In a lot of ways, the Raptors’ victory over the Pacers was typical of their entire season. Of course, this Game 7 win was bigger than any other. It marked Toronto’s first playoff series win since 2001, likely saved head coach Dwane Casey’s job and at least temporarily staved off a roster overhaul. But the triumph nevertheless followed a familiar script, at least for the first 42 minutes.
The Raptors’ biggest strength isn’t their All-Stars. It’s their role players
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan got most of the attention this year, but the Raptors’ narrow first-round series win underscored the biggest reason they won 56 games.
All season, the Raptors' All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan received most of the shine. Lowry was the playmaking leader capable of getting to any spot on the floor, while DeRozan provided Toronto a throwback scorer that got to the foul line at will. But their difficulties against the Pacers revealed that neither can throw a team on his back night after night or be relied upon to single-handedly carry a team to a postseason series win.
That’s not meant to be knock on either player. After all, there are only a handful of players in the league who can do those things. It just means that Toronto’s All-NBA backcourt needs more help than most stars. The reason the Raptors had their best season ever is they received that help all season and crucially got it again on Sunday night.
"Myself and Cory [Joseph] come from teams with a tradition of depending on everyone," DeMarre Carroll said after the win, via the Ottawa Citizen. "I felt like this series showed that everyone in this locker room was depended on and that's what we had to do. We had to come out as a team. DeMar DeRozan wasn't going to beat this team alone. Kyle Lowry wasn't going to beat this team on his own. It had to be a group effort."
In Game 5, Bismack Biyombo was the hero after exploding for 10-points and 16 rebounds off the bench. In Game 7, Joseph and little-used second-round rookie Norman Powell saved the day. At other times, Carroll, Patrick Patterson, Jonas Valanciunas and even Terrence Ross have stepped up. The Raptors are much more than just Lowry and DeRozan.
Joseph's Game 7 performance was a continuation of the strengths he flashed all season. He used his size and motor to wall off Monta Ellis and George Hill, while his shifty ball-handling and crafty array of hesitations presented him with all sorts of avenues into the paint.
The clip above is a perfect example of Joseph tormenting the strong Pacers defense. It also showed why Toronto so desperately needed him to do, because Lowry looked passive running pick and roll after the ball was reversed to him. Lowry finished with just 11 points on 5-14 shooting in Game 7 -- yet another disappointing performance on his growing playoff résumé -- and spent the majority of the night allergic to the paint.
Joseph, on the other hand, recorded eight points, four assists and three rebounds in 26 critical minutes of action. He was on the floor for the big second-half run that pushed the Raptors' lead to 16, and they ultimately needed every one of those points to hold off Indiana's furious rally. During the regular season, Joseph was part of Toronto's top five-man unit, per NBA.com. This trend continued against the Pacers.
Yet Toronto doesn't win Game 7 without the man that could have stumped every one of TNT's analysts had he been part of Inside the NBA's "Who He Play For?" Norman Powell was selected with the No. 46 pick last summer. He spent a portion of the year in the D-League, played less than 15 minutes per game when he was with the Raptors and averaged less than six points.
Yet on Sunday night, he knocked down jumper after jumper, making the Pacers pay for helping off him.
Had it not been for these strong performances and another burst of energy from Biyombo, the Raptors’ season likely would have ended and DeRozan’s absurd 10-for-32 shooting line would be receiving more publicity than his 30-point outburst.
That's not to say that DeRozan's aggressive performance was useless. It wasn't an efficient showing (though Kobe would have been proud), but the Raptors still needed every one of his points to keep their season alive. They will need more high-scoring performances from DeRozan and strong showings from Biyombo, Lowry, Powell, Joseph, Patterson, Valanciunas, Ross, Carroll and anyone else who plays in order to knock off the Heat in Round 2.
Thats’ because the Raptors’ primary weapon isn’t their backcourt, it’s their depth. A plethora of weapons is what allowed the Raptors to win a franchise-record 56 regular season games and finally advance out of the first round. It’s now up to that depth to extend the team’s dream season.
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