Raptors to alter team philosophy ahead of training camp Coming off a first-round playoff exit, the Toronto Raptors are determined to redefine themselves on both ends of the floor, TSN’s Josh Lewenberg writes.

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TORONTO - When DeMarre Carroll put pen to paper, agreeing to become a member of the Toronto Raptors shortly after free agency opened on July 1, he knew he was coming to a team with something of a reputation for playing what some people might call selfish basketball.

"You’d be amazed, from when I came here [on] day one, all I heard was, 'iso iso iso'," the rugged forward said, referring to Toronto's well-known tendency to settle for quick shots and isolation plays.

It was no secret. By the end of last season and into the playoffs the Raptors had become a predictable offensive team. If it was noticeable to the casual observer, imagine how prominently it was featured in the opposition's scouting reports.

"Control [DeMar] DeRozan's catch-shoot game, he rarely passes," one visiting team had written and openly displayed on the white board in their locker room ahead of a game. "Defend the ball. Much of what they do reverts to 1-on-1 play."

The word was out, but upon arriving in Toronto and taking place in a series of pre-training camp workouts and scrimmages with his new teammates, Carroll was met with a surprise. Everyone was eagerly moving the ball.

"[I] came in here a couple of days ago," said the Raptors' big off-season addition. "And [I] see how the ball moves. It’s a good thing, man. I think it’s going to be a different type of basketball. [It's] not going to be iso, iso, iso."

"It really hasn't been said, honestly, we've just been doing it naturally this whole week of playing," DeRozan added. "The coaches, nobody has had to stress it. We've been out there playing, sharing the ball together. Everybody's just going out there and having fun, honestly. And it can't do nothing but get better as we start camp."

By the time they were unceremoniously dismissed from the playoffs, head coach Dwane Casey, general manager Masai Ujiri and many of their players could plainly see the error in the team's ways. Thanks in large part to some unsustainable early-season success, paired with the skill set and limitations of their top players, the Raptors had lost their identity.

"Pretty much everything [went wrong]," Patrick Patterson admitted. "Offensive side. Not hitting shots. Not moving the ball, not sharing the ball, defence itself. Not getting stops, rebounding. It was just everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us."

Now, with training camp set to open in Vancouver on Tuesday, a revamped supporting cast in tow and their recommitment to playing the game the right way, they begin the process of redefining themselves, on both ends of floor.

"We’re changing some things offensively, we’re changing some things defensively," said Casey, speaking during the team's annual media day festivities on Monday. "So making sure that we’re all on the same page of those changes is going to be a big challenge for us as a staff. To make sure we want to be a better ball-moving team. We definitely want to be a better defending team. We’re going to have some subtle changes defensively and there are things we’re going to do in certain situations. All of those things are going to be a bigger challenge than having added pieces."

While the most unrecognizable thing about this ball club in 2015-16 may be their approach, Toronto's new faces should go a long way in helping them implement it. By design, Ujiri and his front office staff targeted "two-way" contributors this summer, bidding farewell to a couple more offensively inclined players from last year's roster.

"[The team is] totally different," Casey insisted. "I think it’s because we got more two-way players. DeMarre Carroll is a definite two-way player. We have Cory Joseph, who’s a two-way player. I wouldn’t say [Bismack] Biyombo is a 'two-way player', but he’s going to help us defensively and rebounding, so that’s two ways. [Luis] Scola, just all around. He’s smart; he has an air of intelligence, experience. Just his international experience alone is going to help us a lot. Again, I love our pieces and now we’ve just got to fit the guys coming back, which is a big plus, with the new guys coming in and get them all on the same page."

Despite the alterations, their core remains untouched, a surprise to many who believed a complete overhaul was coming after last season's disappointing conclusion. At least for now, they'll continue to feature a slimmer Kyle Lowry, a richer Jonas Valanciunas and DeRozan, who is going into the final year of his contract. With Patterson, Terrence Ross and James Johnson still around, they'll return 60 per cent of last year's 10-man rotation, which raises the question: Can a team with so many key holdovers drastically change the way they play?

Carroll is confident they will make it happen. The 29-year-old forward signed a $60-million deal with Toronto this summer. Coming from a winning program in Atlanta, he's seen what it takes to play the type of team basketball that eluded the Raptors for most of last season.

"I think it takes a level of success," said the six-year NBA veteran. "Once you see it, you see the success in it and it kind of takes you by storm. Just like an average individual, you might go do something and it might not work, but if you see success in it, you keep doing it. I think once you see success in it, it makes you want to do it even more."

Few teams shared the ball as proficiently as the Hawks last season, on their way to a 60-win campaign and first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta ranked second in assist rate (number of assists a team averages per 100 possessions) and fifth in total passes per game. For the sake of comparison, the Raptors ranked 22nd and 24th respectively.

It's no coincidence the Raptors' off-season additions come from programs that emphasize both unselfish basketball and strong defensive principles. Carroll, Joseph, Biyombo and Scola all played for teams that were top 10 in defensive efficiency in 2015-16. Toronto fell to 23rd after finishing 10th in that category the year prior.

"Defence starts [your] offence, I believe," said Joseph, who spent the last four seasons playing for Gregg Popovich - the former mentor of Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer - in San Antonio. "When you play good defence and don’t allow the other team to score, it creates a lot of easy opportunities at the offensive end. That’s what we preached in San Antonio, defence first, and I know coach Casey is a defence-first guy [too]."

It starts at the top. Casey will almost certainly spend the bulk of camp drilling defence, instilling a team-first mentality and presumably adding some flavour to the offence. As the leaders of this team, Lowry and DeRozan will have to buy-in and do their part to change the culture.

“[It's] a habit," Carroll said. "That’s something I’m used to. I think me being an older guy in the league, I think playing seven years, like I tell DeMar, ‘If we do it, everybody else is going to tag along.’ I think it starts with guys like DeMar, myself and Kyle."

"It’s going to be more movement, something I’m used to coming from Atlanta," he insisted. "Passing up a good shot for a great shot. I think if I can kind of bring that over here too, teach guys that every shot you get that’s a good shot, you can always pass up for a great shot."