Biggest Adjustments Toronto Raptors Must Make in Game 2 Versus Wizards
The Toronto Raptors' performance in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series with the Washington Wizards was an abysmal mess that inspired little to no confidence heading into Game 2.
Paul Pierce—who recently said the Raptors don't "have the 'it' that makes you feel worried" as an opponent, via Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com—led all scorers with 20 points in the Wizards' 93-86 overtime win.
How the Raptors could hear The Truth's comments and not put forth a stronger all-around effort in Game 1 is truly baffling. We've barely scratched the surface of this series, and the psychological war may already be won.
The only saving grace is that Washington was just as brutal as Toronto, yet it's the Wizards who have the 1-0 series lead. Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field, with All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and John Wall failing to provide the necessary spark for Toronto and Washington, respectively.
| Kyle Lowry | 33 | 7 | 2-10 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | - 9 |
| John Wall | 43 | 10 | 5-18 | 0-2 | 8 | 1 | + 6 |
As Matt Moore of CBS Sports pointed out, this was the 17th time in NBA history when a team won an overtime playoff game while shooting below 40 percent.
The Raptors can take solace in the fact that as bad as they were, they were still in a position to win the game in overtime. Things can only get better moving forward.
Unfortunately, the Wizards also underachieved in Game 1 could thus see substantial growth by the time Game 2 rolls around.
The amount of pressure on Raptors head coach Dwane Casey and his players is astronomical. Washington holds all the cards, having taken home-court advantage away from the reigning Atlantic Division champions.
This predicament is nothing new to the Raptors, though, as they also fell in Game 1 on their home floor last season against the Brooklyn Nets. That series eventually went the distance.
Casey needs to refocus his players for a now-pivotal Game 2 matchup on Tuesday. The following adjustments should go a long way toward securing that all-important victory.
Give James Johnson Minutes at Power Forward
An arena full of rambunctious Raptors fans knew that James Johnson should have been on the floor in Game 1, as chants of "We want James!" echoed throughout the Air Canada Centre.
So why didn't Casey play his 6'9" forward?
He explained after the game that Johnson's "benching" had more to do with having a rotation in place where it's difficult to incorporate a fifth wing, via Raptors Republic:
"James (Johnson) will play in a matchup situation. Again, he could be in play later in this series. The difficult thing to do is play all of our wings. We’ve got a good rotation with Greivis (Vasquez), Kyle (Lowry), DeMar (DeRozan) and Terrence (Ross) in that group and it’s just hard to get that fifth guy in there unless it’s just a special matchup. Again, it will come into play in this series at some point but today wasn’t the day. Believe me, I heard all the people yelling, ‘Put James in, put James in,” but, again, who do you take out? We were having trouble with outside shots. DeMar was doing a good job. Lou was a threat. So, we’ll see. There’s going to be a place for James (Johnson) in this series. I’ve talked with him about that.
"
The fans' calls for Johnson weren't some sort of Bruno Caboclo-esque love affair in which they wanted to see him compete because he's one of their favorites. It was simply because they recognize the value he brings as a defensive stopper, something the team desperately needed that afternoon.
Wizards head coach Randy Wittman's choice to play Pierce at the 4 was brilliant. Not only can Pierce stretch the floor, but he also forces Toronto's bigs to step out of their comfort zones and defend the perimeter.
Tyler Hansbrough wasn't cutting it. Amir Johnson isn't mobile enough with two wonky ankles to give Pierce much of a problem away from the paint.
Pierce hit all four of his shots in the second quarter, including two daggers from behind the arc, for 10 points as the Wizards outscored Toronto 27-19.
Casey said himself that Johnson "will play in a matchup situation." Watching Pierce go off as an undersized power forward seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to snag some minutes.
If Casey is worried about having too many mouths to feed and not knowing who to remove from the rotation, perhaps he should take a look at pulling Terrence Ross. The team had a horrid 68.7 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) with the third-year swingman on the floor in Game 1, compared to 99.1 in the 31 minutes he sat.
His presence wasn't as problematic on the defensive end, but the Raptors were 1.7 points better (96.2 DefRtg) when Ross was on the bench (94.5).
Johnson, who had the second-highest net rating (OffRtg minus DefRtg) on the team during the regular season, could fill that void admirably. Russell Peddle of Raptors HQ elaborates on why Johnson's willingness to get to the rim adds a different dynamic to an offence that needs more than just outside shooting:
"And Johnson might be known as a specialist on defence, but his driving game is also an important part of the Raptors' offence and is often overlooked. He led the Raptors in both field goal percentage (63.7 percent) and points per 48 minutes (8.4) on drives this season, easily one of the league's best in both cases. With the Raptors "having trouble with outside shots" (6-for-29 from downtown), putting him into the game to facilitate attacking the basket wasn't even considered?
"
The postseason is all about making changes when things take a turn for the worse. Casey can't afford to stick with a failing blueprint if Washington continues to be successful by going small.
Johnson won't provide all of the answers but will give Casey a difference-maker on the defensive end who could be the perfect antagonist to Mr. Pierce.
Make More of an Effort on the Glass
There's only so much you can ask of a team that has a reputation for being one of the NBA's lousier rebounding squads.
| Raptors | 30.8 (27) | 10.7 (16) | 41.5 (26) | 49.5 (21) |
The Wizards outrebounded the Raptors 61-48 in Game 1 with a 19-10 advantage on the offensive glass. Nene Hilario had 13, while Drew Gooden came off the bench to grab 10 of his own in just 23 minutes.
There isn't one big on the Raptors who stands out as a dominant rebounder. Amir Johnson (6.1) and Patrick Patterson (5.3) are 23rd and 28th among power forwards in rebounding, respectively, while center Jonas Valanciunas is 10th at his position with 8.7.
Those three combined for 21 of Toronto's 48 boards, but that was still 10 fewer than what Washington's frontcourt trio of Nene, Gooden and Marcin Gortat earned (8).
Hansbrough, who started at the 4, didn't grab a single rebound in 12 minutes. He led the team with an average of 7.6 over the last five regular-season games.
Patterson is aware of the size advantage Washington has in its frontcourt, but as he told the media on April 19, the Raptors can look to counteract that by being the quicker bunch:
Toronto only grabbed 73.3 percent of its opponents' misses during the season, which ranked 25th overall. Being motivated enough to fight for loose balls and leap over taller players for boards seems great in theory, but being physically blessed with tremendous size goes a long way, too.
The Raptors' frontcourt has more finesse, while Washington's has more brute force. That's great if you're looking to put points on the scoreboard, but not if you're banging down low for key rebounds in pivotal moments of games.
Patterson's belief in his teammates to outhustle Washington is encouraging, but being the more physical team overall? Perhaps that's asking too much.
The onus to rebound doesn't just fall on the bigs, though, as everyone on the roster needs to do their fair share to contribute in that department.
"We talked about it [rebounding]," said Casey following Game 1, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. "And it's not just our big guys, it's everybody. We start watching when the shot goes up, and we've got to get in and clean up the boards. We know that. It's been an issue. We do a good job, we don't do a good job. So we've got to get consistent with it. And until we make it a priority, it's going to be hard for us."
Being in the right place at the right time is circumstantial. You can either crowd around the basket and hedge your bets or spread bodies accordingly and hope the ball lands your way.
If the Raptors want to start winning the war on the glass, they'll need to focus more on positioning and boxing out rather than trying to overpower the bulkier Wizards.
No Need to Worry (Just Yet)
You live and die by the shot.
Shooting 38 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from three-point range is about as miserable a death as it gets in the playoffs. Does that mean the Raptors are going to shy away from what comes naturally to them offensively?
Absolutely not.
"There's still a lot of basketball to be played," said Casey, via Alex Wong of Sports on Earth. "It's not gloom-and-doom. We had great looks, and I believe in our shooters. [Those are] shots we have to take, and we're going to continue to take them because that's who we are. We just have to make them."
Lowry, Ross, DeMar DeRozan and Lou Williams combined to shoot 15-of-57 from the field, with 17 missed three-pointers among the four of them. They're perimeter-oriented guards, so all the Raptors can hope for is that those same shots start falling in Game 2.
It's one game down and at least three more to go. The Raptors have a pulse, but a loss in Game 2 could put the team on life support.
"We The North"?
More like "We Need a Win."
Christopher Walder is a Featured Columnist for the Toronto Raptors at Bleacher Report. He's also a staff writer for Raptors HQ at SB Nation. You can follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports.
All statistics are provided by NBA.com/stats and Basketball-Reference.com.
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