National Post (National Edition)
New reality coming for road-warrior Raptors
PHOENIX • Life is about to change for the NBA’s road warriors.
After Wednesday night’s game here, the Toronto Raptors completed the season’s slate of away games in time zones further than an hour’s difference from EST. It’s only Dec. 13! The NBA’s new scheduling system, designed to cut down on back-to-back games and 3-in-4 sets, resulted in some quirks and this was one of them.
Toronto is now done with California, the Pacific Northwest and long slogs away from home.
Wednesday was the 16th away game so far, tied for the most in the league. The team’s 10 games at the ACC are the fewest in the Association. After playing seven more road games out of the next 12 contests, Toronto will be home for 12 of the following 16 games.
Considering how tough the schedule has been both in terms of the quality of opponents and the locations of the games, having the third-best record in the Eastern Conference to this point has to be seen as a huge positive for the Raptors.
Plus, avoiding airplanes, bus rides and hotels so much during the second half of the season could be a major advantage as the dog days and then the playoffs approach, especially since the other top dogs of the East still have a bunch of trips remaining.
“Yeah, it’s weird, but I think it’s going to pay dividends in the long term,” point guard Kyle Lowry said of the schedule.
“Of course, you want to have a stretch where you go to L.A. when it’s super cold (in Toronto), but we got our blizzard a couple days ago, so we ducked that.
“I think we go to Chicago, we got Dallas, (Oklahoma City) and Minnesota left, but I think other than that, it will pay dividends not having to switch time zones and going back and forth.”
WORK IN PROGRESS
Much has been made of the changes made to Toronto’s offensive system following continual breakdowns in the playoffs.
Earlier this week, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey lauded his two all-stars for buying in.
“Selling (Lowry and DeMar DeRozan), it was a challenge, because those two guys are all-stars, they are Olympians, so, ‘Why do we have to change, coach? I’m one of the best in the league going 1-on1.’ But Kyle understands, DeMar understands, for us to go and to keep guys from keying on them and taking them out once the playoffs (come) and once you have time to prepare for a week, they understood that. They are smart players,” Casey said.
“Doing something new has been fun for us as a coaching staff ... and I think in the long run it’s going to be fun for them once they get comfortable.
“The first few games they were trying to find their way, find their shots (Lowry in particular),” Casey said.
DeRozan is taking a few more three-pointers and fewer long two-pointers, but his biggest change has been picking out teammates more often, as both his own and the team’s improved assist numbers indicate.
“It’s coming along well, we’re getting more and more comfortable, ball movement is getting much better and guys getting more comfortable handling the ball, pushing the ball in transition,” DeRozan said.
Only Golden State and Houston have been better offensively so far this season, which has impressed Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers.
“(He) should get amazing credit, because it’s easy to stay where you’re at and just keep winning. And (the Raptors) won a lot of (regular season) games,” Rivers said.