It has only been four games since DeMar DeRozan tore his left adductor longus tendon and since that injury the Toronto Raptors have successfully, yet unsuccessfully gone 2-2. Being .500 without your leading scorer is success in part to the Raptors playing three on the road and one versus a ‘championship favourite’ Cleveland team. That short span of games can be unsuccessful due to the fact the Raptors flaws have been notified – their defense just is not that good.

I wrote after the 3-game road trip that the Raptors offence has overshadowed their sluggish defense. So much so that prior to DeRozan’s injury the Raptors were allowing their opponents to shoot 45.48% from the field. Since then the percentage has increased to 49.42%. Four games is a small sample size, however, continuing to let the other team shoot close to 50% will pile up losses at some point.

DeRozan is still expected to miss more than three weeks, giving Head Coach Dwane Casey the challenge to challenge his team on the defensive end.

Since the injury the Raptors have inserted backup point guard Greivis Vasquez into the starting five. Hoping his scoring touch and ball movement can continue the flow of the starting core, Vasquez over Lou Williams and James Johnson was a no-brainier. Vasquez has played almost a full season alongside the four regulars, and Williams and Johnson were acquired this past summer.

Casey said it’s still a possibility someone replaces Vasquez in the lineup, but he prefers to have a consistent five instead of switching due to opposing matchups. As much as Casey prefers consistency it may just be time to switch Vasquez out of the lineup – for more than just defensive reasons.

Besides opposing teams shooting a higher percentage on the Raptors since DeRozan went down, the starting group with Vasquez is a +6 together. That’s a -26 rating with Vasquez inserted into the lineup. No way do the defensive woes fall on the shoulders of Vasuqez. It’s a team effort on that end of floor and praising DeRozan’s defense is the last thing this article is meant for. More so of finding a way to spark the defense.

Raptors have struggled as a whole defensively over the past four games, but along with the team’s struggles, Williams, acquired from Atlanta for John Salmons in the summer has begun to struggle shooting the ball. The bench scoring hasn’t taken a major hit with Vasquez’s departure, as through four games the bench has scored 33.2 points. The first 16 games the bench averaged 38.1 points per game.

William’s struggles seem to be, maybe, that he was finding a groove playing alongside Vasquez. With both Williams and Vasquez coming off the bench, Williams shot 44.7% compared to his 30.1% since the change. Also Williams and Vasquez together on the court in 20 games (274 minutes) have been a +93. Williams with Kyle Lowry in the same span of games (176.8 minutes) have been a +57. While Vasquez and Lowry in 19 games (148.9) have been a +36. Again, all of the blame defensively doesn’t go towards Vasquez (team effort), and none of the blame here goes to Lowry. Some players just work well together and it seems Williams has found that with Vasquez.

So, if Vasquez goes back to the bench who enters the starting five? That answer doesn’t get any easier. Williams, Vasquez, James Johnson, Patrick Paterson and Tyler Hansbrough – the Raptors top five bench players have been +35 on the court together in 11 games (83.9 minutes). While the original five with DeRozan in 13 games (213.6 minutes) have been a +32.

So insert Landry Fields? Bruno Caboclo? I know Raptor fans got excited with that last name, but let’s insert J. Johnson, who with Lowry, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas in two games (10.5 minutes) went +6. The current starting five for the Raptors is also a +6 (51.3 minutes). You may look at that and think it would not be any different, though a chance worth taking for a team giving up close to 50% shooting. Johnson is better than Vasquez on the defensive end, giving the Raptors more size and physicality. With strong guard play coming the Raptors way against Denver, and LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in two of the next four, Johnson replacing Vasquez would not be a bad idea.

Only problem the Raptors are left with when inserting Johnson and bringing Vasquez off the bench is there’s no small forward to come off the bench. Casey would be required to turn to Fields or Caboclo off the bench. However, over five minutes of either two would not hurt the Raptors drastically. Fields may not be able to shoot the three ball like he used to, but his defensive ability could buy some time as would Caboclo’s length. More realistically, Casey could just raise the minutes of Johnson and Ross as he rotates between them when turning to the bench.

At the end of the day, it’s a decision the Raptors coaching staff may need to look more into as Denver is sixth in the league with 104.4 point per game and Cleveland, who ranks eleventh scored 105 on the Raptors last Friday.

Having Vasquez come off the bench again could help Williams find his shooting touch. Which helps the Raptors offense without DeRozan that much more. While Johnson’s bigger body and physicality could help the Raptors set a defensive tone from the start of the game.