‘Culture reset’

Ujiri’s patient approach paying major dividends for NBA East-leading Raptors

When Masai Ujiri cryptically said the Toronto Raptors needed a “culture reset” after they were unceremoniously bounced from last year’s NBA playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers, speculation abounded as to what exactly the team president meant by that phrase.

It wasn’t a coaching change. Ujiri put that notion to rest quickly by committing to head coach Dwane Casey for a seventh season.

Forget about a roster shakeup. The Raptors signed point guard Kyle Lowry and power forward Serge Ibaka to multi-year deals, meaning the core, including shooting guard DeMar DeRozan and centre Jonas Valanciunas, would remain intact.

Ujiri made it clear things needed to change in Toronto. However, sticking with the same personnel that put together back-to-back 50-plus win seasons but couldn’t get it done against the NBA’s elite in the playoffs caused skeptics to predict a similar fate for the Raptors heading into this season.

As it turns out, the Raptors are proving you don’t have to blow everything up to make a meaningful change.

Ujiri’s patient approach, and faith in his coach and players to implement a new offensive system, is paying huge dividends. Heading into a battle of conference leaders with the visiting Houston Rockets on Friday, the Raptors have emerged as a legitimate threat to make it to the NBA final.

Toronto became the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot after a nail-biting 121-119 win at Detroit on Wednesday night. Locking up homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs shouldn’t be far behind.

That should scare Toronto’s first post-season opponent, as the Raptors were a leaguebest 27-5 at home heading into Thursday’s action.