Cleveland made wholesale changes with getting back to the NBA Finals one more time, but that hasn’t phased the Toronto Raptors. This team has chemistry and not the soap opera drama of the Cavaliers. That said, it is why this team is not a long shot to battle Boston and Cleveland for the Eastern Conference championship.
You have one of the most dynamic backcourt tandems in the point man Kyle Lowry and then DeMar DeRozan as a two-guard. That combo will travel into any arena with a chance to consistently light it up when playoff time rolls around.
The Raptors’ posts were totally improved when they picked up Serge Ibaka from Oklahoma City a year ago. His presence has helped aid in the improvement of Jonas Valanciunas, as he leads in rebounds followed by Ibaka.
What has really led to this 40-16 start is the development of the bench. Coach Dwane Casey implemented a new style of play for the season which helps to get the bench involved. There’s lots of motion in the offense and pressing and trapping defensively which makes these guys as tough of a matchup with its style of play when they substitute.
“The style of play similar in Dallas – we call it ‘Flow,’” said Casey, “The new guys started working on it this summer and got into it as far as moving the ball. Activity is as important as anything else.”
C.J. Miles, a 12-year veteran, a Skyline High School (Dallas) product, has been a major threat off the bench all season. He averages 10 points per game, but Sunday in Charlotte, he ignited the team as he came in and made 8 of 11 shots, including six threes, for 24 points in nearly 18 minutes.
“C.J. shooting the ball like that really helps,” said Casey. “Delon (Wright), Fred (VanVleet), Pascal (Siakam) and Jakob (Poeltl ) – all of those guys are in constant motion. C.J. is smart enough to understand where his shots are coming from and he opens things up and that allows penetration and drives.”
Casey uses quick actions to set these guys up on offense. As they have proliferated the attack, Casey said that the key was getting the timing down on passes. That came with familiarity inside the quick hitters.
Defensively, having Wright and VanVleet on the floor when Lowry and DeRozan rest is like a quick two-point guard attack that can make offenses move more quickly than they want to. The youthfulness off the bench gives Casey many options with which to attack on both sides of the basketball.
“It is a huge weapon,” Casey said of his young guns. “They have more energy, young legs, not as many miles on the legs and thy come in and change the game with their pressure. For the most part, my money is gonna be on those young guys that compete and play hard.”
As the Raptors have started to ascend to make their push for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the dynamics of their starters combined with the aggression off the bench is a tough match-up. This team has more depth than any of their Eastern Conference counterparts, so the key will be execution.
“I just told our team that it was more about our mission, our process, where we started,” said Casey. “We are not there yet and we still had a lot of work to do.”