Dwane Casey set a preseason goal of getting the Raptors to the middle of the pack in defensive efficiency. Nearing the halfway point of the season, the Raptors rank 17th in points allowed per 100 possessions.

“Defensively, they picked up the zone quicker than I thought,” Casey said. “There are some nuances in it that we haven’t grasped.”

Casey said he wants the team eventually to be able to switch from man-to-man to zone defense and back again seamlessly, but lack of practice time has been an obstacle.

“No question, it’s going to wait until next training camp,” Casey said. “The worst thing we could do right now is add more defensive schemes [before] we are near perfect on what we’re doing right now. Lord knows we are nowhere near perfect as far as our defensive execution right now.”