The Toronto Raptors failed for the second time in a row because of the Cavs. But instead of initiating a rebuild, GM Masai Ujiri screwed up the squad and demanded a new style of play. This has borne fruit: the franchise has modernised and is more dangerous than ever.
“After this performance, we need a cultural reset,”Masai Ujiri said at the season-end press conference,”We have tried so many times what we have done here, but it didn’t work. We have to go in a different direction, do something else. I still don’t know exactly what that will be,”he added after the Raptors failed miserably again due to the overpowering Cavs.
What got Ujiri upset was his team’s style of play, which had fallen out of time and was too predictable: there were too many one-on-one actions, too many isolations, too many middistance throws.
Instead of that, he told Coach Casey, who he believed he would be able to do a “culture reset”. And so far, the coach has been paying back the trust: with modern pace-and-space basketball, which is characterized by a high playing speed, a lot of ball movement and many threesomes, the Raptors are once again fighting for the top seed in the East.
Jakob Pöltl explained in an interview with SPOX how the new system was inoculated:”We young players in particular had a lot of units together, in which we were running a lot of drills that brought us closer to the new system” The bank was already optimally staffed in the eyes of Pöltl to implement Casey’s specifications – but how did it go with DeMar DeRozan, Kyle,”he said.
“You’re very intelligent. Surely our stars have the ball in their hands, but they know exactly when to let it go. Not everyone is a good marksman or athlete, but we have learned to use our types of players better,”explains Casey.
These statements can be confirmed by some figures. After the Raptors played the ninth slowest pace of the league last season, they are now scratching the top 10. Toronto is among the top ten in both offensive and defensive ratings – only the Warriors and Rockets have the same.
Logically, the balance sheet at 18-8 is not quite wrong either – third place in the east. The cast selection has changed a lot: In terms of triplet attempts, the team improved from 22nd place to 6th place. Of the triples, they only hit a meager 35 percent (rank 23).
How should the three-way ratio be better if DeRozan is the top scorer of the team? He doesn’t frighten any team at the perimeter (24.6 percent), but he too has adapted to the team’s faster playing style.
While DeRozan used to be isolated on the piano, this season DeRozan uses his teammates better (5.2 assists per game of career value). Last season, only 47 percent of all litters followed a single submission, and the Raptors increased by a whopping nine percent in this category.
In the shadow of DeRozan Lowry goes down a little bit, who signed a new, thick contract in the summer (three years, 88 million euros). This season, however, it is not really getting into gear yet. He scores around six points less than in the last two seasons. Lowry has less ball in hand, dribbles less and more often hangs in the corner. Why? Because DeRozan takes over much more of the Raptors’ play. If you need an example, you can look at the game between the Raptors and Celtics.
In the last attack of the game, Lowry hands out the possible winner to DeRozan, although he stayed cold throughout the game and Lowry hit 50 percent of his throws. I thought I’d do the right thing by passing, but I think I’d have to force more throws,”he reported after the match.
Lowry’s throwing crisis mainly compensates for the depth of the Raptors:”We’ve lost a dozen players on the field for over 12 minutes – league best”, explains Casey.
One of these young savages is OG Anunoby, who lives at 23. Physically speaking, he is one of the strongest in our team,”Casey enthused before the season. The 20-year-old is now developing into a 3 and D prototype.
Casey describes it as a “better version of P. J.” Tucker” – and rightly so. Anunoby is already a strong defender, also because of his 2.19-meter span, who mostly defends the best player of the opponent’s team. For example, he held James Harden at a field throwing rate of 32 percent.
The rookie is also on the offensive: Although he only scores six points per game in his 20 minutes, he convinces by his efficiency. In addition to his strong threesome (43 percent), he also scores with clever cuts. With his performances Anunoby played himself a starter after Norman Powell held this job at the beginning of the season. A good move by Casey: With Anunoby in the Starting Five, the Raptors won eleven out of 14 games – with Powell, who disappointed this season, only seven out of 12.
The large positions are also full of talents: Pascal Siakam and Pöltl play a decisive role in the press. The former can be described defensively as a Swiss Army Knife:”I am definitely a player who can play many positions, especially I can defend many,”says Siakam about himself. His athletics and defensive intelligence make him a true multidimensional defender. However, Siakam still has to work on his litter.
The same applies to Pöltl. The Austrian has earned his bigger role: In his 16 minutes per match he has 7 points and 4,4 rebounds. Above all, his efficiency stands out: He hits over 68 percent of his litters and thus operates in the haze circle of Clint Capela or DeAndre Jordan.
He is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the change in style:”I’ve always been a big man who was quick on my feet. And as already mentioned, I’m also working hard on my Outside Game, because a modern Big has to act a lot from outside.”
Pöltl has already been able to reap the first fruits of his work: he scored the first threesome of his still young NBA career against the Kings.
The development of Jonas Valanciunas is anything but positive. It does not fit into the new system, as it has its strengths in the post office and the threesome not in its toolbox. He also has problems with the high pace.
And: Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka cannot be combined in the modern NBA. Both collect just over 0.5 assists per game. Casey reacts – Valanciunas becomes a bank warmer.
Meanwhile, Ibaka, whose contract was extended in the summer (three years, 65 million euros), gets more season on the five, as it fits better into the new system (4.5 threes per game, 40 percent hit rate). A possible lineup with Ibaka, Siakam, Anunoby and the two Allstars could be the hoped for result of the intrinsic process.
But where to go with Valanciunas? Casey already hinted at stagnating the minutes of Ibaka and Valanciunas, but perhaps a trade by the Lithuanian would be the last step to complete Ujiri’s “cultural reset”.
If this succeeds and the Raptors prove themselves against the top teams of the league, Pöltl’s marching direction sounds at least no longer utopian:”The goal is and remains to become champion of the Eastern Conference – and then sometime NBA champion.”.