SI: Raps Team Preview

[slaw]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba...eason-preview/

Part of SI's "Enemy Lines" series. Solid preview from an opposing scout that touches on the entire roster both good and bad. Links and videos of other previews are at the link.

[mcHAPPY]

My money shots:

The Raptors may make a lot of changes to their roster, but Valanciunas is one of the guys to hold onto. He has oodles of potential and he'll be in the league a long time.

If your team is good enough to get you to the end of a game [with a chance to win], Gay can win that game for you. He isn't consistent enough to lead his team to that position on a regular basis, but when it gets to winning time, he has the guts and ability to make big shots.

(Lowry's) good enough to be a starter on a below-average team, but I don't think his method translates to a good team.

DeRozan can't carry a good team yet, but if he's your fourth or fifth player, you're in great shape. He has length defensively and he competes.

He'll coach the team the same way even though he's in the last year of his deal, and if he takes the fall he'll walk away without slamming anybody because he's a real professional. He could also get them to the playoffs, which would be quite an achievement.

I think it is p00ka saying we should all keep our opinions to ourselves and leave it to the professionals. Well, here is a professional stating what a lot of us think. Although I until this year I thought much higher of Lowry. Lowry is another guy who never lived up to the "potential" so many saw in him. Now he is what he is.... unless he finds a coach who lets him play to his strengths.

[ceez]

really neat article. i enjoyed reading it and agreed with a ton of it. especially...

Power forward Amir Johnson finally stepped up last year. With Johnson and Valanciunas, that's a nice athletic pair for the frontcourt. Johnson plays hard. His effort is there and his length is good. He's not a big-time rebounder, but he fights, he contests shots and he can finish a little bit. Having Tyler Hansbrough competing with Johnson on a daily basis is going to pick it up for Amir, and that's probably something he needs.

Gay has a lot of talent. If your team is good enough to get you to the end of a game [with a chance to win], Gay can win that game for you. He isn't consistent enough to lead his team to that position on a regular basis, but when it gets to winning time, he has the guts and ability to make big shots. He has a decent post-up game. His field-goal percentage is not that great and he forces some shots. His length and athleticism are assets at small forward, and he can handle the ball a little bit. He's not much of a playmaker, and defensively he's average.

Lowry is one of those point guards who pounds the ball. His size [6 feet] is an issue, and he has a tendency to hang on to the ball instead of trying to make the play and get everybody touches and move it around. He's good enough to be a starter on a below-average team, but I don't think his method translates to a good team. He probably has more confidence in himself than is warranted. I think he thinks of himself as the first option, which stunts guys like DeRozan and Gay who need the ball, too.

Lowry has three-point range, but at his size he has to have open shots. He can make shots, but he takes a lot of bad ones. He's an attacker, but he's not that good as a finisher. I don't think he gets enough easy baskets in transition to force defenders back on their heels. His on-ball defense isn't at the top among point guards, but he's active.

I'm a believer in DeRozan. He has a great-looking jump shot, he's extremely athletic and he seems to work at coming off screens. Is he a catch-and-shoot three-point guy? No, but that part of his game will expand because he has good mechanics. The way he works to come off screens is a tribute to Casey and the execution of running sets and getting shots in the flow of the offense, as opposed to the iso-type thing. Isos are necessary sometimes, too, but for the meat and potatoes you want to work within the system. DeRozan can't carry a good team yet, but if he's your fourth or fifth player, you're in great shape. He has length defensively and he competes.


Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba...#ixzz2if47CcdM

nice points:

1. having psychoT there to challenge Amir will mean Amir plays his best all the time. not that he necessarily didn't before, but he'll work to be an even better player. plus he won't have to play as many minutes. i HATED the psychoT signing when it happened but i've grown extremely fond of it. good ol' MU. he's smarter than all of us.

2. the bit about Gay is why i'm not a Gay fan. he doesn't carry the team. now, that's not his fault per se, but we're paying him like it. he's a fantastic finisher and every team needs that but what about the rest of his game? he's wildly overrated. i really hope MU finds someone to take him.

3. Lowry. Everything is spot on, and the bit about him being a starter on a poor team but not on a good team is unfortunately 100% correct. He's shown some serious flashes this preseason buuuuut just wait until the regular season when the game is on the line. i have a feeling he'll be enraging a lot of people. for the record i was one of the "bring lowry here, no matter what it takes!" guys and i yes i feel like an ass. should have seen the stink when the rockets were so eager to let him go.

4. Demar! i'm falling back in love with Demar. he's trying, he's really trying! his handles have never been better making him a MUCH better attacker and he's seriously taking better shots. he's letting the game come to him, rather than forcing it like he always had. maybe you can teach a dog new tricks. that said, his contract is still pretty bad. if you trade Gay is his contract as much of an albatross though? i dunno. if you pair him with a guy that can actually shoot 3s instead of a ball stopper like Rudy does will the offense be better? probably!

[ceez]

remember how excited we all were for Lowry's defense? "he'll be such an upgrade over calderon!" we cheered.

sigh.

[Superjudge]

Lowry is one of those point guards who pounds the ball. His size [6 feet] is an issue, and he has a tendency to hang on to the ball instead of trying to make the play and get everybody touches and move it around. He's good enough to be a starter on a below-average team, but I don't think his method translates to a good team. He probably has more confidence in himself than is warranted. I think he thinks of himself as the first option, which stunts guys like DeRozan and Gay who need the ball, too.
Lowry has three-point range, but at his size he has to have open shots. He can make shots, but he takes a lot of bad ones. He's an attacker, but he's not that good as a finisher. I don't think he gets enough easy baskets in transition to force defenders back on their heels. His on-ball defense isn't at the top among point guards, but he's active.

I have been saying this since he was involved in rumours to come to Toronto. I got shelled on a different board for saying this, and now I read it right from a Scouts mouth which, along with some of the posts from guys here, also echo the sentiment. Makes me happy to have switched to Raptors Republic, nice to be around people that understand the game.

[mcHAPPY]

I have been saying this since he was involved in rumours to come to Toronto. I got shelled on a different board for saying this, and now I read it right from a Scouts mouth which, along with some of the posts from guys here, also echo the sentiment. Makes me happy to have switched to Raptors Republic, nice to be around people that understand the game.

There were lots of people here, myself included, who were big fans of the deal.

Of course that was when I was on the bandwagon of building a team via core at the time (including what I thought was a borderline all-star in Bargnani) and financial flexibility. BC killed the financial flexibility with Fields signing and DeRozan extension.

[magoon]

Pretty spot-on assessment.

There's been a lot of talk about DeMar lately on the board - what with Xixak doing his best to troll in the least amusing way possible - and I think it's important to stress that pretty much everybody who thinks DeMar is overpaid (and he is: your "fourth-best player" at $9.5 million is pretty damn pricey) still likes DeMar. He's a good dude. Insane work ethic, he's responsible, a great locker room guy, never stops hustling, and he has all the pieces, the question is just if he ever puts them together. He's just overpaid, and it's not his fault Colangelo liked to whip out his chequebook.

Whenever I say "we have to trade one of Rudy or DeMar," really, you should read that as "trade Rudy," because they duplicate and I think DeMar can rise above his current level and even has a small chance to become an All-Star at some point. I think Rudy has topped out at "just below All-Star," which is fine, but he's going to get at least $12m next year (and probably more). DeMar has more upside for less money.

[p00ka]

I think it is p00ka saying we should all keep our opinions to ourselves and leave it to the professionals. Well, here is a professional stating what a lot of us think. Although I until this year I thought much higher of Lowry. Lowry is another guy who never lived up to the "potential" so many saw in him. Now he is what he is.... unless he finds a coach who lets him play to his strengths.

I'm not surprised you're taking that random, inane (to this topic) shot, but it's simply not true. pffffffffffft

[mcHAPPY]

I'm not surprised you're taking that random, inane (to this topic) shot, but it's simply not true. pffffffffffft

It wasn't random or inane but it was not quite what I recalled either. My apologies for putting words in your mouth.

awwwwww, what do all these NBA coaches and GMs know? He's nothing but an overpaid, inefficient chucker that can't do anything else. Don't they pay attention to the expertise available at RR?

[Sporty G]

Terrific evaluation.

Thanks OP for sharing.