Expectations rising for Raps
Team’s culture change taking hold, producing encouraging results
Dwane Casey’s default setting in his conversations with the media after a thorough win like Wednesday’s in Charlotte is a hope to “bottle” whatever got into his team on this particular night in order to break it out when need be at a later date.
Casey’s admonishment of some phantom defence in garbage time notwithstanding, Wednesday was one of those nights.
In fact Wednesday was basically the blueprint for the kind of success Masai Ujiri, Dwane Casey and their respective staffs came up with in the off-season when the focus was culture change and nothing was untouchable.
Ujiri and company wanted more ball movement and ball sharing. Wednesday in Charlotte they had a season-best 35 assists.
Management also wanted more emphasis on the three-point shot. Wednesday in Charlotte the team converted a season high 16 threes on 33 attempts.
But underlying all of that was the unstated goal of not being so reliant on just Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. While both figured into Wednesday’s win, as they do every result, they were only a part of it.
Anyone choosing to load up on either player in Charlotte paid the price. Everyone was in on this win from the 10th man off the bench in Delon Wright on up.
It says something about how good those in charge believe this team can be that Casey spent a good portion of his post-game comments lamenting the lack of defensive focus in garbage time in a game in which the Raptors had a 20-point margin.
“No question,” Casey said when this new higher standard was pointed out. “I thought we had a good defensive game going up to that point and we came in with a lackadaisical ‘you shoot, I’ll shoot’ attitude and we’re not going to tolerate that from young guys coming into the league.”
But as ticked off as he was by his youngsters mailing it in over the final few minutes, not even angry Casey could object to the suggestion that this was exactly the kind of game the franchise envisioned for itself way back in the summer when they first started floating the philosophical changes that were to come.
“It’s one game and, again, we’re fighting for consistency and we’ll take the 35 assists and continue to be consistent with it,” Casey said somewhat grudgingly.
There was just so much to like about this particular game.
You saw further evidence that OG Anunoby, the soft-spoken, but fearless rookie is going to be that threeand-D guy Ujiri has been trying to locate since he arrived. Injuries kept DeMarre Carroll from filling that role but Anunoby, in just the 29th game of his NBA career and 17th start, is already looking like he’ll fill the role Carroll could not.
His 20-point night, during which he went 6-for-7 from behind the arc, was a career high but he’s much more than just an offensive threat from the corner.
Anyone who witnessed Anunoby get two hands on the same basketball Dwight Howard did and then basically rag-doll the Hornets centre who has three inches, 33 pounds and 13 years of experience on the younger Anunoby couldn’t help but walk away impressed. Anunoby out muscled and out wrestled Howard so badly he left him in a heap on the baseline. Not that the young man needs any more confidence in his game, but if he was at all hesitant about his place in the league before that particular play he could not have been after it.
Serge Ibaka is finally looking comfortable both with the system and the people surrounding him.
Ibaka and Anunoby are getting wide-open looks with teams focused on DeRozan and Lowry and both he and the rookie are making opponents pay.
Ibaka looks like a different player these past few weeks and if he can maintain that, even if it means the odd game here or there where he doesn’t play, it gives the Raptors three excellent scoring options rather than just the two they have been trying to get by with for the past four seasons or so.
And then there’s centre Jonas Valanciunas. The Lithuanian big man didn’t get in on the offensive hysterics Wednesday but he was pivotal in negating the only real offensive option the Hornets have had with any consistency of late.
Dwight Howard has been integral to much of the Hornets’ success, forcing teams to pack in their defence to keep him at bay which opens the floor up for the likes of Kemba Walker, Frank Kaminsky and Nicolas Batum.
All Valanciunas did was lock the big man up, holding him to just a pair of free throws while he was on him in the game and frustrating him to no end. Howard isn’t accustomed to being manhandled, but Valanciunas — with a little help from Ibaka and Anunoby — bottled him up.
It was only one game, but it was the type of game that had more than a few people wondering if they have under-estimated this group and how far they can go.