ICYMI from Raptors Republic
How do the Raptors want to play Game 6? | Raptors Republic
For the bulk of the series, the Raptors defense has been decent. They’re allowing essentially the same rate of scoring as they did in the regular season despite an otherworldly performance from Paul George, and the bigger issue on a per-possession basis has been on the offensive end. Which makes sense, since Indiana was the league’s third-best defense. But Indiana was a middling offense, and George`s dominance aside, the team’s defense could and probably should be better.
And again, the Raptors are achieving that fine-not-good result differently. The pace of the games has slowed down even more, which should favor the Raptors, but Toronto’s uncharacteristically turned the ball over on 15 percent of possessions. The Pacers’ offense lives off of such miscues, and they’re averaging 17 points off of turnovers and 13.2 fast-break points per-game in the series. That’s “good” relative to what Indiana normally does, but it’s a far cry from the stingier transition defense of the regular season Raptors. When controlling for pace, Indiana is essentially doing what they do in transition.
That’s something the Raptors need to figure out quickly. Head coach Dwane Casey continues to hammer the importance of protecting the ball, which is easier said than done. He’s also stressing getting back – “winning the race to halfcourt” – and that’s where how the Raptors succeeded in Game 5 again becomes interesting. The Raptors prefer to slow things down and grind it out, but they’re perfectly well-equipped for a track meet, so long as it’s run by their rules.
The Curious Case of Kyle Lowry | Raptors Republic
Some may point to Lowry’s net rating, player efficiency, or advanced metrics to analyze his impact on the games in this series. And yes, I agree, Lowry’s had an unbelievable impact on some of these past 5 games, even without scoring the basketball. I could get into all of that and most people would agree that many of those stats are meaningful. But just for the sake keeping it simple today, let’s adopt the Matt Devlin approach. As Devlin will often say, “the three is the key”. That’s not to say Lowry hitting threes is the only reason the Raptors can succeed – but the “correlation doesn’t imply causation” argument has never been one to stop us basketball over-analyzers from crunching some of the numbers and seeing what the patterns tell us. No reason to stop now.
During the regular season, when Lowry shot better than 45% from the field, the Raptors were 27-8 (77% win percentage). When he made 4 or more 3-pointers in a game, the Raptors were 16-4 (80% win percentage). Again, that’s not to say that’s why they won those games – it’s just an indicator of a correlation that likely means that the pace of the game that opens up the shooting opportunities for Lowry, is one that’s conducive to winning for the Raptors. It means we’ve got to maintain floor spacing; it means the bigs need to be playing well (to create open shots on the perimeter), and it means screens need to be set effectively such that opposing defenses players can’t fight through them. Part of that is offensive execution, but part of it also hinges on the defensive efficiency of your opponent. Indiana, the third-best defense in the league coming into this playoff series, is about as good as they get when it comes to on-the-ball and rotation/help defense. Solomon Hill, George Hill and Paul George are 3 active and capable defenders who can guard multiple positions at the point and on the wing; combine that with a struggling shot coming into the series, and some of this, while surprising, shouldn’t be shocking.
Patterson isn’t here for We The Gold, and other practice notes | Raptors Republic
Getting off to a good start
Also wildly disappointing have been the starts the Raptors have gotten out to in Games 4 and 5. Head coach Dwane Casey continues to stress turnovers as a way the Raptors have kind of got the Pacers going, but outside of protecting the ball, a better start really seems to be about mentality. The Raptors had it in Games 2 and 3 but seemed to lose the plot until the fourth quarter of Game 5, and so they’re“The thing you gotta do is treat this like Game 7,” Casey said. “We can’t go in and get ambushed.”
Again, though, they said the same things heading into Game 5. It’s certainly worth hoping they get off to a better start, but without a tangible reason for why they’re coming out cold over the last two, it’s hard to suggest a fix, especially since the logical starting lineup tweak didn’t work out in its initial run.
“If there’s a coach in the world that can say ‘I know this is gonna happen,’ I want to meet him,” Casey said. “I trust our players. We prepare. I trust what they’re gonna do, I trust their work habits, I trust their intensity, their toughness. We’ve done it all year. From a coaching standpoint, that’s what you’ve gotta do is trust and believe.
“I believe in our guys.”
The guys believe in each other, too, which is important, and the Game 5 comeback could only have helped in that sense. So, too, may the fact that some of the Raptors have been here before.
Raptors Weekly Extra – Live from HoopTalks with Raptors HQ | Raptors Republic
Articles from the Internets
The Raptors search for the real Raptors: Arthur | Toronto Star
It’s amazing, in its way. Toronto has spent a year compiling the fourth-best record in a strange year in the NBA, where the top two teams were so far away that 56 wins felt like the upper middle class, not the elite. But in this series, against a team with one star and a defence and a stubborn coach, it’s been impossible to know what to expect from these Raptors. You don’t know; they don’t know; their coaches and executives don’t know.
The last time they were here, they didn’t know who they were, either. The Raptors as a winning team were a new thing, and Paul Pierce had clambered inside their heads with the simple truth: that they were not a team to be afraid of. And he was proven right.
That Brooklyn series feels a long time ago now, but it was the real start of all this. Then, the Raptors had nearly blown a 26-point lead in Game 5, rather than come back from a 17-point deficit to win it; Pierce and Andray Blatche, a journeyman, guaranteed the Nets would win Game 6, and they did. The Nets guaranteed a Game 7 win, too, and got it by a fingertip. The Raptors, at least, felt like there were better days ahead.
Well after last year’s humiliation, here they are. The Pacers are trying to collect themselves after blowing Game 5, and George is challenging his teammates to be better. The Raptors are shooting .401 from the field, and a playoff-team-worst .266 on three-pointers. Lowry has had to be a heart-and-soul guy to win, rather than the Lowry who controlled games so often this season. DeRozan has looked like an all-star once. Not one Raptor has been near his best in every game. They are still one good game away.
Raps have to pretend it’s Game 7 | Toronto Sun
“We’ve got to try to take advantage of the opportunity that we have in hand. We know it’s not going to be easy. We know how hard it’s going to be. We’re going to go in there and be the more assertive team, just go out there and be physical and just fight for it, fight for every inch on the floor.”
The manner in which the Raptors won and, conversely the Pacers lost, Game 5 all but assures the kind of take-no-prisoners approach usually reserved for a Game 7.
“You’ve got to come out fighting,” head coach Dwane Casey said. “We know their backs are against the wall. We can’t go and get ambushed. We’ve got to go in with our high beams on, laser-like focus from the start of the game to the end of the game. We can’t go in and spot them 9-0 and think we’re going to have a chance to win.”
As for any more looking back or seeking redemption for a series that got away two years ago, the Raptors have no time for that chatter.
“Somehow, some way, we have to flush what happened two years ago, or 20 years ago, to this franchise,” Casey said. “The most important thing is now. Not two years ago, not thinking about what happened and those ghosts or demons or whatever.”
Casey is 100% correct on that. There are only five players and Casey himself still around from that team.
Paul George on Pacers facing elimination: ‘It’s on everybody to get this win’ | Indy Star
“Still not over it,” George said of Tuesday’s game. “Still not over it. We blew our opportunity.”
With the season’s most critical game upon the Pacers, George is not afraid to be on the court for every second of Friday’s game.
“If that’s the direction that the game is going, I’m all for it,” he said. “Whatever we’ve got to do to win, I’m doing it.”
George’s performance in Tuesday’s game – 39 points, eight rebounds, eight assists in 41 minutes – might be necessary for the Pacers to stave off elimination Friday and force Game 7 in Toronto on Sunday.
“I think people are big on that because of the outcome of (Tuesday’s) game,” Solomon Hill said of George’s potential usage Friday. “If we would have won the game, nobody would have said anything about Paul playing whatever minutes. It’s because of the way he was going, but that has its own good and bad, too. You don’t want to keep trying to get Paul to keep hitting home run balls every time. There’s still 70 other points to account for. He needs to get his rest and he needs to be able to finish (the game) strong.”
Not smug; just Norm #wethenorth #wethenorm #rtz #normanpowell
A photo posted by Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) on
Pacers’ Paul George being home-schooled by Raptors | Toronto Sun
Had Vogel gone back to George earlier in Game 5, we’re probably telling a different story today, of how the Raptors need this win to stay alive instead of needing it to advance. We’re probably talking about them having no clear answer for George who scored 39 points and no matter what the Raptors seem to try against him, they don’t necessarily have success.
“Only one stat,” George said despondently after Game 5. “Nine points in the fourth quarter. It’s the only thing to look at.”
He looked at that team stat because it was easier than looking at a coach in difficulty or his teammates letting him down. Nineteen to one.
“We didn’t make enough plays, that is what it came down to in the fourth quarter,” he said. “We have to put this (game) away. Friday is a new day and we have to get a win. It’s a must win. It’s awful to have a chance to win on the road and then come back home, but we failed to live up to the moment.”
George hit on 11 field goals in Game 5, more than anyone else; made five threes. No Raptor made more than two. He went a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line (DeMar DeRozan ended up 12-for-13). Even if the Raps can’t shut him down, they can win by shutting down the rest of the Pacers.
“One guy is not going to stop Paul George,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. In an NBA, where guards and smalls seem to be doing all the playoff scoring, George is an anomaly. An unstoppable forward not named LeBron James. The rest of the scoring leader list includes Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul. George comes at it differently, with less splash, seemingly more substance.
“He’s such a great scorer,” said Casey. “We have to use several people to defend him, several looks.” And still, it’s not necessarily working.
Raptors expect all George, all the time: Feschuk | Toronto Star
How difficult would it be for George to play all 48 minutes on Friday? In 59 career playoff games, he has never done it; his career playoff average is 38 minutes a game. But two springs ago he played 46 minutes in a 39-point performance against the Wizards in the second round. The Pacers won. That same post-season George played 45 minutes in a 37-point outburst against the Heat in the Eastern final, another Indiana win.
Still, George has talked about his need for rest during this series. And perhaps that’s because one of the defining narratives of this Pacers season has revolved around the physical price George pays to carry his team. Only three players in the league covered more cumulative distance during the regular season season than George, who ran an average of 3.95 kilometres a game for 81 games according to league data. As recently as January, George complained of heavy legs that he attributed to taking most of the previous season off to recover from a rebuilt right leg.
“It’s hard and it’s weighing on me right now, it’s weighing on my body, it’s weighing on my mental (approach),” he said in January.
If the memory of those hard days helps explain why Vogel has so far refused to play George more than 42 minutes in a game in this series, it’d make some sense. Certainly league observers saw McGrady done in playing heavy minutes for an undermanned Orlando team in his 20s. Still, the Raptors aren’t expecting the Pacers to exercise caution with so much at stake.
“We’ll see what coach Vogel does,” said Carroll. “I think we’re preparing like George is going to play all 48.”
“They’re just trying to do something to get at us.” – @pdpatt on ‘#WeTheGold’
A photo posted by Toronto Raptors (@raptors) on
Casey steps out of his comfort zone as Raptors find new ways to win | Sportsnet.ca
“It was pretty easy,” Casey said on Wednesday of going to a brand new lineup. “I was looking for a group of men to go in there and compete the way those guys went in there and did: getting into bodies defensively. I think we held them to 20 per cent or something like that, 21 per cent in those last 12 minutes, whatever it was. It was about being physical, being aggressively defensively, first. The second part was taking care of the ball. We had to have a group in there that was going to take care of the ball. I think we had zero turnovers in that segment. That’s a huge difference.”
Hard work gets results, Bismack Biyombo says | Toronto Sun
Talent isn’t the only thing that matters in the NBA. Chemistry and camaraderie can count for a lot as well.
Toronto is a tight-knit group that supports each other well. DeRozan didn’t whine when he was sat down late in a playoff game, James Johnson hasn’t said a word about vanishing from the rotation for weeks now and has been one of the most noticeable and energetic cheerleaders all season long, regardless of his playing time and DeMarre Carroll made sure to give rookie Norman Powell a hug and a tap on the head of support after Powell missed a potential dagger in Game 5 while Carroll watched from the bench.
“Like I tell every one of these guys I’ve been in organizations where you don’t care about who gets the glory you just pick up wins, everybody gets love and that’s the biggest thing,” Carroll said of why he picked up a clearly frustrated Powell.
“We all want to win. We want to do something special, not only for Toronto, but for Canada. We just have to be supportive and just do whatever we can to get the win.”
Views from the six #wethenorth #rtz
A photo posted by Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) on
Raptors’ rookie sensation Powell becoming an unlikely playoff hero | Sportsnet.ca
The key for Casey is that while Powell is just getting started in the NBA, his development has already been going on for a while. Spending all that time in the NCAA may not be the typical path to big-league success, but Casey believes it has served Powell well, convention be dammed.
“I know that’s not the analytical, cool thing,” he says of investing in a four-year college guy.
Casey also acknowledged that, had the Raptors been a rebuilding team as opposed to one challenging for first place in the Eastern Conference, Powell’s role could have been much larger this season. As it stands, though, the slow-and-steady approach is already paying off, with even bigger returns expected down the road.
“Really, really impressed where he is and I’m glad he’s in our program,” says Casey. “I see nothing but great things for his future.”
Doyel: Is Indiana ready for Raptors’ return? | Indy Star
So many unknowns, starting Friday night with the most basic of questions: Can the Pacers recover psychologically from one of the worst collapses in franchise history? Can George Hill stay hot? Can C.J. Miles get hot? Can Ty Lawson please not play anymore? Can Paul George summon another bit of brilliance?
So much still to learn about this series, but one thing we know:
Canada is coming, Pacers fans. They’re coming with their black shirts and their white towels. They want to buy your tickets and watch the Raptors end your season and then parade back to Toronto to present Drake with a love offering: the Pacers’ season on a stick.
“We the North,” is what they’ll be screaming.
You the ones with a decision to make, Pacers fans. First you, before the game. Then your team, during it. Then Larry Bird, after it.
But one thing at a time. Toronto is coming. You can open the door to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, or slam it in their face.
Masai Ujiri | The Jim Rome Show
All Topics: NBA Playoffs | Tuesday night’s Game 5 ending | Momentum | Dwane Casey’s adjustment in Game 5 | Norman Powell | Powell being fearless | Pressure on the team | DeMar DeRozan breaking out in Game 5 |
Give Dwayne Casey Credit | r/TorontoRaptors
The entire game 5, we were down and what he did, was try to keep implenting lineups, lineups that have never been used before (like both in the 4th) to get momentum and get good matchups and chemistry Playing that lineup in the 4th that have never been together, took balls, and most fans are complaining that he doesn’t get creative, but he did exactly that, and we wouldn’t of won without that! Also, he was 5th in COTY voting so cut him some slack, obviously other more educated basketball fans reconizge his talent, now our fans need to as well
Thoughts on Raptors/Pacers ahead of Game 6 | TSN
2. FRANK VOGEL (Pacers): I’m a big fan of the Pacers head coach and think he’s done a terrific job over the years. In my opinion, he outsmarted himself in Game 5. He had both Paul George and George Hill sitting on the bench to start the second and fourth quarters. Are you kidding me? You don’t play again until Friday and you have a chance to take a stranglehold on the series, but you’re worried about resting guys?
They can rest all summer. It’s winning time. You play your best players every minute possible, and those two guys should rarely be off the floor. The Raptors got back in the game before half due to the second quarter rest, and the momentum swung dramatically in the fourth quarter with George and Hill out. Raptors fans don’t mind that Vogel coached by the book rather than by the gut, but I’m still shaking my head over him not going for the kill.
Kyle Lowry finding way to contribute for Raptors | ESPN
Lowry has still averaged 15.2 points, 6.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds while getting to the free throw line 35 times. In Game 5, he came through with a huge tip for an offensive rebound late in the fourth quarter to help seal an improbable come-from-behind victory.
“That’s Kyle,” DeMar DeRozan said. “He’s always going to figure out how to do something to impact the game, and that’s what he did last night, especially in the fourth, making big plays. It may not show with the points, it may not show on the state sheet, but it’s a lot of things that Kyle does that help us to victory every single night.”
In 2015-16, Lowry shined when the lights were brightest. Against Golden State, he had 41 points. Against Cleveland, he had 43.
So perhaps his sore right elbow is still a problem, even though he’d never admit it. Lowry doesn’t make excuses or come out of games.
It’s what makes him the perfect face for the Raptors, the same guy who went from almost being traded to the New York Knicks as the centerpiece of Toronto’s rebuild which never happened, to becoming a two-time All-Star starter on a perennial playoff team. The same guy who needed to improve as an outside shooter to become a dominant force at 6-feet tall and did just that.
Game 6 Preview: Raptors @ Pacers | Toronto Raptors
“Treat it as if there’s no Game 7,” Patrick Patterson said. “A win or go home type scenario. In our mind that’s how we’re going to carry on. If we lose, we go home. Everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to perform well, badly enough to do whatever it takes to get the win.”
Coming off a thrilling comeback victory in Game 5 at Air Canada Centre, the Raptors want to start out strong on Friday. They know that the Pacers will be especially fired up to start the game on their home floor.
“A closeout game is always the toughest,” Kyle Lowry said. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be a rowdy atmosphere and those guys are going to come out there ready to do whatever they’ve got to do to win the game. We’ve got to match the intensity and the force.”
Game 6 preview: Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers | Toronto Star
Key matchup: DeMarre Carroll vs. Paul George. It went heavily in Indiana’s favour in Game 5 despite Toronto’s win and the Pacers are going to need George to go off again in order to prolong the series. Carroll has been increasingly physical with him and should continue this trend.
Did I miss something? Send me any Raptors-related article/video: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
