Preseason Game #3: Boston Celtics 109 - Toronto Raptors 116

[iblastoff]

Am I the only one who thought Lou played well defensively tonight? He was very active and brought a lot of energy on that end. Also he missed a lot of shots he normally makes. I think he'll be just fine when he gets his rhythm back and gets used to the system and his new teammates. But we really need to get our defense together. I'm glad we ended this game playing great defense though

Still got to be defensive effort showing for all 4 quarters though. I didn't get to watch the game but the celtics having two 35+ point quarters is going to be unrecoverable in the regular season.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Bendit]

Colangelo might be going...."I told you....there was something good about James Johnson".

I am dreading Bargnani becoming the focal point of the triangle in NY!

[GLF]

Still got to be defensive effort showing for all 4 quarters though. I didn't get to watch the game but the celtics having two 35+ point quarters is going to be unrecoverable in the regular season.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Completely agree. Just like I said when we went into the playoffs playing bad D and expected to just turn on the switch, we aren't a good enough and experienced enough team to think we can half ass preseason and just turn on some switch when the regular season comes around. This is the time where you start developing good habits and showing the league the type of team you wanna be. We haven't done that. We've looked really good offensively for a team that doesn't even have all their sets in and had some key players injured or still finding their rhythm. But defense is where our calling card has to be, mainly because we are a jump shooting team and those shots will not always fall. We can get away with that if our defense is sound. I believe Casey will get them playing good D but it has to start now.

[white men can't jump]

I don't know, JJ's really only impressed me for last night's 4th quarter. He's definitely had moments just like his old self, where he makes a poor choice on O, or gambles heavily on D. Still, we are talking about the 9th man in our rotation. At least we know when he's playing well, he could have a pretty major impact (relative to role) on the game.

[white men can't jump]

Completely agree. Just like I said when we went into the playoffs playing bad D and expected to just turn on the switch, we aren't a good enough and experienced enough team to think we can half ass preseason and just turn on some switch when the regular season comes around. This is the time where you start developing good habits and showing the league the type of team you wanna be. We haven't done that. We've looked really good offensively for a team that doesn't even have all their sets in and had some key players injured or still finding their rhythm. But defense is where our calling card has to be, mainly because we are a jump shooting team and those shots will not always fall. We can get away with that if our defense is sound. I believe Casey will get them playing good D but it has to start now.

Have you also noticed how hardly no time has been spent using normal lineups? Partly because it's preseason, partly because of injuries.

Last night we played good D in the 1st and 4th quarters, the only quarters where we used lineups that will resemble our rotation when healthy.

It's just preseason. Contrary to what you're saying here, it really isn't where you want to show the league the type of team you wanna be. In fact, good teams hold out on using regular season tactics, especially new ones, until very late in the preseason so as to not give any scouting material to teams they'll have to beat when games matter.

Coaches may say things like they want to set the tone now, but really they're just trying to get their players to play harder/sharper in games that don't really matter. All that has to start now is for guys to start finding some kind of rhythm on both ends. That's why Casey extended minutes for most regulars last night, and that's something he himself said they'll probably scale back again the in the next game(s). He just wanted to give them time to find a rhythm, and probably see how far his regulars are from regular season sharpness (not too far I'd say)...well mission accomplished. So now go back to figuring out what deep bench players can give you, limiting minutes for regulars a bit again, and probably more chaotic basketball which is invariably going to happen when you're using worse/less experienced players more.

[torch19]

From what I've seen, Patterson is good at tagging the roll man & is very smart when it comes to "do I commit to the roll man or do I tag him & recover to my man?" His rotations are on point. Amir is our anchor & his mobility, positioning & rim protection are very well established. James Johnson covers so much ground. He has to be one of the best athletes we have & he can cover 1 through 5. Those 3, with Lowry, equate to a nightmare matchup to score on. Then there's Demar; his defensive activity improved. It's early but I see a difference in that, he doesn't back down defensively whereas last year, there were plays where he just gives up defensively. From what I've seen, there's more nasty to him on that end & it's very endearing. That line up should finish our games, unless you need Ross to shut down a speedy guard. Jonas is still slow on defense & our coverage is different as a result, with him being on the floor.

[mjt20mik]

My take from the game last night:

- Crowd was great as usual! Since i've been going to preseason the past couple of years, I was really surprised by the turnout. Almost a sold out house.
- Our team really struggles offensively without KLow. Even when Demar is in the game, the team isn't as good offensively as they are with Kyle.
- Our defense was putrid. Missed rotations allowed Bradley (who isn't a good shooter by any means) get really hot really quickly.
- Lou seems to be half a step behind on the offensive end. He can get to where he wants, but cannot finish. I doubt this remains the case in a couple of games. When he's on, our bench is gonna be fun to watch.
-Chants for Bruno were fruitless, which was sad cause I wanted to see the kid get some burn.

[GLF]

From what I've seen, Patterson is good at tagging the roll man & is very smart when it comes to "do I commit to the roll man or do I tag him & recover to my man?" His rotations are on point. Amir is our anchor & his mobility, positioning & rim protection are very well established. James Johnson covers so much ground. He has to be one of the best athletes we have & he can cover 1 through 5. Those 3, with Lowry, equate to a nightmare matchup to score on. Then there's Demar; his defensive activity improved. It's early but I see a difference in that, he doesn't back down defensively whereas last year, there were plays where he just gives up defensively. From what I've seen, there's more nasty to him on that end & it's very endearing. That line up should finish our games, unless you need Ross to shut down a speedy guard. Jonas is still slow on defense & our coverage is different as a result, with him being on the floor.

Yea I still think our best big man lineup defensively is with Patterson and Amir for sure. Jonas hasn't made much improvements defensively yet.

[GLF]

Have you also noticed how hardly no time has been spent using normal lineups? Partly because it's preseason, partly because of injuries.

Last night we played good D in the 1st and 4th quarters, the only quarters where we used lineups that will resemble our rotation when healthy.

It's just preseason. Contrary to what you're saying here, it really isn't where you want to show the league the type of team you wanna be. In fact, good teams hold out on using regular season tactics, especially new ones, until very late in the preseason so as to not give any scouting material to teams they'll have to beat when games matter.

Coaches may say things like they want to set the tone now, but really they're just trying to get their players to play harder/sharper in games that don't really matter. All that has to start now is for guys to start finding some kind of rhythm on both ends. That's why Casey extended minutes for most regulars last night, and that's something he himself said they'll probably scale back again the in the next game(s). He just wanted to give them time to find a rhythm, and probably see how far his regulars are from regular season sharpness (not too far I'd say)...well mission accomplished. So now go back to figuring out what deep bench players can give you, limiting minutes for regulars a bit again, and probably more chaotic basketball which is invariably going to happen when you're using worse/less experienced players more.

You make some very good points about the substitutions and how that is probably what's leading to the defensive slippage. I'll try my best to withhold judgement until about the last couple preseason games where our main guys will start to get their usual minutes.

[white men can't jump]

You make some very good points about the substitutions and how that is probably what's leading to the defensive slippage. I'll try my best to withhold judgement until about the last couple preseason games where our main guys will start to get their usual minutes.

I mean there are definitely problems, I just don't think the sample has been a very good representation. But yeah, if things continue to look weak/inconsistent on the defensive end in the last couple of preseason games, or even first few regular season games, I'll probably be freaking out like crazy.

[GLF]

I mean there are definitely problems, I just don't think the sample has been a very good representation. But yeah, if things continue to look weak/inconsistent on the defensive end in the last couple of preseason games, or even first few regular season games, I'll probably be freaking out like crazy.

Yea I'll give it the last couple preseason games and maybe like the first 5 regular seasons games because I really free out lol

[Bendit]

Yea I'll give it the last couple preseason games and maybe like the first 5 regular seasons games because I really free out lol

My freak meter indicates you are already in early season form

[GLF]

My freak meter indicates you are already in early season form

Lol true. I need to chill out

[Chr1s1anL]

From what I've seen, Patterson is good at tagging the roll man & is very smart when it comes to "do I commit to the roll man or do I tag him & recover to my man?" His rotations are on point. Amir is our anchor & his mobility, positioning & rim protection are very well established. James Johnson covers so much ground. He has to be one of the best athletes we have & he can cover 1 through 5. Those 3, with Lowry, equate to a nightmare matchup to score on. Then there's Demar; his defensive activity improved. It's early but I see a difference in that, he doesn't back down defensively whereas last year, there were plays where he just gives up defensively. From what I've seen, there's more nasty to him on that end & it's very endearing. That line up should finish our games, unless you need Ross to shut down a speedy guard. Jonas is still slow on defense & our coverage is different as a result, with him being on the floor.

Couldn't of said it better myself. +1, 000, 000

[grindhouse]

Watching the chi vs mil game and loving chi defense this is the way a team is suppose to be made. Mil has all the euro ballers a lot of u love Greek freak, ily they got shut down easily


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk