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Stephen Brotherston give his thoughts on this years rotation

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  • Stephen Brotherston give his thoughts on this years rotation

    Battle at Point Guard

    Lowry is in a contract year and he has impressed everyone with his conditioning this summer. Last season was filled with injury issues and adjustments to a new head coach and a new system. A very motivated Lowry will be starting at training camp in October. The other two point guards could be fighting over scraps.

    The backup point guard job is Augustin’s to lose. He has the NBA experience to hold off the rookie Buycks after starting for two seasons in Charlotte and playing with the Pacers last year. Buycks, however, is an intriguing prospect. The MVP of the French Pro A League last season could surprise a lot of people once he finds his NBA legs. Both of these guys will be quietly hoping Lowry misses a few games so they can showcase their skills. Neither player is guaranteed past this season.

    Expect Buycks to be outside of the rotation on opening night.
    I believe that DJ will begin as the back-up abd will holding on to it for the whole season. He had a down year last year but, his still an upgrade over Lucas/Telfair.



    Mysteries at Shooting Guard

    It’s no mystery who will be starting at shooting guard. DeRozan almost never misses a game and he’ll soak up 36-40 minutes a night this year as well. DeRozan is on a new $38 million 4-year deal, so he’s under no pressure to perform, but hard work over the summer is the norm for DeRozan and no expects him to surrender any minutes to anyone once the season starts.

    A lot of people were hoping Ross would be deserving of the backup shooting guard role this season, but he actually looked like he had regressed at Summer League in July. Ross struggled as a rookie and this season, there are other young players to take those minutes if he isn’t ready and he hasn’t looked ready.

    Fields is the mystery. He lost his jump shot due to elbow problems last season and the hope is he can rebuild it over the summer. However, when he plays, he plays hard and that will vault him past Ross in the rotation whether his jump shot has returned or not.

    Fields is under contract for another season after this one, but Ross only has a team option. Ross needs to step it up. At the moment, it will be Ross sitting on the end of the bench during games.
    I agree with this part Fields will out play the current Ross out of the rotation without his jumper back.


    No Battle at Small Forward

    Rudy Gay may be Bryan Colangelo’s acquisition and he holds a player’s option for next season, but he will be the best player on the Raptors this season and the expectations are very high.

    Gay is another 36-40 minute per game player who leaves little time for those playing behind him unless he gets injured and although he has a reputation for getting hurt, he’s only missed more than seven games once in his seven NBA seasons. Gay had eye surgery to correct his distance vision and put on 13 pounds of muscle to strengthen his back according to Casey; his backups can’t count on Gay missing many games this year.

    Three-point specialist Steve Novak will own the backup role as Casey’s floor spreader and instant offense off the bench and he should see some extra minutes in small lineups if the Raptors need an offensive boost. At 30-years-old, Novak is the old man on the roster and has two seasons left on his deal. He will be responsible for more than just shooting the rock and he needs to play if he is going to effectively mentor the younger players.

    Austin Daye is a nice addition as a young highly-skilled prospect who has yet to prove he belongs in the NBA, but he could surprise if given an opportunity to play. Daye will have trouble cracking this rotation, but he does have a guaranteed deal for next season.
    I think that Austin will slowing steal minutes from Novak. Just for the fact that Novak is so one dimensional. Not saying that Daye is a defensive ace but his lenght makes up a lot of ground.

    A War at Power Forward

    Johnson has always been viewed as best suited to coming off the bench. In part because of his very high personal foul rate, but more due to playing behind Bargnani, however, Bargnani is gone now, so the starting job is wide open.

    Johnson’s claim as the starter comes from longevity, this will be his fifth season in Toronto and also from much improved offensive game. Known as an energy player and solid defender, Johnson has developed a good looking outside jump shot and a nice pick-and-roll game.

    Hansbrough has the reputation of a bull in a china shop, but he actually fouls at a significantly lower rate than Johnson. He is also the better scorer, but almost all of his points come from opportunistic chances in the paint and trips to the free throw line. A reliable jump shot hasn’t been seen from Hansbrough since his sophomore NBA season.

    Both players have partially guaranteed contracts for next season and either of these two players could start. Both of them will get more than 24 minutes per game. Unfortunately for Quincy Acy, that will leave him outside of the rotation.
    Im starting to believe that Tyler might just win this battle but, they will both probably play the same amount of minutes.



    Center

    The praise about Valanciunas’ development over the second half of last season and through the summer from Casey, Ujiri and the media around the NBA couldn’t get much louder. The 2013 NBA Summer League MVP is expected to have a huge season. Bigger, stronger and more polished than as a rookie, Casey plans on running his half court offense through Valanciunas this year.

    If Valanciunas plays as well as Casey believes he will, that’s bad news for the Raptors wings and forwards hoping to find a few more minutes while the team plays small ball. Valanciunas played 31.6 minutes per game in April and if that ramps up to 32-36 minutes this season, the three-man rotation of Valanciunas, Johnson and Hansbrough is going to soak up all of the available time at the four and five positions. Small ball may not happen all that often.

    When the Raptors need to stay really big to handle those few remaining powerhouses in the post, they turn to Gray. Gray is an immoveable object in the paint and he’s not afraid to knock you down. He averages over six personal fouls per 36 minutes, but he’ll only rarely play more than half of that in a game. Gray will back up the center spot on those nights when size is important. He is on an expiring contract.
    I don't think he'll more than 32 minutes a game. More than that is kind of too much for a big especially a Center. That's to much of a beating every night.

    http://probballreport.com/toronto-ra...s-in-whos-out/
    @Chr1st1anL

  • #2
    One thing that seems to have gone unnoticed is that the PF situation has not really been addressed. After last season there was this talk about acquiring a starting PF. Yes a back up in Tyler H has been signed but all he does is replace Bargnani. The PF situation remains weak and it might cause problems.

    An area that the team is overcrowded with is wing players. Gay. Derozan, Fields, Ross, Novak and Richardson make one too many IMO.

    Brothersons review tells us that there's improvement but a very slight one. I think the team will make the play offs ONLY if JV shows significant improvement or else a mid-season tank could be in the cards.
    Attitude Is A Choice.

    Comment


    • #3
      I think this is bang on. However, Amir will be the starter I think, and may move over to the C when Hans gets inserted to give JV a breather. Gray will get limited minutes as mentioned, mainly for match-up purposes. It will be interesting to see if Ross can prove he deserves minutes over Fields, hopefully the competition will motivate him to perform better. As well, the battle for the back-up PG minutes will be interesting as well...I think Buycks has the potential to gather more minutes than DJ, but that of course remains to be seen.

      Hopefully, some of the over-crowding will help motivate guys to perform better.

      Also, I don't think the PF position is really that weak. It's just the one position on the floor that we can expect to get the least offensive production from. And with the team supposedly running it's halfcourt offense through JV, I don't see it as being a huge problem. Amir and Hans will be a good one-two defensive combo at the PF that should be able to gobble up a ton of boards and make it difficult for the opponent to score in the paint.

      Comment


      • #4
        I like Amir to start, however, if he doesn't it really isnt a big deal as he brings it no matter what.

        The part of the whole article that catches me, and I know it's flogging a dead horse, but Jesus H. Chris, there was a REASON I was losing my mind when Toronto skipped past Drummond for Ross. Ross is sketchy. We can only dream of what it would be like to put JV and Drummond on the floor together for the next 10 years.

        Comment


        • #5
          Nice article Chris. I agree with most of your observations with maybe the exception of Daye getting more minutes over Novak. I think/hope that being the only pure shooter on the team gives Novak an edge over Daye.

          The Tyler vs. Amir battles in practice could get heated.

          Comment


          • #6
            I think Daye may be Ross' future. Daye has be given opportunities in the past... He just couldn't capitalize. My expectations for Daye is very low. He's average at best based on what he's done so far. If Ross can't beat out Daye for minutes then that's very telling about Ross.

            Comment


            • #7
              Apollo wrote: View Post
              I think Daye may be Ross' future. Daye has be given opportunities in the past... He just couldn't capitalize. My expectations for Daye is very low. He's average at best based on what he's done so far. If Ross can't beat out Daye for minutes then that's very telling about Ross.
              I'm really hoping this isn't the case with Ross. The guy has all the physical talent in the world, but it looked like he put absolutely no work in before Summer League. There are plently Gerald Green's out there whom have all that talent but just don't get it mentally.

              Comment


              • #8
                Eric Akshinthala wrote: View Post
                One thing that seems to have gone unnoticed is that the PF situation has not really been addressed. After last season there was this talk about acquiring a starting PF. Yes a back up in Tyler H has been signed but all he does is replace Bargnani. The PF situation remains weak and it might cause problems.

                An area that the team is overcrowded with is wing players. Gay. Derozan, Fields, Ross, Novak and Richardson make one too many IMO.

                Brothersons review tells us that there's improvement but a very slight one. I think the team will make the play offs ONLY if JV shows significant improvement or else a mid-season tank could be in the cards.
                I think you should go read DanH's thread on WOWY and, in particular, on how Amir Johnson affects the other players he plays with. The PF spot is not the problem with this team. Amir Johnson was the best player on the team last year.

                Also, the idea that somehow Tyler Hansbrough is going to displace Amir is ludicrous.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Mediumcore wrote: View Post
                  I'm really hoping this isn't the case with Ross. The guy has all the physical talent in the world, but it looked like he put absolutely no work in before Summer League. There are plently Gerald Green's out there whom have all that talent but just don't get it mentally.
                  Joey Graham.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Love the part about gray being an immovable object lol

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The way Acy played in the Summer League should get him some minutes in regular rotation. Too bad the power 3 thing didn't really work out, he'd definitely be ahead of Daye in my depth chart. For now, looks like he'll be picking up the scraps of Amir/Tyler.
                      Twitter - @thekid_it

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        isaacthompson wrote: View Post
                        The way Acy played in the Summer League should get him some minutes in regular rotation. Too bad the power 3 thing didn't really work out, he'd definitely be ahead of Daye in my depth chart. For now, looks like he'll be picking up the scraps of Amir/Tyler.
                        I hope to see Acy get some minutes this season as well. Not exactly sure where he fits in, but it would be nice for him to get a bigger shot to contribute.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          JawsGT wrote: View Post
                          I hope to see Acy get some minutes this season as well. Not exactly sure where he fits in, but it would be nice for him to get a bigger shot to contribute.
                          I doubt it. Acy's game is way too similar to Pshyco-T and Amir. Unless thier is injuries to one of those two. I wouldn't hold my breathe.
                          @Chr1st1anL

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I read all of that and just seems like he's stating the obvious..
                            If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

                            Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Rotation:

                              JV/Amir/Gray
                              Amir/Hansbrough/Acy
                              Gay/Fields/Novak
                              DD/Ross/Daye
                              Lowry/Augustin/Buycks

                              The starting 5 is pretty much set really. And the rotation is pretty obvious.
                              Mamba Mentality

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