Raptors' Joseph won't sulk about benching: 'That's un-Canadian-like'
Cory Joseph is just a run-of-the-mill mild-mannered Canadian.
The combo guard, who plays for his hometown Toronto Raptors, is struggling a bit this season, particularly at the defensive end.
In what may not be a total coincidence, the team is also in a funk, having dropped eight of 11 games. As such, coach Dwane Casey has been tinkering with different lineups, and opted to give rookie Fred VanVleet some burn at Joseph's expense in Friday's loss to the Orlando Magic.
The 25-year-old Canuck accepts Casey's call and gave props to VanVleet before explaining why he's remaining professional in light of the demotion.
"From my understanding, he wanted to give Fred a shot and you know, give Fred praise," he said after the game in Orlando, as quoted by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. "He went in there, played his ass off, and we continued to go with him. He had a hell of a game, you know what I mean?
"I don't know why people want me to be like a hater or something, or (sulk). That's not me. I'm not a hater, nor do I sulk, that's un-Canadian-like. I don't do that."
In the next contest, he received his first DNP-CD of the season, but still stayed positive.
"We won the game, it's a good time for our team. We needed a win. I'll be ready whenever," he told reporters following Sunday's win over the Brooklyn Nets, per Wolstat.
After a solid first season with the Raptors in 2015-16, Joseph's defensive rating - which estimates how many points he allows per 100 team possessions - has soared from 100.2 to an atrocious 109.1 this year.
Casey indicated he thought Joseph needed to regain mental composure, which the guard denied, saying his mind is strong. He'll continue to keep his head up and work hard in hopes of returning to the rotation and helping the squad return to its elite form.
After being an offensive juggernaut early in the campaign, Toronto has been in free fall. The club went from scoring 111 points per game (third) on 47 percent shooting from the field (fifth) and 38.6 percent from long range (second) to the bottom of the league in all those categories since Jan. 18. The Raps have seen their plus-minus dip from plus-6.6 to minus-4 while they've sputtered to fourth in the East after holding steady at No. 2 for the majority of the campaign.
That's not so nice, eh?