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Raptors four-game losing streak forces them to reset: 'It's going to make us better'
Stuck in their longest losing streak since Masai Ujiri sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento over a year ago, the Raptors aren't panicking but they're certainly concerned.
"We've got to figure it out soon," Kyle Lowry told reporters after Toronto's skid hit four straight following a 103-95 loss to Charlotte at home on Thursday.
It's undoubtedly the low point in a season that's otherwise been overwhelmingly positive. Defensive issues that were easy to overlook while the wins piled up have become impossible to ignore. The Raptors are 22nd in defensive efficiency, giving up 105.1 points per 100 possesions, only marginally better than the much-maligned Cleveland Cavaliers (105.8 points per 100 possessions).
Zach Lowe explains expertly over at Grantland what's been ailing the Raptors on the defensive end:
Teams over the last half-decade have rushed to imitate Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls, who play a conservative style designed to avoid rotations. The Raptors (mostly) don’t play like that. They’re happy to let you use picks, even if that strategy yields the middle. Toronto volunteers itself into help situations.
It’s a dangerous game, one that requires precise five-man synchronization. No one can be a half-second late on a rotation, shift over to the wrong offensive player, blow a closeout, or gamble his way out of the play.
The problem is, Toronto hasn’t brought that precision consistently, and it doesn’t have enough rim protection to bail it out when enemies drive the lane.
As good as their offence has been this season, at 110.6 points per 100 possesions they're behind only Dallas in the NBA and ahead of the Warriors and Clippers, Toronto was a top-10 defensive unit last season. That's where they need to be if they want to win consistently and be taken seriously as contenders.
Their next three games are at home and against bottom tier offences, Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia, which should help provide some short-term relief for the Raptors — although the suddenly all-powerful Pistons are playing excellent basketball since dumping Josh Smith in late December. What follows will be more challenging: a visit from the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks on Friday and on January 18 the home stand ends with a game against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans.
DeMar DeRozan is expected to be back in the Raptors' lineup at some point next week. His return will be a definite a boost for Dwane Casey's squad, and especially for Lowry who has been forced to carry an extra burden with DeRozan out injured.
Losing four straight is no fun but it has forced the Raptors to reset and refocus.
"Adversity brings out the best or the worst in you," Casey said on Friday. "We're going through an adverse time. Every team in the league that I've ever been with goes through it. We're going through it now and it's going to make us better."
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
