5 Statistics That Are Defining the Toronto Raptors' Season so Far
Everything's coming up roses in Raptor country as Toronto continues to hold down the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference over a quarter of a way through the regular season.
A 19-6 record has captivated the city and the basketball world alike, resulting in new faces looking over their shoulder to see what's transpiring north of the border.
With DeMar DeRozan out for the foreseeable future with a left groin injury, Kyle Lowry and company have held down the fort and maintained the team's level of excellence.
A 95-82 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Air Canada Centre on Dec. 15 was their sixth win without their All-Star and their fourth in their last five outings.
Analyzing a majority of their numbers will help paint a picture as to why they've been as successful as they've been. Others will leave you shaking your head, questioning how they've gotten as far as they've had.
The following five statistics best define their season to date and what the road ahead for one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises should look like.
13-2 Against Teams Below .500
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To maintain one of the top seeds in the East, it's important to knock off lesser competition and avoid letting winnable games slip through the cracks.
The Raptors have done a fantastic job of avoiding those kinds of letdowns, with the exception being a heartbreaking 129-122 overtime defeat at the hands of the dreadful Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 30.
A 13-2 record (second loss against Miami Heat) against teams below the .500 mark affirms a mental resolve to compete with a killer instinct night in and night out, regardless of who appears on the schedule.
| Team | Final Score | Date | Record | Team | Score | Date | Record |
| @ Orlando | 108-95 | Nov. 1 | 10-17 | vs. Denver | 112-107 (OT) | Dec. 8 | 10-14 |
| vs. Oklahoma City | 100-88 | Nov. 4 | 11-13 | vs. Indiana | 106-94 | Dec. 12 | 8-17 |
| @ Boston | 110-107 | Nov. 5 | 8-14 | @ New York | 95-90 (OT) | Dec. 14 | 5-21 |
| vs. Philadelphia | 120-88 | Nov. 9 | 2-22 | vs. Orlando | 95-82 | Dec. 15 | 10-17 |
| vs. Orlando | 104-100 | Nov. 11 | 10-17 | ||||
| vs. Utah | 111-93 | Nov. 15 | 6-18 | ||||
| vs. Phoenix | 104-100 | Nov. 24 | 12-14 | ||||
| @ Sacramento | 117-109 | Dec. 2 | 11-13 | ||||
| @ Utah | 123-104 | Dec. 3 | 6-18 |
The other four teams in the Atlantic Division (Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers) have a combined record of 25-69. The Raptors haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the damage they can do against those four, having played just three of their 16 divisional games.
They won't play a team with a winning record again until Dec. 22 when they battle Pau Gasol and the Chicago Bulls.
Stockpiling wins now will be key before embarking on a five-game Western Conference road trip to close the month and begin the new year.
Bench Scoring: 38.9 PPG
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Prior to the additions of Lou Williams and James Johnson over the offseason, the Raptors' second unit was a meandering group with no true identity.
It finished 27th in scoring with 26.1 points in 16.3 minutes (21st) during 2013-14, per Hoopsstats.com.
With these two now in the mix, the bench has moved up the rankings to become one of the NBA's more formidable backup squads.
| Name | Minutes | Points | PER |
| Greivis Vasquez | 21.1 | 8.8 | 12.1 |
| Lou Williams | 22.5 | 14.6 | 20.6 |
| James Johnson | 19.4 | 7.3 | 17.7 |
| Patrick Patterson | 26.3 | 8.6 | 16.7 |
| Tyler Hansbrough | 14.9 | 2.8 | 10.1 |
| Chuck Hayes | 9.9 | 1.5 | 7.9 |
| Landry Fields | 11.1 | 3.0 | 11.7 |
Scoring has risen 12.8 points, placing the team fifth overall in that department.
Williams' numbers are a huge contributor to that. He sits third amongst qualified bench players (at least 20 appearances) in scoring, per NBA.com.
The five-man unit of Vasquez, Williams, Johnson, Patterson and Hansbrough is head coach Dwane Casey's go-to group of reserves. In 113 minutes, they own a plus-minus rating of +49 and a net rating of +18.4.
Its defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) is 89.4, which is 12.6 points better than that of the starters. Johnson and Williams have defensive ratings of 99.4 and 100.1, the second and third-best ratings on the roster.
The strength of the bench has created some friendly competition with the starting lineup, while allowing them the peace of mind that things won't come unglued when they leave the floor.
As Johnson told Steven LeBron of Sports on Earth:
"Our second unit be beating the first unit all the time [in practice]. The starters know we're a good bench. They know they can rest easy during the games and take their break when they need it."
Opponents FG% at Rim vs. Jonas Valanciunas: 46.9
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Prior to the start of the season, assistant coach Bill Bayno emphasized how vital Jonas Valanciunas' development on the defensive end would be to the Raptors making a deep playoff run, per Eric Koreen of the National Post:
“One of the big focuses for us to advance in the playoffs is that he’s got to be the best rim protector — block shots, [legal] vertical [jumps] and being able to get over to that weak side early on any [dribble] penetration. At times he was great at it last year. … But we want it every night, 82 games.”
Opponents hit 51.4 percent of their shots against the 7'0" center around the rim in 2013-14, per NBA.com. Being a second-year pro without much of a knack for blocking shots (averaged less than a block a night at 0.9), it was easy to exploit the matchup and try to draw contact against him.
His 249 fouls were 10th overall. Being a pest under the basket without picking up silly fouls was a concern all season long.
It appears that Valanciunas is slowly grasping how to use his size wisely without becoming fodder for the officials' whistle.
Through 25 games, opponents are only hitting 46.9 percent around the rim against him. That number is better than more highly-touted defensive bigs like Robin Lopez (47.9), Andre Drummond (48.7) and Anthony Davis (51.1).
He's also taking more chances in swatting shots away, raising both his blocks per game average (0.9 to 1.2) and block percentage (2.5 to 3.7). His personal fouls have dropped from 3.1 to 2.6 as well.
There's still a world of growth to be had in terms of his defensive prowess, though. His 106.3 defensive rating is only 11th on the team.
At least he's not regressing.
Kyle Lowry's Numbers Since DeMar DeRozan's Injury
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Losing DeRozan, the only All-Star on the roster, for an unconfirmed amount of time is the first real sense of adversity the Raptors have faced this season.
Following a season-high 39 points in a 123-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Dec. 3, Lowry talked about his change in role with his backcourt partner on the shelf, per John Coon of the Associated Press:
“I know I got to score a little bit more and be more aggressive. I could do it with DeMar (healthy), but as a point guard, I like to get my teammates involved. Right now, I got to be a little bit more assertive.”
Lowry has shifted gears since the injury took place, putting the Raptors on his back and carrying them to the best of his ability, albeit with mixed results.
| Games | Minutes | Points | FG% | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Turnovers |
| Pre-injury | 33.3 | 18.6 | 45.0 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Post-injury | 37.1 | 21.4 | 41.6 | 3.8 | 9.8 | 1.8 | 3.1 |
DeRozan's absence has put Lowry right at the forefront of opposing game plans. It's not the ideal situation, though, as William Lou of Raptors Republic notes:
"DeRozan’s absence has even trickled down to affect Lowry in subtle, but important ways. In needing to fill in for DeRozan’s considerable output, Lowry can no longer afford to sit back and cherry pick the drives and shots that normally suffice. Instead, Lowry is having to compensate, and is at times failing to come through. Perhaps with more practice time and on-court tribulations, Lowry and the Raptors can learn to adapt. They’ll just have to settle in the meantime."
Were it not for his hero-like tendencies and willingness to shoulder more of the load, perhaps the team wouldn't be sitting atop the East like they are now.
Whether that good fortune lasts remains to be seen.
Team Rebounds: 41.1
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It was back in 2000-01 when the Raptors last finished in the top half of the league in rebounds per game (44.5, sixth).
At the rate they're going this season, that trend of mediocrity on the glass will live on.
They rank 24th in that category, 23rd in defensive rebounds (30.2) and 17th in offensive rebounds (10.9).
Valanciunas is their only consistent force on the boards, putting up a career-high 9.0 rebounds and total rebound percentage of 19.8. He's also grabbed double-digit rebounds in four of his last give games.
Unfortunately, he has very little help around him from his frontcourt mates, as Eric Koreen of the National Post points out:
"Patrick Patterson is on fire from three-point range and is a quick and savvy defender, but has never been a good rebounder. Similarly, Amir Johnson, who is clearly playing at less than full health, remains effective in the pick-and-roll and the team’s best help defender, but he is rebounding at the worst rate of his career."
While Valanciunas is eighth amongst centers in rebounding (per ESPN.com), Patterson (5.5) and Johnson (5.0) rank 30th and 36th at power forward, respectively.
Even with a fourth-best 3.1 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter of games (per NBA.com), there have been too many instances where the team has failed to grab an all-important board when it mattered most.
Their inability to do so led to LeBron James nailing a dagger three-pointer late in a 105-101 Cleveland Cavaliers win on Dec. 9.
There may not be enough size and athleticism in the frontcourt to be an elite rebounding squad. Valanciunas is the only starter and one of two players averaging 5.5 or more boards.
There needs to be more of a collective effort.
Christopher Walder is considered by many to be the "songbird of his generation" and the greatest center to have never played professional, collegiate, high school, house league or pickup basketball.
His work has been published on Bleacher Report, SB Nation, SI.com, FanSided and several other online outlets. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports.
All statistics, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy of NBA.com/Stats and Basketball-Reference.com. They're current as of the afternoon of Dec. 16.
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