The Toronto Raptors are making peace with life on the road.
It’s a good thing, too, given they are in the midst of a stretch of nine of 10 games away from their temporary home in Tampa.
Of course, playing on the road isn’t what it normally is, given there are almost no hostile crowds to deal with and – presuming players are following the league’s guidelines for social distancing and limited socializing, period – distractions are down, too.
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It also helps playing the Washington Wizards, it should probably be said.
The Raptors took care of their responsibilities with their 137-115 win over the hapless Wizards, who have been trapped between “just okay” and bad for nearly a decade, it seems.
The win improved Toronto to 4-1 so far on its six-game road trip and improved its overall mark to 12-13, the closest the Raptors have been to .500 since they lost on opening night on their way to a 2-8 start. The Raptors are 10-5 since, a pace that would put them comfortably in the top-four in the East if they could maintain it.
“Playing on the road is always attention to detail, and with this group starting with the coaches, it’s always been attention to details, whether it’s the defensive game plans or the offensive opportunities that we try to take advantage of,” said DeAndre’ Bembry, who has carved out a consistent spot in the rotation and contributed 10 points on five shots along with three assists Wednesday. “And I think on the road that’s just the mindset you have to have even if there’s a crowd or not, we know we’re playing away, it doesn’t feel like home.
“Even when we’re home in Tampa, it feels like it’s away for us, so it’s just been a good road trip and we’re just trying to finish it out the right way.”
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They made it a collective effort. Norman Powell made his ninth straight start as the Raptors were without OG Anunoby (calf strain) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle) and he was spectacular in that role again. He came into the game averaging 23 points on 50 per cent shooting, including 46 per cent from deep over his last eight starts. He kept that standard with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep while adding seven rebounds and four assists.
Pascal Siakam continued his strong recent play with 26 points and Kyle Lowry had 21, while Chris Boucher had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Seven players hit double figures in scoring and nine different players had an assist.
The Raptors shot a sizzling 19-of-31 (59 per cent) from three and counted 28 assists on 49 field goals. Meanwhile, they were able to hold the Wizards to 45 per cent from the floor and 12-of-40 from deep while limiting the NBA’s leading scorer, Bradley Beal, to 24 points, or 11 points below his season average.
The Raptors controlled the game from the early part of the first quarter and never trailed after that. They led by eight to start the fourth quarter and finished with an 18-3 run that put the game away.
Things are going well. The only hint of drama to come is what they will do with Powell when Anunoby is healthy again, which could be as soon as Thursday, although Raptors head Nick Nurse said the fourth-year forward was “50-50” to be ready against Boston. Anunoby was in the midst of a breakout season and brings size and defence the Raptors need, but if they do end up sending Powell back to the bench again it won’t be because of his performance.
“I just like his decision making right now the most,” said Nurse. “He turns the corner; he explodes to the rim. He looks really confident when it gets thrown out to him. It’s like one of those deals where when he rises up you’re really expecting it to go in. And I think it’s just helping his overall play, too. I think I noticed him making good rotations on D, blocking out a little better, all those things but he’s certainly playing at a high, high level right now.
Good problems to have.
Playing on the road, though, has not been an issue. The Raptors were playing their fifth straight as the visitors in a season where it’s debatable whether they ever actually play at home, and finish their six-game trip Thursday in Boston.
“We’re just taking it game by game like we always have,” said Lowry.
“We always talked about it early in the season when our record wasn’t what we wanted it to be but we knew we weren’t that bad of a team. We were just taking it one game at a time and taking it day by day, game by game and kinda just getting better and getting a feel for each other.”
Toronto does catch a break hosting a woeful Minnesota club on Sunday in Tampa, but then heads to Milwaukee for two games, has a quick stop in Minnesota and then returns to Tampa for consecutive games against the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Given the way the East has taken shape so far, with the Sixers and Bucks separating themselves, the Wizards and Pistons falling behind and the other 12 teams drifting along, it’s too early to make the case that one stretch of the schedule or another is season-defining. But that Toronto came into Wednesday’s game 3-1 on the trip and now has a chance to improve to 5-1 against the Celtics Thursday is at least positive.
“I feel like we should be better. We could be better,” says Lowry. “We lost a lot of games, a couple of games that we should have won but the team beat us and that was that.
“A bounce here and there, a mistake there will hurt you but for right now, I think we’ve just got to continue to get better.”
They certainly hit the floor like a team with ambition. Toronto followed up its season-high-tying first quarter with a big second as everyone who saw the floor got to touch the ball and get good to great looks against a Wizards defence that simply wasn’t very interested in defending in any meaningful way.
The Raptors matched a season-high for first-quarter scoring when they jumped out to a 40-28 lead and they were able to get whatever they wanted. Powell continued his habit of running out to quick starts as he put up nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also chipped in with three assists as six different Raptors scored at least one basket in the first 12 minutes and none of them were Lowry, who otherwise showed no ill effects from back spasms that limited him to eight minutes against Memphis on Monday. In all, they had eight assists on 15 field goals and shot 68 per cent from floor, the only blemish being five quick turnovers.
The Raptors had their offensive vibes going all night, not that the Wizards made much effort to ruin the mood. The Wizards did cut the Raptors’ 12-point lead to four midway through the second period as the Wizards showed some signs of life with a 10-0 run, but then a 13-5 spurt pushed Toronto’s lead to 16 before heading into the break leading 74-61, setting a new season-high for scoring in a half. The contributions continued to be well distributed, this time with seven different players getting on the scoresheet and six assists coming on 14 field goals.
The Raptors have scored 120 points or more in five straight games, a nice turnaround from earlier in the season when their offence struggled at times.
“I think it’s more so understanding the team and who’s on the floor and who’s going to take the shots,” said Lowry. “I think now guys have been working so hard and kind of getting into a rhythm and understanding where shots are going to come from, I think it makes it a little bit easier understanding the offence a little bit more rather than forcing this or that.
“Understand where the pass is going to, or the play is going to come, and I think that’s helped us a lot.”
The Raptors are sixth in offensive rating since they were 2-8 on the season and sixth in net rating, too. It’s a standard of play that should travel well.
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