Raptors get the help they need from backup-turned-starter Patrick McCaw
By Laura ArmstrongStaff Reporter
Thu., Jan. 9, 2020timer3 min. read
Patrick McCaw's fingerprints were all over the Toronto Raptors' win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday — a first-half bounce pass around Terry Rozier that found Serge Ibaka in the paint, a hand-off to OG Anunoby that set up a third-quarter three, a fast-break feed to Terence Davis II shortly after, a dish to Kyle Lowry for an open three as the clock ticked down. The list goes on.
"I thought Pat did an awesome job of delivering, playmaking under some difficult circumstances," Raptors coach Nick Nurse told reporters in Charlotte. "That was good to see, we need that."
It was a career night for the fourth-year guard, who notched his first double-double with 13 points and 11 assists while playing almost 43 minutes. Toronto won't always get numbers like that from McCaw, who moved into a starter's role because of injuries to Fred VanVleet and Norm Powell, among others, but it's important that the Raptors have another option when it comes to players who can pull the strings. Toronto doesn't have one game-changer at the moment — Kawhi Leonard's long gone and Pascal Siakam, the heir to the top-guy throne, is also injured — so creating opportunity has to be done by committee.
"You feel it every now and then … when you can't score the ball and you're looking around for some freebies or some easy ones or whatever and those guys seem to get those or get to the foul line or whatever," Nurse said this week. "But other than that, we've done a pretty good job, I think, of rearranging the shot allocation. And trying to get some other guys involved."
McCaw is fifth among Raptors players with 2.5 assists per game, well behind Lowry and VanVleet at 7.6 and 7.0 but closer to Pascal Siakam (3.6) and another injured player, Marc Gasol (3.4).
It may not seem like a lot, but when Toronto is missing 14 assists a night from VanVleet, Siakam and Gasol, the Raptors are happy to see McCaw flash his basketball IQ, proving he is more than just an energy man who can defend. The Raptors offence has been static at moments, shooting 43.6 per cent from the field and 34.4 from three over the last 11 games, and McCaw's penetrating movements and vision have given the team another playmaker to lean on.
With Lowry and VanVleet among the top seven in minutes per game in the NBA after Wednesday's slate of games, McCaw has shown himself to be a viable option if Toronto needs to give players some rest in the second half of the season.
Rest is something the Raptors will welcome this week with only one game in six days — Sunday's visit from DeMar DeRozan and the San Antonio Spurs. The team will practise Friday and Saturday, making this week a three-practice week.
"We need it, coming off a three-practice month (in December)," Nurse joked this week. "It's just so good to be able to organize, right? … You've just got to run through your basic 5-on-0 stuff and then, on top of that, you've got to do some of your foundational habit building. When you're never practising, that stuff'll slip so … get in the stance, shot challenge, block out, all those things, set screens — those things need to be reviewed as well."
The Raptors hope to have the fundamentals down by the time the schedule picks up again, and to have a couple of players back from injury. Norman Powell, who suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder in a Dec. 18 game against the Pistons, is expected to return in the next couple of games. Lowry suggested on Wednesday that Pascal Siakam, who suffered a stretched groin in that same game against Detroit, may not be far behind.
"We've got some guys coming back soon," Lowry said in Charlotte. "Pascal will be back soon and Norm will be back soon and we'll just keeping plugging away."
Laura Armstrong is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy