Frank Gunn / Canadian Press
2015 was an up and down year for our beloved Toronto Raptors. After starting the year as the best team in the East, they tailed off in the standings and capped their 2014-2015 season losing all four games to the Washington Wizards in the playoffs. As much as we’d like to drink and forget it, we shouldn’t because this experience made this young Raptors squad stronger and the front office to realize how much importance they need to put on defense. This led to some off-season shake-ups and acquisitions of tough, defensive-minded and grind-it-out players. These changes have led the Raptors to a very respectable 21-13 record to start the 2016 season. With that being said, let’s go over what the Raptors’ new year’s resolutions should be:
Make defense the rock:
The Raptors finished the 2014 season as the seventh best defensive team in the league. In 2015, they fell to 19th. This drop led the Raptors to draft 2 defensively aggressive guards in Delon Wright and Norman Powell, sign a bulldog of a point-guard in Cory Joseph, a blue-collar wing in DeMarre Carroll and an intimidating post presence in Bismack Biyombo. At the same time, they had to cut ties with a few players, most notably sixth-man of the year Lou Williams. While his departure may have included some off-court issues, it exemplified a change in the attitude of this team where effort must accompany talent. Now that’s not a knock on Williams. He was clearly an integral part of this team last year. But it’s clear that Masai Ujiri is now targeting hard-working players who are good teammates, have long wingspans and solid lateral quickness, some attributes that Williams lacked. So far, these moves have paid dividends. The Raptors boast the league’s fourth best defense and have held opponents under 100 points 21 times so far this season. Clearly the players are buying into Dwane Casey’s “pound the rock” mentality. Of course, this means that in addition to strong defense, the Raptors getting after it on the glass as they are top 10 in the league at rebounding. They are also performing the hustle plays that fans in Toronto will enjoy. These are all things that the Raptors will need to carry-over and prioritize for 2016 and beyond.
Avoid the post all-star break nosedive:
Everyone goes through it. When we start something, we are determined to see it right through to the end. But only a few make it so far. If the Raptors want to be an elite team in this league, they will need to keep-up their strong play for the rest of the season. Going into the all-star break in 2015, the Raptors were second in the east at 36-17. They finished the season losing 16 of their final 29 games. Unless you’re LeBron James, your spot in the post-season has to be earned. And if you plan on being successful there, you will want to carry as much momentum as you can so that you have the confidence needed to succeed. Clearly, the Raptors have done their due diligence to ensure they do not repeat getting swept out of the playoffs. Defense is once again the priority and coach Casey should take no excuses if the team does not perform as well as they should. Kyle Lowry is leaner and in better shape. DeMar DeRozan is playing above expectations and the leadership of Luis Scola may prove to be beneficial in the long-run. Therefore, the Raptors need to do whatever it takes to keep themselves from losing this momentum going into the playoffs. Whatever group of guys the Raptors end up with after the break (and trade deadline) will need to understand the bitter taste of what happened last year and be determined not to let it happen again.
Don’t get complacent:
Complacency is what led to the Raptors’ post all-star misery last season and signs of it are showing up this season as well. For whatever reason, Raptors tend to get complacent, especially against weaker opponents. So far this season the Raptors are 11-7 against teams over .500. They are also 10-6 against teams under .500. I don’t need to remind everyone of last season’s finish, but I can assure you that complacency was well evident there as well. Let’s go back to December 22nd when the Raptors took on the Dallas Mavericks at the ACC. With less than 6 minutes to go, the Raptors were up by 16 points. The game ended 103-99. The Raptors finished the game with their starters minus Terrence Ross who was replaced by Joseph. The Mavericks finished the game with Charlie Villanueva, Jeremy Evans, Justin Anderson, John Jenkins and J.J. Barea. The Raptors best gave up a 16 point lead against the Mavs worst, a team that had one of the most clutch players in the game on their bench during their comeback. Beating good teams is a positive, but beating bad teams or even just mediocre teams at the same rate is not very impressive. For the Raptors, 2016 should be about reaching that upper echelon of NBA franchises. To do that, they need to take care of business against easier opponents. Not only is it expected, but it will also help them save their legs during the grind that is the NBA season, which will be very helpful come playoff time.
2015 should stay with Raptors fans for awhile. The heartbreaking exit from the playoffs is certainly hard to forget, but at least it reminded this team about what made them so good in the first place. An off-season priority on defense may have given the Raptors the tools they need to succeed. If they can continue to defend well and secure defensive rebounds at a high rate, then the offense will take care of itself and give them a good shot at going deeper in the playoffs. But they will need to play consistently well throughout the rest of the year and ditch that temptation to take their foot off the gas pedal. As the great Kobe “black mamba” Bryant put it, “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.” Neither should the Raptors in 2016.
