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Was looking at the boxscores from the game last night and one thing that really jumped out at me was the FG attempts. Raptors had 99, the Knicks had 76. That's 23 more shot attempts which is a huge game altering factor. I went back and looked at the previous games the Raps have played so far this season and through 8 games Raps have crushed the teams they've played by a total of 84 additional FG attempts (Raps 742, opponents 658), on average 10 more FG attempts a game. That's not a fluke so it would make sense to assume they are purposely trying to win by taking more shots than their opponents.
The Harden lead Rockets wanted to take more 3's than other teams, the Warriors played small, but Raps are doing something equally amazing to me. They're creating more shots for themselves by coaching deflections, steals, offensive boards, really any form of turnover they can create while keeping their own turnovers to a minimum. Teams they've played through 8 games have turned it over 142 time, the Raps only 101.
Maybe this didn't deserve it's own thread, but I thought it was really interesting and if this indeed is a new philosophy for how the Raptors are approaching the game then you can use it as a way to project future moves. For example we love talking trades and free agent targets around here. If Raps want guys that can force turnovers then you can look at players that lead the league in that area or have the tools to do it well, if coached to (is there a site or stat that shows which players lead in forced turnovers). You might also say they may want to stay away from players that are prone to turnovers.
Another thought, how do teams counter the Raps when they are getting turned over left and right? They have to protect the ball which often means putting another guard on the court (better ball handler) and take out the C (normally weakest ball handler). That generally will create a size mismatch for the Raps who play tall, long players. This is the path to what should be everyone's favorite line up of FVV, Trent, Barnes, OG and Siakam..
You could even use this philosophy (if it is their philosophy) to create arguments as to why some players get minutes and others don't. Banton is long and gets deflections vs. Flynn is smaller and doesn't hit the passing lanes as hard. Or Precious is a much better rebounder than Khem so those secured possessions equal fewer shot attempts for opposing teams.
Anyways I'm more of a boxscore guy, so perhaps those of you that look at advanced stats can support or dispel the idea.
Last thought. Despite taking a lot more shots than their opponents the Raps haven't had a lot of blow out type wins yet (Boston and Knicks the exceptions). That would indicate they are losing the battle in FG% (should have probably looked at that stat before posting, but I think it's reasonable to assume and I'm getting impatient scrolling back and forth on espn.com). Precious career FG% 49.7-this season 35.9, OG career FG% 47.5-this season 40.4%, Trent career FG% 41-this season 38.7, FVV career FG% 40-this season he's up at 41.9. Well what happens when guys start to normalize towards their career averages? What happens when Siakam who has a career FG%48.8 returns? What happens when Scottie returns with his team leading FG% of 55.1?
You should be excited Raps fans.
The Harden lead Rockets wanted to take more 3's than other teams, the Warriors played small, but Raps are doing something equally amazing to me. They're creating more shots for themselves by coaching deflections, steals, offensive boards, really any form of turnover they can create while keeping their own turnovers to a minimum. Teams they've played through 8 games have turned it over 142 time, the Raps only 101.
Maybe this didn't deserve it's own thread, but I thought it was really interesting and if this indeed is a new philosophy for how the Raptors are approaching the game then you can use it as a way to project future moves. For example we love talking trades and free agent targets around here. If Raps want guys that can force turnovers then you can look at players that lead the league in that area or have the tools to do it well, if coached to (is there a site or stat that shows which players lead in forced turnovers). You might also say they may want to stay away from players that are prone to turnovers.
Another thought, how do teams counter the Raps when they are getting turned over left and right? They have to protect the ball which often means putting another guard on the court (better ball handler) and take out the C (normally weakest ball handler). That generally will create a size mismatch for the Raps who play tall, long players. This is the path to what should be everyone's favorite line up of FVV, Trent, Barnes, OG and Siakam..
You could even use this philosophy (if it is their philosophy) to create arguments as to why some players get minutes and others don't. Banton is long and gets deflections vs. Flynn is smaller and doesn't hit the passing lanes as hard. Or Precious is a much better rebounder than Khem so those secured possessions equal fewer shot attempts for opposing teams.
Anyways I'm more of a boxscore guy, so perhaps those of you that look at advanced stats can support or dispel the idea.
Last thought. Despite taking a lot more shots than their opponents the Raps haven't had a lot of blow out type wins yet (Boston and Knicks the exceptions). That would indicate they are losing the battle in FG% (should have probably looked at that stat before posting, but I think it's reasonable to assume and I'm getting impatient scrolling back and forth on espn.com). Precious career FG% 49.7-this season 35.9, OG career FG% 47.5-this season 40.4%, Trent career FG% 41-this season 38.7, FVV career FG% 40-this season he's up at 41.9. Well what happens when guys start to normalize towards their career averages? What happens when Siakam who has a career FG%48.8 returns? What happens when Scottie returns with his team leading FG% of 55.1?
You should be excited Raps fans.
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