Raptors hope familiarity breeds wins

It’s not as if the Raptors sit in a circle finishing each other’s sentences. They don’t have a telekinetic connection that strong.

But there is a comfort level they have achieved that should help them when times get tough over the course of the NBA’s regular season. And that can steal a team a game or two.

“Camaraderie and chemistry is hard to come by,” DeMar DeRozan said Tuesday after Toronto finished another workout in advance of Thursday’s season opener against the Chicago Bulls. “So when you have that sense of comfort — knowing guys as individuals on and off the court — you have a different comfort zone when you go out there in the big moments, understanding each other.

“That kind of goes a long way and it actually wins you games in the NBA. You can tell teams that have been together for years, just off the strength of that — they can pull out victories over more talented teams,” DeRozan said.

“Things like that definitely go a long way.”

Even as they try to make changes to their offensive philosophy and style, as they integrate former Pacer C.J. Miles, and as they try to develop a young group of backups, the Raptors at their heart are a group of familiar personalities. DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have played together for five seasons, Jonas Valanciunas and DeRozan have been together for six, and the three players have been coached by the same man, Dwane Casey, for as long as they’ve been together in Toronto. Delon Wright and Norm Powell are entering their third seasons. Even young big men Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam have benefitted from a year with the group.

“There are a lot of things guys are doing instinctively, that guys have done over the past three or four years,” Casey said. “Understanding where guys’ sweet spots are, understanding what we’re looking for in certain situations.

“Continuity is always huge in any sport.”

The new guy thrown into the mix is Miles, about to enter his 13th NBA season and his first with the Raptors. But because of his varied experience — Toronto is his fourth team — he’s been able to fit in seamlessly. And because the other Raptors are so familiar with each other, working one new guy into the mix hasn’t been difficult at all.

DeRozan, for instance, has a connection with Lowry, Valanciunas and Powell that he doesn’t have to work on too much.

That gives him more time to get used to Miles.

So far, finding a three-point specialist on a team that needs one hasn’t been hard for the three-time all-star.

“The way I approach things offensively, it’s how I can break down a defence, or how the defence is going to try to stop me and I use that against the defence,” DeRozan said. “(Miles is) definitely a great tool to have . . . it’s great when you can look over and see a guy like that.”

Like an old family member, just like the rest of the team.