TORONTO — How’s this for a sequence? It begins with the game tied and a little more than a minute remaining in an overtime period the Toronto Raptors really shouldn’t have needed, and Fred VanVleet pulling up for a three.
It was a decent look, but something in the calculus was off. Maybe it was his release, or the way his feet left the floor, or the hand in his face. Whatever it was, VanVleet’s attempt dropped well short of the rim, where Delon Wright collected it and kicked to DeMar DeRozan, who let fly from range himself.
Another miss, another offensive board from the charging Serge Ibaka, and another kick out, this time back to VanVleet, who had barely moved and pulled up once again. He drilled it.
STEADY '' FREDDY V pic.twitter.com/RJHaHbagNu
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 17, 2018
That was the defining moment, more or less, in a disorderly Raptors effort Friday, which resulted in a 122-115 win, the team’s 11th straight, tying a franchise record.
There probably isn’t a whole lot the Raptors want to take away from this one, on the latter half of a back-to-back, in the midst of playing 10 games in 16 days, and opposing a Dallas Mavericks outfit with little reason to play outside of contractual obligation.
But the Raptors can take away the fact VanVleet hit that shot. It was one Kyle Lowry would often take late in a close game, with the catch Friday being that Lowry wasn’t suited up at all, as he received a well-deserved night off during this grueling stretch.
Someone else needed to step up and make a play, and it stands to logic that even with Lowry back in the lineup come playoff time, there will still be situations when he and DeRozan aren’t taking those crucial shots, due to one thing or another.
The great strength of this Raptors team, and the primary reason many believe this April can differ from ones prior, is how deep it runs. How the ball gets shared, how it can be a new guy making the difference each night. And how players like VanVleet feel empowered to make a play like he did Friday.
“Confidence. That’s one thing the young man has — supreme confidence. In his shooting, in himself,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “And we have supreme confidence in him as a player. Everybody’s role changes just a little bit with Kyle out. You have to step up another level. And I thought he did.”
None of the Raptors even learned Lowry would be sitting out until about two hours prior to tip-off, when the team convened for a late shootaround. That’s when Wright was told he was starting the game, and when VanVleet began preparing to log a much longer shift, and carry a much heavier load, than usual.
“I just try to be a little bit more aggressive in some of those lineups when we need another playmaker out there,” VanVleet said. “We just try to fill in when guys are out. Obviously, we need our all-star point guard. But with him taking a rest, we had to step up.”
It started with Wright, who made an immediate impact with three assists in the game’s first four minutes, setting Jonas Valanciunas up to score the first points of the night, finding OG Anunoby on a backdoor cut, and dishing to DeRozan for an easy bucket on a fastbreak. Moments later, he stepped in to his first three-point attempt of the game, nailing a shot that shows future defences they can’t easily help off him on the perimeter.
“Early on, I felt like I was more there to kind of get the other guys shots,” Wright said. “But I’ve still got to take my shots when I’m open.”
VanVleet entered with four minutes remaining in the first and began waging a highly entertaining game within the game, taking on similarly undersized and energetic Mavericks guard J.J. Barea.
Early in the second quarter, VanVleet slipped Barea, drove along the baseline, and finished a reverse layup early in the shot clock. Minutes later, he drove on Barea again and converted, ran down the floor to grab a rebound, and found Malcolm Miller in transition for a wide-open three.
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By the fourth, both Wright and VanVleet were on the floor at the same time, feeding off one another and pushing the pace as the Raptors mounted a comeback (VanVleet’s block of Nerlens Noel in the fourth, forcing a shot clock violation, was an overlooked moment). And neither left the floor in overtime, as both hit crucial three-pointers, including VanVleet’s with a minute left.
In the end, they each finished with strong figures (Wright had 15 points and six assists, VanVleet had 14 and eight) and floor times north of half an hour. And they showed that even with a critical piece like Lowry out of the lineup, the Raptors can still get by.
“I like the fight, I like the way the guys come together,” Casey said. “I like to use the word grit because I think that’s what helps you win in the NBA. And our guys have shown that and it’s a habit. We’re building that habit, wearing those scars from mistakes.”
Who knows how things will play out come spring, but it’s hard to deny that this iteration of the Raptors is deeper and better protected against key absences than the team that crashed out of the playoffs last year.
Toronto was already in way over its head against the Cleveland Cavaliers in last May’s second-round matchup, but the odds of victory went from slim to remote when Lowry was injured. He scored 20 points on 54 per cent shooting in Game 1 of that series, and had another 20 on 58 per cent when he went down in Game 2. He didn’t play again as the Raptors were summarily swept.
Lowry should be feeling fresh for this season’s playoff run, considering he’s averaging five fewer minutes a night this season than he was in each of the last two. And, with the Raptors cruising to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference, don’t count on Friday night being the last time Casey chooses to give his point guard a night off.
But crazy things happen, injuries being one of them. Adversity is to be expected. It’s likely this won’t be the last time the Raptors need depth players like Wright and VanVleet to step up. Games like Friday’s are good test runs of those scenarios, important opportunities to learn what it takes.
“We’ve got to have supreme focus to be successful,” Casey said. “You’ve got new guys in the lineup, different lineups, different rhythm. OG just coming back after being out two-and-a-half weeks. There’s a lot of different factors and variables that go into that.
“But you don’t have Michael, Larry, Kareem — they’re not walking through that door. So, we’ve got to play hard. We’ve got to compete every possession. We’ve got to be the hardest working team on the floor every night. We’re a good team — but we want to be better.”
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