Raptors 112, Trail Blazers 106 | Box Score | Quick Reaction | Reaction Podcast
The Toronto Raptors enjoyed their victory over the Boston Celtics so much on Friday that they decided to run it back and turn in basically the same performance with the Portland Trail Blazers visiting on Sunday. It may sound reductive, but the two home victories followed the same formula right down to the closing lineup that put things away: The defense started out shaky, they got down by double-digits, they eventually found a spark late in the second quarter, and they looked like a different team from there. A gritty team. A team that plays at both ends. A team that might actually be good again.
That each game saw the Raptors slow to get comfortable is entirely understandable. They’re working in two new acquisitions who, despite how comfortable they already look, are on a bit of a learning curve by their own admission. They’re also trying to play without Kyle Lowry, their All-Star point guard, their “Queen Bee,” in the words of head coach Dwane Casey, and apparently their new assistant coach, if peaking in on timeout huddles was any indication. Losing a top player
Down Lowry and without some of the team’s pet sets completely nailed down – the Raptors opted to open a lot more possessions with their motion offense than usual, looking to create differently short their second weapon – the Blazers opted to load up on DeMar DeRozan, as should be expected. Early on, DeRozan turned that attention against them, declining to take a field-goal attempt until over four minutes into the game. That may sound like a short amount of time, he averages 0.6 shots per-minute on the whole, let alone without Lowry. DeRozan becoming a facilitator is an important factor for Toronto when Lowry sits, and getting his teammates around him comfortable early would ultimately help DeRozan find a groove in turn.
Perhaps groove is the wrong word. Calling the way DeRozan’s played the last two games a “groove” is like calling Carly Rae Jepsen’s Run Away With Me a “banger.” Sure, it’s true by definition, but the common phrasing, however complimentary, comes up short in doing the performance justice. Players get hot and find a groove. You couldn’t drift race on the groove DeRozan’s in right now. He’s turned in a pair of masterful performances against aggressive defensive attention, the type of singles run without a tag-team partner that would make Shawn Michaels blush. Portland is hardly a strong defensive team, but Moe Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu offer size and effort in the way of singular scoring, and DeRozan found ways to work around their gamey efforts and destroy Portland’s woeful lack of rim protection. In pouring in 33 points on 16 field-goal attempts, DeRozan turned in one of his best individual scoring performance since…well, Friday, when he was somehow even better.
“You know that is the crazy thing,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “He had 33 and I thought we did a good job on him. That’s a credit to him: He is an exceptional player, and he makes tough shots.”
The Raptors need this out of DeRozan while Lowry nurses his sore wrist back to health. They also need the help DeRozan received, which primarily came at the defensive end but also came in the form of Jonas Valanciunas working Jusuf Nurkic for 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. Cory Joseph and Delon Wright did the bulk of their impressing on the defensive end against one of the best scoring backcourts in the league, but they also combined for 25 points, nearly matching Damian Lillard. For a stretch, Norman Powell even played DeRozan’s role, carrying the offense for a few minutes.
And in the fourth, there was Serge Ibaka. The Raptors have wanted for a starting power forward for eons, and Ibaka has so promptly proven himself to be just that the absence seems even larger in retrospect. Ibaka’s defense has been his calling card, and it’s the most important thing he brings to the Raptors, to be sure. On Sundya, though, he played the role of No. 2 that DeRozan needed, knocking down a pair of threes and going to work against Portland on the block. The beauty of Ibaka as a “small five” is that he’s larger than most other players who fill that role, and he led the team with nine fourth-quarter points in seven minutes, a fairly surprising – and necessary – development.
“Oh, man. Defensively, altering and blocking shots, able to switch out on wings, point guards, and able to knock down shots,” DeRozan raved about Ibaka’s game. “We’re able to throw it down there in the post. You saw tonight in the fourth quarter with him on ISO and he got some big buckets for us. He takes a lot of pressure off. Teams just understanding, you’ve got to pick and choose. We have another weapon out there that teams have to worry about.”
Of course, none of the offensive effort would have mattered were it not for the Raptors once again dialling in for a strong second half of defense. Portland out-performed their season-long offensive rating thanks to a steady diet of free-throws, but the Raptors were able to find the proper gear for their big pushes. Casey once again went to a closing lineup of Joseph, DeRozan, P.J. Tucker, DeMarre Carroll, and Ibaka, a group that includes four high-IQ defenders, three loud communicators, and five pieces capable of switching around the floor. With the Blazers short a brute to punish mismatches, the Raptors felt comfortable leaving Ibaka on Lillard, for example, and Tucker helped eat precious seconds from every shot clock by aggressively denying position and ball. (Tucker spoke Friday of increased communication improving DeRozan’s defense, and it’s worth noting here that Tucker’s comments seem prescient two games in.)
The switchability – a word that doesn’t exist but suddenly does in the context of the Raptors’ defense – behind him also allows Joseph to get more aggressive on the ball, and the Raptors have more ways of helping, helping the helper, and still recovering with a lineup like this. There are sub-options here, too, like including Patrick Patterson if the gameflow dictates. Lowry should work seamlessly with this group, giving it even more offensive firepower. Some nights, maybe Powell fits in. The era of Valanciunas closing games against anything but the most bulky of centers is probably over, through no fault of his own beyond his makeup, and the era of Lucas Nogueira closing out as a matchup look is probably dead, too (Nogueira’s spot in the rotation is tenuous, as well). Those things are fine. More pieces is never a bad thing, and Casey has quickly stumbled on a look he likes.
“We had the same group in as last game which was doing some good things for us defensively down the stretch,” Casey said. “Communication in huge, physicality is huge, I thought for the most part we did a good job. I have to look at the film but I thought we did a good job down the stretch.”
What the Raptors have shown over the past two games is that their deadline acquisitions present options, and options go an awful long way. That the two new additions have not only fit in quickly but raised the play of their teammates is nothing short of remarkable, and a testament to their own efforts and the foresight of the front office in adding them. As they grow more comfortable and can lean on familiarity more than just instinct, there’s a great deal of defensive potential within this group now, and potential for the team as a whole to turn things around in more general terms.
That’s not to say everything that plagued the Raptors for six or seven weeks is solved. They’ve still gotten behind by double-digits in the first half of all three of their consecutive wins. The defense has been better but still not particularly great over 48 minutes. It’s taken great efforts from just about everyone, and Herculean ones from DeRozan, to get by. But that’s expected, too, and the team is decidedly delivering, which is all that can really be asked given the circumstances.
The Raptors aren’t back. They’re a new thing entirely. Finding out exactly what that is, and how good it can be when Lowry’s added to the mix, is something to be excited about.
