Great Laker debate
Casey credits team’s ‘disposition’ for rare win over veteran foe
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It was time to roll the dice, to hope shooters made shots and an offensively challenged team rose to the occasion and in the role of a riverboat gambler, Raptors coach Dwane Casey hit the jackpot.
A guy who prides himself on the defence his team plays went to his most effective offensive lineup late in the game and it paid off like never before this season in the most unlikely of Raptor victories.
Linas Kleiza hit three three-pointers, Demar Derozan attacked the paint with aggression and intensity and the Raptors pulled away for an impressive 86-74 upset of Boston on Friday because they were able to shred a Celtics zone defence against all odds.
“It bothered me a little bit (to rely so much on scoring) but I knew if we didn’t the zone was going to strangle us in that situation,” Casey said after Toronto defeated the Celtics for just the second time in the last 15 meetings between the teams.
“I thought Demar did an excellent job penetrating the zone and attacking the zone and he found some seams in the zone that gave us a lot of options.”
And every option turned out to be a good one.
Derozan had four of his gamehigh 21points in that fourth quarter, Amir Johnson had five and a group — Jose Calderon, Leandro Barbosa, Derozan, Kleiza and Johnson — that might have been a defensive liability was able to withstand every run the Celtics made.
“At the beginning it surprised us but (Kleiza) was hitting shots; he was open and I was just looking for him. He got, like, three big shots for us,” said Calderon, who had a great game with 17 points, 14 assists and no turnovers in 38 minutes.
“It wasn’t like the best zone offence ever but it works.”
As impressive as Toronto’s offensive finish was — the Raptors went into the game ranked 27th in scoring — the overall “disposition” Casey likes to talk about was even bet- ter. A team that has a tendency to cower against tough, aggressive veterans like the Celtics stood its ground at every turn. The Raptors led from start to finish and simply buckled down whenever Boston made a run. “I just really liked our disposition — they’re an excellent team, they’re a grisly team,” said Casey. “We knew in the fourth quarter they were going to tighten up and try to make things rough and physical. “They did and we withstood that. . . . I liked our approach, our dispo- sition, our tough-mindedness down the stretch.” The Celtics, who had lost in overtime to the Lakers on Thursday night, were hardly at their best. Rajon Rondo, a day after missing out on being named to the Eastern Conference all-star team, was a non-factor with just five points, seven assists and five turnovers in 41 minutes and noted Raptor-killer Ray Allen only had eight field goal attempts. It was a shell of the team that hammered Toronto 100-64 the last time they met.
“It feels great every time you win, even a bit more when you beat a team like Boston,” said Calderon. “I don’t even remember the last time we beat them.
“It’s been tough — they’ve always beaten on us. We lost the last time by like 30 or 40 points so it’s always in our mind. . . . That’s why I think today we concentrated from the beginning, everyone was ready to play and to help each other and that’s what we have to do.”