ROAD KILLERS
The Raptors don’t lack for confidence away from home, as their current road trip shows,
PORTLAND, ORE.— The road can be a cruel place in the NBA with the effects of travel bothering players, with unfamiliar gyms and different routines contributing to the difficulties, and hostile audiences making things troublesome.
It takes a special group, often rife with veterans and an ‘usagainst-the-world’ mentality, to find consistent success.
Those seem to be characteristics the Toronto Raptors have in abundance.
“Being good on the road is fun,” Kyle Lowry said. “I love being good on the road. I love being a good team on the road.
“Good teams win on the road and I’ve always said that. That’s what good teams do. They find a way to figure out how to win on the road in tough environments, tough situations. It’s just fun to be good on the road, I think.”
There is always a chance that a stinker of a road game will pop up every now and then, just like there’s always a chance a team will underperform at home on occasion.
But this group of Raptors seems to find a consistent defensive resolve that adds up to road success.
Heading into Friday’s game here against the Trail Blazers, the Raptors are appreciably better defensively away from the Scotiabank Arena then they are are home. home.
By one statistical metric — points allowed per 100 possessions — the Raptors are second in the league in defensive efficiency on the road and 16th overall at home.
There could be many mitigating factors, who they’ve played when and where chief among them, but that’s a big disparity.
“I can’t say it’s one particular thing other than the fact that we know when we are on the road we have a different mindset, a chip on our shoulder we have to go in and take the wins and actually communicate defensively and do a better job probably,” Danny Green said before the team held its morning shootaround at the Moda Center here. “We can do that at home too, but sometimes at home I think we just think it’s going to happen. It’s part of maturity and this part of the season we are still growing and moving in that direction direction and and not not take take any any steps steps place. Now is the time to show it ." Toronto’s record certainly proves they have not only the physical but mental ability to thrive in hostile environments. They were 12-3 on the road going into Friday’s game, and that includes a perfect 7-0 record against Western Conference teams. That includes wins in difficult arenas for road teams like Oakland, Salt Lake City and Staples Center — both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers — and is the best road start to a season against the Western Conference in franchise history.
“You’ve got to be greedy on the road every chance you get,” Green said. “At home it’s a little easier but on the road it’s a little tougher.”
The Raptors did play their first of what will be a number of games without centre Jonas Valanciunas, who had surgery to repair his left thumb after dislocating it during Wednesday’s win over Golden State.
For coach Nick Nurse, the “insurance policy” that is veteran Greg Monroe will come in handy. But it will be a blow given how well Valanciunas was playing.
“All the stuff we’ve been working hard at, figuring out ways to keep him on the floor, in different scenarios and coverages and things seemed to be working, so it’s a setback,” Nurse said.
The issue will be trying to quickly get used to playing alongside Monroe, who will see his minutes rapidly increase with Valanciunas out.
“We’re going to miss him and can’t wait until he’s healthy and we get him back but when he’s out we have to focus on the next man being up which is Greg, who’s very capable of doing the job,” Lowry said.
“Understanding that (Valanciunas is) not there so now we have to figure out how to play with Greg because we don’t play with Greg as much. “t should be quick and painless, we should be able to adjust quickly.”