Adversity should make Raptors stronger

Once Lowry returns from injury, team

ATLANTA • It’s funny how a little adversity can alter the perception of an entire team.

The Toronto Raptors are a perfect example of that.

They find themselves without their point guard for the next three or four weeks, depending on how Kyle Lowry’s right surgically cleaned-out wrist responds to treatment, but suddenly the perception is the team is in steep decline.

The Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics, two teams that had been chasing the Raptors for most of the season, are now the darlings of the East and the Raptors have been all but forgotten.

In the short term that may be justified. Lowry is that important to this team, but quite often it feels like people are ruling him out for the duration of the 2016-17 season. That is certainly not the case. Lowry will be back and when he is, particularly if he is allowed a few games before the playoffs start to get re-acclimated, the Raptors could be better than ever going into the playoffs.

An Atlanta reporter posed a question to Raptors head coach Dwane Casey on Thursday wondering if this is the most adversity he has faced in his sixth year with the team.

Casey gave that look, the one anyone who has covered the team for any length of time knows mean you’ve just asked a really ridiculous one, but then answered the question.

“No, not at all. Not even close,” Casey said, just avoiding rolling his eyes. “We had some significant injuries for a while and we’re trying to work those guys back in. We hit a tough spot, but I think for the most part we have been in second place for most of the season. I think we haven’t been playing great basketball. but we’re nowhere near the bottom.”

A 38-26 record may not fall in line with what the expectations are, but Casey doesn’t have to go back even two years (that four-game playoff sweep by the Wizards) to find more adversity than they are facing now. Heck, he could go back to the first round of last year’s playoffs and find more adversity.

The point Casey is making is the adversity now facing the Raptors in learning how to cope without Lowry is only a short-term issue. Barring a sudden change of direction with his rehab, Lowry will be back.

“Every team has that adversity,” Casey said dismissing any talk of mounting injuries. “Boston has had guys out all year. This team (Atlanta) has had guys out. So it’s how you deal with it. For a stretch we didn’t deal with it well and lost five or six in a row. Every team goes through that, but it’s how you come out. I like the way we are going now. We just got to get some consistency with how we are playing.”

And when Lowry does return, it’s going to be very interesting to see this Raptors team at full health.

The additions of Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker are already having the desired impact on the defensive end.

Lowry’s return isn’t going to hinder that in any way. Offensively, the newcomers will have to adjust to the game going through Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, but that shouldn’t be a problem, especially for two guys whose focus is primarily on the other end of the court anyway.

In the interim, or until Lowry gets back, the focus will be primarily the defence and getting that as consistent as possible.

Offensively, the Raptors are already figuring out a few ways to stay afloat minus the 23 points a night Lowry brings. It starts with DeRozan, who no longer has the space he was once afforded by teams who also had to contend with Lowry.

“That was the emphasis in our mini camp (in Miami) that we had, ball movement, man movement, put a few more sets in that created that,” Casey said. “I thought (DeMar) did an excellent job of embracing it and making it part of his game, which in turn will help our balanced scoring. Everybody gets to touch the basketball, opportunities. At the end, they’ve got to make those shots. Sometimes you get what you wish for and you’ve got to be ready to shoot it and make your shots. I thought (Wednesday) night (in New Orleans) was one of the better ball movement nights we had.”

DeRozan is completely fine with becoming a passer and says he will do that as long as that provides the easiest path to points.

We’ll leave it to Jonas Valanciunas to sum up the feelings of those inside the locker-room about this perceived adversity.

“We faced some tough moments, we had some good moments, but this is what happens in this league,” Valanciunas said. “This is what you have to face and this is what makes you tougher. So take it as learning experience, right?”