The only constant has been winning
Different lineups, different styles but streak keeps going
It has been quite something, this record-setting win streak the Raptors are on, for a lot of different reasons and in a lot of different ways.
It is a testament to their depth, their basketball intelligence, their resiliency — myriad factors, really — that they are at 14 in a row and chasing No. 15 at home on Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The raw numbers are staggering:
> In 14 games, the Raptors are first in the NBA in three-point shooting, making them at a 39.9 per cent clip.
> Their ball-hawking, swarming defence has created an average of 22.4 points per game off turnovers — also best in the league — and they get more than 10 steals a game.
> Six different players — Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Terence Davis II and Norm Powell — have led the team in scoring at least once. Five of those, all but Davis, are averaging more than 17 points per game.
> Three undrafted players — VanVleet, Davis and Matt Thomas — combined ffor 64 points on 24-for-34 shooting from the floor and 12-for-21 from three- point range in Saturday’s 119-118 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
They have won six of the 14 with at least one of the top seven rotation players out with an injury.
> They’ve scored 118.3 points per 100 possessions during the streak — tops in the NBA over that stretch.
The numbers are crazy, and the variety speaks to the team’s depth and ability and willingness to contribute when needed, through injuries that have forced almost every significant rotation player to miss at least 10 games this season.
“I think we’re experienced enough in that realm, unfortunately,” VanVleet said after Saturday’s win. “We’ve had a ton of guys out this year, so we don’t really think about it. It’s just more opportunity for a guy like Terence to get some starting minutes, obviously
myself to be primary ballhandler most of the game. So it’s more opportunity, and guys have got to step up and try to make the most out of the situation, and find a way to get a win and move on to the next one.”
It is the subtleties of the franchise-record streak that are wildly impressive, though — more than just the raw, inyour-face numbers.
They win with different lineups and in different manners. Any of the main cogs can take over a game at any time, but the depth is astonishing and important.
A never-before-seen group of backups in Thomas, Pat McCaw, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Oshae Brissett and Chris Boucher — more likely be on the court in the last few seconds of a blowout – changed the tone in Saturday’s win with seven outstanding minutes, bridging the end of the first quarter and start of the second.
Just another way to win another game.
“I think it’s just a testament to how hard everyone works on the team,” Thomas said after playing more minutes (22) and scoring more points (15) than in any other game of his rookie season. “Everyone stays ready. We have a very deep and talented team, and everyone’s more than capable of coming in and making plays.
“Also, it just shows the chemistry we have on this team. We’re all so good at playing off each other, and everyone plays unselfishly and plays the right way.”
Some point to the schedule as a factor in their recent success. The Raptors have consistently beaten weaker teams all season long.
“We do what we’ve got to do to win the basketball game, no matter what it takes,” Lowry said last week, before whiplash kept him out of Saturday’s game. “That’s what we’ve always continued to try to do, and try and build on and try to get better (at) as a team. Every game is a learning lesson, and you continue to get better throughout the season and just enjoying this journey.”
They’ve also won some tough games against good teams, a fact that can’t be lost. Back-toback wins over Indiana were solid, and beating a good Philadelphia team at home was big. Winning in San Antonio just hours after the shocking helicopter crash that killed nine people, including Kobe Bryant, was a testament to their resolve.
Yes, they played some cupcakes, but they beat them all, which is what good teams do. And when they’ve been challenged, they’ve responded.
“I think … after we won four or five in a row, there was a few in there that weren’t so good,” coach Nick Nurse said.
“I think there’s a little bit more extended minutes of better play.”
Coaches will always contend that it’s hard to teach, to point out things that need to be cleaned up, during extended winning streaks. Everything’s seemingly rosy and players tend to get fat and happy when every game’s a win. Bad habits can creep in almost unnoticed.
This team, however, learns from its mistakes even while piling up wins. Nurse said that ability and willingness to learn stands out.
“They’re pretty good,” he said of their collective coachability. “I think they’re a pretty highIQ team and they’re always looking to shore things up. They’re a great group to coach, a lot of resilience and a lot of high care level.” No one knows when this magical ride will end, with games at home against Minnesota on Monday and in Brooklyn on Wednesday before the nine-day all-star break hits.
They will lose again, that’s for certain, and they will lose more before the playoffs arrive in mid-April, but this ride has been entertaining. It’s unfolded in so many different and telling ways that while there may be a sameness to the results, how they’ve been achieved has been fun to watch.