Tweet
Watching the Raptors play in the playoffs this year, I'd like to present some observations.
Raptors haven't been the better team. They have been relying on heriocs or isos from DD or Lowry. I've seen very little team play from the raptors this series so far, and while some of this is credit to the Nets defense, there are better defensive teams out there so if they want to compete, this has to be addressed. I'd suggest these rotations:
Iso/high pick unit
Lowry - high pick, slash and drive
DD - iso, high pick slash and drive
Fields - defensive stopper
Amir/Novak - If it's Amir, good for pick and roll. If it's Novak, then a stretch 4 with JV doing the pick
JV - Mainly for rebounding and sometimes for pick and roll if Amir is off and Novak is in.
Ideally though, JV is not really suited to play with either DD or Lowry. He is a decent rebounder though, so he is still needed.
Though I'm personally not a fan of isos, I do understand that it's a necessary evil sometimes to best make use of DD's abilities. It's also useful for making full use of the shot clock and getting DD in to a groove for heriocs in close games. This unit also is the better defensive unit, with only DD being somewhat poor defensively.
Post play unit
GV - Facilatator/3 point
Nande Cole/Lowry - Facilatator/Slasher/3 point
Lowry/DD/Ross - Slasher
PP - Stretch 4 (preferably corner), rebounding and some post play
JV - Post play, high pick and roll, rebounder; he'll be involved in a lot of plays in this rotation
I prefer this unit offensively as I really feel like JV has been wasted for most of the first round of these playoffs, and also I think GV's offensive contributions have been underrated. But with this unit (with only one of Lowry/DD) the ball movement is a bit better and everyone gets in to the game a bit more.
With our current roster, I think these are the best two units we can play, especially offensively. But Fields is integral to the iso/high pick unit for DD/Lowry to do their thing.
I personally wish we could have a more ball movement based unit, but I don't think the current roster allows for it. From watching our games, I have to admit that as much as I like DD he has been playing this series as a ball stopper, something we considered Rudy Gay to be late last year. Lowry has been amazing, but it's been a solo effort from him as well, especially defensively.
Looking to Miami (if all goes well) Fields, Lowry and Patterson will be essential to defending their big three, with JV staying near the rim for rebounding and post. I personally can't see anyone else aside from Fields having any success of defending Lebron, so he once again is the key.
Offensively, against Miami we should be dominating with DD and JV. But JV needs to break-out for us to win that series.
What do you guys think?
-Stevo
Raptors haven't been the better team. They have been relying on heriocs or isos from DD or Lowry. I've seen very little team play from the raptors this series so far, and while some of this is credit to the Nets defense, there are better defensive teams out there so if they want to compete, this has to be addressed. I'd suggest these rotations:
Iso/high pick unit
Lowry - high pick, slash and drive
DD - iso, high pick slash and drive
Fields - defensive stopper
Amir/Novak - If it's Amir, good for pick and roll. If it's Novak, then a stretch 4 with JV doing the pick
JV - Mainly for rebounding and sometimes for pick and roll if Amir is off and Novak is in.
Ideally though, JV is not really suited to play with either DD or Lowry. He is a decent rebounder though, so he is still needed.
Though I'm personally not a fan of isos, I do understand that it's a necessary evil sometimes to best make use of DD's abilities. It's also useful for making full use of the shot clock and getting DD in to a groove for heriocs in close games. This unit also is the better defensive unit, with only DD being somewhat poor defensively.
Post play unit
GV - Facilatator/3 point
Nande Cole/Lowry - Facilatator/Slasher/3 point
Lowry/DD/Ross - Slasher
PP - Stretch 4 (preferably corner), rebounding and some post play
JV - Post play, high pick and roll, rebounder; he'll be involved in a lot of plays in this rotation
I prefer this unit offensively as I really feel like JV has been wasted for most of the first round of these playoffs, and also I think GV's offensive contributions have been underrated. But with this unit (with only one of Lowry/DD) the ball movement is a bit better and everyone gets in to the game a bit more.
With our current roster, I think these are the best two units we can play, especially offensively. But Fields is integral to the iso/high pick unit for DD/Lowry to do their thing.
I personally wish we could have a more ball movement based unit, but I don't think the current roster allows for it. From watching our games, I have to admit that as much as I like DD he has been playing this series as a ball stopper, something we considered Rudy Gay to be late last year. Lowry has been amazing, but it's been a solo effort from him as well, especially defensively.
Looking to Miami (if all goes well) Fields, Lowry and Patterson will be essential to defending their big three, with JV staying near the rim for rebounding and post. I personally can't see anyone else aside from Fields having any success of defending Lebron, so he once again is the key.
Offensively, against Miami we should be dominating with DD and JV. But JV needs to break-out for us to win that series.
What do you guys think?
-Stevo
Comment