National Post (National Edition)
‘We still have a lot of potential’
Even after first Western sweep, Raps think big
The road trip wasn’t just good. It was historical. The Toronto Raptors didn’t collectively spit on the accomplishment, but it’s very clear this isn’t anywhere near as good as they believe they can be.
“It’s just four wins,” Kyle Lowry said of the first road trip sweep of four games or more in team history. He punctuated that with a shoulder shrug.
So no big deal then, right? “Continue to get better,” Lowry said. “Nothing special.”
Then after a pause and a knowing look, he added “bigger picture.”
That in a nutshell was the response from most everyone on this team after accomplishing something that hadn’t been done in 23 previous seasons.
But far from disrespecting the accomplishment, this speaks to the Raptors’ internal expectations. Within the locker-room, the players actually aren’t that thrilled with the way they played on this trip, which included wins over Phoenix, the L.A. Lakers, Utah, and the Kings on Wednesday night in Sacramento.
“Just finding a way,” Fred Vanvleet said in giving the whole trip an appropriate theme. “None of these (wins) were particularly pretty except for the Lakers game and even in that second half, we gave them a run. But that’s just the game. It’s finding a way to win. I think each of the four games were different in their own right. It speaks to the versatility and the calibre of team we have.”
But satisfied? Not this group.
“I think we were lucky to come out with this one,” shooting guard Danny Green offered after the win over the Kings. “You look up and down the line. I think the only thing we beat them in was rebounding. But that’s a good sign for us. It shows how good this team can be. Even though it was an ugly night for us, we were able to grind it out and come out with a win.”
Again, something they did in Phoenix, and during a rather gruesome first quarter in Utah before righting the ship.
In Green’s opinion — and consider him one of the better analysts in the lockerroom — the 11-1 record to date is just a sign of what the Raptors can be. The last thing he wants anyone within the Raptors room is to take this start to the season as some sort of affirmation that they are better than everyone else.
“Every other team is still trying to figure it out, too,” Green said. “Not many teams have their foundation back, but for a few. Everybody is trying to figure it out. I think we have a good group of people back from last year with a couple of additions, which makes it easier, but I’m anxious to see how we are when we are 100 per cent healthy.”
And health has been rather fleeting for this team all season.
They’ve already had five rotation players — Delon Wright, Vanvleet, Kawhi Leonard, Norm Powell and C.J. Miles — miss time due to injury and a sixth in OG Anunoby who has missed two games due to personal issues.
“Two steps forward, one step back, right?” said Vanvleet. “You just want to keep nudging and keep transitioning upwards. I think I had a good game in Utah, OG has looked good the past couple of games, and obviously Kawhi is going to take some time. I mean when he (misses games) it’s like starting over each time. But 25 (points) and 10 (actually 11 rebounds), he can probably do that in his sleep.
“It’s like we said in pre-season, this is going to take time, but 10 and 11 games in you are starting to see flashes and the next 10 you try to build on what you did the previous 10,” Vanvleet said.
Head coach Nick Nurse is actually giddy about the results he’s getting, considering how much he still needs to do with this group of Raptors. He knows this team is nowhere near its peak.
“I’d say 35 per cent of our defensive schemes aren’t in yet and our offence is about the same,” Nurse said Wednesday. “There’s a lot of things to get out there and a lot of things we still want to try and see if they can be effective for later on.”
Then there’s the question of the Kawhi Leonard we have seen to date and the one we can expect as the season goes on. Leonard himself suggests he’s barely scratching the surface yet.
“We have a lot of potential,” Leonard said after his first game following two consecutive absences due to a foot injury. “I think we can still get better. This isn’t our ceiling with me not even knowing some of the offence. We have Kyle in the game most of the time. He’s controlling the ball and the tempo. Once I start learning the offence I can even give him a little break and let him get some easier shots even though he’s playing well right now.”
“He’s leading us to victories,” Leonard said in somewhat downplaying his own role to date. “Some of us, well, I’ll just say me, I don’t really know the offence in and out yet. So with that we have potential. Just some of our defence as well, I feel like we could talk more, rotations. I mean you can see the miscues out there with me and Kyle or the other guys on the floor. Just our chemistry. I feel we could get better with that.”
Leonard then sums up the Raptors situation perfectly. “It’s still early,” he said. “We still have a lot of potential. We can be confident of where we are, but we still have to have a sort of fear of us knowing that guys can beat us. Just have the mindset of wanting to get better because this is not where we want to (top out). We want to be the best team.”
All that after only the best road trip in franchise history. Buckle up Raptors fans. The ride is just getting started.