Raptors’ McCaw showing promise and aggressiveness in fluctuating role

Toronto Raptors guard Patrick McCaw (22) goes up for a shot as Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) defends during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019. (Frank Gunn/CP)

TORONTO — It was after about a dozen seconds of dribbling, many of them practically stationary, that Patrick McCaw took off to his left before his screener had even arrived, zigging and zagging his way to the basket:

Simple enough, right? That’s just how easily things can come to the sublimely athletic McCaw, who possesses just about every trait he needs to be a really dangerous weapon in the NBA, except for the one that lets him put all those traits together.

He’s quick, he’s smooth, he’s instinctual, he’s got vertical, his wingspan’s three inches longer than his six-foot-seven height. There’s undoubtedly something to be unlocked there, and the Toronto Raptors are stubbornly committed to finding the key, no matter how squirrelly things get in the process.

And while no player’s development is linear, McCaw’s has been particularly uneven. The series of events that brought him to Toronto from the Golden State Warriors by way of the Cleveland Cavaliers was peculiar and tumultuous enough. And his play with the Raptors over the 12 months since has been anything but consistent.

There was a point not that long ago — like, last week — when many thought McCaw’s role in Nick Nurse’s rotations ought to be decreased, if not terminated altogether. He looked tepid and uncertain at times, flummoxed and disengaged at others. When the Raptors were rag-dolled by the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, McCaw was a minus-22, somewhat incredibly scoring only two points with three rebounds, a steal and no assists over 32 minutes.

But the master stroke from Nurse three nights later when the Raptors flew south to play the Celtics again was to do the complete opposite of what was expected. He expanded McCaw’s role, not only leaving him on the floor for 43 of the game’s 48 minutes, but rejigging his sets around the 24-year-old, ordering him to run the floor as an on-ball guard, bringing it up the court and initiating Toronto’s offence.

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The result was an 18-point, eight-assist, seven-rebound explosion, as McCaw’s moxie and aggressiveness increased in step with his responsibilities. Getting McCaw to play with the assertiveness he did against the Celtics has been a pet project for Toronto’s coaching staff essentially since he joined the organization, and especially since he returned from an 18-game absence due to a knee injury earlier this season.

The solution, for a night at least, was to force McCaw’s involvement by starting everything with the ball in his hands. Nurse installed those McCaw-initiated sets the morning of the game during shootaround. It was a fairly dramatic change, and Nurse wasn’t certain how his players — particularly the incumbent facilitators, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet — would respond to it later that night. Would they buy in and see it through even if it didn’t provide immediate results? Or would they abandon it and revert to playing the way they were accustomed to?

His questions were answered only a couple minutes into the night, as McCaw carried the ball up the floor and initiated one of the plays Nurse introduced that morning, which created an opening for Lowry beyond the arc as he ran off an OG Anunoby pin-down. McCaw hit Lowry in stride, and the Raptors point guard pivoted, vaulted up, and drilled a three.

“It certainly doesn’t hurt that the first one you run, Kyle comes off and bangs a three on it,” Nurse said. “All of a sudden they’re like, ‘Hey, that action’s pretty good.’ (Lowry) making the shot is a big part of that. And those guys did. They stepped into a lot of those shots and made them. And I thought we were pretty good with the ball most of the night.”

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That Lowry bucket was the second of McCaw’s four assists in the first quarter. He ended up with a team-high eight as the new actions continued to create open looks, and the Raptors continued to knock them down. That was the ancillary benefit of the McCaw-as-facilitator ploy — it allowed Lowry and VanVleet to both work off the ball, which, in turn, opened up Toronto’s shooting. Lowry and VanVleet ended up combining for a 9-of-19 night from beyond the arc.

“Part of it, too, is they’ve got to accept it — that they’re going to be off the ball to start the plays,” Nurse said. “And it just gives us some variance, too. I think it just gives it a different look. Even if it ends up being a Kyle-and-Serge screen-and-roll at the end of all that or a Fred-and-Serge screen-and-roll at the end, at least it gives us a little bit of a different starting point and a little bit more movement, maybe, before we get to that. That’s always good, to move the defence a little bit before you get to your main action.”

Things did not run so smoothly the following night, as the Raptors fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-97. McCaw had sparse opportunities in that lead-guard position early, as the Raptors quickly went away from it. But he did get open beyond the arc a couple times, including at the very end of a long possession that resulted in him hitting a three as the shot clock expired.

That’s the role McCaw ended up playing for most of the night, setting up in a corner or at an elbow as a shooter rather than initiating the offence as he was a night prior. All that did was allow McCaw to demonstrate another one of his tantalizing abilities and a relatively recent addition to his game — three-point shooting. He sunk 3-of-5 from beyond the arc on the night, had another one reverted to a two-pointer upon review, and let go of another successful attempt just a fraction too late resulting in a shot-clock violation.

What matters in the long run, primarily, is that the ball was going in. And secondarily, that McCaw was letting those shots fly. It hasn’t always been the case this season as he’s been prone to bouts of reluctance when presented with good looks. But evidently some of the aggressiveness he picked up while ball-handling on Saturday bled into the next night.

“I’m just shooting the open ones now. Not really hesitating. Just catch and shoot,” McCaw said. “I’m ready to shoot. That’s the biggest thing for me now. I’m just shooting it. I’m not thinking about it. I’m just letting it fly.”

And as the Raptors fought unsuccessfully for a narrow win in the fourth quarter, McCaw received another opportunity to initiate one of those plays Nurse installed in Boston. Moments after checking back into the game, he brought the ball up the floor, crossed the timeline, drew attention to his left with his eyes like a quarterback, and then hit Terence Davis flying around the right elbow:

And maybe this is the best utilization of the McCaw-as-floor-runner look. An odd deployment of it late in a defensively tough game to hopefully catch the opponent off guard and get an easy bucket. So much of the tape the Raptors provide opponents features Lowry and VanVleet operating early in possessions. It can’t hurt to have another wrinkle to layer in.

If it helps get more out of McCaw, and helps him get the most out of his obvious abilities, it’ll help, well, everyone. He’s obviously only starting and playing big minutes right now because the Raptors are missing three key rotation pieces. But if he can replicate this play in a 20-25 minute role off the bench later in the season, it’ll be a boon for a team that will need all the depth it can get down the stretch.

“When you’ve got two scorers like Kyle and Fred who, you just give them the ball and they’re going to make a play, my job is easy,” McCaw said. “It’s just being comfortable with the ball and making plays. Being on the ball more is definitely something I’ve got to get adjusted to. For me, it’s easy because most of my career I played on the ball so it’s not a huge adjustment. But it was fun. It was great. Definitely a different feel for me. But I’m getting used to it.”

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