Toronto Raptors focused, ready for 2016 NBA playoffs, players say
Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson say team is ready to vanquish postseason demons
Focus.
That's how the Toronto Raptors say they'll win in the playoffs this year.
The Raptors set a franchise record for wins this season and enter the 2016 playoffs as the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have led the team, each putting in the best season of their careers.
But after the team crashed out of the playoffs last year by losing four straight games to the Washington Wizards, there are plenty of people across the NBA — and yes, even some in Toronto — who are wondering if the team can play its best basketball when it matters most.
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Cory Joseph, the Toronto-born point guard acquired by the Raptors in the offseason, said the team needs to concentrate on the details if it wants to succeed.
"We have to not worry about making it out of the first round, first," he told CBC News at the Raptors practice court this week.
We all know that we played horrific, let down a lot of people.- Patrick Patterson, Raptors forward, on last year's playoff performance
While Joseph is just 25, he's the only Raptor who's won an NBA championship, thanks to his 2014 season with San Antonio Spurs.
He's also gone to the finals and lost, and lost in the first round. No matter the outcome, Joseph was watching greats like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to see how they dealt with the pressure, while also learning at the feet of Gregg Popovich, one of the game's top coaches.
"Experience is a great teacher," Joseph said.
Other Raptors who were in Toronto for last season's brutal end say they're ready to make amends.
"We all know that we played horrific, let down a lot of people," said Patrick Patterson.
The team's backup power forward — the most improved player on this year's squad, according to assistant coach Nick Nurse — will be called on to guard some of the league's biggest and best players during the playoffs.
Patterson also prides himself on "taking the game up another level," with his energy when he comes off the bench, something he hopes shines even brighter under the playoff spotlight.
Raptors season by the numbers
Record: 56-26
Average team points per game: 102.7
Opponent points per game: 98.2
Leading scorers:
- DeMar DeRozan – 23.5 points per game
- Kyle Lowry – 21.2 points per game
- Jonas Valanciunas – 12.8 points per game
Bringing NBA title to Toronto 'would be crazy'
Joseph grew up in Pickering playing with and against some of the city's top young players. In Scarborough, he played alongside Kelly Olynyk, who is now a Boston Celtic. And he remembers playing at least one game against a kid named Stephen Curry, now the NBA's reigning MVP.
Basketball, Joseph said, was in his blood. His dad played, his brother played and perhaps most importantly, his mom played — on the same team as Olynyk's mom, no less.
"She might have taught me more than my dad," Joseph said.
For more inspiration, Joseph watched the Raptors. They were the team he wanted to play for when he was practicing in his driveway and Vince Carter was the man for a 10-year-old to emulate.
"Lower the net and all, trying to do all the dunks that he did," said Joseph.
His new dream is to win another championship, this time as a Raptor.
"It would be crazy, it would be nuts," Joseph said, flashing a bright smile.
'Goosebumps'
For the third straight year, thousands are expected to flock to the Air Canada Centre for the Raptors' home games, and many will watch the game outside in the area now known as "Jurassic Park."
The throngs watching the game outside on the big screen have become an iconic image of Raptors' playoff basketball.
Patterson, a crowd-favourite, distinctly remembers seeing that outpouring of support for the first time on a live video feed at the stadium.
"I literally got goosebumps," he said.
Patterson said the entire team is humbled and thankful for the roaring fans, especially those who show up no matter the weather (this weekend's forecast is a good one for fans).
The fans are pushing the team, Patterson said, game in and game out.
