TORONTO – DeMar DeRozan has seen his share of highs and lows in eight seasons in Toronto, but a lot less lows lately.
But Sunday night after the Raptors somehow allowed the offensively-challenged Orlando Magic to look like they weren’t challenged at all, DeRozan saw some old ghosts.
“Yeah, this is [the low-point],” DeRozan said after the Raptors’ not-nearly-as-close-as-the-score suggests 114-113 loss to the Magic. “But it’s all about how we bounce back and get out of it. We have a lot more basketball to play, a lot more. And we haven’t even made it to the break yet. Before that we have to figure it out and get it going. I’d rather [this] be now than later.”
It was supposed to be a joyous night. The Raptors had snapped their five-game losing streak with a nearly textbook effort against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
When it was announced DeRozan would play after missing the three previous games with an ankle sprain and Jared Sullinger healthy it meant that the Raptors had their full 15-man projected roster dressed for the first-time since training camp.
And an old friend was in the building: Bismack Biyombo, who turned his one season as a defensive energizer for Toronto into an astounding four-year, $72-million free-agent contract, but may just have left his heart at the ACC.
Biyombo may be missed but the Raptors looked and played like something was missing, never more than in a roughly six-minute stretch of the second quarter when what was missing was any type of reasonable execution and the Magic ripped off a 21-2 run that turned a 10-point Raptors lead into a 60-51 halftime lead for Orlando.
“It’s as bad as we’ve played all year,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey.
The Magic came into the game with the NBA’s 29th-ranked offence, shooting just 44.1 per cent from the floor for the year – 26th in the league – but somehow managed to shoot 53.2 per cent against Toronto and 43.5 per cent from three, not bad for the NBA’s 28th ranked three-point shooting team.
Casey usually avoids blanket condemnations of his charges. Not Sunday night, though.
“We have to find five men that are going to go out there and defend,” said Casey. “You can right now [look at] the roster and everybody had a defensive mistake. It’s accountability. We’re bringing guys off the bench and they’re making mistakes. And that is what I told the team. Everybody is involved, the whole group in the room, we’re all accountable for this.”
Toronto got back in the game in the third quarter, starting the fourth quarter down 82-78 but seemed to let go of the rope again midway through the period when they gave up a 10-0 run that left them down 15 with 6:26 to play.
They battled back again – the Raptors do battle – and a three-point play by Jonas Valanciunas and fade-away by DeRozan left Toronto down four with 2:20 left. They had held the Magic without a field goal for three minutes. Orlando called timeout. The crowd was going nuts.
And then Toronto came out of the timeout out and both DeRozan and Patrick Patterson got caught ball-watching as the Magic’s Elfrid Payton drove baseline. Jeff Green was somehow wide-open in a crowd and scored the easiest crunch time basket he’ll ever get. The next possession Green was left wide-open while trailing in transition and his three pretty much punctured any hope the Raptors had of a comeback as the Magic led by nine with 1:46 left.
They did keep scrambling but they never had the ball with a chance to win or tie, so the final score is a bit misleading. The journey there is not.
It was fitting that Biyombo was making his return. He didn’t figure in the outcome, playing just 14 minutes while scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds.
For his part Biyombo still sounds like he left his heart at the ACC. While talking pre-game he seemed a bit overwhelmed at how warmly he’s regarded by Raptors fans, even though he played just one season here.
On paper the Raptors don’t miss him, or at least get comparable production from his former understudy, Lucas Nogueira, who does it for just $2.9 million this season compared to the $18 million the Magic are playing Biyombo.
But there has been slippage. A year ago Toronto ranked a respectable 11th in defence, allowing 102.7 points per 100 possessions. Biyombo led all regulars with a personal defensive rating of 101.
This year the Raptors are 15th in the league in defence, allowing 105.6 points per 100 possessions. Their most impactful defensive player? Nogueira, who averages 3.1 blocked shots per 36 minutes and lead the Raptors in both defensive rating (104 points per 100 possessions) and offensive rating (130 points per 100 possessions). It’s his offensive potential that in theory should make him a more well-rounded contributor than Biyombo was.
Early on, Nogueira pumped faked Biyombo at the three-point line, got him off his feet and one dribble later was dropping a left-handed finger roll into basket. It’s a sequence that Biyombo will never provide.
But that was just one example of what makes Nogueira a potentially more impactful player than Biyombo, long-term anyway.
Midway through the second quarter the Raptors were having a hard time getting a clean shot and the ball found Nogueira in the corner with perhaps four seconds left on the shot clock. The lanky Brazilian calmly drove left and towards the paint before whipping a crisp pass to Cory Joseph in the opposite corner who got a shot up in good time. He missed but the Raptors rebounded and scored on a Patterson three. It was subtle play, but that kind of poise and skill in a 24-year-old with a nearly eight-foot wingspan is not be scoffed at.
The Raptors were up by 10 when Nogueira sat down. That he picked up his fourth and fifth fouls in a four-minute stint in the third quarter – he didn’t return to the floor – could well have been the difference in the game.
But the Raptors do seem to miss Biyombo, in spirit at the very least. Before the game Casey spoke reverently of Biyombo’s big baritone voice at the back of the defence, keeping everyone on point, directing traffic.
There is no one to take on that role now. Patterson comes the closest but he’s as often out on the perimeter as he is behind the defence in position to make the calls sparking the communication.
The Raptors have their share of woes as their slump extends to six losses in seven games and 10 of their past 17. They now sit in third place in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
Kyle Lowry is carrying them at the moment – he finished with 33 points and eight assists – and DeRozan was rusty in his return, as he needed 18 shots to score 22 points. But DeMarre Carroll was 0-for-5 from three and is 4-of-22 in his last six games, a sprain on the middle finger of his shooting hand clearly having an impact. Joseph is in a funk (1-of-6 from the floor and a team-worst minus-15), Patterson remains on a minutes restrictions and Sullinger is far from mid-season form.
It’s moments like these that defence is supposed to usher you through. It was in place on Friday night but not anywhere to be found two nights later.
“I wish I could tell you,” said Lowry when asked why the defence seems to be sliding. “I think it’s something we haven’t relied on, our offence has been so good the last couple of seasons, but Dwane Casey’s staple in this league has been defence and we’re not living up to that.”
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