Raptors Defensive Issues - BBallBreakdown

[distorsun]

"The Raps have one and Casey's trying to pound him into a square hole"
Could have not say it better myself !
In an era of pace and space; this system will be pick apart by good ball/player movement.
I really don't think our personnel can execute that system consistently (we don'T have lebron or dwade or c andersen); sometimes vs some teams , MAYBE? But consistently, NO WAY.

On the P&R : Golden State switches; Chi ICE; Grizz ICE

Casey need to tweak that system if he wants that D to move up the standings (20th rank defense is not gonna cut it in the Poffs).

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Memphis and the Pacers have build very good defences around stay-at-home centres who protect the rim.

Jonas has a lot to learn, but he's already a very good rim protector and he's going to get less mobile as he ages and probably gains weight (he's already filled out his frame quite a bit since his first year) - this system doesn't make much sense now and it makes even less for the Raps' future.

Aren't the vast majority of good D's built from the C out? Rangey/scrambling D's like Miami's were basically compensating for the fact that they didn't have a rim-protecting C. The Raps have one and Casey's trying to pound him into a square hole.

[distorsun]

Hard to believe that the writer chose not to discuss Patterson and Hansbrough, two of the team's best defenders. Hansbrough happens to fit the system well, despite playing out of position at centre. He also defends the pick and roll better than Valanciunas, especially when paired with Patterson.

Agreed. But this unit also is getting killed on the glass, providing 2nd chance points to opponents.

[3inthekeon]

Agreed. But this unit also is getting killed on the glass, providing 2nd chance points to opponents.

The Raptors have outscored the opposition by 115 points when Hans/PPat have played together this year. That's +11.8 per 48.

[white men can't jump]

The Raptors have outscored the opposition by 115 points when Hans/PPat have played together this year. That's +11.8 per 48.

That's also probably almost exclusively in "our bench vs theirs" lineups, where our bench is vastly more talented than a good deal of teams in the league.

It's not a bad unit, because Hansbrough, Pat and JJ are all about the same size and at least decently athletic, so that frontcourt allows for the most interchangeability on D. However it's good to remember the matchups they usually face.

[iblastoff]

The Raptors have bad defense because they have bad defensive players. I know there's a tendency to think offense=talent, defense=system, but there isn't really a system that makes bad defensive players suddenly look good.

The article made a huge deal about how crucial DeMar DeRozan was to the Raptors defense. If you're defense is depending on an average defender like DeRozan to be your crucial cog, there may be some personnel issues there.

Could the system be adapted to play to strengths and to hide limitations better? Probably. But teams like Golden State and Houston have the luxury of being able to hide bad defenders like Curry, Harden, etc. because they have good defenders to cover. With Amir playing hurt, the Raptors don't really have any super good defenders like those teams do.

how are milwaukee #2 in defense in the entire league then? pretty sure NO ONE saw that roster as a giant defensive force.

[3inthekeon]

That's also probably almost exclusively in "our bench vs theirs" lineups, where our bench is vastly more talented than a good deal of teams in the league.

It's not a bad unit, because Hansbrough, Pat and JJ are all about the same size and at least decently athletic, so that frontcourt allows for the most interchangeability on D. However it's good to remember the matchups they usually face.

Responding to the poster who said PPat/Hans get " killed on the glass" for easy 2nd chance points.

Yeah, Hans plays almost exclusively vs other teams benches. He also plays limited minutes as well. His high energy style gasses him and 6-8 minute stretches seem to be the limit of his effectiveness. Also, some nights the matchups are terrible for him so he rarely sees the floor, which also helps his metrics.

PPAt/Amir are the crunch time pairing Casey seems most comfortable with and they have done well also +11.0 per 48 over 309 minutes.