Raptors 114, Wizards 106 | Box Score | Quick Reaction | Reaction Podcast
Early in the third quarter at Verizon Center on Friday, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey made a bold call. The first three minutes and change of the frame saw the Washington Wizards go on a prompt 10-3 run, and DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors’ lone healthy star and an even more crucial offensive piece than usual with Kyle Lowry sidelined, had a few quick defensive lapses. Casey called him to the bench with Jonas Valanciunas, and after a brief exchange with lead defensive assistant Rex Kalamian, DeRozan took a seat.
Benching Valanciunas from there was an easy decision, even if it stood to push the limits of how long the Raptors could play small for in a single half. The Lithuanian struggled once again on Friday, extending a stretch of shaky play and capping his night at 13 minutes. The Raptors proved much better small in the first half, with Serge Ibaka or even Patrick Patterson at center, and Casey felt comfortable turning back to that look to right the ship and prevent the Wizards from completing their comeback. The ability to switch all over the floor as the Wizards zipped the ball around the court without losing much on the glass – Toronto would out-rebound Washington 51-45 despite a few timely tip-ins for Ian Mahinmi against Patterson at center – made the Raptors a more flexible defensive group, and they’ve looked at their best in the post-deadline, sans-Lowry era matching up like that.
The DeRozan gambit was much riskier. The Raptors’ offense without Lowry has essentially amounted to begging DeRozan to play Atlas and carry the team on his shoulders, with contributions from role players sprinkled in. It’s important that the team iron out defensive miscommunication, and it’s important that Casey set a tone by treating his most important player like everyone else. Still, sitting him down for nearly three minutes early in the third quarter could have gone two drastically different ways, especially opposite the Wizards’ potent starting lineup. Norman Powell stepped in and chipped in a driving layup during that stretch, and the Raptors held even while DeRozan thought – and talked – things over.
Whatever the words, message, or conversation, DeRozan came out of that brief reprieve determined to make sure Friday’s game wouldn’t go the way of Wednesday’s.
The first half had played out eerily similar to the earlier meeting, albeit with the roles reversed. The Raptors opened a nice lead early on thanks to some great ball movement, more motion-based offense to help sets function less predictably around DeRozan, and timely shot-making, and as the benches entered, the Raptors took off. Wednesday saw Washington’s shaky second unit go on a ridiculous 26-1 run to give them a 23-point lead that proved insurmountable, and this time it was Toronto’s reserves’ turn to run up the score. The early part of the second quarter saw a Cory Joseph-led bench unit take off and extend the lead to 19, then, like the Raptors did two days earlier, Washington began the tall task of chipping away at the margin late in the quarter.
So when the third started out shaky, Casey did what he felt he needed, the biggest move in a game that saw him make several rotation and schematic tweaks that worked out well. Not that it was exactly rocket science with the starters being outscored by 19 points in 12 minutes, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult to bench a star, however briefly. For his part, DeRozan turned any displeasure with the quick hook into ammunition to use against a very game Wizards’ defense.
Over the final 18 minutes, DeRozan would score on an array of difficult shots, firing 7-of-10 from the floor and making six trips to the free-throw line for 20 of his 32 points. Down the stretch, he’d hit difficult fade-aways on post-ups over Kelly Oubre, fire from the elbows over anyone willing to get a hand up (including noted DeRozan-annoyer Otto Porter), and even pull-up for an obscenely deep three when squared up against Bojan Bogdanovic. (DeRozan went 3-of-3 on threes on the night, fitting both because John Wall hit 4-of-8 in a game where percentages were thrown to the wind, and because the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is taking place this weekend. Clearly, DeRozan was winking at the basketball intelligentsia by pouring in 32 points on just 17 field-goal attempts.)
DeRozan’s impact would extend beyond scoring, too. He led the team with 13 rebounds, an area he’s really geared up in since the All-Star break (he’s second on the team with 7.2 per-game over the last five games), and he dished five dimes. The attention the Wizards had no choice but to lavish on DeRozan created opportunities elsewhere, and DeRozan passed freely to involve Ibaka and Powell, or to help create seams for Delon Wright. All the while, he stepped up his defensive effort as part of switchier lineups that he’s certainly looked a lot more comfortable in of late, knowing he’ll need to fight through screens less and focusing instead on limiting back-cuts. Playing alongside Powell and P.J. Tucker, with Ibaka behind him, certainly agrees with him, as it does for everyone.
Even before Ibaka returned, the Raptors locked in. A group with Patterson at center and Tucker at the four held Washington to just seven points over minutes, stemming the tide until some rim protection came back in (Mahinmi’s put-backs were the impetus). Casey then faced another tough decision, with Powell and Wright both playing well but his new go-to closing lineup at the ready with Joseph and DeMarre Carroll well-rested on the bench. Wright had been terrific defensively, blocking four shots and generally being a pesky cover the other way, and Powell had shaken off a rough first half to add some nice punch in the second.
Casey would ultimately decide to go with Joseph and extend Powell’s leash, and the decision couldn’t have paid off more emphatically. Powell would come up with a big steal with just under four minutes to go and get to the line off of it, then he’d deliver a vicious dunk, and then an enormous corner three on a terrific feed from DeRozan (and shout out to Tucker for alerting Powell to use the screen and free himself for that look).
That three put the Raptors up eight with 90 seconds to go, seemingly a dagger but hardly a nail in the coffin given Washington’s firepower. The final minute-and-a-half seemed like it took hours, with a Bradley Beal jumper, a Wall layup, and another Wall triple (following a DeRozan turnover trapped on the sideline) cutting the lead back to three. Tension was high, and while a loss would have seemed understandable before the game, now the Raptors very clearly wanted, needed, and to be honest, probably deserved this one.
Enter the DeRozan triple:
Ice in his veins #murderer #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/usG3RVQBF9
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) March 4, 2017
Maybe he didn’t say it this time around, but it’s hard to imagine DeRozan wasn’t thinking to himself “buckets, buckets, buckets” at that point.
DeRozan delivered once again, capping a thoroughly impressive and encouraging effort in response to one of their worst of the season Wednesday. After that loss, the reflection was similar to after the three first post-Lowry victories: This team can win with only one of their stars, but the margin for error becomes slim, and they have to tick off a lot of boxes. Namely, DeRozan has to be heroic offensively, two or three role players need to step up in support, and the team has to find another defensive gear to close things out. They did all three Friday, and they did so against a very good Washington team – DeRozan scored at will against the league’s No. 11 defense, Wright and Powell played Pacific Mall Lowry and DeRozan well, and the Raptors held the league’s No. 10 offense to 37-percent shooting and a 107.5 offensive rating, a shade below their season average.
It wasn’t easy, because it’s not supposed to be right now. The rotation got tightened. They pushed the limits of how long they can stay small. They tried new things offensively and in terms of substitution patterns. They’re still learning about themselves and how they’ll win over the next four or five weeks, and they responded with urgency once they realized the formula that had saw them comeback from multiple double-digit deficits in a row wasn’t sustainable.
In doing so, they pulled back even with the Wizards in the Eastern Conference, held pace with the Boston Celtics, and locked up the tiebreaker over both should things go well enough that it ends up mattering. Friday’s formula may not be enough every night, but it’s an important and encouraging step in the right direction.
