Alan Anderson Emerges As Dangerous Player for Toronto Raptors

Alan Anderson has been among the Toronto Raptors players putting in stellar performances in recent outings and it doesn’t surprise his teammates one bit.

“Alan (Anderson) has been big time,” said Raptors coach Dwayne Casey. “He’s our voice of reason right now, a veteran guy, he’s hungry. The young man has been to China, Europe, got cut, and his back is against the wall, so that’s why I like him. He’s the underdog and plays like an underdog; he’s hungry.

“That’s the way you have to play in this league. No one owes you anything. You have to play hungry and desperate.”

Anderson, formerly of Michigan State, scored 16 points last week in a 97-91 win over the Detroit Pistons and is averaging 10.4 points per game. The night before he had 18 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“He brings a lot; he has experience even if it’s not in the NBA,” said Raptors guard DeMar Derozan. “Playing in Europe is tough and you have to be tough minded and tough as nails. That is one thing about him on the court and off the court. His mentality is you have to get it done so we follow his lead a lot.”

“There are a million different ways to win or lose a game and right now we’re finding ways to win,” Casey said. “That’s the most important thing for our group, finding ways to win.”

But Toronto got killed on the offensive boards by Detroit.

“I can’t get my eyes off those 22 offensive rebounds,” Casey said. “That really sticks out and we have to do something about that. That’s the only area where I was disappointed.”