Following a pair of one-sided postseason lo ses to the Cavaliers, it became clear that the Raptors needed to make a change not nece sarily to their coaching staff or to their core of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas, but to their system.While the Raptors have had a top-10 offense since the 2013-14 season, something wasnt working. Whether it was their overreliance on Lowry and DeRozan or their reluctance to shoot 3-pointers in more volume, every game in the playoffs against lower-seeded teams turned into a slugfest. It took the Raptors 14 games to take down the Pacers and Heat in the 2016 NBA playoffs before the Cavs beat them in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. It then took them six games to beat the Bucks in the 2017 NBA playoffs before the Cavs took advantage of an injury to Lowry by sweeping them in the second round.NBA PLAYOFFS 2018: Backup
Gale Sayers Jersey center Jakob Poeltl summarized their postseason problems best when he told that they were "working so hard for not very good shots."So the Raptors underwent a much-needed culture change. With a focus on ball movement, pace and floor spacing three pillars of succe s in todays NBA theyve gone from being a team built to compete in the early 2000s to one built to compete now. The only teams with a better offensive rating in the closing weeks of the regular season are the Rockets and Warriors. The Raptors are holding opponents to 103.6points per 100 po se sions on the other end of the floor, too, making them one of two teams to have a top-fiveoffense and a top-fivedefense on the season, the other being the defending champions.From , a visual of how the Raptors' offense has changed from last year () Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) Lowry and DeRozan have been at the forefront of those changes. Theyve both lowered their usage ratings this season, with Lowry dropping his from 24.9 percent to 21.4percent and DeRozan dropping his from 34.2 percent to 29.3percent. Doing so has opened up more opportunities for others, such as Valanciunas, , and the second unit, which has carried the Raptors to a number of victories this season., but reducing their workload has been the catalyst to the Raptors running
Dan Hampton Jersey a more democratic offense."The big thing was just us getting away from isolation basketball, trusting every single player on the team and playing a style to where we wouldn't be predictable,". "That was the major part. We all agreed with that. It was taking a toll on me and Kyle Lowry to do that every night. Some nights, it was me going out there shooting 25-plus times. A lot of that takes a toll. So we needed to find another way to not be predictable and make everybody better on our team."Fueling his case as an and candidate this season, DeRozan has made two other noticeable changes to his game. Hes dishing out a career-high 5.2a sists per game, and hes having his best season yet from the 3-point line. Hes struggled to knock down pull-up 3s at a consistent rate, but DeRozan has made of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers on 2.0 attempts per contest. The combination of his pa sing and his willingne s to shoot from distance should help the Raptors overcome some of the i sues that have plagued them in the playoffs over the last three seasons.The Bucks, for example, are one of the teams that have had succe s slowing DeRozan down in the playoffs. Although the Raptors beat them in six games in the opening round of last seasons playoffs, the Buckslimited DeRozan to 19.3 points on 34.0 percent shooting over the first three games of the series by using their length to get in his air space and their athleticism to swarm him whenever he put the ball on the floor.It resulted
Tarik Cohen Jersey in DeRozan settling for contested shots inside the perimeter against the likes of Tony Snell, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker:DeRozan still generates of his offense from 2-point pull-ups, but his frequency is down from last season to make room for the increase in 3-point attempts. His progre sion as a shooter means he can spend more time without the ball in his hands and mix it up enough when he does have the ball to not settle for the inefficient 2-pointers that have played a role in the Raptors cratering on offense in the postseason.Its culminated in the Raptors taking this season compared to last season, the difference between them ranking 26th and 12th in that category.MORE: DeRozans pa sing should also make a huge difference. Rather than making pa ses out of nece sity, DeRozan has grown more comfortable using the threat of his scoring to create opportunities for his teammates. The Raptors have been around league average from 3-point range as a team this season, but they have shooters at almost every position who can knock down open jumpers and space the floor for DeRozan and Lowry.That transformation became clear in the Raptors win over the Pistons on March 7, when DeRozan had the game-winning a sist to backup point guard Fred VanVleet:The question, of course, is whetherall of this is enough. The succe s the Raptors have had in the regular season suggests it is, especially when coupled with the injuries the Celtics, Cavaliers and the Wizards the three other teams in the Eastern Conference that had home-court advantage in the opening round last season have been dealing with as of late. In addition to being healthy and playing at a high level on both ends of the floor, the Raptors
Leonard Floyd Jersey have the depth needed for a deep playoff run, giving them all the makings of a title contender.There are some questions, though. As much shooting as they do have on the roster, teams like the Cavs will dare the likes of DeRozan, Ibaka, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam to beat them from outside. It could become a factor at the end of games, one of the few areas in which the Raptors have , if Lowry and DeRozan fall back on their old habits of going to isolation ball when they need a basket.It also remains to be seen how much Dwane Casey trusts his bench in the postseason. As dominant as VanVleet, Siakam, Poeltl,Delon Wright andCJ Miles have been together this season theyve outscored opponents by a whopping 22.2 points per 100 po se sions, of lineups that have appeared in at least 20 games teams usually shorten their rotations in the playoffs. Not playing them as much would take away one of the Torontos greatest weapons, but its po sible the Raptorswont have as much succe s if opposing teams are giving their bench players le s run as well.Even so, theres no doubt the Raptors are better positioned to compete for a title this season than they were last season. The improvements theyve made on offense should give them an easier road to the Eastern Conference finals
Dick Butkus Jersey and a fighting chance of taking down James and the Cavaliers if they meet again. Considering how uncertain their situation looked following their second-round ex
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