Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry is questionable for Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks after suffering a wrist injury.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail
DeMar DeRozan was 12 years old the last time the Toronto Raptors roared to a nine-game winning streak, setting a franchise record that stood for 14 years.
The Raptors had lost 13 consecutive games and star Vince Carter was out with patellar tendinitis. But backed by inspired efforts by Antonio Davis and Keon Clark, they turned it around, winning 12 of 14 games down the stretch to claim a playoff spot on the final day of the 2001-02 regular season.
The Raptors are poised to do one better Thursday night. A victory over the New York Knicks would stretch their win streak to 10.
While streaks are all well and good for fans, coach Dwane Casey said his team isn't pausing to celebrate the numbers adding up in the win column.
"We can't dwell on that; we've got to go game for game, quarter for quarter, possession by possession," Casey said after Wednesday's practice at Air Canada Centre. "To get caught up in those wins, you get caught up in the wrong things, and for me as a coach and for our team, it's good but it's not the end goal."
The Raptors could be without all-star point guard Kyle Lowry, who sat out practice with a sore left wrist suffered in the team's 106-89 victory over Washington the previous night.
"He's a little sore, but we'll see where he is [Thursday]. There's no breaks, nothing significant," Casey said.
Lowry was injured after getting tangled up with Wizards centre Marcin Gortat late in the fourth quarter and made a beeline to the locker room. X-rays on his non-shooting hand were negative and Lowry, who broke the same wrist in his rookie season with Memphis, said he originally feared the injury was worse than it was.
Lowry is averaging 20.9 points, 6.4 assists, five rebounds and 2.2 steals a game this season and was voted to the Eastern Conference all-star team for the second year in a row.
The Raptors are just two games behind Cleveland for first place in the Eastern Conference. Their 30-15 record is identical to where they were at this point last season, and it meant little come playoff time, when they were swept in humiliating fashion in the first round by Washington.
Casey has heard the criticisms this season.
"You hear all this, 'Well let's see what they do in the playoffs,'" he said.
But with key off-season additions Cory Joseph, Luis Scola, and DeMarre Carroll – who is on the mend from knee surgery, and has yet to show how good he can be at full health – the mood around the team is it's far better suited for the intensity of playoff basketball.
"Gritty. I think we're grittier," Casey said. "Last year, we did it all with offence. This year, we don't mind getting gritty, grinding, getting into people; I think that's a huge difference. We have the ability and the personnel to play defence, when we have to and I think that's the biggest difference."
How many games were won last season on the back of Lou Williams's long jumpers? Williams was a defensive liability whose play dropped off significantly in the postseason.
The Raptors' starting centre, Jonas Valanciunas, said this year's Raptors are a close-knit bunch.
"Everybody's happy, everybody's supporting each other, pulling for each other, so it's fun to play like that," he said. "And we're having fun playing defence the same as we're having fun to play offence. I think that's the key."
Seattle SuperSonics legend Jack Sikma was back in Toronto on Wednesday, working with Valanciunas on his face-up game – the two were the last ones out of the gym after practice. Sikma also spent time with the Lithuanian centre during Raptors training camp in Vancouver.
"We're revisiting things. We keep pushing that jumpshot, just trying to get better every day," Valanciunas said. "Jumpshots, better shot selection, how to see open areas, where to present yourself to be open; it's really important to have this kind of coach to tell you, because he has a lot of experience in that."
The Raptors expect to face a tough test against the Knicks (22-25), which beat Toronto at Air Canada Centre 111-109 on Nov. 10. The Knicks are hoping to stay in playoff contention, sitting two spots out of the eighth and final position in the East.