Raptors come of age

Toronto finished the last NBA regular season only a win behind Cleveland in the Eastern Conference so the Raptors’ showing in the ongoing playoffs shouldn’t really surprising. What’s particularly impressive is how Toronto coach Dwane Casey has been able to outwit Cavs coach Tyronn Lue in their bench duel so far in the race for the Eastern ticket to the Last Dance.

When Toronto starting center Jonas Valanciunas went down with a nasty right ankle sprain in Game 3 of the Miami series, experts began to write off the Raptors. But Casey wouldn’t crumble at the bat. He regrouped the troops and promoted 6-9 Congo center Bismack Biyombo to fill the void in the middle without Valanciunas. In Game 7 of the Miami tie, Biyombo delivered 17 points and 16 rebounds as Toronto won, 116-89. This was from a player who averaged 5.5 points in the regular season, his first with Toronto after four years with Charlotte.

The Raptors are the NBA’s Cinderella team this season. Over the last six years, Toronto has increased their win total in the regular season from 22 to 23 to 34 to 48 to 49 and to 56. Casey piloted Toronto in the last five campaigns and he’s reaping the benefits of an outstanding recruitment program which introduced Biyombo, DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Luis Scola to the Raptors this season. Former PBA coach Bill Bayno worked with Casey for two seasons until he was sacked in May last year to make way for fresh faces in the Raptors staff. The newcomers are former Oklahoma City assistant coach Rex Kalamian, former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Andy Greer and former NBA star Jerry Stackhouse. Jama Mahlalela, who used to work Jr. NBA camps in Manila with NBA Asia, is also in Casey’s staff.

Since entering the NBA in 1995, Toronto has qualified for the playoffs in only 8 of 21 seasons. Before this campaign, the Raptors went beyond the first round only in 2000-01 when they beat the New York Knicks, 3-2, in a best-of-five series. So when Toronto outlasted Indiana, 4-3, in the first round of the playoffs this season, it was the first-ever win by the Raptors in a best-of-seven series.

Advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland wasn’t easy. Toronto not only had to survive a 7-game series against Indiana but the Raptors also went the distance in disposing of Miami. Now, Toronto and Cleveland are tied, 2-2, in their clash for the Eastern slot in the Finals. Game 5 is set at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland this morning (Manila time).

Valanciunas, 24, is a 7-foot Lithuanian on his fourth year with the Raptors. He’s missed Toronto’s last eight playoff games while recovering from his ankle injury. This past regular season, he averaged 12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds in 60 games. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 15 points and 12.1 rebounds, hitting a lofty 55 percent from the field and 73.1 percent from the line. Those are big numbers to cover up. Valanciunas is listed day-to-day and may return to action in Game 5 of the Cleveland series.

In Game 1 against Cleveland, the Raptors were severely trounced, 115-84, as Toronto star Kyle Lowry was held to 8 points on 4-of-14 from the floor, including 0-of-7 from beyond the arc. Lowry averaged 21.2 points in the regular season so he’s capable of scoring a lot more than just 8 points. In Game 2, the Cavs crushed Toronto once more, 108-89 as Lowly continued to struggle, hitting 1-of-8 triples and finishing with 10 points.

Then, things began to turn around for Toronto in Game 3 as the Raptors hosted the Cavs at the Air Canada Centre and won, 99-84. Lowry got back on track with 20 points, including 4-of-8 threes and Biyombo grabbed 26 rebounds and blocked four shots. DeMar DeRozan had 32 points and three more Raptors scored in double figures, Joseph 14, Carroll 10 and Pat Patterson 10. In Game 4, Toronto won anew, 105-99, as Lowry, a six-foot dynamo, went berserk with 35 points and DeRozan added 32. Biyombo had 14 boards and three blocks.

Casey replaced power forward Patterson with Scola in his first five starting Game 2 to open with a bigger and more versatile lineup than Cleveland. So Casey’s starters from Game 2 have been Scola, Lowry, DeRozan, Biyombo and Carroll. The Cavs’ starters are LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, J. R. Smith and Tristan Thompson. With Toronto showing more size, the Cavs have been jacking up threes like they did in the Atlanta series. Against the Hawks, Cleveland shot 77 of 152 triples over four contests and in Game 2, erupted for 25-of-45 to set a new record.

In Games 1 and 2 against Toronto, Cleveland was a combined 14-of-41 from beyond the arc. In Game 3, the Cavs went 14-of-41 from long distance and only 14-of-38 from two-point range. It’s rare that a team attempts more three-pointers than two-pointers. In Game 4, Cleveland continued to fire away from three-point territory, knocking down 13-of-41 compared to 26-of-42 from the two-point area. Because the Cavs focused on their outside game, they hardly went to the line and finished with only 8-of-9 free throws. Cleveland has clearly fallen in love with the three and that’s not a positive sign for the Cavs who must show more aggressiveness in attacking the rim. Toronto’s big lineup has created problems for the Cavs and Cleveland must adjust if they hope to regain the advantage in the series.

Casey, who has worked with the Japanese national team, is an experienced coach. He was an assistant in Rick Carlisle’s staff when Dallas won the NBA crown in 2011 and formerly head coach at Minnesota. In contrast, rookie coach Lue is still wet behind the ears and the only reason why he’s on the bench is because of James’ blessing. Lue was appointed to the job after David Blatt was fired during the regular season. James reportedly caused Blatt’s termination.