'The emotions are mounting, and so are the reasons to doubt these Raptors'

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Over time, Cory Joseph has become one of the lighter presences on the Raptors’ roster.

At the University of Texas, he was the shy, sullen foil to his Canadian pal Tristan Thompson’s constant showman. But Joseph has opened up over the intervening years. He is now often quick with a smile or a sly remark.

As a few reporters came over to talk to Joseph on Saturday following the Raptors’ practice in advance of their game on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets, that easy-going sensibility had vanished. Before Friday’s loss to the Magic, Dwane Casey told Joseph that he intended to give him the night off, suggesting to reporters after the game that Joseph could use “a mental break.”

Over the last 10 games, the Raptors have gone 2-8; over that same stretch, opponents have scored 17.5 points per 100 possessions more than the Raptors when Joseph has been on the floor, the worst on the team for any rotation fixture. For the season as a whole, Joseph’s defence has been mystifying, with the worst individual defensive rating on the team. ESPN’s defensive real-plus-minus statistic ranks him 81st of 86 qualified point guards. Last year, he ranked 17th out of 69.

During this stretch of bad play, the offensive side of the ball has been a bigger concern. While Joseph has plenty of company on the defensive end, the Raptors are scoring an inept 92.7 points per 100 possessions with Joseph playing over the last 10 games. (For comparison’s sake, the 76ers, with the 30th-ranked offence in the league for the season, score 99.3 points per 100 possessions.) Therefore, Fred VanVleet took the majority of Joseph’s minutes on Friday, finishing with 15 points in 23 minutes, in which the Raptors outscored the Magic by six points. One thing remained the same: The Raptors lost again.

So, as the reporters flocked to Joseph, he was not crying, but his eyes were red, and he spoke hurriedly.

“I don’t think I need a mental break. My mind is strong. From my understanding, (Casey) wanted to give Fred a shot and you know, give Fred praise,” Joseph said. “He went in there, played his ass off, and we continued to go with him. He had a hell of a game, you know what I mean? I don’t know why people want me to be like a hater or something, or a (sulker), but that’s not me. I’m not a hater, nor do I sulk. That’s un-Canadian-like. I don’t do that.”

Reporters laughed at the Canadian bit, but Joseph was neither amused nor done speaking.

“No, for real, I don’t do that. I’m struggling or whatever, I get in the gym, I work hard everyday. I’m not saying I’m perfect. I work hard, I continue to work, leave it all on the court, that’s what I do. In terms of not playing and shit, I don’t control that. I just go out there and work. I don’t live in the past. I live in the present and I think about the future. That’s it. In terms of the past, I might go back and figure out ways to get better, that’s about it. I could care less about all of the hollering, I just go out there and work. I feel like I don’t need the negativity. He’s playing good, focus on the positive. Go talk to Fred. He played a great game. I’m not talking about (the media), I’m just talking in general.”

It was the second time in as many days that a Raptors point guard was visibly emotional. After Friday’s loss, for the first time all season, Kyle Lowry declined to speak to reporters. It was understandable, given his obvious frustration, yet multiple teammates and team staffers came up to talk to him. The Raptors excused him from Saturday’s practice, as he was sick, according to team officials.

The Raptors are in a bit of a state right now.

***

If Joseph generally gives off a light-hearted vibe, Patrick Patterson, unless he is talking about movies or dressing up for Halloween, gives off an ultra-serious air. He observes, he analyzes and he communicates his thoughts. No small talk. No joking.

Patterson played just six minutes against the Magic, leaving the game with a left knee contusion. It was an injury to the same knee that caused him to miss eight of 10 games earlier in the season. Patterson said that with continued treatment and maintenance, his knee should be able to return to full health without him having to miss significant time.

Patterson came to the Raptors in 2013 in the Rudy Gay trade. That move was the undeniable spark for the franchise’s turnaround. On Friday, VanVleet described the mood in the room as “pissed off,” and Norman Powell echoed that sentiment with less colourful language. Patterson explained.

“We haven’t been in this situation since I’ve been here, as far as losing as much as we have been, losing this much in a row and playing this poorly,” Patterson said. “It’s been a while since we’ve done this. So this feeling is definitely something new since I’ve been here — for all of us. We haven’t been in this hole at all, since I’ve been a Raptor. So it’s just, like I said, just figuring out a way to get out of this hole collectively as a group.”

That last part is tough, though. With DeMar DeRozan out with an ankle injury — he went through practice on Saturday, although not “at 100 per cent,” according to Casey — it seems like everybody is pressing a little bit harder.

For some players, it works — Powell’s game is aggressive, so it makes sense that he is putting his head down and trying to get into the paint, a la DeRozan. However, that is a specific skill, and it does not work well for everybody. Even VanVleet, whose evening on Friday was as good as you could have hoped for, seemed to be a bit drive — and shot — happy against Orlando.

“Sometimes guys want to try to take it upon themselves to do whatever it takes to get out of the hole,” Patterson said. “We just have to remember how we got this far and get back to the basics, get back to the old ways, how we used to play and everyone just realize their roles.”

“I think it’s a fine line,” VanVleet added. “I think every guy (has) got to look in the mirror and see what they can do better, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to go out there and try to be DeMar DeRozan, right? You just have to do your job to the best of your ability, know your role.”

***

Lest you think that the Raptors are all sporting long faces and exuding raw, negative emotion right now, there were some smiles on display on Saturday. As VanVleet prepared to speak to the media for the second day in a row — pretty good for an undrafted rookie who made the team as a 15th man and fourth point guard in training camp — Powell, one of his best friends on the team, lightly mocked him.

“Tell ‘em how you’re big-time now,” Powell said. “Tell ‘em about your career high.”

However, even that cannot be fully enjoyed. VanVleet knows his time in the spotlight is directly related to Joseph’s struggles and DeRozan’s injury. Friday was just VanVleet’s third time playing double digits in minutes this year, and the first two came because of an illness for Joseph and a night off for Lowry.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, you know? Hey, I’ll take whatever minutes I can get under any circumstances, besides guys being hurt,” VanVleet said. “You don’t want to see that, but you just have to be ready, be professional when it’s my time.”

This should be a joyous time for VanVleet, and it would be strange if he did not savour Friday, despite the end result, a little bit. However, he is aware enough about what is going on around him that he was the guy who observed the Raptors were “pissed off” about all of the losses. He hedged a little bit a day later.

“I mean obviously nobody likes (losing),” VanVleet said, “but we’re not walking around ready to jump off a cliff around here.”

“We’re never going to fall apart,” Patterson added. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve had such a tight-knit family, we’ve always battled through everything. Whether it’s a problem within the team, whether it’s us losing, no matter what it is, we’ve always came out on top, we’ve always came out the hole together as a family no matter what. So I don’t see this as anything different than that.”

To Patterson’s point, the Raptors had a disaster of a close to the 2014-15 season, falling off in the second half and getting swept in the first round by an unspectacular Washington team. That following off-season, Masai Ujiri made some adjustments to be sure, but the core of the team — Casey, Lowry, DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, Patterson — all remained Raptors. And they contributed to the best regular season in franchise history a season later, and a trip to the conference final.

It is that last little bit that makes this feel a bit different. Sure, there are reasons to not give into the alarm bells completely — DeRozan and Patterson have been hurt, Joseph was a much better defender last year and presumably has not forgotten how to stop the pick-and-roll, the team’s 3-point shooting has gone weirdly cold and figures to bounce back at some point — but the very fact that they have a track record of winning, yet have not been able to cut this streak off after any one of the last five or six would-be wake-up calls, is perplexing. The emotions are mounting, and so are the reasons to doubt these Raptors.

“It’s not a breaking point. But you should be upset. You should be tired of losing,” Casey said. “You should be having pride in competing no matter who’s out there on the floor, who’s hurt, who’s healthy — it doesn’t matter. It’s about being prideful in your approach. There’s nothing wrong with that. I like that, as a matter of fact. Let’s go out and take it out on the opponent. There’s nothing wrong with being upset or teed off, whether it’s at the coach or hopefully the other team.

“It’s not panic time. It’s concern time.”