’ve gotta adjust to the way the officials are calling it…You’ve gotta fight for that spot. I don’t think he did as good a job as he has been doing on Saturday. He’ll do a better job with that tomorrow night.”
*This is obvious, but it’s fun to hear Lowry talk about his love of basketball sometimes. There are few guys more passionate about their craft.
