THE LONG ROAD . . . TRIP
The Raptors will zigzag all over the map on their six-game road trip,
It is a long, hard and disjointed trip, to the west back to the east back to the west, hither and yon over the holidays.
It is a journey that will test even the best and most focused of NBA teams and the Toronto Raptors swear they are ready.
The six-game trip that began in Salt Lake City on Friday continues Monday night in Portland with the first of five remaining games in the longest trek of the year.
Portland to Oakland and then over to Phoenix. A quick trip back to Los Angeles — why they couldn’t go down the coast from Oakland before heading inland is a secret only the NBA’s schedule-making computer knows — before a side excursion to San Antonio to wrap it all up.
“This road trip we’re starting on is going to be a daunting one, just the style of play, the type of teams, the quality of the teams we’re playing,” Terrence Ross said. “So we could have had an easier schedule for Christmas break.”
Tough teams, tough venues, tough times. Bring it on, they say. “Once we go on the road, we get in the element where we feel it’s us against everybody else,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We carry that over to the floor, having that sense of urgency throughout the whole game, having the crowd against us, being on the opponents home floor and that seems to put us more mentally engaged in every thing we need to do.”
The Raptors have turned into an above average road team this season, which has to bode well for this trip. The win over the Jazz on Friday, fashioned by Kyle Lowry’s 19-point gem of a fourth quarter — was Toronto’s sixth straight road victory and established an all-time franchise record.
“I think we just like the pressure of it, the odds of going on the road,” DeRozan said.
“We always get up for them type of games, it’s fun just to be on the road and you feel like it’s you against everybody.”
The teams the Raptors are meeting are all along the top offensive units in the league which will be added stress on Toronto’s defence. The Raptors have shown improvement over their last three games — all wins — and held Utah below the desired 45 per cent field goal efficiency target and limited the Jazz to 24 fourth quarter points.
“This is a trip where we have to make sure we are continuing to improve defensively,” coach Dwane Casey said.
“I don’t know if we will become a defensive juggernaut over these next two weeks but we have to continue to take steps. I think we have made steps, some good steps but we can’t let it slip.”