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‘We didn’t get this far for nothing,’ an awesome Open Gym, and other shootaround notes

I defy you to not love Bismack Biyombo.

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The Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers held court at the Air Canada Centre ahead of their Game 6 showdown on Friday (8:30). The Cavs are as cool as some simile that makes more sense than cucumbers, while the Raptors, facing elimination and coming off of a 38-point loss, are trying to maintain that same air. It’s a little tougher when you’re the ones who had the warehouse of truckloads of cases of cans of whoop ass opened on you rather than being the opener, but the Raptors are also supremely confident in themselves, their crowd, and their home-court advantage.

Here are your notes and quotes from shootaround.

Game 6 is a Game 7 unless it’s a Game 6

Remember when the Raptors were up 3-2 on the road against Indiana and called that game a Game 7? Remember when they did the same up 3-2 heading to Miami? Well, guess what the Cavs are saying up 3-2 on the road?

So, that’s a positive, right?

“There’s no tricking now,” DeMar DeRozan said.

The Cavs, by the way, had an incredible calm about them at shootaround. They open the locker room up (the Raptors do their availability podium-style, some teams do it on-court), and the vibe was incredibly loose. Air Force Ones, an all-time banger, blared as the doors opened, with multiple singers (James Jones the most emotive) chiming in. LeBron James seemed loose, Richard Jefferson seemed loose, Kevin Love was talking Game of Thrones, and so on.


The Raptors, meanwhile, also have a confidence about them. Kyle Lowry and DeRozan seem to have drawn on the adversity they’ve faced over the last three rounds, and their own mood was pretty light.


“Good math,” Lowry quipped when told the Raptors could be headed for a third straight Game 7. Both players interrupted questions (to give good answers), there were far more laughs than you might expect, and the mood gave the sense that the Raptors aren’t at all panicked.

“What is there to be nervous about?” Lowry asked. He also sounded like someone who doesn’t want the season to end, not in a never-say-die way, even, just as someone who really enjoys playing basketball. “We’re going to fight until the end.”


And they should be confident. Look at how far they’ve come. The series isn’t over yet, and they’ve taken two at home.


As for the potential to become one of the first teams to ever go seven games in three consecutive series?

“It just shows we’re gonna fight to the end,” DeRozan said.

That’s the reason for optimism, right there. The Raptors were crushed on Wednesday, they’ve been outscored heavily in the series, and they have at times looked overmatched. They’ve also bounced back at every turn, played exceptionally well at home, and have spent the year fostering buy-in through that toughness and resiliency, traits they’ve been learning to put to good use for three seasons since all of this came out of nowhere in the aftermath of a would-be tear-down.

Could Jonas Valanciunas start?

Dwane Casey was asked about potentially changing his starting center after Jonas Valanciunas returned and played 18 minutes in Game 5.

“It’s probably the only positive,” Casey offered, though he wasn’t willing to commit to a starter.

The Raptors want to play a little faster, which becomes tougher with Valanciunas, but they also need to alleviate the pressure of the traps that the Cavaliers have been throwing at Lowry, DeRozan, and Cory Joseph, and Valanciunas can help in a major way. I’ll have more on this decision this afternoon, but keep an eye out before tip-off.

By the way, don’t expect another Twin Towers appearance.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be something we go with,” Lowry said of the dual-center “experiment” the team tried Wednesday.

The best Open Gym episode yet

We kind of got away from posting the Open Gym videos here regularly, instead opting to pass along the best episodes or clips. Well, this is it. The best Open Gym yet, including perhaps the best segment of the show ever. The whole episode is worth watching, but if you’re tight on time, skip ahead to the 22-minute mark for an incredible interview with Bismack Biyombo.

Whether or not he stays, I defy you to not love Biyombo.

Assorted

*Maple Leaf Square will open early for Game 6, allowing fans in at 5:30 for this one.

*Our boy William Lou (and Harsh Dave) caught up with Courtney Fraser, the man behind the infamous “What about DeRozan??” viral video. The interview is incredible, covering that video, the Terrence Ross draft pick, how Bryan Colangelo ruined NBA 2K for Fraser, and more. Go check it out. This is what journalism is supposed to be.

*Asked what lessons he’s learned in the playoffs so far, Lowry offered, “Don’t lose Game 1.” He then repeated it in different ways. “Seriously.”

*The Raptors have made some runs when James sits, but he has the ability to play 48 minutes at a high level if need be. “I don’t know if that guy’s human, to get fatigued,” Casey said. “He’s running all over the place.”

*Asked about his 3-point defense from the sidelines, Casey said he learned to yell and clap from Jerry Sloan, and that it’s legal. It probably shouldn’t be, but so long as it is, he’s one of the team’s best defenders.

*The sponsorship activation award the Raptors’ organization won this week is for the Ford Fan Zone, I’m told. The Ford Fan Zone at Maple Leaf Square (“Jurassic Park”) is obviously a major part of the Raptors game-day experience now, to the point that other teams are (justifiably) trying to create their own pre-game environments. It’s a nice activation for Ford for building long-term brand affect with a young demographic and an important nod for the efforts of the Raptors at the corporate level, and I wonder how much of the award was dictated by the rabid Raptors’ fans who fill the space. Let’s take it as a team win, yeah?

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