DeRozan Injury & Raptors Gameplan Without Him

[nubreed000]

We are depending on boogie being out to beat these Sacramento queens. Man! We are the number 1 team in the eastern conference...

Oh man we are??? Somebody must've forgot to tell the Lakers that last night! We must complain to the NBA so that they us the win! lol

Man this season is shaping up to be quite the rollercoaster. Hopefully this so-called "depth" of ours wins us some games, cause it would really suck to be on the level of the Wizards after such a start (sarcasm on that last bit, since we are Wiz level)

[DanH]

I like the idea of a JV/PP/JJ/TR/KL line-up as well.

I don't think I've ever seen that line-up on the floor though. Closest we've ever come to that was when PP was starting while Amir was injured.

That lineup has played 4 minutes together and has a net rating of -33. Largely meaningless with the tiny sample.

[bryan colangelo]

That lineup has played 4 minutes together and has a net rating of -33. Largely meaningless with the tiny sample.

If Amir is out as well, maybe there's a chance we might actually see this lineup.

http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/201...l#.VHzuqVfF9TM

[KeonClark]

If Amir is out as well, maybe there's a chance we might actually see this lineup.

http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/201...l#.VHzuqVfF9TM

Lol, now its his toe? Man Amirs season has really gotten off on the wrong foot.

[consmap]

Lol, now its his toe? Man Amirs season has really gotten off on the wrong foot.

[nubreed000]

Lol, now its his toe? Man Amirs season has really gotten off on the wrong foot.

[JawsGT]

I think the gameplan should be fairly simple. Don't start Vasquez! I have no idea why both PG's started last night. I didn't see the game because I live in the North Atlantic Ocean basically, and have long work days so I didn't want to operate on a few hours sleep due to the late start my time, but I have read the recaps and alot of comments.

From what I gather, GV played point last night to start and Lowry assumed Demar's role, and from the boxscore I'm guessing didn't do a great job of it. So, no actual PG for the bench unit? I don't get it. What makes Lowry so effective is that he runs the offense and does a fantastic job of reading the defence and recognizing the mismatches and what the offence needs in order to score. If he isn't running the show, many of his great qualities are being left untapped. He isn't as pure a scorer as Demar, and should not be put in position to try and fill that void. That is what Lou Will is for. He is much more suited for that role. And it leaves the ball in Lowry's capable hands to do what Lowry does. He can be an efficient scorer, and he can put up points, but that comes from being able to pick his spots and work the PnR.

I have no issues with Greivis, but for the love of all that is good in the world Casey, do not start both our PG's. GV has just started to come around, and was doing well as the commander of the second unit. Leave it be. If someone is going to be used like Demar was, let it be Lou.

Also, other posters have suggested starting JJ, and I think this would be a good idea. Slip TR to the 2, and start Patterson to help space the floor. On offense, you can let Patterson hug the 3pt line like Ross has been doing, and run some of Demar's plays for Ross. JJ can battle for boards, and I bet can be effective in the PnR. Lowry continues to run the show and Amir comes off the bench. Everyone keeps saying there are no ego's, so I can't see Amir getting upset about coming off the bench. He'll still get his minutes if he is playing well. This may be a good idea for the Kings game, as JJ should be able to handle Rudy, and Patterson can drag his defender out of the paint to help keep the lanes open. Lowry should give JV some early touches and maybe Cousins picks up some fouls.

Now, we did score enough points against the Lakers to win the game, so offence wasn't the biggest issue. But an inefficient offence allows the other team to stay in the game, especially when the defence is sucking. And both Lowry and Lou were inefficient, which is the very opposite of what we have been seeing with this team lately. Both of those guys can be efficient scorers if left to do what they normally do, so here's hoping Casey uses a rotation that makes a little more sense and the players bring a better effort defensively against the Kings.

Jeez, think about it, a 3 game west coast trip and you get to see the Lakers, Kings, and Jazz...you can't ask for better than that and they lost against the weakest of them! Better get the next two, cause the rest of the west coast swings won't be so forgiving.

Unfortunate loss, not the end of the world but let's hope they learn something from it!

[OldSkoolCool]

Lol, now its his toe? Man Amirs season has really gotten off on the wrong foot.

You sir, get an HM in the next game, that's brilliant.

[bryan colangelo]

I think the gameplan should be fairly simple. Don't start Vasquez! I have no idea why both PG's started last night.

The only reason that makes sense is because GV has played extended minutes with the starters before, and they could still run their standard offense and maintain their spacing without giving up too much size defensively (compared to starting Lou).

There's logic to it. I'm not convinced it can work or improve, but that's a whole other ball of wax.

[Puffer]

Interesting article in the Globe this morning:

"This is a month in which Casey and general manager Masai Ujiri can re-evaluate everything they’re thinking going forward. Take DeRozan off the floor, and everyone else is exposed. You can ask yourself a lot of searching, short-term questions under that sort of pressure.

How close is Terrence Ross? Can Jonas Valanciunas be a pillar, rather than an escape valve? Is Williams for real? What’s Patrick Patterson’s ceiling? Is Johnson ready to lead? Can Vasquez handle the pressure of being a regular and a go-to?

These are all issues that DeRozan, Raptor Dad, obscured. As good as he is, his greatest talent might be camouflaging his teammates’ shortcomings. Now they have to deal with them – metaphorical children becoming men."

You can read it here:

One of the key parts...Raps only have to play .450 ball to win the division and secure home court advantage, so the rest of the season can be about getting ready for the playoffs.

[bryan colangelo]

Interesting article in the Globe this morning:


One of the key parts...Raps only have to play .450 ball to win the division and secure home court advantage, so the rest of the season can be about getting ready for the playoffs.

Yeah. I guess there's no point in getting upset about the Raps without Demar. There are teams dealing with way worse injuries than us.

The truth is, I was actually starting to believe this team was elite and got really used to watching highly competitive basketball ...

[Axel]

The only reason that makes sense is because GV has played extended minutes with the starters before, and they could still run their standard offense and maintain their spacing without giving up too much size defensively (compared to starting Lou).

There's logic to it. I'm not convinced it can work or improve, but that's a whole other ball of wax.

You keep making this point over and over (at least the 3rd time) that GV knows the offence. The whole damn team knows the offence. Any player can play the offence. Some players will fit better with the starters, but they can run the offence with anyone (probably except Bruno).

[one to]

The Rabbit Hole?

Is it safe to say that this injury will shape the course of the future for the Raptors? The whole Ross vs Demar debate gets a chance to play out. Ross is on a rookie contract for 1 more year after this.. And Demar is due a big raise on his next contract most likely a max.. I think depending on how the next month plays out that one of them will become expendable and Masai isn't shy about trading players whether we like them or not because his job is to make the team as competitive as possible.

[Nilanka]

Neo?

[NaijaBoy17]

Very possible that if Ross plays at a very high-level during this stretch, DD could be traded to secure an all-star level player at another position, who is preferably already locked into a pre-new-TV-deal contract.

As much as I like DeRozan, it would be smart (the caveat being that Ross needs to play at a very high level of course). Especially considering we could give Ross an extension next year and lock him up for quite a lot less than what DeMar would be paid in 2016.