"Five Feet Under"- Kyle Lowry
In the eighteen years the Raptors have roamed in Toronto, there have been a fair share of rough starts.
Twice the dinos have opened the campaign’s first 16 games
with a lowly single win, going 1-15 in 1997-98 and again in 2005-06, and only
four times has the team had a winning record at this point of the season.
Other than those two one-win debacles, the Raptors current
record of 3-13 is the lowest in franchise history, a crushing debut for a team
that was expected to be able to turn the tide this season with new acquisions
and developed players.
Sure, they’ve faced some injuries. Kyle Lowry missed six
games with an ankle sprain, Alan Anderson missed ten games with a torn plantar
fascia in his left foot, and Landry Fields played in just five games before
undergoing surgery on his right elbow.
And sure, they’ve lost a couple of close ones that they
probably should have won. The Raps lost in multiple overtimes to Utah and San
Antonio and lost consecutive games by a single point to Charlotte and Detroit.
The inability to close out games is an issue and the numbers
don’t lie.
Currently, the team sits 27th in points allowed,
giving up 101.5 points per game. The Raps are allowing opponents to shoot .459
from the field, 26th in the league, and .383 from deep, 27th
in the league. They’re also fouling opponents 23.8 times per game, second most
in the NBA.
The defence is broken, and all the progress the team made
last season on that end of the court has once again been forgotten.
The offence isn’t much better. Through 16 games Toronto is
shooting just .422 as a team, 25th in the league.
Andrea Bargnani is supposed to be a shooter, yet he’s not
hitting his shots. He’s 46% from in the key, 38% from midrange where he takes the
most of his shots and just 36% from three-point range.
In clutch time (the final five minutes of a game within five
points or overtime) he’s shooting 28% from the field and 60% from the line,
according to NBA advanced stats.
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| As Andrea stumbles, so do the Raptors |
Toronto will have to ride and die with the “enigmatic Roman”
as head coach Dwane Casey made clear in the 2OT home loss to the Spurs where he
kept going to Bargs down the stretch though he was just 2-19 in the game.
The seven-footer’ defensive awareness is woeful, and he was
blocking twice as many shots and grabbing 1.5 more rebounds in 2009-10
(pre-Casey) despite the improvements the coach has preached. He’s now averaging
4.7 boards for the season, often becomes lost on rotation defence, and is
unable to step into the lane when opposing perimeter players penetrate.
As inconsistent as ever if his shot isn’t falling he’s
nearly useless, and his latest injury to his ankle won’t help his rhythm.
New point guard Kyle Lowry is averaging 16.5 points, a
career-high, but he’s also taking 12.5 shots per game and sinking just 42%,
which is his career average.
Jose Calderon is shooting just as poorly at 42% but
attempting just 8.8 shots per contest, often off the bench though he returned
to the starting lineup in Lowry’s absence. The veteran Spaniard and long-time
Raptor is also dishing 7.3 assists per game to Lowry’s 5.8
Lowry is able to get
to the rim more allowing him to get to the line 5.8 times per 36 minutes
compared to just 1.5 for Jose and they provide different skillsets depending on
the matchups.
The 5.9 rebounds per contest that Lowry reigns in are far
more than Bargnani who is a foot taller, and he leads the league for rebounds
by a point guard.
Hopefully the Raps won’t crush Lowry’s competitive spirit
and drive to win, and Calderon can continue to behave and be a real sport
whether he’s a starter or not.
DeMar DeRozan is averaging a career-high 18.1 points (on 44%
from the field and a career-high 32% from deep) and also pulling in a
career-best 4.7 rebounds. He’s been good, but not a world-beater and when teams
focus their defence on him he has a tough time adjusting to jump-shooting if he
can’t get to the rim.
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| Pietrus will add some scoring and leadership |
The small forward position continues to plague the Raps.
Alan Anderson started the season well, in place of struggling-then-injured
Landry Fields, but both are now out. Dominic McGuire is a poor man’s James
Johnson, which isn’t saying much and he’s been released as the team signed
veteran swingman Mickael Pietrus to help fill the position. Linas Kleiza is hot
and cold, and rarely dependable.
The rookies have been a case of the good, the bad and the
ugly.
Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas has been better than
expected. I didn’t picture him as a starter to begin the campaign, but there he
was, and he’s shined starting every game so far. He’s averaged 9.3 and 5.8
while shooting 51% from the field and 35% from mid-range.
He’s a long, sharp player who sets hard screens and cuts
hard to the rim on pick-and-rolls. He doesn’t understand taking possessions off
and plays his heart out and Casey is beginning to trust him more to close out
games.
This being said, Big V has a slow, wonky release on his
jumper from midrange and is best around the basket, but will be even more
effective as he grows from a skinny 20-year old.
Terrence Ross has been used sparingly, getting some minutes
on the win just recently with all the injuries, but shows signs of athleticism,
defence and shooting that are encouraging.
Quincy Acy has splinters from riding the pine so much. He’s
appeared in just three games and logged 21 minutes total, doing nothing of
substance in his limited time and been less of a vocal rallier from the bench
than I expected. He may need a stint in the D-League to get his legs back under
him.
The rest of the team has been a mixed bag; Amir Johnson and
Ed Davis are decent backup big men, but not much more, and John Lucas’ strong
pre-season looks like a fluke.
If the current group can’t pick up the slack moving forward
I expect a move before the trade deadline, especially if the Wizards gain some
ground and the Raptors fall to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
But there’s always hope. How could things get any worse?
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