The Six(th Man)
Maybe you don’t think of P.J. Tucker as a 6th Man. He’s certainly not going to be nominated for 6MOTY, as Houston houses the top-two candidates for the award. What he should win is the best defender you don’t know about and will pretend you’ve known about for a long time when he makes a key defensive stop on Kyrie or LeBron.
When the Raptors added P.J. Tucker at the deadline, the NBA community lauded the move, but still paid more attention to the Serge Ibaka trade as he is and has been the bigger household name. While Ibaka has been a fine addition for Toronto (16.8 PPG to pair with a 40.7% clip from deep and a 54.1 eFG% to boot), I think Tucker was the bigger get.
By adding Tucker, the Raptors have what they didn’t have as much of in the Eastern Conference Finals last postseason – lineup versatility. By adding Tucker head coach Dwayne Casey can roll out all-defensive lineups like Lowry-DeRozan-Powell-Tucker-Carroll or Joseph-Powell-DeRozan-Tucker-Carroll to close out games while still not sacrificing too much offensively. It’s every coach’s dream, and one that Casey needs to make a reality.
Despite Lowry’s injury, the Raptors are not done for. While the number of their seed will change a time or two by the end of the regular season, DeRozan’s numbers have only gone up; like when he dropped 41 against the C’s, or when he dropped 37 and the game winner against the Knicks. While those scoring outputs are not sustainable, his increased role certainly is without affecting the flow of Toronto’s offense.
Throw in Lowry’s offense and playmaking abilities in a few weeks, and these Raptors could be well on their way to the Finals.