Raptors in deep freeze on threes
TORONTO — Another above average road trip is in the books for the Toronto Raptors — an overtime loss in Boston the only blemish on a four-game sojourn that ended Wednesday in Atlanta — and they return home toting the best record in the National Basketball Association.
But, even after all that success, a 15-4 record, three road wins in a row, another back-to-back series swept, there remains this nagging feeling there could be more.
More good health.
More killer instinct.
More efficient three-point shooting.
More of just about everything and the recently concluded journey to Boston, Chicago, Orlando and Atlanta, while good, could probably have been greater.
It’s unfair, of course, to hold a team with such a record up to nitpicking examinations of some facets of the game, but the Raptors will be held to the highest standard in franchise history this season and the scrutiny is legitimate.
Take three-point shooting, for example.
The absence of C.J. Miles, OG Anunoby and Kawhi Leonard for two of the four road games was a factor but shooting a collective 42-for-127 on the trip (only
36 per cent) cries out for improvement. In this NBA era, teams not only have to take a lot of threepoint shots, they have to make a lot of three-point shots and the past week has made it clear the Raptors have some work to do.
“I think the quality of the threes is pretty high,” coach Nick Nurse told reporters in Atlanta. “There’s some, there’s a couple every game that you kind of say, ‘That one I maybe wouldn’t have taken,’ but I think the quality of them is pretty good.
“And that’s all we should be worried about: Each trip down are we taking the shots that we’re looking for.”
The Raptors are 24th among 30 teams in three-point efficiency, shooting 33.8 per cent as a team this year despite being eighth in attempts per game (33.2).
Health will help, certainly. Miles missed all four games on the trip and is expected back for Friday at home against Washington, while Fred VanVleet’s battling a couple of nagging injuries, Anunoby has a bad wrist and Norm Powell is still expected to miss weeks.
When they are fully healthy, the team’s shooting should improve and Kyle Lowry, who began the season as hot as any shooter in the league, went just 9 for 32 (28.1 per cent) over the first three games of the trip.
“I think that stuff usually levels out,” Nurse said. “Career numbers are career numbers and guys usually will go up and down, comparatively and get back to who they are.”
That the Raptors ran through three of their opponents with the roster they had available is impressive. Kawhi Leonard continues to sit out half of each back-toback — Toronto is 5-0 on the second games of back-to-backs this season — and having him consistently in the lineup will help.
The Raptors don’t have another back-to-back until Dec. 11-12 and Leonard should play every game until then.
“I will say this, there’s been zero issues as far as any, too much minutes, or too long a run,” Nurse told reporters. “He feels good, so I think the early plan here through 18, 20 games is going really well.”
It’s been going well for the Raptors, there is no disputing that, but there are areas for improvement as they hold themselves to a higher standard reserved for legitimate championship teams.