Game #22: Toronto Raptors 126 - Phoenix Suns 113

[S.R.]

So while the NFL’s TV ratings shrink, the NBA’s early-season numbers, at least on ESPN, are up 24%. pic.twitter.com/exGknldKqn

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) November 28, 2017

NBA is pretty well the only thing going well for ESPN, they keep laying people off.

The young talent in the league is really good. Remember when Lebron/Durant/Kawhi were so physically unique? Seems every up and coming team has 1 or 2 freakishly built guys with start potential now. It also helps having all this ball movement and shooting, a lot more fun to watch for the casual fan.

[planetmars]

Celtics being a good team helps.. lot of NBA fans are Celtic fans. If the Lakers and Knicks ever become good again then the league will be on fire.

[G__Deane]

13 games left until the New year.
Can the Raps go 9-4? 10-3?
I wouldn't expect more than that, regardless of schedule and rest; a couple of decent teams in there and even a crappy one can jump up and bite you occasionally.

PS
Laughing at Durant and Cousins last night, too funny. You get an ejection. And YOU get an ejection .... and you ....
But Curry's ankle looked nasty

[3inthekeon]

Got swept by a Suns team that wasn't good last year. No excuses for any type of complacency.

[planetmars]

The pessimist in me is sensing a loss. Philly got their asses handed to them last night. Booker and Warren can both go off. Triano can be quite creative offensively. If Poeltl is out this could be a tough game as Serge might have to bang with guys like Monroe or Chandler.

But then I start thinking.. it's the Suns, and they are going to come in really tired playing so many road games, and a b2b, 3rd game in 4 nights.

[G__Deane]

The pessimist in me is sensing a loss. Philly got their asses handed to them last night.

Hopefully the Suns will be coming down off the high and just mail it in and want to get home. Regardless, no excuses for the Raps.
Haven't seen an update on Poeltl but JV can handle Monroe, Serge needs to play at both ends, we'll be OK.

[DanH]

Hopefully the Suns will be coming down off the high and just mail it in and want to get home. Regardless, no excuses for the Raps.
Haven't seen an update on Poeltl but JV can handle Monroe, Serge needs to play at both ends, we'll be OK.

Poeltl was at shoot around and said he was good to go.

[KeonClark]

Over his past 10 games, Kyle Lowry is averaging 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 48 percent from 3-point range. In that span, his player efficiency rating is 25.5, better than Stephen Curry's or Russell Westbrook's in that span. Entering this hot stretch, Lowry's PER was just below the level of an average NBA player at 14.9

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...ankings-week-8

Translation: Kyle Lowry went from dog shit in the first 10 to MVP level in the next 10. The million dollar question is: which side of streaky Kyle do we get in playoff time

[KeonClark]

Very complimentary article on the Raptors today on the ringer. Calls us the deepest team in the NBA. Main bullet points: OG is awesome, and Ibaka and Valanciunas together are bad, thinks JV should be traded but not rushed or pressured to do so.

Last 2 paragraphs:

The Raptors have been dominant in the 78 minutes that Anunoby and Siakam have played together, with a net rating of plus-22.6. Besides James Johnson, who never got out of Casey’s doghouse, they have never had players with their combination of size, skill, and athleticism. The Raptors need Siakam and Anunoby to match up with guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, not to mention LeBron James. Siakam and Anunoby can start at the 3 and the 4, and then slide to the 4 and the 5 against smaller lineups. A lineup with Siakam and Anunoby up front and either Powell or C.J. Miles on the wing would give DeRozan and Lowry more floor spacing and secondary playmaking to play with than they have ever had, without giving up anything on defense.

The Raptors have spent the past few years seemingly running in place. Like everyone else in the East, they have been playing in LeBron’s shadow, and they didn’t have the star power or perimeter athleticism to threaten him in a playoff series. Under the surface, though, they have been quietly retooling. They stole Anunoby, Siakam, and Powell in the draft, building an entirely different team around Lowry and DeRozan in the process. This is simultaneously the best and youngest group they have had in the past five seasons. Their transformation has just begun.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/1...ent-og-anunoby

[rocwell]

Very complimentary article on the Raptors today on the ringer. Calls us the deepest team in the NBA. Main bullet points: OG is awesome, and Ibaka and Valanciunas together are bad, thinks JV should be traded but not rushed or pressured to do so.

Last 2 paragraphs:


https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/1...ent-og-anunoby

[S.R.]

Very complimentary article on the Raptors today on the ringer. Calls us the deepest team in the NBA. Main bullet points: OG is awesome, and Ibaka and Valanciunas together are bad, thinks JV should be traded but not rushed or pressured to do so.

Last 2 paragraphs:


https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/1...ent-og-anunoby

Don't tell Shaolin about the entire middle section of that article or we will never hear the end of it.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Don't tell Shaolin about the entire middle section of that article or we will never hear the end of it.

I already read it.

The question for Casey is whether he needs to make more changes to his starting lineup. The combination of Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka up front is not working. The Raptors have a net rating of plus-0.5 in the 287 minutes the two have been on the floor this season, the worst of any of their top-21 two-man pairings in terms of minutes played. The two big men were even worse together last season, especially in the playoffs. Toronto began their series with Milwaukee and Cleveland starting both, and ended each with Valanciunas on the bench.

Supersized frontcourts like Valanciunas and Ibaka have a hard time keeping up with the increasing speed of the NBA game. The Bucks exposed them by trapping Lowry and DeRozan when they came off screens, forcing them to give up the ball and daring the Raptors big men to make plays in four-on-three situations, a role neither was comfortable in. Valanciunas is a deliberate player who likes to back down his opponents in the post, while Ibaka has never expanded his game beyond spotting up and making straight-line drives at the basket. The two combine to average only 1.3 assists per game, and it’s hard to run a ball-movement-heavy offense with two frontcourt players who can’t make plays.

At this stage in his career, Ibaka is more effective as a center. Playing at power forward means he has to spend most of the game chasing smaller players around the 3-point line. The position has changed around him. His block rates have gone down in each of the past five seasons because he’s spending less time near the rim. Nor does he get the chance to use his size much on offense. Ibaka has posted up 12 times this season, and he has only 15 offensive rebounds. When he’s playing at the 5, he can focus more on protecting the rim, and his ability to space the floor while guarding bigger players allows the Raptors to put more skilled and athletic players around him.

Casey is in a tough spot because of the financial commitments Toronto has made to Ibaka and Valanciunas. The Raptors will likely have both players on the hook for the next two seasons, and neither would be comfortable coming off the bench. The Raptors have been trying to trade Valanciunas for a while, but there’s not much of a market for a traditional center owed as much as $50 million, depending on whether he picks up his player option for 2019–20. There’s no urgency to make a move. Toronto is the no. 3 seed in the East, and they have the third-best net rating (plus-7.6) in the league. They could muddle through in the regular season without changing their lineup. However, if they fall behind in a playoff series, Casey will likely bench Valanciunas, just like he did last season.

It's not anything different from what I've been saying so it won't land here. People don't seem to care about these numbers because Dan says not to, so it's whatever at this point.

We all know he's gonna end up starting Ibaka at center in the playoffs with the possible exception of if we play Detroit or maybe Philly. Would be better to figure out what the hell we're doing now instead of waiting until game 3 of a series to make an adjustment but whatever. People think I just have an agenda against Valanciunas when I don't.

Every reputable guy has echoed similar sentiments to this at some point whether it's Tjarks in that article or Nate Duncan/Danny LeRoux, Zach Lowe or Kevin Pelton. But for some reason it's just blind JV hate, I'm tired of having to explain the same thing over and over.

[KeonClark]

I already read it.



It's not anything different from what I've been saying so it won't land here. People don't seem to care about these numbers because Dan doesn't agree with the assessment so it's whatever at this point.

I think a lot of people do agree with your point, but disagree with changing the lineup right now for reasons beyond net rating. He even addresses it partially: "Casey is in a tough spot because of the financial commitments Toronto has made to Ibaka and Valanciunas. The Raptors will likely have both players on the hook for the next two seasons, and neither would be comfortable coming off the bench."

[Shaolin Fantastic]

I think a lot of people do agree with your point, but disagree with changing the lineup right now for reasons beyond net rating. He even addresses it partially: "Casey is in a tough spot because of the financial commitments Toronto has made to Ibaka and Valanciunas. The Raptors will likely have both players on the hook for the next two seasons, and neither would be comfortable coming off the bench."

I just don't think players' personal feelings should get in the way of playing best lineups. And JV is already playing bench player minutes (20mpg lowest of his career). If anything he actually might get featured more with the bench where the young guys might look to him for offensive leadership. He's the 4th option with the starters and they don't move the ball as well as the bench units do.

[DanH]

I already read it.



It's not anything different from what I've been saying so it won't land here. People don't seem to care about these numbers because Dan says not to, so it's whatever at this point.

We all know he's gonna end up starting Ibaka at center in the playoffs with the possible exception of if we play Detroit or maybe Philly. Would be better to figure out what the hell we're doing now instead of waiting until game 3 of a series to make an adjustment but whatever. People think I just have an agenda against Valanciunas when I don't.

Every reputable guy has echoed similar sentiments to this at some point whether it's Tjarks in that article or Nate Duncan/Danny LeRoux, Zach Lowe or Kevin Pelton. But for some reason it's just blind JV hate, I'm tired of having to explain the same thing over and over.

Playing Ibaka as a matchup C is basically exactly what I've been arguing makes sense. Starting him every night for 82 games has nothing to do with that. If we face a team that needs a small look, we'll match up (or should), and we'll be just fine doing so.