54-23 – The stretch run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef5NbexUsGo&t=2s
It was a low-risk gamble. The Raptors were playing the Chicago Bulls for the second time in five days, they’re locked into the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference, they were down four regulars and they were still 10.5-point favorites against a thinned-out team. It’s the type of competitive environment that allows for some trial and error, or as it went down in a 124-101 victory, simply trial.
The desire to get a longer look at Ibaka and Gasol together wasn’t new, either — Nurse tried it Thursday, too, in a gigantic look with Pascal Siakam at small forward for a few minutes when their zone defence was prominent. Entering Saturday, the centre duo had played just 14 minutes together on the year. In that time, the defence had performed better than some might expect while it was the offence that had sputtered. This is not a look the Raptors figure to use incredibly often in the postseason, but with the Detroit Pistons standing as a potential first-round opponent and the Boston Celtics moving back to starting Al Horford and Aron Baynes together, it was decidedly worth a look.
That pairing received 13 more minutes of sample together here, outscoring the Bulls by seven in that time.
The initial starting group used some smart off-ball movement and savvy pocket passing from the guards to make up for the lack of a true lead scorer. Fred VanVleet, in particular, continued to thrive next to Gasol’s passing, working well as a cutter and relocating after passes. Ibaka, as usual, benefitted from being alongside Kyle Lowry. This also gave the Raptors two pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop threats, with Ibaka working from the elbows and Gasol firing out passes on the dive to shooters. Gasol and Ibaka even connected on a lob in the third quarter, which I’m going to imagine came on a play called for by Sergio Scariolo.
Nurse then staggered his centres so that one was always on the floor. The setup seemed to agree with each. Gasol finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a plus-25 mark, while Ibaka scored 23 points with 12 rebounds. They also combined to hit five 3s, an important part of the game plan if the Raptors eventually draw Milwaukee.
Look, it was not an aesthetically pleasing late-March game between two teams not all that interested in the outcome for contrasting reasons. At least it gave us something different. Here are a few other takeaways from a third-consecutive Raptors victory:
Woz Blog: Raptors keep experimenting and it should pay off | Toronto Sun
VanVleet and Gasol operate as you’d expect in the two-man game — very efficiently. It’s the same thing when either play with Lowry. Not sure if any team has a combination of three players with as high a basketball IQ as those guys.
We wonder what Gasol thought of fellow Spaniard Alejandro Puzuelo’s absurd debut for Toronto FC the other day.
Norman Powell turned in another strong outing as he continues to make a big case for a rotation role in the playoffs. Powell didn’t commit a turnover (one of the main things the Raptors are looking for when he is out there), hit his shots from all over the floor, found his teammates and hit the boards. He has been good.
Powell has shot a ho-hum 70.6% on his three-pointers over the past five games, besting even Green’s 55.6% work (which equals Gasol’s numbers, though on fewer attempts).
Even Ibaka’s heating up a bit from outside, connecting on 31% of his attempts, compared to a dismal 26% before the all-star break.
Yes, Jonas Valanciunas is putting up some ridiculous numbers in Memphis, and that’s great because he’s an awesome guy, but it wouldn’t have happened here. Gasol might look a bit creaky, but he’s the far better fit and has opened up so many possibilities for the Raptors.
It’s not an illusion, the ball moves more when Kawhi Leonard is out. Even moreso when Siakam is not playing either, since they lead the team in isolation possessions. Leonard’s actually seventh in the league in isolations (just behind DeMar DeRozan) and he’s eighth in points per possession on isolations amongst players averaging at least 1.5 of those types of plays a game. Siakam ranks 18th.
Raptors’ Boucher living his dream, but feeling the grind | Toronto Sun
Between his G-League assignments where he averaged 34.2 minutes a game, Boucher was joining the Raptors and while the minutes weren’t all that plentiful at the NBA level, just the travel back and forth took its toll.
In the past 15 days he has been with the 905s in Delaware for a game, returned to Toronto to be with the Raptors in Detroit, stayed with Toronto for games against the Knicks and then travelled with the Raptors to Oklahoma City. He was back with the G-League team for a game and practice in Lakeland and then returned to the Raptors for home games against Charlotte. He played with the Raptors in New York, stayed behind for that game with the 905s in Long Island before the early morning flight to Chicago.
As fatigued as he is right now he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“I got that the chance to meet guys that are brothers for life now,” Boucher said. “It was a cool journey. We didn’t know what to expect at the beginning but we got to win our first playoff game and learned so much from each other. For me it was definitely successful even though we didn’t win.”
Along the way he found another mentor too in 905s head coach Jama Mahlalela.
“Jama is a cool dude,” Boucher said. “One of the best coaches I have ever had. Definitely helped my confidence, helped my game. I really see him as part of my family. He made me realize things I didn’t know — talent, stuff that I thought I would never be able to do, he put me in the position to do it. That is one thing I will always remember about him.”
Nurse, Raptors chasing right combinations ahead of playoff run | NBA.com
What came before wasn’t impressive but, to hear Raptors coach Nick Nurse and his players tell it, neither was it cause for alarm. There were multiple factors at work, from injury absences and the residue of some that had come before, to games that slipped away (think Jeremy Lamb’s halfcourt stunner for Charlotte), to tinkering with lineups and defensive tactics that had Nurse’s team adapting on the fly.
Guard Fred VanVleet was candid.
“Yeah, we didn’t play so well,” he said. “The last week-and-a-half we’ve been better. We lost some games we shouldn’t have dropped. Jeremy Lamb’s shot. We lost to OKC pretty much in a back-to-back, right? We played those guys two times in about 38 hours. We’ve just got to play better.”
Gasol, 34, had played the first 769 games of his NBA career with the Grizzlies. But with the trade, he’s headed back to the playoffs after missing twice in the past three seasons.
“I never imagined this [move], but once it happens, you embrace it and you put everything you’ve got into it,” Gasol said. “You try not to chew too much at a time. It always works out, if you come in with the right mindset. If you make the right plays, if you play unselfish on both ends of the floor, it normally works out.”
The Raptors want to run with that thought. Perhaps because they’ve been in the Bucks’ shadow much of this season, or maybe because they’ve lacked some of the hiccups, drama and impatience in Boston or Philadelphia, they haven’t generated much chatter of late. Has overlooking Toronto, in a LeBron-less East, become a thing?
“Hope so,” VanVleet said. “That’s always a great thing, to be under the radar. Go in and handle our business. It doesn’t matter, the hoopla and ‘respect,’ you can never win that battle. You just continue to go out there and do your job.
“Only one team can win the Finals. For that to be us? If we get to that point, we’ll get all the respect and love we could ever want.”
Raptors will get a chance to have their say in race for final playoff spots | The Star [$$$]
One of the more intriguing stories over the next few games will be the possible incorporation of Jodie Meeks into the rotation as a ninth or 10th available body. With Patrick McCaw out for at least three weeks with a sprained right thumb, Meeks will inherit McCaw’s minutes with an eye to adding something in the playoffs if he’s needed.
The veteran guard, in his 10th season and his second stint with the Raptors this season, is a proven shooter who can heat up in a hurry and change a game’s momentum. He’s a career 37 per cent shooter from three-point range and 43 per cent with Toronto this season.
The 31-year-old was originally singed to a 10-day contract that was allowed to expire but was re-signed last week for the rest of the season. He’s a solid insurance policy deep in the rotation. With McCaw out, he should play more.
Meeks admitted to feeling uncertain and frustrated during his enforced absence from the Raptors. “But, at the same time, always have faith that everything’s going to work out, you just don’t know,” he told reporters in Chicago. “I was just at home, working out, staying ready and I’m glad everything worked out.”
While Meeks’ strength is his ability to score, Nurse said he has some defensive prowess that could help.
“He’s got good feet and keeps his chest in front of people,” the coach said.
Meeks knows what his reputation is, but he also has some confidence at the other end.
“ As a shooter, you don’t really get the … respect of being a good defender just because you can shoot, so I take pride in my defence,” he said. “And I’m not saying I’m Tony Allen (a widely respected defender during his career in Memphis) or anything like that, but I try hard and try to do the best that I can.”
