‘Ride or Die’
The most significant story for the Raptors this post-season has been the play of their All-Stars. Both DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have struggled mightily offensively and in Saturday’s loss combined for 20 points on just 8-27 shooting. Lowry is shooting 18% from deep and DeRozan is is averaging less than four free-throw attempts per game. After getting to the line at least twice (and on average 8.4 times) in each game this season, Saturday’s Game 4 marked the second time in the playoffs DeRozan has attempted zero free throws.
Yet with the series tied and at least two more games to be played, Dwane Casey isn’t planning to go away from the duo that carried his team all season. “I don’t care what the numbers say they’re still two of the best guards in the league,” the coach said.
“They’re our guys. We’re gonna ride or die with DeMar and Kyle,” Casey elaborated while speaking to the media after Monday’s practice in Toronto. “They haven’t shot the ball great, but it’s still basketball. We’re gonna go with them. There’s a lot written about the numbers and all of that, but at the end of the day it’s a 2-2 series. I don’t think anyone expected for us to sweep Indiana.”
Without their shot falling, both players can still be effective and Lowry’s nine assists were integral to the Raptors’ Game 2 win. Despite the shooting drought, Lowry’s still averaging over seven assists per game while DeRozan has shown improvement in his passing game as well, something Casey could want to see more of.
“DeMar has done an excellent job all year of facilitating, we run a lot of pick-and-roll plays for him. Those are areas where those two can and have helped us a lot this season. They’re two combo guards who can do a lot of different things on the offensive end.”
Regardless the Raptors will have to continue to rely on them to score—this team was always going to live or die off of the shot-making ability of DeRozan and Lowry. The two are taking more than 66 percent of the Raptors shots, and don’t expect that number to go down any time soon.
The added attention Jonas Valanciunas is garnering with his periodic dominance could result in more shots for Lowry on Tuesday, and not just as a result of double-teams on the big man.
“Those guys are attacking (Valanciunas) really hard,” Lowry said of the Pacers pick and roll defence, focused on stopping the Raptors’ big man from getting to the hoop. “They’re making sure he’s not getting any rolls. They’ll stand below us to make sure that JV doesn’t get the roll and have those monstrous games they’ve had before.”
Lowry also mentioned how it hinders his passing ability:
“They definitely bogged it up a little bit [in Game 4] and made sure JV was getting hit and tagged,” Lowry, “those passes weren’t as easy as the game before.”
While the Pacers have clearly done a good job in limiting both Lowry and DeRozan, the pair will get every opportunity to turn it around, or go down trying.
Shifting spotlights
“When you take away something you’re going to give up something else,” Casey said in reference to the rest of his roster. “When you commit two [defenders] to Kyle, or two to DeMar like they’ve been doing, it’s going to open up something else.”
As the Pacers defence hones in on the Raptors’ starting backcourt, it’s opened up the chance—need—for other players to step up, and the saving grace for Raps fans is that the rest of the team has been playing really well.
DeMarre Carroll is clearly working his way into a nice rhythm as he continues to establish his role. He’s nearly averaging double figure scoring, and made his presence known during a brief scuffle between Valanciunas and Indiana’s Paul George on Saturday. Carroll and George once shared an agent and often play each other in rec games in Los Angeles during the off-seasons.
“I know Paul left and right, I know what he’s trying to do,” Carroll said on Monday. “I know his personality. It is what it is. When I’m on the court I’m nobody’s friend except for the guys in the locker room. When I see my teammate in a fight I’m gonna go help him. But my biggest thing is: I just want Jonas to keep playing physical and do what he’s doing.”
Valanciunas has been great, averaging 15 points (half a point behind Lowry for the team lead) and 13.5 rebounds.
Patrick Patterson, Cory Joseph, and Bismack Biyombo have also helped to establish the tone for the Raptors throughout the series, becoming more and more integral with each passing game.
The same is true for the Pacers as well, who are getting excellent performances from their supporting cast, particularly in Game 4, where the likes of George Hill and Ian Mahinmi shone while the Raptors focused on the Pacers’ stars.
“We’re working to slow down Paul George, or slow down Monta Ellis—which is not an easy proposition— and Ian Mahinmi gets loose in the lane for tip-ins and easy shots,” said Casey. Mahinmi was a disruptive force down low in Game 4, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Casey talked about some of the ways the Pacers’ starting centre is causing problems for Toronto.
“Jonas was coming into help [and] Mahinmi was getting free on the boards behind him. Ducking in, sealing him. On one play he drove on Biz and got to the rim, but a lot of [Mahinmi’s success] was from playing off of JV coming across to help, so we’ve got to adjust how far JV comes over to leave him open.”
