Preseason Game #6: Raptors VS Detroit @ 7:30 EST

[rocwell]

So, what's going on with JV?

No idea, something happened to him few months ago. He needs a haircut.

[The Great One]

So, what's going on with JV?

This is the worst I've seen him play. And I've been pretty critical of him the last couple of years.

[rocwell]

This is the worst I've seen him play. And I've been pretty critical of him the last couple of years.

Oh lad.. you haven't seen him play for Lithuania in Rio.

[Demographic Shift]

So, what's going on with JV?

No idea, something happened to him few months ago. He needs a haircut.

This is the worst I've seen him play. And I've been pretty critical of him the last couple of years.

Oh lad.. you haven't seen him play for Lithuania in Rio.

JV is now a vet...Maybe like the other vets he is just coasting through pre season making sure he doesn't get hurt and is simply waiting for the show to begin in earnest next week...Yeah that's it

[DanH]

JV is now a vet...Maybe like the other vets he is just coasting through pre season waiting for the show to begin in earnest next week...

Yep.

And in the meantime, he's posting 17 PTS/36, 14 REB/36, almost 2 AST and 2 BLK per 36, on 56 TS%. Oh, woe is us, to have such abysmal production from our centre.

[rocwell]

Meh.

I'm so ready for the NBA season to start. Few more days.

[GLF]

Yep.

And in the meantime, he's posting 17 PTS/36, 14 REB/36, almost 2 AST and 2 BLK per 36, on 56 TS%. Oh, woe is us, to have such abysmal production from our centre.

LOL the stats definitely show he's playing well. I think if you watch the games though it looks like he's so disinterested and one step behind, but as you said he is a veteran now so he probably truly doesn't care about the preseason anymore. If those are the numbers he's posting when he isn't trying hard or playing his best then I can't wait until the season starts. Let's see if he can just turn it on when he wants.

[GLF]

Yep.

And in the meantime, he's posting 17 PTS/36, 14 REB/36, almost 2 AST and 2 BLK per 36, on 56 TS%. Oh, woe is us, to have such abysmal production from our centre.

Also Dan I just have a couple questions. Very random but I was just thinking about Sullinger over Scola. I know Sullinger is a much better player overall without a doubt but I just want to know, if Sullinger continues to shoot 28% from 3 this season do you still see him and JV coexisting well on the offensive end. I know you said he shoots very well from the range of the corner 3 but let's say he still ends up struggling with his shooting, I'm having a hard time seeing how he and JV will coexist very well. I also don't see how a guy that shoots 28% from 3 helps with our spacing. Only because I don't think players and teams will respect a guy that doesn't shoot it well, so the paint will still be clogged. Just like it was with Scola. Also how is Sullinger going to be a better defender than Scola at the 4 when he is probably just as slow and unathletic as Scola is? I know he has a high bball IQ but technically so did Scola and it did nothing for him or us on the defensive end. I respect your opinion a lot so I just wanted to get your thoughts because I'm still skeptical of Sullinger being any better on OUR team specifically than Scola because of how he will be used. I don't see him being a good floor spacer or defender at the 4. When he plays the 5 at times he should be much better but at the 4 I'm not to sure. I know you're pretty confident in him so I just want to understand why

[tDotted]

Am I losing it or is DeMar's form a little different? (ie less fling-y)

[jerome]

Am I losing it or is DeMar's form a little different? (ie less fling-y)

jerome noticed it too watching the game yesterday, somehow that released looked a bit quicker than before.

[DanH]

Also Dan I just have a couple questions. Very random but I was just thinking about Sullinger over Scola. I know Sullinger is a much better player overall without a doubt but I just want to know, if Sullinger continues to shoot 28% from 3 this season do you still see him and JV coexisting well on the offensive end. I know you said he shoots very well from the range of the corner 3 but let's say he still ends up struggling with his shooting, I'm having a hard time seeing how he and JV will coexist very well. I also don't see how a guy that shoots 28% from 3 helps with our spacing. Only because I don't think players and teams will respect a guy that doesn't shoot it well, so the paint will still be clogged. Just like it was with Scola. Also how is Sullinger going to be a better defender than Scola at the 4 when he is probably just as slow and unathletic as Scola is? I know he has a high bball IQ but technically so did Scola and it did nothing for him or us on the defensive end. I respect your opinion a lot so I just wanted to get your thoughts because I'm still skeptical of Sullinger being any better on OUR team specifically than Scola because of how he will be used. I don't see him being a good floor spacer or defender at the 4. When he plays the 5 at times he should be much better but at the 4 I'm not to sure. I know you're pretty confident in him so I just want to understand why

If Sully proves unable to shoot from the corners, that will be an issue. I don't see it happening, but it's possible - he's shot close to 50% from that distance each of the past few years, so I'm not concerned. In that case, though, they'll have to explore starting Patterson, or having a very quick hook for Sully early in games.

In the meantime, Scola was a complete disaster and the starting lineup was only a few points below neutral, so even worst case Sully projects to at least break even with the starters - even if the defence struggles and the offence struggles, at the very least he and JV should do so much damage on the boards that I can't see it being a repeat of last year's disaster.

Also, keep in mind that even a big man who can shoot from midrange provides some spacing - Sullinger, for all his overall inefficiency, can shoot the midrange jumper, especially when open. We're not trotting Biyombo out there on offence where defences can ignore him outside of three feet from the hoop.

So overall, it looks like absolute worst case, everything goes wrong, and the starting lineup is nominally better than last year's version. Best case, he can shoot from the corners, so he spaces the floor similarly to Patterson, except he also is a tremendous rebounder, so the starters have great success. Most likely somewhere in the middle - and with the starters probably getting suppressed minutes together to maintain the Lowry or DD plus bench lineups, and to get Sully minutes at the 5, the team won't be relying on that group to be gangbusters anyway. To close games they'll be using PP or Carroll at the 4 anyway. Really Sully starting is just buying time for Patterson to be able to help the starters (in transitional starter/bench units) and provide the backbone of the bench units as well, so anything above breaking even is good enough.

[DanH]

Missed the defence at the 4 comment - if you think Sully is anywhere near as slow and unathletic as Scola was, you either didn't watch Scola very closely or haven't watched enough Sullinger. Whole different ball game there.

[GLF]

Missed the defence at the 4 comment - if you think Sully is anywhere near as slow and unathletic as Scola was, you either didn't watch Scola very closely or haven't watched enough Sullinger. Whole different ball game there.

Yea I haven't really watched Sully to be honest other than a few highlights on youtube which obviously isn't a good judge of anything. I'm glad he has shot around 50 from the corner 3 distance the past few seasons. The likelihood of him all of sudden shooting badly from there is definitely low if that's the case which is good. His rebounding is definitely elite and I saw the difference it made even in the one preseason game he played so that's a very good point you made. Also he's just a lot more versatile on offense than Scola. He can pass, he can post up a bit, he can take people off the dribble at times, he can hit the midrange as you said which is something I forgot. So that should help if he isn't shooting it well I hope. Thanks Dan, I just needed a little reassurance about Sullinger. We definitely don't need the starters to be gang busters. I'm just a bit shocked to hear you say that with how much focus you put on our starting lineup last season when the bench units we had were amazing for the most part. But I get it, Scola was a disaster and even if everything goes wrong with the Sullinger experiment he shouldn't be THAT bad. Thanks again.

[consmap]

Yea I haven't really watched Sully to be honest other than a few highlights on youtube which obviously isn't a good judge of anything. I'm glad he has shot around 50 from the corner 3 distance the past few seasons. The likelihood of him all of sudden shooting badly from there is definitely low if that's the case which is good. His rebounding is definitely elite and I saw the difference it made even in the one preseason game he played so that's a very good point you made. Also he's just a lot more versatile on offense than Scola. He can pass, he can post up a bit, he can take people off the dribble at times, he can hit the midrange as you said which is something I forgot. So that should help if he isn't shooting it well I hope. Thanks Dan, I just needed a little reassurance about Sullinger. We definitely don't need the starters to be gang busters. I'm just a bit shocked to hear you say that with how much focus you put on our starting lineup last season when the bench units we had were amazing for the most part. But I get it, Scola was a disaster and even if everything goes wrong with the Sullinger experiment he shouldn't be THAT bad. Thanks again.

Your new signature is awesome hahaha

[GLF]

Your new signature is awesome hahaha

LOL that has been my signature for a while now. Someone made a bet with me and I lost. I completely forgot I still had that up