TORONTO – Winners of five straight and 10 of their last 14 games, the Toronto Raptors are rolling.
There are some obvious reasons for the reversal of fortune of late, such as the team’s return to just about full health and the outstanding play – some might even say all-star level play – of Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam.
These aren’t the only reasons, however.
As a younger team that’s had to play most of its season shorthanded, the Raptors have been a squad that Nick Nurse has had to teach and give instruction to more than he’s had to since he’s taken over as head coach in the storied 2018-19 season.
This has led to apparent misgivings, like the lack of focus seen at times from the Raptors, particularly most recently during the first quarter. But has also led to dividends that can be seen in the way Toronto has bounced back in the second half in its last two games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz.
In both of their last two games, the Raptors were bad, albeit for different reasons. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, their defence was dreadful and versus the Utah Jazz – or, more realistically, a G League facsimile of the Jazz – the Raptors we horrendous offensively and just weren’t sharp enough defensively.
In the end, however, the necessary adjustments were made in both games, helping to extend the Raptors’ winning streak, and it’s because this is a club that’s unafraid of criticizing itself when warranted.
“I just think it's kind of instruction, really, and teaching from our side and them being teachable and coachable. I think that it's our job to tell them what we see and what's happening,” Nurse said after the Raptors practiced Saturday. “And then if there's stuff to change adjustment-wise, it's our job to make sure there's something. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it's, 'Hey, we're not playing hard enough.' And that kinda rings hollow sometimes. We always like to try to give them some examples of what we mean.
“Milwaukee the other night, I think at four or five minutes to go in the second quarter we had zero deflections, zero blocks, maybe one offensive rebound or something like that. Kind of some of our hustle things, we were empty. So we're telling them, 'Hey, you guys maybe aren't doing enough. We're not active enough and here's some proof.' And that's, really, what we try to do.”
The last two games are a perfect example of this concept in action as there were noted adjustments made defensively against the Bucks and Jazz after halftime that allowed the Raptors back into things.
In particular, whereas the Raptors were more listless in the first half – especially in the Utah game Friday – they picked things up both on the court and on the sidelines in the second half, and that’s likely because there’s real accountability among the players.
“I think just knowing some of the guys for a while, like OG [Anunoby], Fred, Coach [Nurse], just understanding and just being accountable. It's like, at the end of the day, we’re here to win, that's really all that matters,” said Siakam. “And we know that there's no hard feelings. ... Like, this is not rocket science.”
“At the end of the day, these are all my brothers. Like, I don't think nobody is really, gonna come at you in a certain way where it’s personal,” Siakam later added. “It's just like, this is what we have to do and we can either come to the film tomorrow and scream at each other or we can do it right there and win the game. That’s what it is.”
It’s an underrated aspect, but the fact the Raptors are comfortable enough with each other to go over critical aspects of the game in a professional manner is a sure sign of a trust and can’t be discounted in its importance in their recent run of success and any future successes to come.
Quick dribbles
• On the injury front, every Raptor (who’s with the team) participated in practice Saturday with the exception of Yuta Watanabe, who remains in health and safety protocols.
Nurse said Watanabe is “doing fine” and while he isn’t yet cleared for work in individual workouts, Nurse mentioned that he doesn’t “think he shouldn’t be too long” away from the team.
• On Sunday, Jonas Valanciunas will play the Raptors in Toronto for the first time since he was first traded in 2019 to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the deal that brought Marc Gasol to the Raptors.
Although now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, it’s a shame Valanciunas won’t be returning in front of a packed Scotiabank Arena that would surely give him plenty of applause and praise. However, it’s sure to be a special homecoming for Valanciunas, especially because a skill he began working with Nurse back when the Raptors coach was an assistant with Toronto has now looked to fully blossom.
Valanciunas is shooting a career-best 43 per cent from three-point range (on 2.4 attempts per game), something that would’ve been unconscionable to even fathom during his tenure with the Raptors.
To his credit, though, Nurse, who travelled to Lithuania to work with Valanciunas in the off-season, saw this coming.
“He's a really good shooter,” said Nurse of Valanciunas. “It isn't like you were saying, 'Hey, you know, let's go out behind the three-point line.' I could see that he had great touch from 15, 16, 17 feet, great mechanics, he liked to work on his shooting, and it was just a matter of saying, 'Let's go back here and do that.'
“But, yeah, we had a lot of fun, and most of it was making it part of the offence where he would trail, handle the ball, but yet he still works his way inside. It's a hand-off and roll to the rim, it's a pass and follow roll to the rim, and it's kind of like you need that trail three every once in a while when they disrespect you and don't want to guard you. When you come down and you catch it and there's nobody near you and they're all packed in the lane, just to keep them honest once in a while. And I just thought he had great mechanics and was a good shooter that it just made sense to let him jack them up.”
