Throughout the playoffs, we’ll be giving you brief notebooks after every practice, shootaround, pre-game, and post-game. They’ll vary in terms of length and analysis based on what’s said, what happens, and what else is going on, and the videos will all eventually go up on the Raptors’ YouTube page, anyway, but rest assured you can use us as your first stop for the relevant quotes and notes each day during the postseason. Feedback on whether or not these posts are useful is appreciated so we can spend our time accordingly.
A year ago, the Toronto Raptors were still in the process of figuring out whether their core, namely Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and head coach Dwane Casey, was strong enough to warrant continuing to build with. A year after being swept by the Washington Wizards, the Raptors had opted to give it another go, and the returns met even the highest expectations: The Raptors not only won a playoff series but made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, taking the eventual champions to six games.
They entered this season facing some important big-picture questions, but there was no longer doubt as to whether they were a team worth investing in. They opened the season hot, and even an extended cold stretch couldn’t limit the feeling that the Raptors had more of a window open to push forward than at any time in the past. And so team president Masai Ujiri, general manager Jeff Weltman, and company went out and fortified the core, acquiring P.J. Tucker and Serge Ibaka.
On paper, they were natural spiritual and tactical fits.
“You see guys that are intense, and it doesn’t matter what they are doing, or what game it is, they’re just intense and it’s all about winning,” Ujiri explained at BioSteel Centre on Friday. “And I think everybody paid attention to that. So there were tons of teams that wanted him (Tucker). We were just lucky to get him. His intensity, the real person that he is, even the way he talks and the way he feels about the game, it’s huge for us.”
The fit has played out that way from a culture perspective. Ujiri relayed an anecdote about hearing Tucker, Ibaka, and assistant coach Rex Kalamian arguing after practice the other day, only for Casey to inform him they were all discussing the team’s defense. That’s what they’d hoped they were adding.
“That tells you what they’re about. There’s a level of intensity they’ve brought,” Ujiri said. “These guys we brought, they bring intensity and toughness and they’re about winning. That helps our ball club. As teammates, they’ve proven to be good teammates where they were, and in the short time we’ve had them, we’ve seen it here too.”
In acquiring the support, Ujiri’s message was clear: The front office was bringing in the pieces. It was on the players to perform and the coaching staff to figure out the fit. Figuring out the fit hit a stumbling block before either player had played a minute, as Lowry hit the shelf following surgery on his right wrist. Things could have tipped one way without one of the team’s All-Stars, but the pair of new additions fit right away, not only helping the team stay course without Lowry but lifting them to an even higher defensive peak.
“I think a lot of players emerged in that period. On paper it all looks good when you make trades and bring in players, but you hope they all gel together and it’s working out fine for the season, and now the second season starts,” Ujiri said. “This is the big test for us, but I’ll say everyone feels good about going into this season. ”
It’s only been the last four games (three of them, really) where the Raptors could see what the whole group looks like together. But if the pieces worked without Lowry and in small samples with him, there’s plenty of reason for optimism that what Ujiri and company saw at the deadline will come to fruition in the playoffs.
Tucker and Ibaka were meant to push the ceiling higher, and now they’ll get an opportunity to do that rather than just helping keep the floor from collapsing.
Raptors lean on fans for support
With many franchises, paying lip service to how good the fanbase is amounts to just that: lip service. For the Raptors, though, the reputation for one of the best crowds in the NBA is well deserved. LeBron James doesn’t take time out of a post-series interview to dap up just any crowd. Trace it back to Ujiri yelling “Fuck Brooklyn” during what was essentially the birth of the modern Raptors, and the Raptors have embraced the raucousness that’s followed ever since. Jurassic Park is a site to behold before, during, and after games, and the Air Canada Centre has been credited with having a hand in multiple big playoffs wins.
For as much as this can sometimes feel like fans patting themselves on the back, they can rest assured that the players and the organization notice and appreciate just how vigorously they’re supported.
“They love it. This is the time, you know. Everybody is out, Leafs are in, Toronto sports is on a high and I think it’s a big, big time for all of us,” Ujiri said. “The fans, come early, come to the park, the police take down those barricades so we can get more and more fans in there because we love it and the players love it and they feel it. This is a moment that I think everyone feels. From the moment when everyone comes in and sings the Canadian national anthem, that is the moment when you know it is beginning.
“That is my way of telling the fans to come early tomorrow. Come at 5 p.m.”
And hey, if the Raptors fans come correct for early starts, maybe a later tip will help bring even more noise. It certainly can’t hurt the Raptors, anyway, who are 1-10 in Game 1s all-time and have dropped four consecutive Game 1s at home with this same group.
“Well we have changed it from a 6 a.m. game to a 5:30 p.m. game so…,” Ujiri joked. “Oops. I might get fined for that one.”
Jokes aside, the talk on Thursday was all about how the Raptors need to get out to better starts to each series. Casey talked up needing to perhaps simplify things and stop over-thinking. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan think it should come more naturally with more experience and a better sense of who they are. Whatever it is the Raptors do to try to fix it, getting out to a 1-0 series lead would be a welcome change. All the talk of the home-court advantage doesn’t mean nearly as much if the team keeps punting home games.
“You know what, there are not excuses. We have to come out and play well and its Game 1 in our home court,” Ujiri said. “We have to come out and compete and play well and that Game 1 has always – I don’t want to say haunted us – but it is what it is. We are going to come out and play and I know these guys look at is as their first playoff game and they are all excited to play. Records are made to be broken so hopefully we break this one this time.”
Preach.
Other Notes
- P.J. Tucker was away from practice due to an illness today. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have already had it and Dwane Casey is dealing with it, too. This is less than ideal, of course, but I’d be shocked if Tucker doesn’t go tomorrow. With his first NBA playoff game looming, Tucker might be the first person in history to ever physically fight an illness.
- There’s no story here, but just a phenomenal quote from Ujiri on Lowry and DeRozan: “Kyle is our force and DeMar is our style.” Just perfect.
- Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll also spoke with media Friday, but there wasn’t anything noteworthy. Valanciunas usually says what you’d expect him to say, and Carroll echoed a lot of Thursday’s talk about guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Ujiri referred to Antetokounmpo as “family” and offered that “There’s so much room for growth. Except the next couple games.”
- Valanciunas did have a funny comment about “one day” becoming a great defender “I hope.” He’s nothing if not self-aware.
- It was a beautiful day today, and I’m feeling a lot of good vibes ahead of the playoffs. Thank you for reading and all the continued support of RR.
