It’s hard to improve on No. 1, but that’s just what the Toronto Raptors want to do.
In spite of a 6-1 record and a spot atop the Eastern Conference (and a shared spot atop the NBA), DeMar DeRozan isn’t getting too excited.
“It really doesn’t mean anything right now,” he said. “That’s how we’re looking at it. We’re only seven games in. We have a lot more to improve on and we’re not satisfied at all. It’s still early in the season and anything can happen. We’re definitely playing well, but there’s a lot to clean up if we want to sustain where we’re at now.”
The all-star’s mentality was echoed by teammate Greivis Vasquez.
“It’s too early,” the point man said. “I didn’t even know that we were No. 1, and I’m sure that a lot of my teammates didn’t know either. We’ve just got to remain humble and hungry and continue to work hard.”
After getting off to a slow starts through the first five games of the season—struggling in the opening two quarters despite picking up four wins—the Raptors have turned in two straight dominant performances against Washington and Philadelphia. The offence—generating a league-best 107.4 points per game—has been fantastic, but head coach Dwane Casey is focusing on the other end of the floor.
“Our defence was nowhere near [where it needed to be],” he said. “We’re much better defensively than we were a week ago, and that’s our goal: to continue to get better. We’re still working on a lot of stuff, trying to find out who we are, trying to get our identity. The No. 1 thing is consistency. That’s one thing [we] are working on, more than the standings.”
Casey said he won’t really judge his team—or know who they are as a collective unit—until at least the 15-game mark. Maybe even 25. And until then, he’s not allowing his players to get too excited about their early success.
“Case is never happy,” joked DeRozan.
“We’re happy, but we’re not satisfied,” added Vasquez. “I hope the fans aren’t satisfied. We want more. Let’s just not be too high [and] not be too low. Let’s be in the middle. Great teams do that, they don’t get too excited.”
Toronto has a ways to go before they’re considered great. And the players know that.
Defensively, in spite of the vast improvement over the last two games, the Raptors are in the bottom third of the league for opponents’ field-goal percentage. They’re also among the ten-worst rebounding teams.
Record aside, Casey has to be happy with how well his club has protected the ball (second fewest turnovers in the league), and the depth of the roster has been a huge asset as well.
“A lot of times last year, me and Kyle had to come back in quick to try to gain a lead back or keep a lead going if our second group was struggling,” said DeRozan. “Now we don’t have to worry about that because our second group is just as talented as any second group in the league and they can hold their own once they’re going.”
Lou Williams has been one of the key cogs in that second unit. Averaging 10.4 points per game thus far, Williams knows the importance of a strong bench having made a career out of his value as a reserve in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and, now, Toronto.
“[Depth] is going to be important for us down the stretch—especially when games start piling up on us and the starting guys are playing heavy minutes,” Williams said. “You’re going to need that second group to come in and give us some relief and not have a drop off.”
Williams and James Johnson were off-season additions to a bench that had already been bolstered by the additions of Vasquez and Patrick Patterson in 2013-14. Sprinkle in a rejuvenated Tyler Hansbrough, and you see the Raptors’ rotation starting to take shape.
“Knock on wood, we haven’t had a rash of injuries. So we’ve kind of kept both units intact and the rotation is finding itself in a good way,” said Casey.
“We’re trying to come in and have a presence,” added Vasquez. “We want to put our input into the game, too. We have a deep, deep team. The second unit could easily play starters’ minutes. But it’s not about that, it’s about helping our team.”