How The Raptors Found Their Mojo

Courtesy: http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2015/01/28/22/17/285-1ogQVi.AuSt.55.jpeg

Halfway through the third it finally hit the Raptors – “Hey, We don’t suck.  Why are we playing like this? Why is Rudy Gay lighting us up for 17 in the first half? And why is Demarcus Cousins so angry all the time?”

They answered the first two questions by torching the Kings in the latter half of the third, along with much of the fourth - buoyed by a defense that finally gave a shit, and an offense that finally exorcised the spirit of Kevin O’Neil (The magician behind an offense that once dropped 56 points….in a game).  The last question really has no answer.  Perhaps Cousins is a really nice guy having a case of the Bynum’s.  Or perhaps it hits him every couple of minutes - "I"m playing on the Kings".  A franchise that was once run by two Maloofs (adjective), and now an owner who fired the teams head coach after its best start in nearly a decade.  (I’m all for eccentric owners, they really make things interesting, most of them however, suffer from the overconfidence of past achievements.  Vivek exemplifies this to the nth degree.  He’s like the Jason Terry of owners).    

I’d also like to thank the Raptors for not making me look like an idiot with yesterday’s Overreaction column.  It was never Tuesday’s win that inspired my column, but the way in which they won.  The Raptors looked like a confident team.  Much like the big kid in the playground who’s always picked on by the skinny kid, the Raptors finally had enough, and crushed the little turd.  This carried over to last night. 

Just two weeks ago the Raptors were embarrassed at home by the likes of the Pistons, Pelicans (minus AD), and the Hornets (Minus Al Jefferson).  In between they were slaughtered by tougher opponents like the Hawks, Griz and Suns.  With this in mind, a couple of blowouts against two weaker opponents is a welcome sign.   

Team	GP	MIN	OffRtg	DefRtg	AST%	AST/TO	AST Ratio	TO Ratio	PACE
Last 2 Games	2	96	117.2	99.5	64.9	1.72	19.3	15.2	94.04
Pre Injury	26	1263	111	102.6	53.3	1.71	16.2	12.5	95.25
Jan 2 - Jan 24 (vs. Det)	12	576	101.7	105.9	57.5	1.34	16.2	16.1	97.31

Take a look at the table above.  What stands out most is the improved Defense.  Another point of emphasis is their PACE, which slowed down considerably from the unsustainable PACE during their shitty stretch.  A slower PACE typically translates to a more organized defense.  Of course team defensive schemes trump everything, but an up tempo PACE often leads to fast breaks on the other end, which destroy Defensive efficiency.  The Offensive Rating is a little crazy right now, but there’s no question that it’s much better than the 101.7 rating during the shitty stretch. 

The turnovers last night were a bit of a concern, but they did address their first quarter woes by not looking like a Tier 3 Hoop Dome Summer league team.  What impressed me most was a Demar Derozen back to his old self - fearlessly attacking the rim and getting to the line a bunch. 

The real test for these Raptors comes this weekend, when they roll into Washington.  They’ve done a good job at building confidence by beating on the weaker guys.  Heading into Washington they should hopefully feel like Jason Terry after a 1-12 shooting night, ie. on top of the world (that 1 shot being a dagger that keeps the irrational confidence machine humming).  Here’s hoping that the stat line doesn’t reflect a typical Jason Terry shooting night.