Watching the Raptors struggle to get up the court Wednesday night, exaggerated by the exciting but admittedly eye-opening trail left in Sullinger’s errr…wide berth, the need for rest became not just clear, but necessary.
It took DeMar DeRozan three quarters to find his stroke, DeMarre Carroll’s legs wouldn’t lift him up high enough to get a good look at the rim and Kyle Lowry spent the fourth quarter trying to make a last ditch effort to start in the All-Star game (it didn’t work).
The Raptors weren’t just tired from three games in four nights, they were exhausted. Bone-weary and battle-tested they assumed they could beat a team they had 14 straight times, and we know what they say about assuming.
The loss sucks, but its understandable. The bigger concern looms in just how the Raptors prepare to attack these games as the season wears on. Kyle Lowry (4th) and DeMar Derozan (9th) both rank in the top ten in total minutes played this season, and the distinction is important between total and minutes per game number (which Lowry still ranks 1st in).
If Lowry led the league in minutes per while ranking outside the top ten or even 20 like LeBron James (31st) in total minutes, the number would be defendable. It would suggest that while Lowry is instrumental to his team’s success when he plays, he’s given nights off to recover.
Only James Harden and Trevor Ariza have racked up more combined minutes than Lowry and DeRozan, and they don’t have the same depth as Toronto. The Raptors are no longer fighting for their playoff lives. They are a team with a pre-ordered ticket to the postseason and the envelope is in the mail.
So why aren’t they playing like one? After easily defeating the nets with Kyle Lowry watching from his much deserved seat on the sidelines, rumours swirled that DeRozan would get his chance to watch from the comfy (albeit stressful) baseline seats. Instead he played 38 minutes, second only to Lowry, and while he almost single-handedly saved the game for the Raptors, he arguably bungled it up in the first place.
If anyone deserved that night off it was DeRozan. He led the team in points, blocks and assists just a night before and has started every single game for Toronto this season. The respect Casey showed to the Sixers is appreciated, but at what cost? Hindsight is always 20/20, but it never looks good when a player was rumoured to sit, started anyways, and ended up logging heavy minutes in an eventual loss.
Lowry and Derozan are 55th and 67th among active players for total minutes in their careers already. Take a look at this list (We see you Vince!) and make sure your jaw doesn’t hit the floor. While the numbers are a testament to their durability and should be celebrated more than critiqued, they still pose a problem for Toronto. With DeMarre Carroll, Lucas Nogueira and Patrick Patterson all battling injuries, it’s easy to see why Casey needs to lean on his starters, and that’s a problem.
Casey is an excellent coach, and probably an underrated one at that. His ability to motivate his players, keep a tight locker room and seemingly keep everyone happy are traits that are unquantifiable in the golden age of analytics but the area he can improve in can also be measured. The information is clear: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are playing too much for a team expecting to reach their second straight Conference Finals. As the injuries begin to hit and the grind of the regular season wages on, Casey needs to gives his guys a minute, even if that means taking away some.
