None of the Raptors wanted to treat it as such, but beating the East-leading Cavaliers on Wednesday (to move to 3-0 on Drake Nights) has to at least be a bit of a statement to the rest of the NBA, no?
Even without ample ball movement for long stretches and without much success at the free throw line, the offence hummed against an excellent defensive group (granted, one missing it’s rim protector, Timofey Mozgov and one with a bunch of players who didn’t seemed as honed in as the competition).
We also again saw the benefits of diversity late in games (ie. Don’t just give the ball to DeMar DeRozan and get the hell out of the way, to paraphrase Doug Collins on Michael Jordan back in the day).
While the fourth started with DeRozan missing a short attempt, there were five other Raptors shot attempts, by four different players, before DeRozan’s next attempt. That keeps defenders off balance and makes everybody – DeRozan included – far more effective.
Of course Kyle Lowry performing like a top eight NBAer goes a long way as well and he was spectacular, but spreading the wealth also helped the Raptors complete the game and please Dwane Casey, who has been lamenting all of the “lulls” that have wasted good efforts and turned them into losses.
Lowry as closer, instead of DeRozan, is incredibly important for this club. He’s a better player, better decision-maker, better dribbler, better shooter and better passer (not that DeRozan is a bad passer).
Force-feeding isolations to DeRozan at the expense of smarter approaches like Wednesday’s are not the way to go.
RETURN OF THE MACK
Credit game ops for playing the timeless “Return of the Mack” track whenever Bismack Biyombo did something positive against Cleveland (and he did a lot of things well).
The team is asking a lot out of Biyombo in the absence of Jonas Valanciunas, and so far he has delivered, with some of his best play as a Raptor.
He finished off the Cavs, in tandem with Lowry and DeRozan, by rolling to the bucket, catching the ball repeatedly and finishing.
Not to mention the defence at the rim. He made life tough for LeBron James, either forcing tough shots or fouling (some of them even actually were fouls!).
Midway through the fourt, when it was still anybody’s ball-game, Biyombo stuck the dagger into the Cleveland Thanksgiving turkey in one of the game’s most key stretches.
First, his resistance forced LeBron to miss what should have been an easy two points off a drive to cut Toronto’s lead to two. Then, he boxed out two players to grab a board, which led to a Lowry three, which stretched the lead to seven.
Cleveland never really seemed poised to rally again.
“He set the tone for us defensively,” Casey said of Biyombo afterward.
“Protecting the paint, talking, being physical, being a deterrent at the rim and that was big for us. That’s a good team. That team right there has got so many weapons. Start with LeBron. So, we’re very fortunate.”
Lowry on Biyombo:
“Vocalness. Athleticism. Understanding where to be. Timing, he has great timing. And just being able to affect shots without fouling, and clean up the defensive rebounds.”
MEMORIES
The win was DeRozan’s first over a LeBron-led team in Toronto since his first NBA game, back in 2009.
What does DeRozan remember from that night?
“Shaq was playing. I remember that.
“Damn, you just gave me a reality check how long I’ve been in the league.”
MOJO RETURNS
Casey was pleased to see Patrick Patterson providing a lift as a closer down the stretch.
Patterson played the entire fourth and chipped in six of his eight points and four of his five rebounds in the frame, hitting both of his three-pointers.
“I thought he played with a swagger. He’s got to do that,” Casey said.
“I like when he does the three-ball thing in the corner (a gesture to celebrate made threes). I don’t know what he’s doing, but it tells me he’s got his mojo. He’s got to play with that. Pat’s one of our best three-point shooters. He’s one of our most active defenders to guard a guy like Kevin Love with his speed and athleticism and quickness.”
ON THE OTHER HAND
Of course, Patterson playing so much means somebody else isn’t in and it appears James Johnson isn’t thrilled with his lot with the team right now.
Johnson has played as many minutes (12) over the past two games as Patterson did in the fourth alone.
Earlier this month, Johnson played well in 25-30 minutes a game and he averaged 15 a night in Utah and Los Angeles.
After the game, Johnson ominously tweeted: “#Mood. Under-utilized.”
Just before this blog was posted, Johnson apologized, tweeting: “My bad, just want more than anything to be a big part of something special for fans, teammates and coaches. #wethenorth”
Johnson’s frustration is understandable, given his strong play at times earlier this month and because DeMarre Carroll is being asked to play a ton of minutes (41 on Wednesday).
He can help the team, it’s just hard to play nine players, particularly when three play about 40 minutes a night and when there is a bigger need for Patterson or Terrence Ross to stretch the floor, than for what Johnson provides.
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Like it or not, statement win over Cavs for Raptors; Diversity in the fourth, not isolation, is the key; Johnson apologizes for tweet
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