Toronto Raptors business-like approach in playoffs a refreshing sight
With a lot riding on the Toronto Raptors success in the post-season, the team is not getting too comfortable despite their dominant play.
In past seasons, the Toronto Raptors would have been content with their performance in the playoffs but this team is different from the rest.
After reeling off their fifth-straight win in the post-season, none of the players gave the impression that they were satisfied. Now, any team can nitpick a win but it’s important to enjoy the moment as well.
One example has to be Fred VanVleet who has been overly critical of his performance and some defensive miscues from the team which he spoke about after Game 1.
"“We made a lot of defensive mistakes,” VanVleet told reporters after the game. “We fouled a couple of three-point shooters. I think they had 13 offensive rebounds. Our end of quarter execution wasn’t great. We fumbled a two-for-one in the third quarter. Blew some coverages. There’s a lot of things we can clean up.”"
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It is hard to argue with VanVleet’s assessment given the fact that the bench only had 10 points. Obviously, it’s something the team is going to try and improve because the last thing Toronto wants is to lose a game because of the bench’s mediocre play.
Even if they aren’t scoring at a high rate, the second unit should be looking to lock things down defensively which was a problem at times in Game 1. It’s also easy for some of the players to forget that it’s one game but they also know the playoffs don’t offer a lot of chances to overcome poor play.
As Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet notes, the bench had their struggles defensively in Round 1 but was able to overcome it with their offensive play:
"That lineup posted a minus-20.7 net rating over 13 minutes in the first round, thanks to an okay 100 offensive rating and a dismal 120.7 defensive rating. It was the only one of Toronto’s four most-used lineups in the series to get outscored. And a much-too-low 37.5-per cent rebound rate, combined with a much-too-high 17.9-per cent turnover rate, didn’t help."
This is why the team’s comments are refreshing because they can be better and aren’t settling for average play. They know what is at stake given Kawhi Leonard‘s uncertain future.
He has certainly shown that he is blocking out the outside noise and has a partner in crime in Pascal Siakam who continues to show that his breakout performance from the regular season was no fluke.
Next. Kawhi Leonard delivers career-best playoff performance. dark
How they perform in Game 2 will go a long way in determining the narrative for the rest of the series. Another dominant win could sink the Sixers but an underwhelming loss can give Philadelphia unneeded motivation.