By Sean Kennedy
Earlier this season, the Raptors were losing a ton of games and found themselves among the dregs of the Eastern Conference, one of the many teams having the discussion as to whether they should disband the team and tank for the loaded 2014 draft. When they dealt Rudy Gay away for a host of bench players in a cap-clearing move, people thought that was the direction Toronto was heading in. However, instead of dropping them in the standings, the Gay trade was a classic addition by subtraction move. The Raptors have gone 14-8 since the dealing the former UConn star and now lead the Atlantic division at 21-20, even though being over .500 in the Atlantic division these days is like being the most liberal person on Duck Dynasty.
The Raptors have been better on both sides of the ball since the deal but their biggest improvement has been on the defensive end. Toronto sports the third-best defensive rating in the NBA over the last 20 games with the 2nd-best opposing eFG%. Toronto is using the same schemes as before but Gay was by all metrics slacking defensively, and Terrence Ross has done a much better job harassing shooters on the perimeter. There is also likely something to be said for the other players being more willing to put forth effort defensively when they’re getting more touches on the offensive end.
Speaking of when Toronto has the ball, the biggest beneficiary of removing Gay’s huge-usage, low-efficiency offense from the equation has been point guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry has been able to handle the ball much more, averaging 18 points while shooting 45% from both the field and three, in addition to nearly 5 boards and 8 assists during the last 20 games. Lowry is starting to get some all-star buzz given his recent surge and the relative dearth of talent in the East. Over that same stretch, he and Terrence Ross have combined to make over 5 threes per game; they’re likely to be the biggest beneficiary of the Sixers bump to opposing outside shooters.
Of course, the main cog for the Toronto attack remains DeMar DeRozan, averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in the last 20 games. Toronto has already defeated the Sixers twice this season with DeRozan dropping 30 points per game in those 2 wins. Philadelphia will have to do a much better job containing DeRozan if they’re to hang around with the Raptors tonight. Between the hounding defense of Kyle Lowry and the length on the perimeter of DeRozan and Ross, the Sixers will find it hard to get open looks on the evening. For a team without elite outside shooting (or even average on most nights), I wouldn’t expect much success offensively for Philadelphia and it’s unlikely they’ll earn their second-straight win.
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