For as long as they'll be gone and as much as they'll be packing, you might think the last thing the Toronto Raptors want to lug on their upcoming Western Conference trip would be those massive chips on their shoulders.

And you'd be wrong. Those things are carry-on. Fixtures. As essential to the Toronto players as their smartphones. It's a little surprising, in fact, that they haven't gone the team-bonding route and had something inked up there 15 strong, right or left shoulder, down at the local body-artist's parlor.

"I know stars win in this league," coach Dwane Casey said this week. "But I love our players and I'll go to war with 'em anytime against anybody.

"You can go right down our roster, we have a lot of guys who should play with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Now whether you can win championships with guys like that, I don't know. But we're going to try to find out. Some day."

The Raptors will find out plenty about their team in the next 10 days or so. They headed into the NBA's Christmas Eve pause on a four-day break of their own before their 22-7 record and early-season success gets put to the test up, down and through the left side of the United States.

In facing the Clippers on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, League Pass), followed in succession by the Nuggets, the Trail Blazers, the Warriors and the Suns, Toronto will take on teams that had a combined mark of 93-52 (.641) as of Wednesday. Add the Bulls, who beat the Raptors Monday at United Center, and it's a six-game stretch against teams that, at the holiday, were a collective 51 games over .500.

That's a big difference from the six consecutive victories toted into Chicago -- those opponents were 79 games under .500. Considering how many games the Raptors have played at home (14-3) and within the East (15-5), they're overdue for the sort of trip that underdog typically love.

I'll go to war with 'em anytime against anybody. – Raptors coach Dwane Casey

Coming home Jan. 5 with a few more defeats, that's one thing. Coming home defeated? That can't happen.

"For me, a chip on our shoulder is us against the world," power forward Patrick Patterson said. "When you step on that court, it's us five versus everyone else on that court. That's how we approach every game, practice, every situation. We're a band of brothers. We're a family. And every situation we put ourselves in, we fight, we battle, we claw, we scratch."

How, er, Raptorish. But what d'ya expect when a team boasts only fringe marquee guys, when it feels a little orphaned from the lower 48 to begin with and when its average player keeps change-of-address forms tucked safely into his passport. Only DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valancuinas and Terrence Ross, young as they are, have been lifers, while the other nine among Toronto's top 12 have played for a total of 28 different teams.

Nothing like a couple of "You've been traded..." or "We don't think you're worth that..." conversations to plant that chip.

Look at Kyle Lowry, the point guard who chafed at previous stops in Memphis and Houston -- and got a little overlooked at Villanova, too, next to Randy Foye. He played at a near-All-Star level in 2013-14 to earn his four-year, $48 million contract as a resigned free agent, but he's been even better this season, producing as if he's on a one-year deal. Lowry is scoring (20.0 ppg) and distributing (7.7 apg) at career-best levels, with a player efficiency rating (24.0) good for eighth in the NBA.

James Johnson (five NBA stops), Greivis Vasquez (four) and Lou Williams, Chuck Hayes, Amir Johnson, Patterson and Lowry (three each) give Toronto not just its grit but its talent -- because as Casey sees it, energy and teamwork are legit NBA skills.

"I don't get caught up in All-Stars, 'cause you can look around the league and [their] teams are not performing," Casey said.

Earlier that day, in fact, veteran Josh Smith -- lavishly skilled, lauded and paid -- had been dumped by the Detroit Pistons because Smith's work wasn't working for coach/president Stan Van Gundy.

"I know stars win in this league," Casey continued, "but I love our players and I'll go to war with 'em anytime against anybody. ... Hard workers. Self-made. Hungry. Coach [Joe B. Hall, formerly of Casey's University of Kentucky] used to say 'Ph.D: Poor, hungry and driven.' In this league, a marathon league, you can win with guys like that."

These Raptors have been winning largely by outscoring the opposition, with the league's No. 2 offensive rating as of Wednesday (111.7). Defensively, Toronto has slipped a little from last season (104.0 vs. 102.4 a year ago), suffering the sort of partial-game breakdowns that led to Chicago's 49-point fourth quarter Monday. That's the most given up in 12 minutes by any Raptors team ever. With Derrick Rose attacking in MVP throwback mode, the Bulls pick-and-rolled them into submission down the stretch.

The step back defensively has been disappointing, but it wasn't helped by the lineup change triggered by DeRozan's torn groin muscle (he likely returns in early-mid January). Valanciunas still can look like Wilt Chamberlain early in games, Neville Chamberlain later, but that's not all on him -- the other Raptors find him for 5.3 field goal attempts in first halves but 2.8 in second halves, their focus shifting or drifting outside.

Last December, Toronto was 7-12 when it made the Rudy Gay trade that delivered Patterson, Hayes and Vasquez, sparking a 41-22 turnaround from there. This season, any improvement -- or resilience through this rough road trek -- probably will come from within.

"I think we're very good," Lowry said. "I think we're very talented. I think we have a chance to be very special."

A lot of what the Raptors think now, they'll know -- or not -- in the next couple weeks.

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.

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