FULL-COURt PRESS
Raptors swat the Hornets for 10th win in 11 games ... Second unit steps up in second quarter ... Miles gets some dental work done ... Switches add to Ibaka’s comfort
CHARLOTTE — The Toronto Raptors had just ended the quarter on the wrong side of an 11-0 run on Wednesday and the bench mob was headed back out to make amends.
But then Kyle Lowry huddled the second unit and spoke what had to be some pretty motivating words.
Because the same unit that coughed up an early Raptors lead got it back soon after and the host Hornets never got another sniff of the lead in the Raptors’ 10th win in their past 11 games.
Lowry’s contributions weren’t limited to the verbal kind. He also had 11 points and eight assists in the 129-111 win at the Spectrum Center.
The standout for the Raptors, particularly in that first half, was Serge Ibaka. He looked not just rejuvenated after a game off to rest an achy left knee, but also like a guy who was playing on a brand new knee.
Ibaka had four dunks in the game, all of them of the emphatic kind, and looked like 20-year-old rookie for the majority of the night.
His 24 points were a season high and just seven off his career high.
Rookie OG Anunoby did Ibaka one better, establishing a career high with 20 points on the strength of a 6-for-7 night from behind the arc.
But this wasn’t about any individual effort leading the charge for Toronto.
There were big marks all the way up and down the roster, including a team-high 28 points from DeRozan that went mostly overlooked.
The 16 three-pointers in the game tied the seasonhigh while the 34 assists set a new season mark, surpassing the old one by two.
It was the type of night that makes you question whether you have given this team enough credit to date.
SOME TEETH TIME
C.J. Miles was unavailable to the Raptors on Wednesday night, as he was getting some work done on his teeth.
Earlier in the season, this may have been a bigger concern, but the young Raptors have progressed to the point that Casey isn’t at all hesitant to go with an all-young second unit.
“It just depends on the game,” Casey said. “There are some games that we need that and some games we don’t. If guys are making shots and clearly scoring off our defence it’s less needed but there are some other nights too.”
PLAYS A COACH LOVES
Charges, diving on the floor for loose balls and running down blocked shots — in no particular order — are plays Casey enjoys above all others in a basketball game. They energize a team.
“Those are hustle plays, those winning plays are huge,” Casey said.
And he’s getting them from all areas of the roster. Standing out lately are the likes of Ibaka, who is making an art form of the chase down blocks. Drawing the charge is Lowry’s own version of a Picasso.
Ibaka is tied for 13th in the NBA in blocks at 1.40 per game with Marc
Gasol, but the chase-down block, the kind that gets a bench up on its feet is becoming his specialty.
Lowry leads the league in charges drawn averaging 0.68 a game, well ahead of No. 2, Ersan Ilyasova of Philadelphia. Casey believes plays like these are contagious with teammates.
“To see your best player take charges, dive on the floor for loose balls, why can’t everybody else do it?” Casey said. “That’s something we’ve been on our guys about because we’ve had a few ole’s, you’re there but then you open up. ‘Oh, my bad.’ You can’t have those. If Kyle Lowry, who is one of our best players, can step in and take a charge and give up his body, we’ve got 12 other guys that can do that also.”
Casey was asked if he ever gets worried about his starting point guard putting his body on the line like that.
“No, he’s a tough guy,” Casey said. “He’s got so many pads on, he doesn’t feel it. He’s tough, he knows how to do it, there’s an art to doing that and not getting hurt. Whether it’s not catching yourself on your wrists and hurting your wrists, not snapping your head back. He’s got it down to a science where he knows how to absorb the blow and not get hurt.
“Hell, I’m more worried about the guy with the ball than I am with Kyle.”
QUICK HITS
Casey believes adding to Ibaka’s comfort level is the amount of switching the team does on defence. It’s what he became accustomed to in Oklahoma City and now that the Raptors are doing it more this year, he’s that much more comfortable ... Individually, the Raptors don’t have a player in the top 40 in deflections, another hustle stat coaches love. As a team, however, the Raptors remain second in the NBA in that category, which has played a huge role in the team’s ability to lead the league in points off turnovers.
“It’s just an emphasis of making sure we are in the gaps defensively and making sure when we switch we jump switch into the shooter and the passing lane and switch to deny. All those things helps us cause deflections,” Casey said.