What We've Learned about the 2015/2016 Raptors From the Preseason

[MixxAOR]

Lou Will and Vasquez shot a lot of threes damn

[Scraptor]

part of the problem is 2Pats hasnt been shooting well and Ross and CoJo havent clicked yet but there is still alot of pointless ball movement and guys ball stopping for no reason. Its just preseason but the rotations are more troubling

Yeah when Patman starts shooting again we'll move back up the ranks. Crappy thing is that we dropped so much despite Carroll attempting 4.1 and Bennett 3.0 per game.

Really need TRoss to get it together and earn big minutes this year. He's really our only hope for deadeye shooting outside, aside from Lowry. Patman and Carroll can help but they're not pure shooters like Ross.

[Maury]

You obviously didn't watch CJ and AB start but consistently shine not for a game or 2 but for 18 games in July on team Canada first at the CAN -American Games followed by the FIBA AMERICAS OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT in Brazil !!! Those 18 games plus the pre season games allowed them to consistently show great skills on both sides of the ball !! As far as noticeable improvement JV and DD should NOT be lumped together ! JV has shown noticeable improvement and consistently, but still needs to work harder on getting open and presenting and wanting the BALL ! Unfortunately with DD we see too much of the same old selfish ISO mentality . He should continue to take the ball to the hoop BUT NOT almost every time he gets the ball !!! He makes himself far too predictable and inefficient thus HURTING the team with so many BAD forced shots while denying his open team mates great shots!!! He has fallen into this deep BAD habit in order to get HIS 22 pts. He could really help his team score another 8-10 points a game !!! I honestly don't think he realizes that this ISO habit ( similar to Rudy Gay) is not only hurting the team but hurting himself because if he does not SHOOT LESS and PASS MORE their is little chance of the Raps even considering re signing him. It's really DD. Change or your GONZO !!! Your could really help the team by scoring LESS !!! This is so important it may make or break the teams ability to win in the playoffs where DEFENSE is so much tougher !!! It obviously is not working with DD playing selfish ISO ball so IF he does not change long BEFORE the trade deadline UM wil have no choice but to TRADE him because history has proven the is NO chance of winning with him playing inefficient ISO ball which is so predictable it's EASY to shut down as the Wizards did in their painfull SWEEP last year !!! DD and his ability to change or not may well be the X factor determining the success or failure of the RAPS playoff aspirations this year! dD be the team leader by CHANGING !!!!! GO RAPS GO !!!

Bro PLEASE stop over using capitals it makes it really hard to read your post.


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[planetmars]

3pt shooting is troubling, and if it doesn't pick up the Raptors will have to rely on their defense to keep them in games. Teams like Memphis, Washington and Milwaukee were all in the lower part of team 3pt fga last year, but they all were in the top 5 for defense.

[distorsun]

Couldn't find where to post this (from grantland Andrew Sharp) :
SELL: The Toronto Raptors

If we’re going strictly by the past 30 days, nobody in the NBA has a higher stock price than not-chubby-anymore Kyle Lowry. The Raptors also added DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, and Luis Scola over the summer. Those were solid moves, even if they don’t really change anything about this team’s ceiling. What’s tougher to understand is bringing back Dwane Casey.

Didn’t this team quit on Casey last season? Did Masai Ujiri not see the Wizards series? Did he miss Lowry freaking out in huddles and saying the organization had a lot to fix “internally”? Lowry is awesome and the idea of a turbocharged version of him for this season is pretty fun to dream about, but he, DeMar DeRozan, and Carroll can only do so much.

Anyway, there’s no team in the NBA that’s tougher to predict. They could finish top four in the East, or they could start slow, things could break bad internally, and it could cost them the season. For now, it’s probably safer to get out while everyone’s talking about Lowry not being fat.

[psrs1]

Lou Will and Vasquez shot a lot of threes damn

Yes. With TR KL and DC can they attempt as many 3s as KL LW GV and TR last year? I doubt it. Also with DD shooting 27% from 3 career wise the lack of consistent 3s is a huge area of concern moving forward. The KL transition 3 should be better this year as long as he stays healthy. I guess we are going to rely on D.

[2KJ]

AB, Anthony Bennett that is has a chance to actually challenge for the starting 4 spot. I loved his energy and his form - it's been there from the Pan Am and FIBA Americas. I'd prefer Scola off the bench as the veteran presence for the young guys. Biyombo is a much improved version of Hansbrough - same motor, same energy, same offense, but has more length and is a true rim protector. Cory Joe is not overpaid - he's been the true backup point guard we've been missing since the TJ Ford-Jose days or even the Lowry-Jose days who plays on both ends. He has the winning mentality he got from the Spurs, as well as the leadership which he got from being Canada's number 1 point guard.

Haven't seen much of Demar. Ross has improved - which is likely due to him playing at his natural shooting guard position instead of being forced to be a 3 to accommodate our starting shooting guard who can't shoot when guarded by bigger, longer wings.

Patterson is better off the bench -the guy just forgot how to boxout and rebound.

Not gonna expect much from this team - Ceiling would be top 3, must win the Atlantic. Playoffs is what matters. Will they collapse in the first round again like the past 2 seasons and the Maple Leafs? Or will they get out of round 1 and put up fight in the second round like in 2001 and this year's Jays?

Hope to see Bruno and Bebe at the Hershey centre.

[DogeLover1234]

The last point is a little flawed. The Raps shot A LOT of threes last season. I remember them setting a record last season for number of players hitting a certain number of threes. There simply isn't a place to make a big leap there.

The change in assist % is a small concern, but if there is any increase in assist % that should be a good thing being they were not implementing their offence for most of preseason.

I never was convinced, despite Casey claiming that they needed to run more that the Raps are a fast paced team. They have to generate their speed from the defensive end, otherwise these guys are better off in set plays...

About less threes then last year, i wonder how many more open threes we are taking. Last year we took a lot of contested threes with lou will leading the way, and i hope that changes. As long as we get more open shots im happy.

[raptors999]

About less threes then last year, i wonder how many more open threes we are taking. Last year we took a lot of contested threes with lou will leading the way, and i hope that changes. As long as we get more open shots im happy.

A lot of the 30' ft shots were uncontested

[S.R.]

Couldn't find where to post this (from grantland Andrew Sharp) :
SELL: The Toronto Raptors

If we’re going strictly by the past 30 days, nobody in the NBA has a higher stock price than not-chubby-anymore Kyle Lowry. The Raptors also added DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, and Luis Scola over the summer. Those were solid moves, even if they don’t really change anything about this team’s ceiling. What’s tougher to understand is bringing back Dwane Casey.

Didn’t this team quit on Casey last season? Did Masai Ujiri not see the Wizards series? Did he miss Lowry freaking out in huddles and saying the organization had a lot to fix “internally”? Lowry is awesome and the idea of a turbocharged version of him for this season is pretty fun to dream about, but he, DeMar DeRozan, and Carroll can only do so much.

Anyway, there’s no team in the NBA that’s tougher to predict. They could finish top four in the East, or they could start slow, things could break bad internally, and it could cost them the season. For now, it’s probably safer to get out while everyone’s talking about Lowry not being fat.

This is the worst case scenario for the Raptors - that a Casey/Lowry fallout is unresolved and you lose your best player. Hopefully either that doesn't happen, or if there are Casey/locker room issues again, Masai steps in ASAP.

[raptors999]

This is the worst case scenario for the Raptors - that a Casey/Lowry fallout is unresolved and you lose your best player. Hopefully either that doesn't happen, or if there are Casey/locker room issues again, Masai steps in ASAP.

The best case is Lowry helps the team win and Casey gets closer to being extended or worst case plays himself out of town while Casey blames him and gets extended. MU really fucked the HC situation up

[JimiCliff]

This is the worst case scenario for the Raptors - that a Casey/Lowry fallout is unresolved and you lose your best player. Hopefully either that doesn't happen, or if there are Casey/locker room issues again, Masai steps in ASAP.

Part of me wonders whether selling high on skinnyGOAT Lowry a few months into the season would be Masai's best move...

[LJ2]

Preseason takeaway: Entire #NBA moving to pace & space. 29/30 teams increased pace and 23/30 attempted more 3s. https://t.co/Pgf7Lrxro2

— let's nba! (@letsnbaok) October 24, 2015

Only team not to increase pace over last season was the Raps.

Preseason takeway: Last place in change of pace and attempted 3s? #Raptors. Also 7th last in change in assist% #RTZ
https://t.co/Pgf7Lrxro2

— let's nba! (@letsnbaok) October 24, 2015

/itsonlypreseason

Well it might not be such a bad thing for fans who want to see us slow the tempo and run the offence through JV. There's atleast one other nba team out there that apparently thinks this will lead to success.

[raptors999]

Well it might not be such a bad thing for fans who want to see us slow the tempo and run the offence through JV. There's atleast one other nba team out there that apparently thinks this will lead to success.

Problem is that the Raptors didn't slow down by going inside but by featuring more pointless passing and handoffs before Demar takes his long 2. Bright side is that it will improve defense a bit even when pace adjusted

[Puffer]

Read this on Sportsnet:

"As a GM you are looking to exploit inefficiencies in the marketplace, like the fact that players get paid for offensive output—not defensive impact. By valuing players who affect win probability with defence, Ujiri is cornering the market of a undervalued resource."

I would say this is something else we've learned about the Raptors, in this case their front office. You could question whether or not Carroll and Joseph were undervalued, but we don't know what they would have wound up getting. And it seemed like Masai moved on them before anyone else could get to them. Then he offered them contracts that made them think "That's good enough for me." I would say in the case of Scola and Biyombo they were definitely under valued.