Jul 25, 2020
Raptors look like themselves in return to the court
Playing basketball in a strange atmosphere with no fans in attendance Friday night in Florida, in these uncertain and unprecedented times the one thing you can count on is the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Josh Lewenberg writes.
TORONTO – The Raptors did everything they could to try and make their first game day in the NBA bubble feel normal.
Nick Nurse woke up and watched film, as he would usually do ahead of a road game. His team had already cancelled their morning shoot around – a standard occurrence for them throughout the season.
He went for a quick workout and then celebrated his 53rd birthday by circumventing his regular routine to do something daring.
“I got a haircut, which I wouldn’t normally do on the road,” Toronto’s head coach said with a laugh. “So, that’s a little different.”
They had hoped it would just be another day, another game, but it wasn’t. For the first time since March – before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league into a four-month hiatus – they were about to play competitive basketball against another team and they were going to do it in a strange and unfamiliar environment.
In preparation for the NBA restart, the Raptors faced Houston in their first of three scrimmages, or exhibition contests, Friday evening. It was their first taste of the new normal – playing ball in a quiet, fan-less gym on the Disney campus. Despite their best efforts, there was no escaping the reality.
“There certainly is a different feel to it,” Nurse said afterwards. “I know what everybody else has been saying, but it is a communication thing. My first play that I called out I was like, whoa. Then I was really trying to give some instructions on some free throws, defensively, because [the Rockets] were on a quick break and I found myself not even doing. It was like, well, everybody in the whole place is going to hear this thing.”
“I mean I think I called out a play and the other team relayed it to their teammates,” said rookie guard Terence Davis. “So, you can’t really hide it down here.”
Fortunately, even in a strange atmosphere, in these uncertain and unprecedented times, one thing you can count on is the Raptors.
Despite the long layoff, the defending champions didn’t miss a beat.
Kyle Lowry did Kyle Lowry things. He drew a charge on James Harden in the second quarter, hit a wild banker at the buzzer to close the first half and then posted up former teammate and Rockets de facto centre P.J. Tucker in the third.
After committing five first-quarter turnovers, Pascal Siakam settled down and hit an array of crafty floaters and layups. Serge Ibaka knocked down eight of his 10 shots, including several mid-range jumpers. Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby played typically excellent defence on Houston’s duo of Harden and Russell Westbrook.
They were down for most of the first three quarters, but in true Raptors fashion, came back to win, 94-83. But it’s how they pulled away that was most emblematic of who this team has become.
Trailing early in the fourth quarter, a unit comprised of five Toronto reserves went on a 14-1 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 10-point lead. It wasn’t pretty – it rarely is with that group – but it was fuelled by effort, defensive intensity and offensive rebounding.
On one possession, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson grabbed the board off a missed three from Davis, missed himself, but Davis tipped the ball in. A minute later, Chris Boucher stripped the ball from Eric Gordon, leading to an awkward, yet effective Hollis-Jefferson hook shot on the other end. Then, Hollis-Jefferson stole the ball away from Danuel House Jr. and pitched it to Norman Powell, who drained a corner-three.
So much of the Raptors’ unexpected success this season, in spite of losing Kawhi Leonard and battling a mess of injuries to key players, is a result of their depth, and those four reserves in particular. Boucher almost always makes things happen when he comes into the game and is generally efficient in his minutes. Hollis-Jefferson, an unheralded free agent signing last summer, has brought much-needed energy and toughness. The undrafted Davis has been a revelation. Powell isn’t just having a career year, he’s among the league’s most improved players.
Between them, those four combined for 35 points against Houston, led by 15 from Davis and 12 from Powell. Boucher was a plus-21. Hollis-Jefferson was a plus-14.
Nurse didn’t expect to have a deep bench way back in October when training camp 1.0 began – his initial rotation was limited to the seven returning players from last year’s championship team – but the young guys have all earned his trust, and where would the team be without them?
The Raptors are healthy for the first time all season, but that doesn’t mean their depth is any less important. Having confidence in 11 or 12 different guys will come in handy as they try to navigate the new normal, especially over these next few weeks, with players working themselves back into game shape.
“Any time you have depth it’s always a great thing,” Davis said. “I don’t think it hurts you at all. I remember saying before we came out, this is the first time all year we have been this deep, or this full. It was good to see. Like I said, any time you have depth it certainly doesn’t hurt you, but I think it will play a role as we keep going.”
That depth should give Nurse the ability to ease his veterans in, or rest some of them altogether, like he did holding Marc Gasol and Patrick McCaw out on Friday. At worst, they’ll help keep the vets fresh for the playoffs. At best, a few of those young guys could continue to make an impact in the post-season.
The Raptors’ new surroundings are going to take some getting used to, but it helps to have a team – and a bench – that you can rely on to make the transition easier.
“I think the energy certainly is different,” Nurse said. “I don’t say that it’s bad. I think it may enable you to focus in a different way. And I just want to keep learning game-to-game what the right feel is and I think it’s important to do that, keep learning a little bit here and there.”