TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors have been awarded one of the toughest, if not the toughest, schedule of the NBA resuming planting matches. They are more than a third of the way now and they haven’t been beaten yet.
The Raptors last defeat was March 1 – 159 days ago. They are 3-0 in the bubble and have won seven straight games in total – the association’s longest active streak.
At 26-7, they have the best championship record in 2020 and are only a win (or defeat to Boston) away from taking second place in the Eastern Conference. Life at Disney is good for defending champions.
“We are not easy to beat and we believe in ourselves,” he said Marc Gasol, after Toronto’s most recent victory, a dominant demonstration over Orlando on Wednesday. “We have many tools, many players, many great players and, for me, the best coaching staff you can have in the NBA right now. You have all the pieces; you just have to put them together and make everyone accept and sacrifice a little for the best of the team. “
As the Raptors prepare for the playoffs, we’re getting a better idea of what Nick Nurse’s rotation might look like on August 17th. Here are some tips on three games.
The initial lineup is set up and it’s really good
If there ever was any doubt – and there shouldn’t have been – Nurse’s plan is to stick with her initial training of Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Gasol.
With injured VanVleet e Norman Powell playing the best basketball of her career just before the season was suspended in March, Nurse left the door open for a change. Would he have platooned the two guards when VanVleet returned? Had Powell shown enough to completely displace VanVleet?
Then, there’s Nurse’s fascination with the so-called “jumbo training” she was experimenting with in practice last month. The Raptors have also started their last two scrimmage games with Gasol and Serge Ibaka in the frontcourt, moving Siakam to three and Anunoby on the bench. Would that remain?
Nurse’s preference has always been to keep her options open and remain flexible and fluid with her lineups, but she knows what she has in her original group of five. There’s no need to get cute or think about it too much, just start your best unit. And this is undoubtedly its best unit.
Lowry, VanVleet, Anunoby, Siakam and Gasol played a team record for 280 minutes together before the break, but have not shared the pitch since January 28 due to injuries at Gasol and VanVleet. However, they didn’t miss a beat.
Through three games on the bubble, the Raptors beat teams by 37 points in 56 minutes with them on the ground. They are holding opponents at a ridiculous 72.5 points per 100 possessions and 30% shot. During the season, their net score of 15.4 ranks fourth in the league among five-man units who have played at least 200 minutes together.
It is not difficult to see why they have been so successful. Lowry, VanVleet and Gasol are among the smartest and most crafty players in the NBA. Siakam and Anunoby are versatile and athletic. All five can shoot, everyone can manage and pass the ball, but above all they are all positive defenders. This is what makes them truly special.
“Before a switch is ever made you have to have a little desire, you have to be ready, you have to have a little anticipation. You have to have some IQ before the ball has even started in an offensive sequence, “Nurse said.” We have a lot of guys who are stuck on this. They pay attention to game plans. They’re basketball guys. Other teams, they study them. They like to stop them. It’s kind of interesting that they started. They come to the game and start figuring out how we’re going to stop them. They really try to make adjustments, there is communication between them, between them. In a certain sense feeds from there. “
“It’s just a testament to what we do here,” VanVleet said. “It is a testimony of our culture. Give credit to management, come on [the] coaching staff a lot of credit, give us players some credit. We have to go out there and perform every night and like I said before, we just have a lot of guys doing that part of the floor. We know this is where we will be most successful if we continue to play defense at a high level. “
The fact that the Raptors felt comfortable using variations on this unit due to injuries and mid-season tweaks can’t hurt. If and when an opponent in the playoffs shows them a different look, they know they can get bigger with Gasol and Ibaka or smaller with Powell. However, as long as they remain healthy, expect the nurse to open the games and, in most cases, close the games with her best unit.
The bench is still trying to understand
If there is one area of (very minimal) concern in three games it is the performance of the Raptors bench. It’s a bit surprising, given their depth it has been a strong point over the course of an injury-filled season. On the other hand, now that they are healthier than they have been since November, you can see why it may take some time for players to adjust to their natural roles: get off the bench or record fewer minutes.
“It’s different when we’ve had guys out and touches and minutes and things like that. You’re able to find a flow and a rhythm, “Powell said.” But with everyone behind it definitely feels like the start of the season. We’ve talked a little bit between ourselves and it’s a fun time for us to figure it all out.
“The best part of this [is] we’re winning games while we’re trying to figure out the flow with everyone coming back. “
The Toronto bench was overtaken 152-77 by the opposing reserves so far in the bubble. Maybe they managed to turn the corner on Wednesday, though.
After shooting 6 of 21 in the first two games, Powell scored five of his 10 attempts and scored 14 points against Orlando. Ibaka recorded 11 points to go on with his nine rebounds. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who twisted his ankle in Saturday’s win against the Lakers, also bounced back and made solid pick and roll results during his long run of the fourth quarter.
However, rookie Terence Davis remains calm. There isn’t a Raptors player who came into the second half with more up for grabs in terms of place in the rotation. So far, it has been a missed opportunity for the 23-year-old, especially with Patrick McCaw – his main competition for minutes – off the lineup. His minutes have been sporadic, but he is not doing enough to make more money.
“He’s playing well,” Davis’s nurse said after Wednesday’s game. “We’re not finding big minutes for him, long stretches. The guys who are playing don’t even think they’re playing enough. Norm and Fred, Kyle, all those guys want to play more, OG. We’re pretty sane right now, so it’s a little tough. But he’s fine, Terence is fine. He just didn’t have a match where the ball came to him very often, where he was able to jump and hit them. He was solid enough on defense, solid enough, happy enough with that over there. “
The playoff rotation will be tight, with minute spots up for grabs
For Nurse’s point, as long as the top seven guys – the starters, along with Powell and Ibaka – are healthy, there won’t be many minutes left for everyone else.
When the season kicked off way back in October, and before all injuries hit, Nurse leaned on her seven returning veterans, partly because there was a level of familiarity there – they’d won a championship together – but mostly because she didn’t trust them. of young players on his roster.
This is no longer the case. Those guys came forward and had breakout strokes at opportune moments throughout the campaign. They are a big reason why the Raptors have been able to endure so many injuries and why they are on the verge of winning the second seed. They proved their worth and earned Nurse’s trust.
However, the hierarchy has not changed. Once the rotation tightens for the playoffs, most of the minutes will go to the core seven, with one or two of the other guys picking up spot minutes every game. In terms of who those one or two other guys might be, it will likely be situational.
If we’ve learned anything in the last three games, it’s that Hollis-Jefferson should get the first shot upon landing in one of those places, thanks to his experience, versatility and the energy he brings off the bench.
Chris Boucher he only played three minutes of junk time and was inactive for the game against Miami. He was extraordinary in last month’s retreat and has been efficient in his minutes this season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him impact a post-season game at some point, although he will probably have to be patient and be ready. .
Matt Thomas’s role appears to be similar. Having an elite shooter sitting on the bench is a nice luxury for the nurse. It might come in handy, depending on the matchup and game script, but it would appear to be behind Davis in the guard rotation. The real question is where Davis calculates if and when McCaw returns.
McCaw battled recurring pain in his left knee. He lost 20 games earlier this season after undergoing surgery to remove a benign mass from the same knee. It is not clear when he will return and in what condition he will be when he returns.
When healthy, the nurse used McCaw as the eighth man. It will be interesting to see if he claims that role upon his return, or if those minutes – and we’re probably only talking about five or ten of those during the playoffs – are split elsewhere.
