Raptors’ freshness, bench swings series vs. Wizards

Raptors stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry admitted coach Dwane Casey’s philosophy of riding his bench this season took some getting used to. The approach was even on display in a closeout playoff game, no less.

With 3:31 left of Game 6, DeRozan re-entered the game after having sat out the entire fourth quarter until then.

And Toronto still won.

And it wasn’t a blowout, where coaches rest stars.

The Raptors had something the Wizards couldn’t match during Friday’s 102-92 loss, and truthfully the series: a productive second unit.

Toronto’s flexibility in its bench swung the series, eliminating Washington in six games. The Wizards didn’t have the firepower to match. By the end of the night, DeRozan logged 33 minutes and Lowry finished with just 31.

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SEE ALSO: Wizards’ letdown in Game 6 a microcosm of their season

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That’s staggeringly low for a playoff game — where players, especially stars, typically see heavier minutes — but it was the trend of the first round. Casey has also tried to stick with that approach all year. 

The Raptors’ reserves allowed the starters to keep fresh. On Friday, they even helped swing the game in the fourth quarter, erasing a five-point Wizards lead.

Throughout the first round, Wizards stars Bradley Beal and John Wall struggled to make shots late. The Raptors stars were more productive late.

That’s not a coincidence, Casey said. 

“It gets them deep in their roster,” Casey said. “Beal had what, 43 minutes? And John had 40. … They were logging some heavy minutes and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

Wizards coach Scott Brooks doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Casey on the issue. Asked about the minutes discrepancy, he has frequently pointed out the days off in between games should keep his players rested. Brooks hasn’t been shy riding his stars, such as having Wall play the entire second half in Games 4 and 5.

But part of the Wizards’ problem is the fact they don’t have depth to match, even when factoring Toronto’s bench is among the league’s best. Point guard Ty Lawson, signed two days before the playoffs, was on the floor in the closing minutes, a result of Otto Porter missing Game 6 with a lower leg injury.

To be fair, the Wizards bench, perhaps, surpassed outside expectations heading into the playoffs. Forward Mike Scott shot consistently well. Kelly Oubre wasn’t a trainwreck defensively. Lawson was aggressive.

They didn’t, however, play consistently well on the road. Brooks also appeared to have issues trusting Tomas Satoransky, limiting his minutes despite playing well in Wall’s absence for more than half the season. Satoransky didn’t make much of an impact in Game 6, either. 

Earlier on Friday, Wall remarked how he “ran out of gas a little bit” in Game 5. After the loss, Wall said the minutes situation “is what it is at the end of the day.”

“I want to play every minute, but at times you need breaks,” Wall said. “I kind of knew this is the situation we were going to be in, going against this team that has one of the best benches in the league. Coach makes the call and makes the decision, you just try to go out there and play and compete.”

Lowry, meanwhile, praised Wall’s ability to consistently play that many minutes while still retaining his speed.

Wall and Beal’s production, though, dipped in each fourth quarter against the Raptors. Wall shot just 33 percent (10-of-30), while Beal made only 26.9 percent of his attempts in the fourth. The only time they both shot at least 50 percent was Game 4 — when Beal fouled out and Wall scored eight of the last 14 to lift the Wizards to a win.

The Raptors also benefited from the return of guard Fred VanVleet, who missed the last four games with a shoulder injury. He was a game-high +18, meaning the Raptors outscored the Wizards by 18 points with VanVleet on the floor.

VanVleet was on the floor for the Raptors’ fourth quarter run, too.

“That’s how our team is built,” Lowry said. “On any given night our bench can do that. There’s been nights where I only play 24 minutes. Throughout the season, our bench has won games. The effort that they give us is unbelievable.”