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Raptors Probable Starters
C – Biyombo – revenge game, should have a good night on the glass
PF – Scola – would rather see PPatt in this one. Scola could really do some damage inside against Marvin, Kaminsky, Hawes.
SF – Ross – might be worth using to cover Batum as Hairston is a floor spacer only, will need to be more engaged vs Lamb
SG – DD – can take less workload by covering Hairston at times
PG – Lowry – facing a similar style PG, will need to win that matchup
Charlotte Starters
C – Cody Zeller – filling in for Al Jeff, Zeller has had some big lines recently 20-6 vs Det, 17-8 vs Chi and should not be underestimated.
PF – Marvin Williams – after posting a season high 18 pts on the heel of a double double, Marvin has posted back to back duds. A boom or bust player who can get hot from the outside but offers little on the interior.
SF – PJ Hairston – only takes about 4 shots per game with 3 of those coming from deep.
SG – Nic Batum – regained his shooting stroke after a wrist injury last season. With a triple double vs the Heat this week, there are rumblings that Charlotte will max Batum this summer.
PG – Kemba Walker – is cooking this season, posting 22 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.7 APG with 1.7 SPG ad 2.7 3PM in the past week, including a 33 point night vs Memphis
Key Bench
Lin – bad hair and all, is having a pretty good season
Lamb – resurrected his career and now is a valuable contributor
Kaminksy – rookie big man is shooting well from deep and playing decent defence
Hawes – bigger role with Al Jeff out, but another floor stretching big man
Al Jefferson is still out with a leg injury and has a 5 game suspension looming upon his return and will not be available for this game.
Charlotte will be coming off a back to back, as they are in Orlando the night before. Orlando may not be the best team in the league, but Coach Scott Skiles has a reputation of always ensuring his team competes hard on defence. Charlotte is 2-1 on 2nd night of back to backs, with wins over the Knicks and Nets and a loss to Boston.
Charlotte is 10-4 at home (4-5 on the road). Their defence is 4 points better at home (96.4 OppPPG) and their offence is 2 points better (103.7). They've won 7 of their last 10 games.
Play Style
Charlotte and Toronto are both in the Top 4 for PPP when using hand-offs. But Toronto is last in frequency while Charlotte is 6th.
Charlotte has had good success with ball movement and shot up shooting. They rank 9th in freq % and PPP on spot ups and are 3rd in the league in FGA on Catch and Shoot. Marvin Williams gets the most FGA on these as the stretch PF. Patterson should be a good match up for Marvin, as neither is particular good off the bounce.
Charlotte is 10th in potential assists as a team; the ball movement for them is key for their progression from last year. Batum has added a new dimension to their offence and PJ Hairston has done a good job as a low usage, spot up shooting defender.
Charlotte does a good job of using the roll man on the PnR, scoring 3rd best PPP and using the roll man 11th most freq.
Charlotte is last in offensive rebounds per game, but 4th in defensive rebounds. This suggests that their scheme doesn’t promote crashing the glass. Finding your man, and getting initial contact should be enough to secure the defensive boards, as the Hornets are not a team to really chase after them. This should allow Biyombo and Bebe to get the lion’s share of the defensive boards, while PPatt and Scola can simply find their man. This should make PPatt less of a liability on the glass.
Keys to Victory
Be physical - lots of shooting bigs, but not a lot of physicality. Coming off b2b and us having lots of rest, getting at them physically will benefit us.
Find the balance - Scola could have a big game with inside scoring, but so could JJ if he can contest their deep shots. Need more than just DD/KL to win.
Smart defence - Charlotte will move the ball, so keeping focused and aware will be necessary to prevent open looks
Key Match Up
DD vs Batum
The two pending UFA guards are both scoring and distributing. Batum is the catalyst for Charlotte’s improved offence, with his passing and shooting balancing the ball dominant ways of Kemba Walker. If DD (and Ross) can get Batum into foul trouble or limit his effectiveness, then Charlotte’s offence is much less effective as it falls into the hands of Kemba to create everything.
C – Biyombo – revenge game, should have a good night on the glass
PF – Scola – would rather see PPatt in this one. Scola could really do some damage inside against Marvin, Kaminsky, Hawes.
SF – Ross – might be worth using to cover Batum as Hairston is a floor spacer only, will need to be more engaged vs Lamb
SG – DD – can take less workload by covering Hairston at times
PG – Lowry – facing a similar style PG, will need to win that matchup
Charlotte Starters
C – Cody Zeller – filling in for Al Jeff, Zeller has had some big lines recently 20-6 vs Det, 17-8 vs Chi and should not be underestimated.
PF – Marvin Williams – after posting a season high 18 pts on the heel of a double double, Marvin has posted back to back duds. A boom or bust player who can get hot from the outside but offers little on the interior.
SF – PJ Hairston – only takes about 4 shots per game with 3 of those coming from deep.
SG – Nic Batum – regained his shooting stroke after a wrist injury last season. With a triple double vs the Heat this week, there are rumblings that Charlotte will max Batum this summer.
PG – Kemba Walker – is cooking this season, posting 22 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.7 APG with 1.7 SPG ad 2.7 3PM in the past week, including a 33 point night vs Memphis
Key Bench
Lin – bad hair and all, is having a pretty good season
Lamb – resurrected his career and now is a valuable contributor
Kaminksy – rookie big man is shooting well from deep and playing decent defence
Hawes – bigger role with Al Jeff out, but another floor stretching big man
Al Jefferson is still out with a leg injury and has a 5 game suspension looming upon his return and will not be available for this game.
Charlotte will be coming off a back to back, as they are in Orlando the night before. Orlando may not be the best team in the league, but Coach Scott Skiles has a reputation of always ensuring his team competes hard on defence. Charlotte is 2-1 on 2nd night of back to backs, with wins over the Knicks and Nets and a loss to Boston.
Charlotte is 10-4 at home (4-5 on the road). Their defence is 4 points better at home (96.4 OppPPG) and their offence is 2 points better (103.7). They've won 7 of their last 10 games.
Play Style
Charlotte and Toronto are both in the Top 4 for PPP when using hand-offs. But Toronto is last in frequency while Charlotte is 6th.
Charlotte has had good success with ball movement and shot up shooting. They rank 9th in freq % and PPP on spot ups and are 3rd in the league in FGA on Catch and Shoot. Marvin Williams gets the most FGA on these as the stretch PF. Patterson should be a good match up for Marvin, as neither is particular good off the bounce.
Charlotte is 10th in potential assists as a team; the ball movement for them is key for their progression from last year. Batum has added a new dimension to their offence and PJ Hairston has done a good job as a low usage, spot up shooting defender.
Charlotte does a good job of using the roll man on the PnR, scoring 3rd best PPP and using the roll man 11th most freq.
Charlotte is last in offensive rebounds per game, but 4th in defensive rebounds. This suggests that their scheme doesn’t promote crashing the glass. Finding your man, and getting initial contact should be enough to secure the defensive boards, as the Hornets are not a team to really chase after them. This should allow Biyombo and Bebe to get the lion’s share of the defensive boards, while PPatt and Scola can simply find their man. This should make PPatt less of a liability on the glass.
Keys to Victory
Be physical - lots of shooting bigs, but not a lot of physicality. Coming off b2b and us having lots of rest, getting at them physically will benefit us.
Find the balance - Scola could have a big game with inside scoring, but so could JJ if he can contest their deep shots. Need more than just DD/KL to win.
Smart defence - Charlotte will move the ball, so keeping focused and aware will be necessary to prevent open looks
Key Match Up
DD vs Batum
The two pending UFA guards are both scoring and distributing. Batum is the catalyst for Charlotte’s improved offence, with his passing and shooting balancing the ball dominant ways of Kemba Walker. If DD (and Ross) can get Batum into foul trouble or limit his effectiveness, then Charlotte’s offence is much less effective as it falls into the hands of Kemba to create everything.
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