A work in progress, lots of progress
Raptors’ second unit has its off nights, but there’s been more good than bad
The early part of the Raptors season is about more than wins and losses, even though that’s the true measuring stick of a team’s progress.
But while it’s always better to win than lose, this time of year is about gaining trust and confidence. If there’s a hiccup every now and then in October and November, the lessons learned may pay dividends in April and May.
That’s especially true for a team like Toronto that is relying so heavily on a group of untested youngsters. They will experience growing pains because that’s what happens with NBA neophytes. Some nights they’re going to be good, some nights they’re not and the evening-out process is going to take some time.
The group — Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet, Jakob Poeltl, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam — had a collective off night Friday in Los Angeles.
“They’ve got a reputation of being a good unit and the target is on them,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of his young second unit. “They’ve got to come every night because other guys are going to see how they’re playing and match their energy. There’s going to be nights like that but they’re going to be a good young team.
“They’re going to have ups and downs, they’re not going to be perfect every night, but I love ’em and they’re going to have the same opportunity next game.”
The opportunity afforded the young players represents a unique experience on a team that wants to win now. This is not a long-term building process — not with veterans like Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Serge Ibaka on the first unit — but the only way the Raptors’ stars can have success is if there’s some talent behind them.
That’s where the youngsters, none with more than two years of legitimate NBA experience, come in. They know they can’t let up because they understand the stakes. As do their teammates. “We have contributors all over the floor and those young guys will continue to be big for us and we understand that,” Lowry said in Los Angeles. “But we need them to come out here and keep doing it every night. And we’re going to give them the confidence to go out there and make mistakes but they’re playing so hard that the mistakes they’re making are very minimal.”
There have been no serious issues with any of the kids through the first five games of the season, they’ve been good far more often than they’ve been even average.
Siakam was a revelation while averaging 19 points in the last two games, Poeltl has been consistently good, Wright is an excellent game manager who’ll eventually make a threepointer, and VanVleet is probably the toughest defender in the group.
And Casey is right about running them out regardless of how they’re playing. Team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster have basically taken away any veteran security blankets for the coach and it’s sink or swim with young backups. Halfway through the season’s longest road trip, more major tests await them. The Moda Center in Portland is a tough place to play in, the fans in Salt Lake City make Friday’s venue one of the toughest in the NBA, and Denver presents its own unique issues with the mile-high air.
But into the fire they go, with everyone mindful that the end of the season is when things should smooth out.
“They’ve getting big minutes, getting reps playing in the most hostile situations, playing in places where the home teams do their job and it’s going to continue to build their confidence,” Lowry said. “That’s the biggest part, the confidence-building.”