TORONTO — If you’ve spent enough time listening to Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey speak publicly, you’re surely familiar with his favourite expressions.
“We were playing through mud.”
“It’s a make or miss league.”
“Our passes need to be on time and on target.”
When part of your job is fielding dozens of variations of the same questions on a daily basis, it helps to have some go-to responses at the ready. Take this week. With all the achievements that have come Toronto’s way — top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time, a franchise record for wins, a fourth Atlantic division title in the past five seasons — Casey’s had to answer a lot of questions about his team’s success. So, he’s leaned on a new one.
“We’re gratified,” he’ll say. “But not satisfied.”
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That’s why you shouldn’t expect to see extended rest for any of Toronto’s regulars over the final week of the regular season, as the Raptors play three games that are inconsequential to the standings, but quite meaningful to reinforcing the intensity and style of play Casey and his team are trying to carry into the playoffs.
Of course, don’t count on Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas or Serge Ibaka playing 40 minutes a night, or seeing fourth-quarter time in a blowout. And certainly don’t expect to see them playing through any considerable physical ailments. One or two of those players may even get to sit out one of the remaining three games.
But Casey won’t be dramatically pulling back their workloads as his team prepares for the beginning of the playoffs next weekend. There won’t be any shutdowns.
“That’s bullcrap,” Casey said when asked about resting players down the stretch. “We may give a guy some time, but we can’t think rest. We’ve got to think rhythm.
“If you’ve been around the last couple years, you’ve seen what just total shutting guys down for a few games does to your body. You may rest a guy for a few minutes or a game. But there won’t be anybody that’s going to take the rest of these three games off. Because we’re just now, these last couple games, getting a sense of rhythm. It’s not like we’re travelling. We don’t have the long practices. So, what rest?”
Fair enough. The Raptors took the day off Saturday, which means the team will not be practicing between now and the end of the regular season. Toronto plays back-to-back against the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons Sunday and Monday, meaning Tuesday will be an off day as well. Then, Wednesday, the Raptors complete their schedule in Miami against the Heat.
Not only does Casey want to see his regulars carry over the improved defensive focus and intensity they’ve shown in their last two games (Toronto held Boston to 78 points on Wednesday, and Indiana to only 73 on Friday), he also wants to introduce some new wrinkles to the team’s offence.
“We have a lot of mental stuff to work on, nuances,” Casey said. “You’re not going to have a lot of huge changes. But we’re going to add some things offensively within what we already have.”
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Most importantly, he doesn’t want his team falling out of sync. The Raptors have put up two tremendous efforts against playoff-bound teams this week after struggling through a concerning slump in mid-to-late March. Casey and the Raptors hope they’re out of the weeds. But they can prove they are with similar efforts over these final three contests, particularly the next two which will come against teams with nothing to play for.
“The main thing we’ve got to do is what we’ve done the last couple nights,” Casey said. “I thought our intensity and our give-a-crap level has been much higher than it was in previous games. That’s what it is. This league is about playing hard and toughness. And I thought we showed that in the last couple games.”
Raptors make their case for VanVleet
There will be a crowded field of deserving candidates for the NBA’s sixth man of the year award this season.
Lou Williams got off to an incredible start and is averaging 22.5 points per game for the L.A. Clippers. Last year’s winner Eric Gordon has been even better than he was last season with the Houston Rockets, upping his field goal percentage and points-per-game while getting to the free throw line more often.
Then there’s Denver’s Will Barton who seems to work his way into the discussion every season; Miami’s Wayne Ellington, who’s played a key role on a somewhat surprising playoff team, and Boston’s Terry Rozier who’s having a breakout campaign in his third season.
But if you ask DeRozan, one player isn’t getting the consideration he deserves: Fred VanVleet.
“I don’t know why. I haven’t heard it much, but Fred should be sixth-man of the year,” DeRozan said. “At least mentioned, talked about. The things he’s been doing, leading that second group as a second-year player, it’s incredible.”
Toronto’s offence is so collaborative, and its second unit features so many players capable of producing at strong levels, that VanVleet likely won’t have as strong of a traditional statistical case as the other candidates.
But his 12.3 net rating — the fifth-highest mark in the league — speaks to the elements he brings to the game that don’t show up in conventional stats. And how much better the Raptors play with him on the floor than off.
“Fred VanVleet is one of the great stories in our league,” Casey said. “I see a young Kyle Lowry in Fred VanVleet as far as his level of play, his toughness, his basketball IQ. It’s his second year in the league, he’s leading a team that’s at the top of the conference, putting up the numbers he’s putting up to help us win — he should be in a lot of conversations.”
TORONTO — The celebratory Atlantic Division T-shirts were draped neatly over each player’s chair in the post-game locker-room.
The Toronto Raptors barely glanced at them.
On an historic night they clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, won the division title, and set a franchise record for regular-season wins, there was no celebrating. The Raptors were only looking forward.
"Journey’s not over. Next question," Kyle Lowry put it bluntly, on their regular-season accomplishments.
Serge Ibaka scored a season-high 25 points to lift the Raptors to a 92-73 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, Toronto’s 57th win of the season, and 33rd at the Air Canada Centre. Both topped the previous franchise highs set in the 2015-16 season.
The Raptors (57-22) have three games left in the regular season before they embark on their fifth consecutive post-season, and coach Dwane Casey said now is not the time for reflection.
"It’s gratification but you’re not satisfied, that’s the way I like to put it," Casey said. "We haven’t got to where our ultimate goal is."
DeMar DeRozan added 12 points, while Jakob Poeltl finished with 10, and Lowry doled out nine assists.
Glenn Robinson had 12 points, Trevor Booker finished 11 points, and Canadian and former Raptors guard Cory Joseph scored six off the bench for the Pacers (47-33).
Playing in their Drake-inspired black and gold OVO jerseys, the Raptors led from the opening tipoff and, other than a second-quarter blip when they allowed the Pacers to pull within four points, they dominated for most of the night in front of a capacity Air Canada Centre crowd that included Drake.
They pulled away in the third quarter thanks largely to Ibaka, who shot a perfect 5-for-5 — including a pair of three-pointers — that put the Raptors ahead by 27 points. They took a 72-49 lead into the fourth.
The sizable lead allowed Casey to go to his bench for the final frame, giving the starters some much-appreciated rest before the playoffs begin on April 14.
A pair of Robinson threes midway through the fourth pulled the Pacers to within 17, but the visitors couldn’t put a significant dent in Toronto’s lead. As the clock ticked down the final seconds, the ACC crowd stood and applauded the Raptors’ regular-season record.
DeRozan said achieving the No. 1 seed shows "that once you put your mind toward something, work toward a goal, it can be accomplished.
"We did that. Now, we’ve got another goal that we want to reach as well," DeRozan said. "So this gives us the confidence that we can do it and take it to another level."
The Raptors’ magic number on the night was one — either a Toronto win or Boston loss Friday clinched them the No. 1 seed, and home court for the duration of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The regular season played out in a series of step-by-step goals, DeRozan said, finally culminating in earning the top seed.
"That’s one of those goals that you fight for, you strive for," he said. "That’s what motivates you, is to get there and understand you took care of business. We’ve got home court advantage throughout the playoffs so let’s use that to our advantage. Little things, step by step, that’s how we look at it."
Casey scoffed when questioned about potentially resting players down the regular-season stretch, saying the team is only now rediscovering its rhythm after a handful of poor performances.
"That’s bullcrap. If you’ve been around the last couple of years, you’ve seen what totally shutting guys down for a few games does to their body," Casey said. "You may rest a guy a few minutes, or whatever a game, but there won’t be anybody that’s going to be taking the rest of these next few games off, because we’re just now these last couple of games have got a sense of rhythm.
"So, what rest? I don’t what guys’ minutes tonight were … Kyle was 28. What rest?"
A solid defensive effort saw the Raptors hold Indy to 22 per cent shooting in the first quarter and, when Poeltl scored on a reverse layup with less than a minute to go, Toronto went ahead by 17 points. The Raptors took a 26-14 lead into the second quarter.
The Pacers cut Toronto’s lead to just four points with a 10-0 run midway through the second, but a three by Lowry capped a mini Raptors run that sent them into halftime up 45-33.
The Raptors host Orlando on Sunday in their last regular-season home game.
Raptors 905 defeated the Erie BayHawks 118-106 to win their second Eastern Conference title in as many seasons on Friday and advanced to the G-League Finals.
Lorenzo Brown scored a game-high 28 points, while Aaron Best recorded a season-high 23 points. Shevon Thompson added 16 rebounds in the win.
Shevon Thompson also added 18 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
The 905 will face the Austin Spurs for the G-League title in a best-of-three series beginning on Sunday. Game 2 is Tuesday and Game 3 (if necessary) goes Friday.
The celebratory Atlantic Division T-shirts were draped neatly over each player's chair in the post-game locker-room.
The Toronto Raptors barely glanced at them.
On an historic night they clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, won the division title, and set a franchise record for regular-season wins, there was no celebrating. The Raptors were only looking forward.
"Journey's not over. Next question," Kyle Lowry put it bluntly, on their regular-season accomplishments.
Serge Ibaka scored a season-high 25 points to lift the Raptors to a 92-73 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday, Toronto's 57th win of the season, and 33rd at the Air Canada Centre. Both topped the previous franchise highs set in the 2015-16 season.
Toronto defeats Indiana 92-73 to claim the Eastern Conference title for the 1st time. 1:15
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers fell 132-130 to the Philadelphia 76ers, making it more likely that Toronto will meet nemesis LeBron James in the second round.
The Raptors (57-22) have three games left in the regular season before they embark on their fifth consecutive post-season, and coach Dwane Casey said now is not the time for reflection.
"It's gratification but you're not satisfied, that's the way I like to put it," Casey said. "We haven't got to where our ultimate goal is."
Raptors lead from opening tipoff
DeMar DeRozan added 12 points, while Jakob Poeltl finished with 10, and Lowry doled out nine assists.
Glenn Robinson had 12 points, Trevor Booker finished 11 points, and Canadian and former Raptors guard Cory Joseph scored six off the bench for the Pacers (47-33).
Playing in their Drake-inspired black and gold OVO jerseys, the Raptors led from the opening tipoff and, other than a second-quarter blip when they allowed the Pacers to pull within four points, they dominated for most of the night in front of a capacity Air Canada Centre crowd that included Drake.
They pulled away in the third quarter thanks largely to Ibaka, who shot a perfect 5-for-5 — including a pair of three-pointers — that put the Raptors ahead by 27 points. They took a 72-49 lead into the fourth.
MA FUZZY MAN pic.twitter.com/IDZrUUzzsN —@Raptors
The sizable lead allowed Casey to go to his bench for the final frame, giving the starters some much-appreciated rest before the playoffs begin on April 14.
A pair of Robinson threes midway through the fourth pulled the Pacers to within 17, but the visitors couldn't put a significant dent in Toronto's lead. As the clock ticked down the final seconds, the ACC crowd stood and applauded the Raptors' regular-season record.
Home court advantage
DeRozan said achieving the No. 1 seed shows "that once you put your mind toward something, work toward a goal, it can be accomplished.
"We did that. Now, we've got another goal that we want to reach as well," DeRozan said. "So this gives us the confidence that we can do it and take it to another level."
The Raptors' magic number on the night was one — either a Toronto win or Boston loss Friday clinched them the No. 1 seed, and home court for the duration of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The regular season played out in a series of step-by-step goals, DeRozan said, finally culminating in earning the top seed.
"That's one of those goals that you fight for, you strive for," he said. "That's what motivates you, is to get there and understand you took care of business. We've got home court advantage throughout the playoffs so let's use that to our advantage. Little things, step by step, that's how we look at it."
'What rest?'
Casey scoffed when questioned about potentially resting players down the regular-season stretch, saying the team is only now rediscovering its rhythm after a handful of poor performances.
"That's bullcrap. If you've been around the last couple of years, you've seen what totally shutting guys down for a few games does to their body," Casey said. "You may rest a guy a few minutes, or whatever a game, but there won't be anybody that's going to be taking the rest of these next few games off, because we're just now these last couple of games have got a sense of rhythm.
"So, what rest? I don't know what guys' minutes tonight were . . . Kyle was 28. What rest?"
A solid defensive effort saw the Raptors hold Indy to 22 per cent shooting in the first quarter and, when Poeltl scored on a reverse layup with less than a minute to go, Toronto went ahead by 17 points. The Raptors took a 26-14 lead into the second quarter.
The Pacers cut Toronto's lead to just four points with a 10-0 run midway through the second, but a three by Lowry capped a mini Raptors run that sent them into halftime up 45-33.
The Raptors host Orlando on Sunday in their last regular-season home game.
