Raptors take steps in right direction
TORONTO • Two wins in a row is not going to lessen the angst completely, but life in and around the Toronto Raptors is beginning to look just a little better these days.
In truth, neither win was very convincing, but following a road trip when two winnable games both ended up in the loss column, any victory is a step in the right direction.
Some consistency is back as well, in the form of rotations — both when guys come in and which ones are involved.
Nick Nurse continues to hope time will get Aron Baynes on track, but the Raptors coach is not giving him much of a leash and with eight losses already, who can blame him?
But Nurse is committed to this much. Baynes will start and if he has an impact or at least isn’t part of a huge early deficit, he’ll remain on the floor.
Beyond that, he is making no promises.
Nurse did say prior to Saturday’s second consecutive win — a 116-113 triumph over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night — that it’s looking more and more like this team will rely on a small-ball lineup for the time being to cover the majority of games. However, that can switch as soon as, or if, Baynes or possibly Alex Len prove to be at least a medium-term answer at centre.
What Nurse appears to have settled on is a second unit rotation that starts with Norm Powell and Chris Boucher and includes Malachi Flynn and Terence Davis, though at the moment that appears to be an either/or situation.
Flynn got run in both the wins over the Hornets but that was while Davis got minutes in both one-point losses in Portland and Golden State.
Defensively, when Nurse goes to his bench it’s either Stanley Johnson or Yuta Watanabe getting the call.
For now, that leaves the likes of Deandre Bembry, Matt Thomas and Paul Watson hoping for some garbage time minutes if they are to see the floor and it’s been five games since any of those were available.
Powell, who is coming off a 24-point night against the Hornets, believes the bench is coming into its own just now because they needed some time to adjust to the new faces.
“We’re starting to just understand what we have to do,” he said. “Guys are starting to get a little bit more comfortable with the flow of the game — offensively, defensively, what we need to continue to execute out there. I think that guys are starting to find their way throughout the season. It’s always trying to build up and you’re not going to be perfect. Early on, you try to build and go for the long haul and I think we’re starting to do that.”
Boucher’s improvement has been easily the nicest early-season development for the Raptors.
Yet as good as Boucher has been, he still comes with some downside — though it’s been tough to recognize with all the points, blocks and hustle he has brought to the floor.
Boucher isn’t new to the Raptors but the kind of minutes he’s pulling down are, and his defensive acumen still needs time to catch up to the rest of his teammates who have played more minutes in this defence.
“I think again, he’s producing at a super high level at the offensive end, I think he’s affecting a good number of shots at the defensive end,” Nurse said. “It’s just there’s, I already talked about it, there’s just lots of polishing areas for him defensively, just schemes and matchups and learning, just not missing some of the coverages and things like that.
“Again, that usually just takes a little bit more time out there, but he’s certainly getting a lot of time so we need him to grow quick — we don’t have much time to wait,” Nurse said. “We need him to grow quick and keep coaching and teaching.”
To his credit, Boucher readily admits the learning process is far from over despite how impactful he has looked and how comfortable he has looked over the last handful of games.
Fortunately, the second most significant development of the year for the Raptors is the growth of Johnson.
Johnson, a solidly built defender in the mould of OG Anunoby but without the same polish to his offensive game, has really come out of nowhere to provide an option defensively, allowing Nurse to get away with not having a true big man on the court.
Johnson, who couldn’t get off the bench in his first year with the Raptors until well after they arrived in Orlando for the bubble portion of the season, has developed into a defensive stopper.
He was instrumental in helping the Raptors preserve the three-point win on Saturday, coming in as Nurse went defence for offence. Slowly but surely this season, Johnson has carved out a niche for himself with his defence-first approach and an ability to knock down the odd three-point shot as a bonus.
Watanabe has earned minutes with sheer hustle and an underappreciated feel for the game, just knowing where he has to be and when he has to be there.
He has not been asked for much offensively, nor will he be, but like Johnson, he has knocked down a few open threes when the ball has found him.
Primarily, though, both players have been able to come in, provide some solid defensive play and not hurt the Raptors.
Nurse calls it “having a safe set of hands,” and both Johnson and Watanabe have been safe in that regard.
Eventually, Boucher should be able to provide that defensive reliability. Until that time comes, or until one of Baynes or Len establishes themselves, Johnson and Watanabe will fill that void.