With a perfect record through the first five games of the season and fresh off arguably the biggest regular season win of the DeMar DeRozan era, life is pretty good in Raptorland these days.
And why wouldn’t it be?
The team is currently fulfilling their best-case-scenario outlook heading into the 2015-16 campaign. Their new rotation players—DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo, and Luis Scola—have made an immeasurable impact in how the team plays on both ends of the floor, transforming a horrid defense from last year into one fast-becoming among the league’s most intimidating, and allowing their top scorers, DeRozan and Kyle Lowry to better focus on the offensive end where they’re most valuable.
What’s more, they’re sharing the ball like we hoped they would; Iso ball is dead in Toronto (unless DeRozan gets the ball near the left-elbow, then it absolutely makes sense for him to attack his defender one-on-one). The assist numbers may not reflect it (still near the bottom of the league in total assists), but according to NBA.com’s stat page, they’re holding the ball far less before shooting it, a surefire sign that the ball is moving around the court.
Factor in the superb play from the clubs stars, the rise of Jonas Valanciunas’ post game, and the effectiveness of Dwane Casey’s crunchtime lineup (Lowry, Joseph, DeRozan, Carroll, and Valanciunas), and you get wins like Wednesday in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, a team many expect to see deep in the Western conference playoffs.
In summation: in a game where momentum is everything, the Raptors are in a good place right now.
Which is why there could be reason for concern in Orlando Friday night, as the Raps get set to face the Magic for the first time this season—on paper a winnable game.
The logic is simple: The Magic, at 1-4, shouldn’t offer much of a threat given how everything has been going right for the Raptors.
But look a little closer and Friday night has “trap game” written all over it.
For starters, Orlando’s record is misleading. In their four losses—two in overtime, including a double OT thriller at home versus the Thunder—they’ve lost by an average of only three points.
Which shouldn’t be too surprising given that the Magic are a talented, and competitive club who’ve responded well to the standards new coach Scott Skiles is holding them to, a tough out for any opponent.
So why do they keep losing close games? The simple answer is because they’re still obtaining big game experience as a group. Orlando is the second-youngest team in the NBA, and though their nucleus of Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton, Nik Vucevic and Tobias Harris is incredibly promising, they’re still in the puppy stage of their NBA lives.
To make matters worse, on Friday the Magic will be without Vucevic, arguably their best player, and an imposing centre who has performed well matched up with Valanciunas in the past. Vucevic sprained his right knee in the third quarter of their overtime loss to the Houston Rockets Wednesday night.
The Raptors meanwhile, are embarking on a Florida trip that will see them head south to play the Miami Heat on Sunday evening, a deep team expected to make the post-season while the Magic are praying on ping pong balls.
A team that hasn’t proven it knows how to win, with a lowly record and their star big man watching from the sidelines? You can see why the Raptors would be looking ahead to Orlando.
Everything we’ve seen through five games—from the jerseys to the near-record moxie levels—indicates this is a different Raptors team. In previous years this would be the exact type of game—handed every opportunity to win—they’d find a way to lose.
But these aren’t your momma’s (or, more accurately, your only-slightly-older sibling’s) Raptors….right? We’re about to find out.
Will the Raptors keep the good times rolling? Or fall into Orlando’s trap?
Tip-off is at 7 pm ET on Sportsnet ONE.
