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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Although the Toronto Raptors have fared well on the road in recent seasons, these long west-coast trips can humble even the hottest of teams, as we were reminded the last two weeks.

Since Dwane Casey took over as the team's head coach in 2011-12, Toronto has set out on eight western road trips of five games or more. They've finished just two of them with a winning record (one earlier this season, the other in Casey's first year). Overall, the Raptors have a record of 18-25 (.419) on those trips. No, they have not been kind.

This most recent excursion was especially challenging. Six games in 12 days away from Toronto, including visits to Golden State and San Antonio — home of the NBA's two winningest teams. Over 17,000 kilometres travelled, bouncing back and forth between three time zones (four for those who flew back east over Christmas). It's safe to say they're happy to be home, where they'll play five of the next six games.

The end result, a 3-3 record, is in line with what we should have expected going in. Sure, the loss in Phoenix was disappointing and tough to justify — even in the second night of a back-to-back — but their win in Utah easily could have gone the other way if not for the late-game heroics of Kyle Lowry. Wins over the Trail Blazers — sans Damian Lillard — and Lakers were predictable, as were losses to the Warriors and Spurs.

Tuesday's 28-point blowout defeat in San Antonio was just one of those nights — the culmination of mental and physical fatigue at the end of a long trip and, more importantly, running into a better, ticked off Spurs team coming off a tough loss.

There's no reason to panic, even after falling to 0-6 against the league's elite teams — Golden State, San Antonio and Cleveland. The reality is the Raptors are not in that class. They weren't when they set out on the trip, having won 12 of 14 games, and they're not now. They are, however, 23-5 versus the rest of the NBA, including 5-1 against the Rockets, Clippers, Jazz, Celtics, Thunder and Grizzlies — second-tier teams to which the Raptors are comparable. They still have the fewest double-figure losses in the association — their only two coming over the last week on the road to the Warriors and Spurs, which they can live with.

Did we learn anything about the Raptors over these past two weeks? No, probably not. Their upcoming stretch, back at home to face some of those second-tier clubs — Utah, Chicago (on the road), Houston and Boston — should be more telling. Still, the trip did expose some of the team's mildly concerning weaknesses.

Lack of depth at the power forward position

To say that the Raptors have missed Patrick Patterson over the last two and a half games is an understatement. Would he have been the difference in Phoenix and San Antonio? Maybe — you could probably make that argument for the Suns loss anyway. But with Patterson nursing a knee injury and Jared Sullinger still working his way back from foot surgery, Casey has been forced to use unconventional lineups featuring young, inexperienced and, in some cases, out-of-position players. 

Patterson described the pain in his knee as "sharp" after sustaining the injury in Thursday's game, so the fact that he's being listed as questionable or day-to-day is an encouraging sign. The Raptors are outscoring opponents by 266 points with their super sub on the floor this season — the best mark on the team and ninth best in the NBA behind four Warriors (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green), two Cavaliers (LeBron James, Kevin Love), Chris Paul and James Harden. Toronto has been bested by 33 points without Patterson. He's proven to be their third-most valuable player and, given their lack of depth at the position, may also be their second-most irreplaceable.

Until and unless Sullinger returns and makes a real impact, or the Raptors address their ongoing power forward concerns externally (more on the trade stuff as the Feb. 23 deadline approaches), they desperately need a healthy Patterson.

Need to get tougher

While Lucas Nogueira has done an admirable job replacing Bismack Biyombo this season, the thing the Raptors miss most about their former backup centre is actually an intangible: his physical toughness. Whether or not they care to admit it, the Raptors are an offensive team now. Even though they still have their moments defensively, they lack that intimidation factor Biyombo brought during his brief tenure.

Too often they're beaten up and bullied around the rim and on the defensive boards, an issue that seems to be magnified when they're on the road or facing good, experienced teams. They now rank dead last in defensive rebounding percentage. The hope is that Sullinger, who is believed to be about three weeks away, can help in that department and give the Raptors some added physicality. But to think he'll single handedly solve the problem is naive. That's where Jonas Valanciunas comes in.

What's up with Valanciunas?

This certainly isn't turning out to be the season most expected or had hoped for from Valanciunas after his inspired playoff run last spring. That version of Valanciunas had a swagger about him, a presence. He was physical on defence, overpowering and, at times, dominant in the low post. The version we're seeing far too often now appears to be lacking in confidence. He's a step slower, taking possessions off defensively and, on some nights, is so quiet offensively it's easy to forget he's on the floor.

For the most part, the Raptors chalk it up to growing paints. Granted, he's still just 24 and big men tend to develop at different rates, but this is his fifth season and we're no longer just taking about a lack of progression. He's started to regress.

Valanciunas has never been a great fit on this team, particularly on offence where his skill set is under-utilized, a product of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan's high usage rates. However, this has been more glaring than ever recently. The 7-footer is coming off a season-low tying two-point performance in San Antonio and has failed to reach double figures in three of his last four games. He's only played in the fourth quarter in two of the past five games (note: the Spurs game was out of reach by then). Of the two he did appear in, he logged just 10 minutes and was a part of the unit that coughed up a big lead in Los Angeles.

What's responsible for the drop off? It's hard to say.

It used to be that traditional big men, who were responsible for doing the dirty work — rebounding, defending, setting screens — would be rewarded with touches. Generally, that's not the case here. His has been something of a thankless job over the years. Perhaps the frustration is starting to boil over?

It’s more likely that his conditioning is not what it was when he helped lead the Raptors past Indiana in the first round of last year's postseason. After dropping some weight and getting in great shape last year, Valanciunas' coming-out party was cut short when he turned his ankle in the playoffs. The injury forced him to take some time off before playing for Lithuania in the Olympics this past summer. In Rio, he never quite looked like himself and he would spend another month away from basketball before showing up to training camp in late September. Casey eased him in during the preseason, suggesting he wasn't in peak condition and, apart from his season opener (32 points against the Pistons), he still hasn't looked it.