Lewenberg: Raptors continue to roll, winning sixth straight over Hawks

ATLANTA - As Dwane Casey summed up his team's latest victory, famed actor and Atlanta-native Chris Tucker, a regular at Hawks games, looked on and waited his turn to enter the Raptors locker room.
 
The Rush Hour star hung around, chatting with players and coaches until it was time for them to get on the bus and head back to Toronto. He's not the only one that wants a piece of the East-leading Raptors. They've become the talk of the NBA.
 
On this date a year ago, they would suffer a narrow defeat at the hands of Brooklyn. It was a night that turned out to be significant, as it was the first in a series of five straight losses, extending into December, that would ultimately force the trade of Rudy Gay.
 
They haven't dropped more than two consecutive contests since. Everything they have done over the last 12 months has in some way contributed to the team they have become today, a club that strongly believes they can win on any given night, against any opponent, anyway they have to.
 
The scary part for any team on the other end: they might be right.
 
"Our confidence is pretty high," said Lou Williams, who was one of seven Raptors to score in double figures Wednesday as Toronto dropped a season-high 126 points on the Hawks, winning their sixth straight contest and improving to 13-2 on the campaign. 
 
"We're playing at a high level, we're winning games and we're playing together. I think we're doing a lot of things the right way, we're playing good basketball, so the confidence is high."
 
In a match-up of the East's highest scoring teams, the Raptors came out on top. They were simply too much for Atlanta to handle.
 
With significant offensive contributions coming from everywhere on their roster, top to bottom, they are an impossible team to game plan against.
 
In the first quarter it was DeMar DeRozan, scoring 14 of his game-high 27 points, hitting all five of his shots. In the second, Terrence Ross scored five straight and Williams got cooking, on the way to pouring in 22 against his former club. The third belonged to Kyle Lowry, who had eight of his 14 points - he also recorded a season-best 13 assists on the night, committing just one turnover. Then the fourth quarter awakened Greivis Vasquez. The struggling back-up point guard scored the team's first 12 points of the frame and finished with 21 on just 12 shots in 16 minutes of action.
 
"That's what it's all about, that's what it's going to take to win," said DeRozan. "Not just me. Not just Kyle. It's going to take a collective effort, honestly. That's what it's all about. Everybody in here wants to win. Everybody's ego is put aside. Every time we step out there on the court we feel like we give ourselves a chance to win."
 
"We've got a lot of depth," Williams added. "It just shows the quality of a basketball team that we have. Three nights in a row it's been somebody different stepping up. It was me with 36 in Cleveland and [Jonas Valanciunas] at home the other night and now Greivis having a breakout game. So it just shows the depth and the character of this team."
 
Asked about the biggest difference between these Raptors and the version that began last season 6-12 with Gay, Casey pointed to role definition. Everyone has bought in, from top to bottom, and is doing just enough to carry their weight without rocking the boat.
 
"It's one of those things where guys know who they are, they know the team, they know their role," said Casey, his team improving to 4-1 on the road for the first time in franchise history. "Everyone stays in their lane. They know that the ball is going to start with Kyle [and] DeMar, it's going to go through our perimeter players, it's going to go inside if need be. So everybody understands that, they don't try to do too much offensively and defensively they know exactly what to do." 
 
"That's where we've grown. You can put any situation in front of us and we should be able to handle it defensively. Everybody understands their role. There's a pecking order. There's not a 'my turn, your turn' type situation."
 
After failing to reach the 20-assist plateau in seven of the first 10 games, they've exceeded it in five straight while prioritizing ball security in the process. They committed just two turnovers in the second half Wednesday, totaling 11 on the evening. They're maximizing their opportunities to score and the offence has never been better.
 
"Kyle's really conscientious with the ball, DeMar is conscientious with the ball," Casey continued. "We have few sets that have multiple long passes, a lot of our passes are short passes. We have a guard-oriented offence. So we try to cut down on [turnovers]. I think a lot of it is just our guards are conscientious, not trying to make crazy passes. Our guys have done a good job of making the simple play, simple pass and not something that's out of the Star Wars book."
 
Despite the record, their effort out of the gate - over the first five games or so - was suspect and raised at least some cause for concern, but this recent stretch has been encouraging. They have defeated quality teams - Memphis, Cleveland, Phoenix and now Atlanta. They've won their last nine games by a combined 151 points (16.8 per victory) and they're doing it in a multitude of ways, with a number of players stepping to the plate.
 
The Raptors are now 13-2 to begin the campaign, showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Only four Eastern Conference teams have started a season with a record as good or better in the last 10 years. One made it to the Conference Semi's, two advanced to the East Finals, the 2007-08 Celtics won the championship.
 
"It's definitley nice," admitted DeRozan. "But we're not looking at it at all. We're moving on to the next one."