Start at the front doors of the Royal Ontario Museum—just beyond the bones and fossils of the dinosaur displays. Head east on Bloor, south on Yonge, west on Lakeshore, north on York, and then east on Bremner, stopping at the rusted sculpture in Maple Leaf Square outside the Air Canada Centre.
Okay, it’s early to be talking about parade routes. But one month into the NBA season, the Raptors have ignited a Toronto fanbase that has had little to cheer about—in any sport—for quite some time.
Following Monday’s 104–100 victory over the Phoenix Suns, the Raptors sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 12-2 record, and they technically lead the entire Association as well (Memphis leads the West at 12-2 and Toronto beat the Grizzlies last week).
A home-heavy schedule has aided the Raptors—10 of their first 14 games have come at the ACC—and only a handful of contests have come against legit playoff contenders. But being 10 games over .500 is a feat that cannot—and should not—be diminished. Toronto, generally, has been dismantling opponents at a torrid pace.
Dwane Casey’s crew leads the NBA in point differential, ranks second in scoring, and sits sixth overall in opponents’ scoring (second in the East).
Average point differential
1. Toronto (11.6)
2. Golden State (10.1)
3. Dallas (9.7)
4. Portland (9.1)
5. Memphis (7.6)
Average points for
1. Dallas (109.3)
2. Toronto (106.7)
3. Golden State (106.5)
4. Phoenix (104.9)
5. Boston (104.7)
Average points against
1. San Antonio (91.3)
2. Houston (91.7)
3. Memphis (92.4)
4. Indiana (94.4)
5. Oklahoma City (94.9)
6. Toronto (95.1)
The Raptors and Warriors are the only two teams ranked in the top 10 in both points for and points against.
Percentage-wise, Toronto is in the middle-of-the-pack in both field goal and three-point shooting (ditto for their defensive percentages as well) but the team is second in free-throw attempts and third overall in fewest turnovers per game (11.0).
This all adds up to a team that is not fluking its way through the first month of the season. These numbers speak volumes—even if some players aren’t willing to admit it.
“We are not worried about our record,” said Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry. “We are just taking it game by game and trying to get better.”
Lowry is certainly living up to the latter item on his list.
Coming off a career year last season—and a free-agent payday in July—the Bulldog of Bay Street currently ranks fifth among point guards in both scoring and field-goal percentage, third in rebounding, tenth in assists and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Advanced stats support the idea that Lowry is playing better than ever. Player Efficiency Rating (PER), a stat created by ESPN’s John Hollinger, measures a player’s per-minute statistical production. The league average for PER (every season) is 15.00.
After finishing last year with an impressive 20.20 PER, Lowry sits near the top of his conference in the stat so far this year—and he has some company in two Toronto teammates as well.
PER leaders (Eastern Conference)
1. LeBron James (CLE) – 24.30
2. Dwyane Wade* (MIA) – 24.23
3. Lou Williams (TOR) – 23.62
4. Kyle Lowry (TOR) – 23.00
5. Jonas Valanciunas (TOR) – 22.59
* Has played in only eight games
Lowry’s season thus far may have been summed up perfectly by teammate Chuck Hayes who recounted a key chain of events in Toronto’s win over Phoenix on Monday.
“(Kyle) had a sequence (in the fourth quarter) where he got the block, loose ball, got the steal, got the assist and then the charge,” said Hayes. “Unbelievable. That shows our leader, man.”