Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

,

Valanciunas ‘hopefully’ involved in Game 5, maintaining a rhythm, and other off-day notes

A few strays from a very early and uninteresting media session.

by

With the Toronto Raptors headed back to Cleveland locked at 2-2 with the Cavaliers, there was no player media availability on Tuesday. Instead, as has become custom on travel days, head coach Dwane Casey was made available on a conference call.

Here are your relevant notes and quotes. I apologize that I may paraphrase by a word or two in some spots – the connection on the call wasn’t great, but I think I managed to get them cleanly.

Not getting too high

Casey isn’t going to let his charges get too high after winning a pair at home, though he did allow that it’s let the team find a rhythm. He declined to concede the team has “grown up” or any number of other cliches, but again, the term rhythm came up, specifically with respect to the groove that DeMar DeRozan finds himself in right now. (That, by the way, included a late-night shooting session on Sunday in anticipation of LeBron James moving over to guard him.)

“It’s a make or miss league. he’s just playing with a great rhythm right now and knocking down those shots,” he said. “It’s good to see.”

He’s been really, really good over the last couple of games. It’s been great. Now, whether that can carry back to Cleveland for him and the rest of the team is yet to be seen. The Raptors think they’ve figured something out about the matchup and the right rotations to use, but they still nearly fell victim to one of their Games 1 and 2 issues in Game 4 – big Cleveland runs in which the Raptors can’t score.

“One thing we gotta do is cut down on the runs. The games that we lost there, it was probably…that really did us in both games,” Casey said. “If we can sustain our defense against their runs (and then) we’ve gotta respond offensively. Hopefully, we have it figured out, their rotations, their personnel…to cut down on those runs.”

I’ll have a breakdown of that 14-possession stretch a little later, or possibly tomorrow, depending on how the day goes. There are some things the Raptors can do better and some things they did well, the reality is just that LeBron James is very good, and that’s going to cause problems even if you’re playing perfect. So yes, Casey’s right that sustaining offense during those runs is going to be paramount.

Jonas Valanciunas ‘hopefully’ involved in Game 5

The Raptors activated Jonas Valanciunas for Game 4 but opted not to play him. Casey said after the game that there was a time he thought about subbing him in but decided the intensity level of the game was too high. The Raptors want to be careful about how and when they deploy Valanciunas, who will come off the bench so long as he remains limited.

“Hopefully we can get him involved,” Casey said. “Again, it depends on the lineup they have on the court. I know he’s our starting centre but it’s tough to put him out there if they’re playing Channing Frye big minutes at the five.”

A full-strength Valanciunas may be able to do enough damage on the offensive end to account for the downfalls of having to chase Love or Frye, but early on, it’s smart to try to use him where he can have the most success. In Game 4, the Cavaliers pulled Tristan Thompson early to get Frye and Love together, then brought Thompson back in for the bulk of the second. If they do that again, that’s probably the time to try to get Valanciunas work – there was a 4:21 stretch to start the second where Thompson was on the court (the majority of it as the lone big) and Bismack Biyombo was off of it, and while the Raptors went plus-5 during that time, matchup wise, it’s Valanciunas’ best target.

They should probably look to get him at least a few minutes, as Biyombo has played 80 minutes over the last two games. Given the intensity of his style and the energy required to play it, there’s a risk he hits a wall at some point. Or not, it’s Biyombo after all. In any case, he’s been a huge asset for the defense matching up against these stretchier Cleveland groups.

“The thing about it is with our five-man, it helps us when we have to switch, especially when they’re playing Love at the five or Frye at the five,” Casey said. “It gives us the flexibility to switch Bismack. It’s a luxury that we have that.”

Last Two Minute Report

The NBA released it’s Last Two Minute Report for Game 4 on Tuesday afternoon, and as expected, there were a few errors. Gasp! Here’s what we’ve got:

  • 0:23.9, 4th – Biyombo should have been called for an offensive foul for holding Thompson and preventing him from defending (I believe this is called The Bogut).


And…wait, that’s it? Yup, that’s it.

Assorted

*The Vertical has a really good piece up from Woj on Lowry, and how he pulled the Raptors from the brink. How could someone not root for this guy?

*On the Raptors eliminating the lead and the pressure, Channing Frye told ESPN, having been in that situation, that you “feel like the weight of the world is off you.” Of being on the other side of things, Frye offered, “It’s not a good feeling.”


*Kevin Love told ESPN that he tweaked his knee and ankle stepping on an official’s foot in the third quarter of Game 4. He’s also dealing with a shoulder issue from back in Game 2. Still, Love says he’ll play in Game 5, and Tyronn Lue said Monday that the decision to have him sit the fourth quarter was a strategic one, not an injury-related one. As for Love’s struggles, Casey was asked if he seems “rattled,” to which the coach offered: “No, i don’t think so. I just think that Channing Frye is shooting the ball extremely well. Love missed some open shots. Channing Frye’s a hot player right now and I think that’s trumped.”


*On the Biyombo foul call on LeBron – the Raptors agree with the refs. They’re in on the fix.

*Along with yesterday’s Snapchat filter, you can now get a Biyombo Is My Father t-shirt from LOYAL to a TEE. I feel like our commenters had a hand in this.

*This is kind of weird:

*This is kind of weird:

*This dude actually fried his cellphone because the Raptors won two games. Way to stick to your word, man.

*I’m off to Cleveland tomorrow. Pretty excited about that.

Previous: Raptors keep on punching, keep on proving everyone wrong
Next: Mutombo on Biyombo using Finger Wag: ‘Him and I need to talk’