National Post (National Edition)
Top tandem a Raptors work in progress
Better symmetry sought between Leonard, Lowry Leafs seeking defence upgrade
Nick Nurse had his say and the fine from the league office is forthcoming if not already in the works.
If the Raptors coach’s outburst over the inability of officials to call all the clutching and grabbing that Kawhi Leonard has been subjected to hadn’t materialized Sunday, it would most certainly at some point.
The coach and by extension the organization needs to support Leonard. It’s NBA 101.
That the Raptors are courting Leonard in hopes of luring him back beyond this season makes it all that much more predictable.
It’s a message to Leonard and to the league that the Raptors have their big man’s back and to the officials that Leonard isn’t getting his fair due.
Message sent, and hopefully, message received.
A more diligent whistle no doubt would have sent Leonard to the line more than the four times he got there in Sunday’s 95-86 loss to the Denver Nuggets. To be fair, a more diligent whistle would have sent the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic to the line more than the five times he got there, too.
Don’t be fooled. Nurse’s rant is something that’s been building up over time and is as calculated as a coach who cuts back a young player’s minutes to get his attention and send a message.
The real issue for this team right now and going forward is finding a balance between Leonard and Kyle Lowry when they’re on the floor together.
To call this an issue is probably overstating things. They have coexisted and done so successfully. The 23-9 record is proof of that. But to say they’ve reached the point where it’s seamless would also be overstating things.
Leonard sat out the wins in Los Angeles and Oakland while Lowry was down for the losses in Portland and Denver during this fourgame road swing.
So in terms of making any progress in finding the just right balance between the two wasn’t to be had on this trip.
Ideally the Raptors want the two playing at their peak simultaneously.
The feeling around the team is this will come with time. So far the two most important Raptors have played 21 games together and another 11 when one or the other was off.
The team is 15-6 with both in the lineup, 8-3 with one of the two missing. Overall, they’re winning at a .718 clip. With both in the lineup, they’re at .714. With one missing, they’re slightly better at .727.
In games (eight of them) without Leonard in the lineup, Lowry has averaged 21.1 points and 12.1 assists. In games when Leonard is sharing the floor with him, Lowry’s numbers slip to 12.6 points and 9.1 assists per game.
Leonard, meanwhile, averages 30.3 points and 3.3 assists in games (three of them) in which Lowry is sidelined.
When both are on the court together, those numbers dip to 25.7 and three assists on average.
Obviously, there’s going to be a dip in scoring individually when both are on the floor together. There’s only one ball out there. But to see Lowry drop off in both scoring and assists as much as he does when Leonard is out there as well just smacks of inefficiency.
Leonard is such a threat to score it’s easy to fall into the trap of just getting the ball over centre, getting it in his hands, clearing a side for him and letting him do his thing. More often than not, he gets the bucket but it’s not the most efficient use of the resources or the most efficient way to score.
How many times have you seen Lowry just drift to the corner and stand there watching while Leonard goes to work?
“A lot of times we settle,” Danny Green says. “We walk up the court and say ‘OK, we’re going to give it to (Kawhi).’ I think we (should) push it first and then if we don’t have anything, then we look for him. But it depends on game to game, matchup to matchup and whether we have a mismatch or not. But what works to our advantage is moving the ball at a faster pace.” This is a process and the Raptors are going through it now.
With Leonard healthy and Lowry expected back after a two-game absence and the worst of the road travel behind them, perhaps the Raptors can start finding that balance.
After Jan. 6, the schedule becomes much more practice friendly which is another area the team has been lacking in lately.
Again, this is not a crisis but something that should be monitored in the coming weeks. For the Raptors to be hitting on all cylinders when the playoffs roll around having a Lowry/leonard tandem that can operate together in seamless fashion is very high on the list of boxes to check.
WHATWORKS TOOUR ADVANTAGE IS MOVING THE BALL AT A FASTER PACE.