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2020 End of Season / Playoffs

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  • LJ2 wrote: View Post

    I think you are referring to end of game plays where we need a bucket for a win. He has shown through the season that he can be shutdown by guys like Giannis, Jaylen Brown and even Simmons I think, so it really depends on who is guarding him. He should be good in those situations for the first round, but deeper in the playoffs it will be a problem for him. Hope he's been working on it.
    This is my only real concern with this team. I'm very optimistic about our chances, but the reality is that there will be games in the playoffs that are decided in the last two minutes. Last year, Kawhi got the ball and he would get the shot he wanted (usually a midrange pullup). There was always a sense of confidence that whether he made it or not, I felt really good about the shot. I'm not sure I feel the same way about Pascal. I'm hoping his midrange shot has improved like others have said, and that we can maintain our offense by committee at the end of games. That's easier said than done, and historically teams that play that way without a superstar release valve have not been successful at the highest level. I'm hoping Pascal can prove to be that guy.

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    • Apollo wrote: View Post

      Good points. I am unsure that Kyle has any more faith in Siakim than he did in DD however. That's not me saying DD is a better player, don't get me wrong.
      Yeah I think it boils down to how the team was structured and coached, perhaps more so then how Kyle viewed his teammates. In the DD & Casey era, the expectation was Lowry & DD to put up 22+ every game, with heavy usage and minutes, while the 2Pats and Carrolls of the world would be hanging around with no rhythm, so when they took the odd shot it'd be a brick most of the time. The load was extremely heavily skewed towards the backcourt. DD took breaks on D so that helped his durability, but Lowry would almost always arrive at the playoffs just on fumes, mentally & physically.

      Since Nurse though, Lowry's role seems to fit more into who he really is as a player (a facilitator with a lot of hustle and extremely high BBIQ especially when it comes to anticipating plays on the both ends of the floor). I think that really helped him mentally and physically last year, so I'm crossing the fingers this year will be similar.

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      • S.R. wrote: View Post

        Well, yes and no. Sometimes it plays out this way, but often there's a double or the defence shifts but standard practice is your star takes the shot anyway. Everyone's more comfortable with winning/losing on the back of their superstar. It doesn't always mean other shots aren't there. Lebron on mulitple of the highest stake playoff occasions has kicked the ball to open role player shooters - and catches a ton of flak for it. The shots are there if your guy wants to make the pass.

        But you're right in that a set NBA defence in these situations can often blow up your plays. Your star needs to break that down.
        We agree. That guy needs to make a play but he doesn't need to force a shot.

        The big question for the Raps comes out of your last line: can Siakam break down defenses to find the play that gets them points and can he do it over and over again.

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        • People seriously needs to stop overreacting in these scrimmage games. First Bol Bol is the second coming. Now people are doubting Kawhi because he shot 27% from the field in 3 scrimmage games. Lol.

          Prediction: Kawhi is gonna be great and Bol Bol is gonna be a bench player for the Nuggets.
          Mamba Mentality

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          • S.R. wrote: View Post

            Well, yes and no. Sometimes it plays out this way, but often there's a double or the defence shifts but standard practice is your star takes the shot anyway. Everyone's more comfortable with winning/losing on the back of their superstar. It doesn't always mean other shots aren't there. Lebron on mulitple of the highest stake playoff occasions has kicked the ball to open role player shooters - and catches a ton of flak for it. The shots are there if your guy wants to make the pass.

            But you're right in that a set NBA defence in these situations can often blow up your plays. Your star needs to break that down.
            slaw wrote: View Post

            We agree. That guy needs to make a play but he doesn't need to force a shot.

            The big question for the Raps comes out of your last line: can Siakam break down defenses to find the play that gets them points and can he do it over and over again.
            Yeah the bold is key. There's responsible ISO leading good quality shots, and there's forced hero ball.

            Lebron is a good case study in playoff team basketball. One of the things that made those Cavs teams so dangerous was Lebron's passing ability and court vision. Teams were coming to the realization that they could maybe survive Lebron putting up 30, but they couldn't allow that plus 12 assists as kickouts to corner 3's from Irving, Love, Korver, Frye etc... That broke many opposing teams in their championship run. In other words, in the clutch, the play would always go through Lebron, but teams would always be on their toes trying to guess if it was gonna be a laser pass to yet another corner 3, or if he was gonna muscle his way in with his speed/strength.

            Another example of counting on your star but in the context of a motion offence was the pre-Durant Golden State teams. Ultimately yes, you would always want Curry to take the clutch shot, but on tight games you would almost never see him just dribbling out for a static, forced shot - there would always be tons of off-ball screens, movement, Klay spacing the floor, even Draymond & Bogut ready to catch in the paint if they over-played Steph. They put a ton of strain on opposing defences. "Strength in numbers" was their thing.

            That's also my hope for Siakam - he's gotta have the ability to collapse defences on him, find way to finish through contact if he has to, but also be aware of that he'll probably have at least 2 or 3 other champions on the floor with deep playoff experience, shooting over 38% from deep (and higher when open), which is a better shot than a Siakam hero ball fade away long 2 at the end of the clock over a double/triple defender.

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            • Apollo wrote: View Post

              It will be interesting to see what happens if Kyle falls back into some of his no show ways of the past. Will these guys continue to hit at a high rate? I'm not saying Kyle will choke but what if he does choke? He's been a roller coaster at times in the past. I'm hoping the ring keeps such slumps away.
              I don't think that is a concern. Kyle has had games where he struggled in the Playoffs, but in general he does play well. The expectation of him and DD being the 2 main guys isn't around anymore. Raptors have Fred, Norm, Kyle, Pascal and Serge all average 16 points over above this season and Marc, who struggled getting into any rhythm over the season due to injuries, but he is still capable of scoring. He also slimmed down, so hopefully we see Marc at his best.

              We all hope Pascal will become that guy that can carry us through big games, but the Playoffs this season will be a team effort more than anything.
              Last edited by A.I; Thu Jul 30, 2020, 01:59 PM.

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              • Yeah, the thing a top 5 star does in those situation is impose himself on the defence and force the defence to react. Without that, you find a set, high quality defence imposes itself on your offence (the Lowry/DD/Casey playoffs).

                Through whatever combination of elite size/speed/skill, your star just demands the defence adjusts to him or he'll break it, because you just can't guard those guys straight up.

                I don't think Siakam's there yet at all. Against some teams, maybe a Boston, you can straight iso him and trust him to break it down. But last year he had trouble against long, athletic defenders and teams were able to leave those guys on him one on one. If he faces Simmons, Giannis, Kawhi etc one on one at end of game? I don't think those teams need to throw a double at all.

                In those cases the Raps need to run something, at least a high pnr to start it off instead of a straight up clear the side iso. Give Siakam a bit of time then run some off ball action in case he can't shake the defender, don't just hang him out to dry with the ball in his hands (the Casey approach).
                "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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                • The more I think about it, I wonder if the ball will be hands of one of the guards in these situations. Siakam doesn't have a step back jumper yet which you sort of need in these iso situations, no?

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                  • In the half court, I'm hoping more that Gasol can become a reliable scorer around the post and midrange and average 15-17 points a game than Siakam taking the next step. Last season Gasol joined the team half way through the season, took a backseat and played off of Kawhi, Kyle and Pascal. He didn't get much rest through the off season and dealt with a few injuries. He has slimmed down and got a lot of rest, so hopefully we see a better Gasol.

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                    • LJ2 wrote: View Post
                      The more I think about it, I wonder if the ball will be hands of one of the guards in these situations. Siakam doesn't have a step back jumper yet which you sort of need in these iso situations, no?
                      Same here.
                      Pascal will probably play decoy for our guards ( Norm, Fr3d or Kyl3 )
                      Last edited by Kagemusha; Fri Jul 31, 2020, 01:12 AM.

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                      • I agree, I'm hoping Marc hets more involved on offence. Not just from three, I think you give him carte blanche to shoot any mid range that comes his way. He used to be a killer 16ft in. Throw him some post options to keep him comfortable at the rim. I don't expect him to create his own shots, but I think Nick can find ways to help him get more involved.

                        Gasol and Norm are going to be the keys to elevating our half court offence.

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                        • These virtual fans are creepy lmao
                          The name's Bond, James Bond.

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                          • Mamba Mentality

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                            • ah...so this is where we're talking about the LaLa game

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                              • Jclaw wrote: View Post
                                ah...so this is where we're talking about the LaLa game
                                I wanted to bash lebron for not having a message on his jersey but then i saw multiple lakers and kawhi, pg etc dont as well.
                                Oh well something will happen soon i can make fun of him for
                                To be the champs you got to beat the champs

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