The Toronto Raptors are making peace with life on the road.
It’s a good thing, too, given they are in the midst of a stretch of nine of 10 games away from their temporary home in Tampa.
Of course, playing on the road isn’t what it normally is, given there are almost no hostile crowds to deal with and – presuming players are following the league’s guidelines for social distancing and limited socializing, period – distractions are down too.
It also helps playing the Washington Wizards, it should probably be said.
The Raptors took care of their responsibilities with their 137-115 win over the hapless Wizards, who have been trapped between “just okay” and bad for nearly a decade it seems.
The win improved Toronto to 4-1 so far on its six-game road trip and improved its overall mark to 12-13, the closest the Raptors have been to .500 since they lost on opening night on their way to a 2-8 start. The Raptors are 10-5 since, a pace that would put them comfortably in the top-four in the East if they could maintain it.
It was a collective effort. Norman Powell made his ninth straight start as the Raptors were without OG Anunoby (calf strain) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle) and he was spectacular in that role again. He came into the game averaging 23 points on 50 per cent shooting, including 46 per cent from deep over his last eight starts. He kept that standard with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting including 3-of-4 from deep while adding seven rebounds and four assists.
Pascal Siakam continued his strong recent play with 26 points and Kyle Lowry had 21, while Chris Boucher had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Seven players hit double figures in scoring and nine different players had an assist.
The Raptors shot a sizzling 19-of-31 (59 per cent) from three and counted 28 assists on 49 field goals. Meanwhile, they were able to hold the Wizards to 45 per cent from the floor and 12-of-40 from deep while limiting the NBA’s leading scorer, Bradley Beal, to 24 points, or 11 points below his season average.
The Raptors finished with an 18-3 run late in the fourth quarter that put the game away.
Things are going well. The only hint of drama to come is what they will do with Powell when Anunoby is healthy again, which could be as soon as Thursday. Anunoby was in the midst of a breakout season and brings size and defence the Raptors need, but if they do end up sending Powell back to the bench again it won’t be because of his performance.
Good problems to have.
Playing on the road, though, has not been an issue. The Raptors were playing the fifth straight game on the road in a season where it’s debatable whether they ever actually play at home and finish their six-game road trip Thursday in Boston.
It doesn’t really end, though.
Toronto does catch a break hosting a woeful Minnesota club on Sunday but then heads to Milwaukee for two games, has a quick stop in Minnesota and then returns to Tampa for consecutive games against the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Given the way the East has taken shape so far, with the Sixers and Bucks separating themselves, the Wizards and Pistons falling behind and the other 12 teams drifting along, it’s too early to make the case that one stretch of the schedule or another is season-defining. But that Toronto came into Wednesday’s game 3-1 on the trip and now has a chance to improve to 5-1 against the Celtics Thursday is at least positive.
“I think we’re doing okay,” was head coach Nick Nurse’s take. “I think there’s been a couple really late nights, you know? Other than that, we haven’t been able to do much [between games]because of those, and with the no shootarounds as well, it’s been maybe a little less on the teaching and getting through things, but hopefully a little more on the rest, recovery, and energy restoration. So, good with the bad. Players like that last part.”
Raptors Newsletter
They certainly hit the floor like it. Toronto followed up its season-high-tying first quarter with a big second as everyone who saw the floor got to touch the ball and get good to great looks against a Wizards defence that simply wasn’t very interested in defending in any meaningful way.
The Raptors matched a season-high for first-quarter scoring when they jumped out to a 40-28 lead and they were able to get whatever they wanted. Powell continued his habit of running out to quick starts as he put up nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also chipped in with three assists as six different Raptors scored at least one basket in the first 12 minutes and none of them were Lowry, who otherwise showed no ill effects from back spasms that limited him to eight minutes against Memphis on Monday. In all, they had eight assists on 15 field goals and shot 68 per cent from floor, the only blemish being five quick turnovers.
It was not surprising. The Wizards are not good in general, but they are the NBA’s second-worst defensive team, and they like to spend as little time on defence as possible – they play at the NBA’s fastest pace.
The Raptors like to play quickly, but Nurse cautioned against his club getting drawn into a style the Wizards like to play, which is basically 45 minutes or so of pick-up with hope to pull out a win with a flurry of scoring late.
“I think that we’re not afraid to play fast. I kinda always say we wanna push the ball, we don’t wanna rush things though,” Nurse said. “I think that it never hurts to get these teams to play a little more defence, maybe, than just run up and down and quick shot right along with ’em. But hopefully we can slow ’em down, too. They play fast because they get into gaps and they get to the rim quickly. Hopefully we can slow ’em down so they have to run a little offence.”
The Raptors certainly had their offensive vibes going, not that the Wizards made much effort to ruin the mood. The Wizards did cut the Raptors’ 12-point lead to four midway through the second period as the Wizards showed some signs of life with a 10-0 run, but then a 13-5 spurt pushed Toronto’s lead to 16 before heading into the break leading 74-61, setting a new season-high for scoring in a half. The contributions continued to be well distributed, this time with seven different players getting on the scoresheet and six assists coming on 14 field goals.
It’s part of what Nurse considers a steady positive development in the Raptors’ offence, an area of concern early on.
“I think [the offence]is functioning better in general,” Nurse said before the game. “ I think we’re continuing to teach a lot of our concepts, we’re getting some reps at some of our concepts. And I think, yeah, some of it is shots are going in, too, but I think we’re getting better rhythm, I think we’re getting rid of some of those dry spells where we don’t get into some side-to-side or get to a rhythm shot. I think we piled some of those up on top of ourselves sometimes early in the year. Kind of a combination of all that stuff.”
The Raptors are sixth in offensive rating since they were 2-8 on the season and sixth in net rating, too. It’s a standard of play that should travel well.
