What happened to this team after the Portland game?

[CalgaryRapsFan]

It's more than just giving JV more minutes. They need to overhaul how they get the ball in and out of the post.

It's more than that though. In the 2nd half last night, especially the 4th quarter, JV worked to get good position several times, only to have Lowry wave him away so that he could attack his man with a weak-side ISO. Is that on Lowry? On DC? On both of them? I argue that the strategy is on DC. Also, if Lowry is calling his own number too often, then it's still on DC to hold him accountable.

I think it has less to do with JV as a player, and more to do with the overall mentality of letting the "best" players attack and create on their own, whether it's ultimately their own shot or a pass. Coach-mandated hero-ball.

[psrs1]

Am I the only person who thinks we should play JV the most minutes on the team? Who cares if he turns it over or can't defend 2v1 like he's asked to.
Let the guy learn during this time, we don't have a playbook on offense or a decent defensive system to win a championship anyway. Might as well let him learn how to play in crunch time EVEN if it means we'll lose some games ( if that's even the case who knows ).

I'm not suggesting we tank the season but were making the playoffs so who cares if we play 500 ball at this point , not like we're winning a championship with this squad / coach .

I agree. We already are losing those games so why not play JV. Instruct him to limit putting the ball on the floor and pass out of the double team.

[bryan colangelo]

It's more than that though. In the 2nd half last night, especially the 4th quarter, JV worked to get good position several times, only to have Lowry wave him away so that he could attack his man with a weak-side ISO. Is that on Lowry? On DC? On both of them? I argue that the strategy is on DC. Also, if Lowry is calling his own number too often, then it's still on DC to hold him accountable.

I think it has less to do with JV as a player, and more to do with the overall mentality of letting the "best" players attack and create on their own, whether it's ultimately their own shot or a pass. Coach-mandated hero-ball.

I think it's on both them, Demar, and Lou. GV doesn't get enough court-time with JV to really be blamed, but I might be imagining that.

The truth is Lowry, Demar and Lou aren't that great at passing into the post, and JV isn't really great at finding the open man on the perimeter when he draws attention in the paint (which he does). When JV does pass back out, it's usually to just reset the play and the team has just burned 5 seconds of the shot clock.

It's a team problem, but yeah, one Casey is responsible for fixing.

[007]

NO confidence.

The team needs a couple good shooting nights, and they should get back on track.

[MACK11]

NO confidence.

The team needs a couple good shooting nights, and they should get back on track.

Remember that game @ Utah?

It was raining 3s like crazy and now we struggle to score 95pts

[caccia]

I honestly think they were truly deflated after the GS game.

I missed that game, but what I have seen since is a team that seems to go faster than its ability to control the ball warrants. It's like the players cannot get the smooth, speedy image of Golden State out of their heads and keep trying to win that game, even when it's slow, plodding Memphis on the court. So the turnovers add up, and the isolation plays, shots too soon on the possession, the number of threes put up by players who are cold, all increase. What has not increased is the number of assists. Golden State averages 27 assists per game. Toronto averages just under 21. So I think the team has lost its identity.

Someone in a game thread showed the poor shooting percentages of the team since Dec. 28: Lowry, Ross, Patterson, Williams are all shooting under 40%, Vasquez is right on the nose. So if those guys are taking the majority of shots, the offence suffers. We need more shots from the bigs, and better passing inside, as well.

[caccia]

On the other side of the court, I can't believe how teams just take the ball right to the rim for quick layups. Certainly, turnovers will increase those breakaway dunks, but that does not explain Jennings and others just walking right up the lane. The defence needs an adjustment to clog the lane, and I think the coach has started that with the zones we saw recently.

But a lot of it is just plain effort. We need guys who are willing to man up. Believe it or not, DeMar DeRozan and Tyler Hansbrough have the best defensive ratings on the team since Dec. 28, at 96.1 and 100.1 respectively. They both deserve court time. For defensive rebound percentage, Valanciunas and Hansbrough have been killing the boards at 21.6 and 20.3, respectively, with James Johnson right behind at 19.4%. No one else is higher than Amir Johnson's 16%.

[SamMitchells]

Remember that game @ Utah?

It was raining 3s like crazy and now we struggle to score 95pts

We used to score 120 points consistently

[RandomGuy]

Kerr has showcased Caseys weaknesses. The whole game was basically: Intro to beating Raptors 101 video course.

[The Great One]

It seems like something has happened since the Portland. This team is playing like a lottery team since then. What the hell happened after that game??

There is no ball movement, Guards just walk up and take contested shots, DD doesn't drive anymore, PPat has been reduced to a poor man's Channing Frye, and our bigs have become glorified screen setters. What the hell is going on???

Nothing. They're on a slump. Happens to every team.

[raptors999]

Nothing. They're on a slump. Happens to every team.

Nope, Knicks have been consistent all year.

[tDotted]

Someone in a game thread showed the poor shooting percentages of the team since Dec. 28: Lowry, Ross, Patterson, Williams are all shooting under 40%, Vasquez is right on the nose. So if those guys are taking the majority of shots, the offence suffers. We need more shots from the bigs, and better passing inside, as well.

we need more JJ post ups

[hotfuzz]

nothing. They're on a slump for 2+ weeks. Happens to every weak team.

ftfy

[distorsun]

Casey thought he could actually beat GSW with small ball and when they get destroyed it broke his little head

Yes. Going supersmall against the best small ball team in the league was just "GENIUS". You should've listen to the GSW commentators; they were as stunned as one can be. They tried to make sense of it, but just couldn't so they just laugh...basically saying "wtf is wrong with their coach"

By the way, BOGUT was injured and didn't play that game.

[Pele]

We used to score 120 points consistently

Last night I kept yelling "SCORE THE FREAKING BALL" and woke up the neighbors.

It was hard to watch.