The Defense in 2021-22

[Scraptor]

Which I expect to be better suited to the playoffs with more rest, more minutes for the better players, more prep for specific opponents, better health with any luck, etc.

This is one of the things that is a minor concern for me. Our scheme seems like it requires a crazy amount of energy to maintain.

In terms of distance travelled this year, Fred and Scottie are number one and two in the entire NBA. OG is sixth. Pascal is 31st and GTJ is 38th. (All five guys are in the top 28 in minutes per game so that is a part of it.)

I just really hope we don’t end up wearing our guys out. It’s a long season to be grinding at 110% every night, it’s kind of the opposite of the recent load management philosophy. You have to hope that injuries don’t become an issue.

[slaw]

This is one of the things that is a minor concern for me. Our scheme seems like it requires a crazy amount of energy to maintain.

In terms of distance travelled this year, Fred and Scottie are number one and two in the entire NBA. OG is sixth. Pascal is 31st and GTJ is 38th. (All five guys are in the top 28 in minutes per game so that is a part of it.)

I just really hope we don’t end up wearing our guys out. It’s a long season to be grinding at 110% every night, it’s kind of the opposite of the recent load management philosophy. You have to hope that injuries don’t become an issue.

Injuries have already been a major issue....

[The Claw Reborn]

Nick Nurse is still one of the bottom teams defending 0-3 feet

                                  
                                FG%
Rk                     Team  G 0-3V
1            Boston Celtics 28 .720
2            Denver Nuggets 28 .719
3                Miami Heat 29 .714
4      New Orleans Pelicans 30 .709
5           Toronto Raptors 28 .707
6        Los Angeles Lakers 29 .706
7        Washington Wizards 29 .700
8    Minnesota Timberwolves 28 .698
9        Philadelphia 76ers 29 .693
10         Sacramento Kings 29 .690
11         Dallas Mavericks 28 .686
12    Oklahoma City Thunder 27 .686
13        Charlotte Hornets 30 .682
14          Houston Rockets 28 .679
15                Utah Jazz 27 .677
16            Brooklyn Nets 28 .672
17           Indiana Pacers 30 .670
18          Milwaukee Bucks 30 .668
19            Atlanta Hawks 28 .667
20   Portland Trail Blazers 29 .664
21          Detroit Pistons 26 .656
22            Orlando Magic 29 .655
23             Phoenix Suns 27 .654
24    Golden State Warriors 28 .654
25        Memphis Grizzlies 29 .652
26        San Antonio Spurs 27 .647
27     Los Angeles Clippers 29 .641
28            Chicago Bulls 27 .636
29          New York Knicks 28 .625
30      Cleveland Cavaliers 30 .605
             League Average 28 .673

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/16/2021.

[The Claw Reborn]

and the corner threes

                                    
                                Corn
Rk                     Team  G %3PAV
1    Minnesota Timberwolves 28  .309
2           Toronto Raptors 28  .290
3    Portland Trail Blazers 29  .284
4                Miami Heat 29  .281
5     Oklahoma City Thunder 27  .258
6            Denver Nuggets 28  .254
7          Dallas Mavericks 28  .251
8         Charlotte Hornets 30  .247
9       Cleveland Cavaliers 30  .245
10            Brooklyn Nets 28  .240
11    Golden State Warriors 28  .239
12            Atlanta Hawks 28  .237
13          New York Knicks 28  .237
14          Detroit Pistons 26  .227
15          Houston Rockets 28  .224
16     New Orleans Pelicans 30  .218
17         Sacramento Kings 29  .217
18           Indiana Pacers 30  .214
19          Milwaukee Bucks 30  .214
20            Orlando Magic 29  .213
21            Chicago Bulls 27  .209
22     Los Angeles Clippers 29  .209
23           Boston Celtics 28  .208
24       Philadelphia 76ers 29  .207
25        San Antonio Spurs 27  .203
26       Washington Wizards 29  .198
27             Phoenix Suns 27  .193
28       Los Angeles Lakers 29  .191
29                Utah Jazz 27  .175
30        Memphis Grizzlies 29  .163
             League Average 28  .229

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/16/2021.

[The Claw Reborn]

Saint Nick’s Schemes has some holes in that armor and that is for sure

[Primer]

Saint Nick’s Schemes has some holes in that armor and that is for sure

Our top two C are out and so is our starting SF. Context matters.

[The Claw Reborn]

Our top two C are out and so is our starting SF. Context matters.

Not an excuse though as most teams are also depleted due to HS&P or some kind of injuries.

But hey, like VanVleet…both are standing in a pedestal with absolute immunity to criticism.

[DanH]

We've been over this before. No matter how well you "defend" the rim by suppressing FG%, if you give up many looks from there your defence is awful. Defensive FG% is mostly noise, but it's also not that important, within the range of realistic results. The true measure of a defence's success is preventing shots at the rim. That's what rim protection is. Same goes for 3 point success rates - very noisy, largely uncontrollable within a typical range, and the true measure of success is limiting those chances.

There are plenty of actual, supportable ways to criticize NIck's defence. Quoting these largely meaningless defensive FG%'s is not one of them.

The Raptors rank 16th in opponent 3PA's per 100. They allow the 10th least attempts at the rim per game (unfortunately the NBA detail filters don't do per 100 for this page - I tried adjusting for pace and it slid them to about 13th I think). The corner threes are the area where the criticism is valid, where they are third in the league in corner attempts given up per game. That is the hole in the defensive scheme, always has been. But there has to be a hole somewhere, and that's the one they picked. That's been pretty clear for a while.

[TrueTorontoFan]

we should bring back this thread