Joseph exceeding expectations in expanded role with Raptors

Josh Lewenberg

TSN Raptors Reporter

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Having spent his first four seasons slotted behind a future hall of famer and playing for a championship contending team, Masai Ujiri was not necessarily paying for Joseph’s body of work, but rather investing in the young point guard's expected growth in a new, expanded role with Toronto.

For those that had seen him play extended minutes in San Antonio when Tony Parker went down last season, or watched as he led the Canadian national team this past summer, his upside was apparent. Ujiri saw it - he had been targeting Joseph for years. But nobody, including the Raptors general manager, anticipated that the 24-year-old point guard would be this good, this reliable, so quickly.

"When you do these things, you try to get good players and you try to figure out," said Ujiri, who guested on TSN Radio last week. "You do your scouting, you do your analytics, and you try to figure out if the team will fit together. But honestly, until they start playing, we [don't know]."

"When we looked at it, we tried to look at two-way players who bring us some kind of toughness and that's what he is. He's a two-way player that will pick up the ball full court and put pressure on opposing guards. He knows how to fight people and make people better and score a little bit too. So you hope that it translates to the basketball court."

So far, he has been everything the Raptors could have hoped for, and more. On a team that has been wildly inconsistent through 11 games to open the new campaign, Joseph has been their rock, a stabilizing force coming off the bench and player whose role continues to grow with each passing day.

The Toronto-native is logging 25 minutes per contest, seven more than he averaged in San Antonio last year. His 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists are all career highs. Most impressively, his 58 per cent mark from the field ranks seventh in the NBA - he's the only player under 6-foot-8 in the top-10.

When the Spurs landed LaMarcus Aldridge in July it forced them to withdraw their qualifying offer to the Joseph, freeing him to sign with the Raptors. Initially, the team had planned to install him as their backup point guard - the leader of the second unit and someone that could, occasionally, play alongside Kyle Lowry with the starters.

However, his strong play out of the gate and an early-season injury to Terrence Ross has thrust him into a more crucial role in Dwane Casey's rotation. Toronto has out-scored opponents by 40 points in the 135 minutes (12.3 per game) he and Lowry have played together. Meanwhile, Joseph leads the team in fourth-quarter playing time, logging 25 more minutes than anyone else.

"I didn't really expect a certain amount of minutes," Joseph told TSN.ca last week. "I just came in here and hopefully coach liked my game and just go from there; work hard and just try to prove to everybody in the organization that I deserve to be here."

Casey has also been a fan of Joseph's game over the years, which shouldn't come as a surprise given the coach's affinity for hard-working, defensive-minded players. Joseph has already become a security blanket — someone who can play and defend both guard positions, in any situation, doing just about everything well.

"He has [been a pleasant surprise]," said the Raptors head coach. "His energy, his toughness wasn't a surprise but it's really been glaring. He's really filled in. I didn't know how much we could play the two [point] guards together but he plays bigger than he is. He's not the typical point guard, he can guard twos, he can get down there and wrestle with some threes. If he gets switched off he gets into the big guys' knees and boxes them out. So he is better than expected."

He's even caught the attention of his new teammates.

“I knew he was a good player,” said Raptors forward Luis Scola. “I also played against him internationally, so I knew he could play. But he's showing things that I didn't know he could do.”

“I wouldn't say [I'm] surprised, it's just I didn't have the chance to see him play with this confidence before. He's getting minutes, he's closing some games and I think also the fact that he came home gives him a little boost. People are happy with him, he's happy to be here, we need him, he's important for us - all those things I think created some sort of extra confidence for him, a little boost.”

Only now getting the opportunity to play consistently, there's still significant room for growth in Joseph's game, which is the most exciting thing for Casey and the Raptors. A career 32 per cent three-point shooter, Joseph has hit four of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc this season, something he has been working on with assistant coach and former all-star Jerry Stackhouse after almost every practice. As Casey notes, that's the next step for the fifth-year pro and former 29th-overall pick.

Even though his shot is steadily improving, Joseph hardly relies on it to be an effective offensive player. His remarkable poise and ability to break down defences, get in the lane and finish around the basket allows for him to maintain a high level of efficiency. Defensively, he's becoming one of the best at his position, bringing energy and toughness every night. He credits his consistency to his upbringing, the way in which he learned to play the game and the people he's been around along the way.

"It's a mentality," said Joseph. "When the game [starts], I play as hard as I can play. Some nights I may not have the best game, but my effort, I feel like I can always control my effort. So I always give it my all when I go on the court, no matter what it is - practice, shooting around, one-on-one, it don't matter what it is, I always feel like I owe it to the game to give it my all."

"[It's] his DNA and then his path has also led him to being the player he is," Casey added. "He's tenacious, he's locked in, he brings energy every time - that's the last thing you have to ask him, is to go hard. That makes him who he is, mostly, his DNA and where he's come from."

Joseph grew up in a basketball family in Pickering, Ont. His father, David, a coach and former player himself, has been entrenched in the game and fabric of the sport in Canada for over four decades. His older brother, Devoe, currently plays overseas. Their mother, Connie, also played and coached.

Joseph was a champion in high school, where he and Devoe won a pair of provincial titles. Playing with good friend and fellow Canadian Tristan Thompson, he won two straight national invitational tournaments after transferring to Findlay Prep in Las Vegas.

He spent one year at the University of Texas before being drafted by the Spurs, where he received the ultimate in basketball tutelage. He often speaks of the valuable lessons learned from Parker and legendary coach Gregg Popovich over the years but, in terms of developing a consistent approach, there's another mentor that comes to mind.

“Obviously I've seen great players over the years — Tim Duncan being one of them," Joseph said. “How consistent is he? So I learned stuff from him, routines and what not and being a professional. It's a lot of mental things. Some days you're not going to feel the best. We're regular people too. We get sick, we do all type of stuff outside the game, so you're not going to feel the best sometimes coming into the locker room. You have to be able to focus and get through those two-and-a-half hours you're here.”

“You're a product of your environment and I've been in plenty of good environments so I've been able to learn a lot of good traits and not build bad habits. I've been fortunate in that way. I just try to play the game the right way and do whatever it takes to win.”

Joseph knows what people were saying when he signed his contract over the summer. He wasn't especially surprised by the skepticism and didn't care. Asked if he's taking some pride in proving some folks wrong, in exceeding expectations and taking advantage of this long overdue opportunity to showcase his skills, he smiled.

“Most definitely,” the point guard responded. “My minutes were very up and down in San Antonio but I worked on my game. I worked my butt off everybody so when I was given that opportunity and those consistent minutes that I could be somewhat effective and just try to be consistent. That's all I ask for.”