GAME 5: Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics 09/07/20 6:30 PM ET TSN

[S.R.]

We've been saying that here for weeks. It was supposed to be the play we didn't see in the nets series because Nurse was "saving it" for this series. It's been criminally under-used. You have a big in Siakam that can both set the screen + roll/pop AND also handle the ball to receive a screen from Lowry (who is also a good screener and himself can either take it to the rim or pop to the 3pt line). It'd be pretty difficult to guard.

Instead what we're using is a FVV/Gasol pnr, which is useless because Gasol will neither roll not shoot the 3 after that action, he just promptly gives it back to a well guarded FVV (even fans watching on TV can see that coming a mile away); now 8 secs of the shot clock is gone, we give it Siakam for a tail-end of the clock contested jumper. That's 75% of our half court offence last game right there.

I am 100% ready for Lowry and/or Siakam to tear a strip off Fred the next time he uses 4 straight possessions on plays like you just described.

[S.R.]

Lowry is everything to this team, especially with several guys underperforming. If Lowry isn't penetrating the defence and making things happen, then we've got nothing. If we're going to lose, at least let's lose playing that way. If we're going to win 2 in a row - that's our best shot at it.

[slaw]

Also, I wonder how Pascal would have played if we didn't max him out before the season. Is he still a max player?

Yes, but he's a max player who hasn't been put in a position to succeed. I am killing myself laughing reading that Blake Murphy tweet about more pick and rolls with Siakam. Really? They just realized this in Game 6? Are you fucking kidding me? This was obvious in January but they've insisted on forcing it to him in the mid-post (not his game) and ISOs 28-feet from the basket (not his game). That isn't going to work against a great defense.

Yeah, Siakam hasn't played great but the coaching staff needs to shoulder a lot of the blame here.

[The Great One]

Siakam's most memorable play in this series.

[G__Deane]

Siakam's most memorable play in this series.

[The Great One]

Lowry is everything to this team, especially with several guys underperforming. If Lowry isn't penetrating the defence and making things happen, then we've got nothing. If we're going to lose, at least let's lose playing that way. If we're going to win 2 in a row - that's our best shot at it.

The key adjustment that Brad Stevens did last night was he put his best defender Marcus Smart on the Raptors best player Kyle Lowry.

I saw this on twitter today: Raptors offensive rating was 85.2 in the 29 minutes Smart + Lowry shared floor.

[golden]

Yes, but he's a max player who hasn't been put in a position to succeed. I am killing myself laughing reading that Blake Murphy tweet about more pick and rolls with Siakam. Really? They just realized this in Game 6? Are you fucking kidding me? This was obvious in January but they've insisted on forcing it to him in the mid-post (not his game) and ISOs 28-feet from the basket (not his game). That isn't going to work against a great defense.

Yeah, Siakam hasn't played great but the coaching staff needs to shoulder a lot of the blame here.

Yep. There were lots of articles written about this. Should have had tons of reps in the seeding games and vs. the Nets, but we hardly saw it. Now, they're going to try and find some chemistry with the season on the line, against a defense that's sharp as a razor. That's on Lowry and FVV, more than the coaching staff, IMO, since Nurse gives them so much trust and responsibility to call the plays they see fit.

In Lowry and Siakam, do the Raptors have a secret weapon saved for the playoffs?

So the initial takeaway is that the Siakam-Lowry two-man game is hot fire. In games in which Toronto could use the play, they used it on average twice a game. And boy did it work. As a point of comparison, the best offense in the league this year, the Dallas Mavericks, had a half-court PPP of 1.17. Filter that further, and even with Dallas’s best lineup, its half-court PPP was 1.25. Of course, we’re not filtering for one individual play, so the comparison is apples and candied apples, but the point is that Toronto’s Lowry-Siakam two-man game is clearly an elite half-court offensive weapon. And it cuts both ways: pretty much no matter how the play unfolds, it works. Whether Lowry or Siakam is screening, or the play is concluded — with a shot attempt, free throws, or a turnover — by the handler, screener, or another player, Toronto’s PPP remains sky-high.

https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2020...-the-playoffs/

[KeonClark]

New thread? We haven't had a Mixx thread in the playoffs yet..

[Yuri Gagarin]

Id love to know the overall score of the first 6 minutes in the entire regular season. This is nothing new. We’ve started bad all season long but bench energy and hustle saved the day and fired up the starters. Well now theres no bench so we start shit and end shit. Fred, lowry, og, pascal and gasol aint a fukn championship lineup lol we win with 10 guys thats raptor ball playoffs or not. Bench guys need a bit to warm up. Td or thomas in for 3 minutes isnt gonna do it. Bench scored 100 points a month ago! If starters go down early and nick rides it out tomorrow we’re done

[golden]

New thread? We haven't had a Mixx thread in the playoffs yet..

Heck, yes. If ever there was a time we needed to find our rhythm. Either Mixx or Scraptor would be my vote.

[MixxAOR]

I'll be ready to make a thread later today if everybody is good with that

[S.R.]

Heck, yes. If ever there was a time we needed to find our rhythm. Either Mixx or Scraptor would be my vote.

Maybe in the spirit of things 007 should keep launching new threads regardless of outcome.



Sorry 00, collateral damage for jokes.


Two wins is doable! Let's gooooooooooooo

[slaw]

Yep. There were lots of articles written about this. Should have had tons of reps in the seeding games and vs. the Nets, but we hardly saw it. Now, they're going to try and find some chemistry with the season on the line, against a defense that's sharp as a razor. That's on Lowry and FVV, more than the coaching staff, IMO, since Nurse gives them so much trust and responsibility to call the plays they see fit.

In Lowry and Siakam, do the Raptors have a secret weapon saved for the playoffs?

https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2020...-the-playoffs/

Nah, ain't blaming Lowry and FVV. When your second-best player and key to a long playoff run is struggling it isn't on Lowry and FVV to get it sorted, rather, it's on Nurse to make it happen. Nurse has massive credibility with this group and he micromanages the defense - even possession by possession at times. They aren't running that action because Nurse doesn't want it run. If he did, it would happen. Nurse gets a lot of credit for the preparation, strategy and tactics this team uses and wins with but he also needs to be attributed blame when the strategy and tactics are clearly not working/wrong and he keeps hammering them despite it being obvious it isn't going to work.

[golden]

Maybe in the spirit of things 007 should keep launching new threads regardless of outcome.



Sorry 00, collateral damage for jokes.


Two wins is doable! Let's gooooooooooooo

If you follow the series, it's actually been eahalternating games... which probably speaks to the coaching adjustments on both sides (... there's no Bud or Casey in this series).

Game 1: C's should have won (and did)
Game 2: Raps should have won (except for Smart going nuts)
Game 3: C's should have won (except for OG)
Game 4: Raps should have won (and did)
Game 5: C's should have have won (and did)

So, when the pattern repeats itself... Raps should steal Game 6 and win convincingly in Game 7.

[KeonClark]

When I see people surprised that our guys are struggling with length, or that Gasol isn't shooting, or slow starts, I turn into Dennis Green