Northern comfort hard to beat
Home roll hits nine, bench turns tide, Vince may be back
It’s a dangerous game the Raptors sometimes play, seemingly toying with the task at hand because they know they’re good enough to win in the end, and this season has shown they’re often right.
But there will be a time when they spit up a game or two because they goofed around for a little bit too long, a night some inferior opponent will beat them. When they tally up the wins and losses after the regular season, one of those giveaways might spell the difference in getting, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs instead of the conference final.
It hasn’t happened yet, but coach Dwane Casey knows it’s going to some time — and he had to be worried that it was going to be Sunday afternoon.
A lackadaisical early effort by the Raptors let the Sacramento Kings shoot an astonishing first-half percentage before Toronto finally got serious and successful, eventually running away with a 108-93 win — their ninth in a row at home — that was harder than it should have been.
“Any team in this league, you let them shoot 61per cent, it’s way too high,” Casey said of Sacramento’s first-half efficiency. “We held them to 31 per cent in the second half, which is admirable, but we can’t play with fire.”
The Raptors were able to take control in the last three minutes of the third quarter and the first four of the fourth because they got a much-needed boost from a bench group that shrugged off whatever had been holding it back for the past week or so.
“They came in with high energy and got their hands on the basketball,” said DeMar DeRozan, who led Toronto with 21 points.
“We got out in transition. Freddy (VanVleet) got a couple layups. Guys started to play with a lot of energy off of no plays. That’s when we’re at our best.”
Delon Wright’s ability to generate offence off his defence, a second straight solid shooting effort from Norm Powell (no misses from the floor and 14 points) and Pascal Siakam’s work on the boards finally energized Toronto.
“I think he got a steal just with his length more than anything else, but most of all he gives us a steadying effect as a ball handler,” Casey said of Wright. “It kind of lets Norm run the floor, gets the ball out of everybody else’s hands and he and Freddy run the show, so we get some clean looks.”
The dullness of the game took away from any sense of “moment” in what might have been Vince Carter’s last game in the arena where he dom- inated during his time with the Raptors. The Kings tried to play into the occasion — giving Carter his first start with guard De’Aaron Fox and centre Zach Randolph out — and he was loudly feted during the pregame introductions.
Kings coach Dave Joerger did his part, putting Carter back in the game with about 21⁄ minutes left so the
2 fans could cheer, and taking him out with 11.6 seconds left so Carter could be afforded another standing ovation. It wasn’t always that way, as anyone who’s paid attention to the Carter-Toronto saga will know.
“I remember my first couple of years, it was crazy,” said DeRozan, who heard the reaction at its most venomous. “I can’t imagine how it was when he first left. To see the shift, I remember a couple years ago when we gave him the tribute video and everything, the reception and everything, it changed, as it should. It’s great to see that from our fans, because he’s the one who started this whole thing.”
The 40-year-old Carter may not be done. He’s a role player now, and a mentor on a young, struggling team more than anything, but he says the future remains undecided.
“I still don’t know,” he said. “I get asked all the time. You catch me on the right day, I’ll probably tell you it’s over this year. You catch me on another day, I can probably tell you in a couple of years.
“I just enjoy playing. I enjoy being around the guys in this atmosphere. It’s tough to say. You’re asking today, so I can tell you I have one more in me.”