Pump the brakes on the Raptors hysteria
They’re not yet good enough to take any foe for granted, writes Frank Zicarelli.
Somehow, some way, the expectations surrounding the Raptors must be tempered.
When games such as Tuesday night’s visit to Dallas go sideways, this team gets exposed.
When mental toughness becomes an issue — especially on the second leg of a back-to-back set, as it did during the Raptors’ visit to L.A. against the host Clippers — red flags get raised.
Under most circumstances, the Raptors should be able to take care of business when facing flawed teams such as L.A., which played minus its best weapon on Blake Griffin, or when playing a Mavericks team that is undergoing a change in personnel.
Had Toronto played with desperation, focus and poise, both of those losses could have been turned into wins.
The Raptors aren’t bad, but at the same time they are not that good, at least not good enough to take any foe for granted, which they clearly did versus the Mavericks.
Percentage-wise, they were atop the East standings heading into Boxing Day, and some pundits in the U.S. were referring to the Raptors as the San Antonio Spurs of the north.
To suggest that’s an overstatement would be to state the obvious, a classic case of hyperbole.
The Spurs have developed a culture under Gregg Popovich, an approach to each and every game Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has been preaching and continues to hammer home.
Until the Raptors can start games with a defensive purpose and end games with the same intensity and attention to detail, Toronto remains a work in progress.
The “culture change” is nothing more than a buzzword to describe an offence that demands ball movement, a style of play that is not iso-friendly.
The real change, the one that will separate the Raptors from most teams and the one that will position the team well come playoff time, involves approach, demeanour, attitude.
It’s not about making shots or creating looks that allow shooters to get off shots, but rather how they defend on the road and how to sustain a level of play that gives them a chance down the stretch.
And when crunch time arrives, shot making becomes crucial. The NBA, after all, is a make or miss league.
The Raptors were fortunate in Dallas because the Mavericks missed 54 shots, including 18 three-pointers on 24 attempts.
In the fourth quarter, Dallas managed 13 points and yet won, 98-93.
Little things, such as eight missed free throws, being outscored by six in points off turnovers, not getting DeMar DeRozan better looks, cost the Raptors.
There are encouraging signs with this group, no doubt, but no one should be jumping the gun, too many prematurely, and foolishly anointing this group as an elite team.
In time, maybe the internal development and toughness gleaned from disappointing nights will allow the Raptors to join that exclusive group of topend teams.
Until that happens, the Raptors can’t afford to believe they are good, a trap that has its consequences.