No margin for error without Lowry
MIKE GANTER
TORONTO SUN Regroup. That is about the extent of the answer to what the Raptors can do now.
A tough road trip that finished with two wins and three losses is in the rearview mirror.
Kyle Lowry remains unavailable and will be presumably for at least another 16 days or so if one takes the shortest projection (from his own camp, not the Raptors) — four weeks — for how long Lowry would need to get his surgically repaired wrist back in game shape.
Chances are, and based on the conservative nature this team takes with injuries, Lowry won’t hit that four week return. Six weeks would have him back April 11, the day before the final game of the regular season. Five weeks from surgery and he would have four games left to re-acclimate himself to the lineup.
If this is all sounding a little too desperate, consider what we have learned.
Without Lowry this team is capable of playing winning basketball but the margin for error is just about nil. The template, if there is such a thing for this, came in the opening game of this road trip.
Taking on the Washington Wizards, then the co-hottest team in the Association along with Miami — and playing them on their home court where the John Wall-led Wizards are an envious 26-9 (they were 26-8 before the Raptors arrived).
In that game the Raptors got 32 points out of DeMar DeRozan, a healthy secondary scoring contribution from Norm Powell who had 21 and a staunch defensive effort from the Toronto bench which redeemed itself after a stunningly bad performance against that same team just two nights earlier in Toronto.
Casey kept his rotation to a tight nine and the four subs were all plus-19 or better on the night.
That is the template. Whether it can be duplicated remains to be seen.
The Raptors moved the ball that night with a modest 16 assists. The key was winning the bench battle which they did handily.
Without Lowry to lean on and even with DeRozan scoring at a top notch rate, the Raptors cannot afford anything less than a dominant performance from its bench.
Powell’s 21 that night were paramount, as were the 15 from Cory Joseph and the 14 from Ibaka.
This team can defend to give themselves a chance even without Lowry but it can’t just be decent defence or average defence. They need to collectively at the top of their game.
Saturday’s loss in Miami was off the rails from the beginning.
For starters the Heat barely missed a shot in the first quarter. Toronto stayed with them shooting 50% themselves but there was no let up in the Heat.
There was in Toronto’s game which fell off in the second quarter and never rallied again
Sebastien Bourdais pulled off a major upset Sunday by driving from last place to win the IndyCar season-opener at St. Petersburg. Bourdais made an off-season move to Dale Coyne Racing, convinced he could help turn around the small team. The French driver brought two engineers from his glory days and was determined to recreate his early success. A problem in qualifying meant Bourdais started last in the 21-car field. It made no difference. He earned his 36th victory, breaking a tie with Bobby Unser for sixth on IndyCar’s career win list. Canada’s James Hinchcliffe finished ninth.
Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is likely to miss opening day because of a sore right shoulder. Indians manager Terry Francona said Sunday that Kipnis will be shut down for the next two weeks to let him recover. Kipnis has been dealing with the problem this spring and had a cortisone shot two weeks ago. Kipnis is a two-time All-Star. He hit .275 with 23 home runs and 82 RBIs last season, and then homered twice in the World Series loss to the Cubs.
SEATTLE — The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from the Seattle Mariners for minor league outfielder Joey Curletta. The trade was announced Sunday. The 31-year-old Venditte had pitched three times in spring training for Seattle this year and twice for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Venditte was 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA in 15 games for Toronto and the Mariners last year. Able to throw with both arms, he’s 2-2 with a 4.97 ERA in 41 games in the majors. Jonny Pownall scored a late try as the Toronto Wolfpack cemented a 24-10 victory over until Casey found a mix of five bench and lesser used players who brought some fight back to the game.
Those guys though are not the ones who will be counted on to keep Toronto in the top half of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.
That will fall to the five starters and four subs who got the job done in Washington.
Even then they will need improvement.
Patrick Patterson cannot attempt just four three’s as he did over the three losses on this road trip. He is obviously playing through injury or discomfort, but he has to be a threat from behind the arc. Patterson is still setting screens and moving the ball to get teammates open, but if he’s not shooting he’s not a threat which makes things tougher for everyone else on the floor.
DeMarre Carroll has to get past his ankle sprain and get back on the floor. His threepoint shooting has also gone AWOL as well with just one three in 12 attempts over four games in March. Again, without Lowry’s threat from behind the arc someone else has to step up and Patterson and Carroll along with Powell would seem to be the most likely candidates.
“We have to take shots that are there, we’re turning down shots we’ve got to take, guys are in position who are shooters have to take those shots,’ Casey said after the loss in Miami. “That gets your assists up.
“The other one is some of the guys missed shots they normally make, DeRozan, I would say Serge Ibaka missed some open looks but that’s going to happen. You can’t carry those misses down to the defensive end and not get stops. One of our better offences is running in transition after we get stops and we didn’t do that.” mike.ganter@sunmedia.ca
Bourdais wins IndyCar opener in major upset
Whitehaven on Sunday, improving to 2-0 in their first season in Kingstone Press League 1. Craig Hall and Liam Kay had first-half tries for Toronto, and Hall added two conversions and a penalty for a 14-0 lead on a muddy pitch at the Recreation Ground. Bob Beswick opened the second half with another Wolfpack try before Whitehaven’s Elliot Miller scored to make it 18-4. Toronto opened its Kingstone Press League 1 campaign with a 76-0 rout over the London Skolars last week.
2B Kipnis likely to miss Cleveland season opener Phillies get switch-pitcher Venditte from Mariners Wolfpack improve to 2-0 in Kingstone Press League 1 TFC’s Giovinco in pain after blow to the leg
It’s a been a rough start to the MLS season for Toronto FC star Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian striker missed a penalty in the season-opening 0-0 tie at Real Salt Lake City. And, on Saturday, he had to be helped off the field after taking a blow to the leg in a 2-2 tie with Philadelphia. The 5-foot-4, 130-pound Giovinco went down clutching his right thigh in the 43rd minute after a challenge by 6-foot-4 210 pound defender Oguchi Onyewu, whose knee caught the Italian as he went for the ball. “He’s OK. He’s sore,” coach Greg Vanney said. Toronto (0-0-2) plays at Vancouver (0-1-1) next Saturday.
Shattenkirk suspended 2 games for charging
NEW YORK — Washington Capitals defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk has been suspended two games for charging Los Angeles Kings defenceman Kevin Gravel.
The NHL announced the suspension Sunday about six hours before the Capitals were to play the Anaheim Ducks. Shattenkirk will miss that game and the Capitals’ home game Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild.
Shattenkirk has no disciplinary history. As a first-time offender under the labour agreement he will lose $47,222 in salary.
With 4:03 remaining in the third period Saturday night, Shattenkirk left his feet to hit Gravel behind the net. He was given a minor penalty.
Shattenkirk has four assists in six games for the Capitals since they acquired him at the trade deadline from St. Louis. — Postmedia wire services