Sunday Shootaround New hope for the Raptors

BOSTON -- For the last few years the Toronto Raptors have existed at the intersection of hope and reality. They have been an objectively good team, good enough to make the playoffs the last two seasons and claim a pair of division crowns. The reality is they have failed to advance past the first round and that division accomplishment is one of the most hollow in the sport, especially coming as it did in the weakest five-team grouping in the league.

The Raptors have been a team of contradictions. They started last season with a 15-4 record and entered the All-Star break comfortably in second place in the conference. But they faded late, going 13-16 down the stretch and were swept rather rudely by the Washington Wizards in the first round. They have All-Stars in the backcourt in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, whose games have been picked apart by critics as much as they’ve been heralded by supporters. Until proven otherwise, Paul Pierce’s stinging critique -- that they fail to inspire concern in opponents -- hangs over them like one of the dagger 3-pointers he buried in their back during the playoffs.

Between Cleveland and Philadelphia, the East is one big jumble of cautious optimism. The Raptors are just one of many with playoff aspirations. The Bulls have a former MVP, a breakout star in Jimmy Butler and a host of up-and-coming players to mix with a roster full of veteran All-Stars. The Hawks won 60 games. The Heat loaded up for yet another run. The Wizards have a backcourt that’s bursting with potential. The Raptors, well, the Raptors are good. You can’t take that away from them, but can you build on it?

"First, we’ve got to get back to the playoffs," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said following the team’s shootaround. "Nothing is given there. Our goal is to move beyond, but again, I’m going to emphasize this: The playoffs are not a given. Nobody’s going to walk in and earn a playoff berth just because you did it last year. We’ve got to earn it. We’ve got to prove ourselves after how we finished last year that we’re for real. Everybody in the East has gotten better. There’s more balance in the East this year so there’s no nights off at all this year."

There is hope in the form of a 7-foot center Jonas Valanciunas, still just 23 years old, who has made incremental but steady progress on the offensive end. There is also the distant promise of Bruno Caboclo, the 20-year-old Brazilian prodigy who has played a grand total of 23 NBA minutes. Neither has shown nearly enough to warrant franchise building block status, and so the Raptors return with a familiar core of players augmented with a handful of free agent additions.

In the offseason, general manager Masai Ujiri added point guard Cory Joseph and big man Bismack Biyombo to bolster their depth, while also signing veterans Luis Scola and DeMarre Carroll, who are the new starting forwards. All of them are part of the rotation, but Carroll is the key.

"His versatility is one of his great strengths," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "He can shoot it. We all know that he’s got a great way about him and a demeanor and a passion that’s contagious. He’s a winner. He impacts winning."

With Carroll on board, Casey has a proven perimeter defender. He can also play big or small, which has a trickle-down effect on the rest of his roster.

"He’s as close to a 2-way player as you can get at the three position," Casey said. "With that, DeMar DeRozan doesn’t have to guard the bigger threes and Terrence Ross doesn’t have to guard those guys. So it frees them up to guard guys at their position."

Carroll’s addition will also have an impact on the offensive end. Long an ISO-team that relied heavily on Lowry, DeRozan and Lou Williams (now a Laker) to create shots for themselves, Casey has begun to implement a scheme more in line with the current trend toward spacing and shooting. The Raptors were surprisingly efficient on offense last season, but Carroll’s long-range shooting adds a much-needed element to the mix.

"We needed the toughness, the grit that he brings to the table," Casey said. "Not only on the defensive end. He plays with a grit and an edge on the offensive end: attacking the basket, cutting, shooting the three."

Friday’s game against the Celtics was instructive. The Raps launched 26 threes and their guards picked the Boston defense apart with drives and kickouts to open shooters on the perimeter. Carroll knocked down 4-of-7 shots from long range and with room to operate, Lowry and DeRozan lived at the free throw line. And with Carroll guarding opposing forwards, Terrence Ross was able to thrive at his natural off-guard position. On defense they were active and jumped passing lanes, which led to numerous fast break and transition opportunities.

Early season statement games mean little in the grand scheme of things, but this was still an effective reminder that they remain the team to beat in their little corner of the universe. Still, the Raptors have had early-season success before. They have to prove they can sustain it.

"Our biggest expectation that I always tell the team is we want to be better later in the season than we are at the beginning," Carroll said. "You don’t want to be the same team Game 81 that you are in Game 3. It’s just about getting better. You’ve got to understand it’s a marathon. Coming from Atlanta, Coach (Mike Budenholzer) really taught me that you’ve got to get better each game."

While Carroll was the one member of the Atlanta starting five who didn’t make the All-Star Game, in many ways he became the unlikely face of the Hawks’ stunning turnaround last season. His journeyman background was less a hindrance than a source of pride for a team that achieved beyond expectations by playing a tightly-connected team game that accentuated positives and trusted development.

Never was his importance more understood than in the conference finals when he gamely tried to play through a knee injury. With Carroll at less than full strength, the Hawks were limited and compromised against the Cavaliers.

The lesson from the Hawks is that if you get enough good players committed to playing for and with each other, then you can excel beyond the perceived limits of your abilities. Carroll was a backup forward without a position when he joined Atlanta. When he left, he was a coveted free agent.

"Coming from Atlanta helped me understand this game, understand what it takes to win at a high level," Carroll said. "It don’t happen overnight. A lot of people forget, our first year we won 38 games. When you win, all that losing, people forget about that."

It will take a lot for the Raptors to get over the sting of back-to-back playoff disappointments. Winning cures all, however, and in Carroll, they have one of the game’s unheralded winners. It’s enough to give a team hope that this time, things will be different in the end.

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