All Raptors Need to Rise to the Occasion in Gm 7
Lowry and DeRozan have risen to the occasion. The Raptors secondary cast needs to step up and make their mark in a decisive Game 7.
For the second consecutive game Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan looked like the All-Star calibre players that led this Raptors team to a 56-win season. After combining for 59 points in Game 5, Lowry and DeRozan would equal the achievement with another 59 point performance in Game 6. However, the result was the highest margin of victory for any team in this series as the Heat secured a comfortable 103-91 win to send the series back to Toronto for another decisive Game 7.
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Raptors fans have been frustrated with their struggling stars, but the saving grace was strong defensive play and a full team effort at the offensive end of the floor. Through the first five games of the series, the Raptors had five players averaging double-digits in scoring. Unfortunately, the offensive depth of this Raptors team has been severely hampered with the injuries to Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll. Despite toughing it out in Game 6, it is clear that Carroll is not one-hundred percent as he limited himself to only four shot attempts.
JV’s replacement in Bismack Biyombo also did not have his strongest Game 6. He was a force on the boards, pulling down 13 total rebounds, but his contributions weren’t at the same level as his Game 5 performance. There were a number of occasions where Miami centre Josh McRoberts was able to win an offensive board from Biyombo. With news that both Hassan Whiteside and Jonas Valanciunas will sit out for Game 7, it is imperative that Biyombo has a strong showing and dominates the paint for the Raptors at the ACC.
The last member of the starting lineup, Patrick Patterson, also continued his struggles in this series as he is now 3/17 from the beyond the arc. Patterson can contribute to this team in a number of ways, but one of the most important during the regular season was his ability to stretch out the opponent’s defensive set to open up drives into the lane, or find space to drain his 3-point shots. With his shot struggling, he isn’t getting the same attention on the perimeter, limiting his overall contribution at the offensive end of the floor.
However, it was not the starting lineup where Toronto got outplayed in Game 6, but the bench. Miami starters totalled 79 points (52 coming from Wade/Dragic) whereas Toronto’s starters put up 76 points (59 coming from Lowry and DeRozan). Instead, Miami’s bench put up 24 points on 55.6% shooting from the field (40% from beyond the arc). Toronto’s bench replied with only 15 points on 36.8% shooting. These numbers need to improve at both ends of the floor as the Raptors can’t afford to be missing open shots and need to reassert the strong defensive play that got the Raptors past Indiana and to within one game of moving past the Miami Heat.
It will be interesting to see how Dwane Casey uses his bench in Game 7 as he has abandoned Norman Powell altogether, and has sparingly used James Johnson, Jason Thompson and even Lucas Nogueira. Ultimately, the focus, however ironic, needs to be getting back to what was successful for this team while Lowry and DeRozan were struggling. Now that their two stars are beginning to play like stars, the rest of the Raptors need to respond and put forward a full team effort that values strong defensive play and an active, energetic approach at the offensive end of the floor. With Lowry and DeRozan beginning to hit their stride, Miami will need to adjust and give these two All-Stars the attention they command. This could open up the secondary scorers to once again assert themselves. The question is – will they?
Next: An Option to Replace DeRozan
All stats are provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise stated.