If you’ve been paying attention to the Toronto Raptors for even a few of their 24 seasons, you’ve probably picked up on a common thread that runs through their short history.
From the electrifying rise of Vince Carter to that landmark run to the Eastern Conference final a few years back, no matter the level of local love and optimism, Toronto’s NBA team has always been doused with a consistent stream of skepticism.
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If Clifford’s words could have been taken as a concession speech from a coach whose team looked seriously overmatched after pulling out a surprise Game 1 win, that wouldn’t be fair. Clifford, an NBA lifer from the Van Gundy brothers coaching tree, had an impressive debut season at the helm of the Magic. Simply getting them into the playoffs, this while transforming them into one of the league’s best defensive teams during the regular-season stretch run, was an achievement. And the Magic competed hard all series.
But even before the Raptors built a 20-point lead before Game 5 was nine minutes old, there was a feeling of inevitability to the series. To Clifford’s point about Toronto’s balance, the Raptors defence has looked stifling enough to be considered a contender, holding the Magic under 39 per cent shooting for the series. And Toronto’s offensive attack figures to be diverse enough to pose problems for most impending opponents, even if, as starting guard Danny Green was saying in the wake of Game 4, the Raptors really haven’t shot consistently well so far in the post-season.
Tuesday was better — Toronto’s starters shot a sizzling 13-for-22 from three-point range — and the truth is Toronto shot well enough to outscore the Magic by a combined 75 points in their four wins. All that, and there’s a case to be made that the Raptors are growing by the moment.
“Chemistry-wise I don’t think we have reached our full potential,” Green said. “We know we can play better.”
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What’s behind this burgeoning feeling that the Raptors aren’t the iffy proposition of the past, that they’re a team to be taken seriously? Ujiri’s summertime trade that brought Leonard and Green to town is at the root of it, as is the emergence of Siakam as an explosive all-star in waiting. Clifford, for his part, pointed to the considerable improvement in Toronto’s three-point shooting in the wake of their acquisition of Marc Gasol as a genius stroke of trade-deadline recalibration.
“The difference is simple: it’s spacing,” Clifford said. “They have five guys outside of the three-(point line) … It’s so much more difficult to defend.”
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And then there’s the fine work of Lowry, whom Toronto coach Nick Nurse called “amazing in this series … Maybe as good as I’ve ever seen him.”
Said Clifford of Lowry: “I think he’s looking around saying this is the best team he’s played on, this is the best chance he’s had … and he’s playing at a really high level.”
So their spacing is impeccable and their balance is formidable — as good as anyone in the East outside of Milwaukee, Clifford said — and their roster is as stacked as it’s ever been. It’s early. Philadelphia’s looming in round two, and the Sixers are long and imposing. But Clifford will tell you that history suggests the Raptors ought to be in the conversation as a championship factor.
“There have been a couple of teams — Laker teams — that were great on offence and only OK on defence on one end,” Clifford said. “Believe it or not, the Detroit Larry Brown teams were the best defensive teams of my 19 years by a lot, but not really as good offensively as we all thought. Sometimes you can be so good at one. But, by and large, to win it all you have to have the kind of balance (the Raptors) play with.”
Don’t get it wrong: There are eons separating the Raptors and the Larry O’Brien Trophy. And as they continue their run through the post-season, wherever it leads, they’re sure to be met with the kind of doubt-inducing adversity that even the great teams have to conquer. Critics will still poke holes in them. Better teams will do their best to drill down to their weaknesses. But one round into it, they’re beginning to amass their share of believers, too. Twenty-four seasons into Toronto’s NBA story, suddenly it feels like this chapter at least has a chance to end more happily than any other.
Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist. Follow him on Twitter: @dfeschuk
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