How do we fix our defense?

[Mess]

But is this really the problem on the defensive end? I mean I think most of us would agree Siakam is a better defender than Scola, so I'm not sure that's where the issue lies.

If you could only download all of Carroll's (and Scola's) experience into Siakam's brain...

[MixxAOR]

I still think its too early to make judgements about what we need. Schedule has been tough. And hey Boston lost Sullinger and their defense sucks now 😂 So who knows

[lewro]

Yeah, and we had the exact same defensive issues with our starting lineup last year, with the exact same solution(start Patterson), and DeMar was a big part of the problem there as well.

In fact, last year, our defense was better with Scola on/DeMar off than it was with DeMar on/Scola off.

So demar is the constant and we're stuck with him so the variables around him need to change. Unfortunately that is the front court, even if they are not terrible they need to be above average to compensate

[Barolt]

I still think its too early to make judgements about what we need. Schedule has been tough. And hey Boston lost Sullinger and their defense sucks now �� So who knows

Schedule has been tough, but...

We expect this team to compete with the best in the playoffs, why shouldn't we expect them to do so now, too?

[lewro]

I still think its too early to make judgements about what we need. Schedule has been tough. And hey Boston lost Sullinger and their defense sucks now 😂 So who knows

Horford has been hurt part of that time and adjusting. They're getting better

[CalgaryRapsFan]

The perimeter defense is softer than a marshmallow. This team lets anyone go right into the paint anytime they want

The Raptors point-of-attack defense has been horrendous. Whether it's Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Joseph, Ross or Powell, they constantly get blown by. DeRozan is a pylon, and both Lowry/Joseph seem to get by more on reputation than actual performance, as they've both been dreadful. Carroll was a bad signing (I was in the minority back then) and he definitely hasn't been the defense stopper he was hyped as. Ross and Powell have been the best of the bunch, but still not stoppers by any stretch.

Of course JV (and any other big) is going to look bad defensively, both on paper and on film, but when the first line of defense crumbles there's no hope for the anchors.

[lewro]

Schedule has been tough, but...

We expect this team to compete with the best in the playoffs, why shouldn't we expect them to do so now, too?

Exactly. I'm not happy about the back to backs but I'm glad to assess this team early vs our rivals. Preferable imo

[tDotted]

This is why I proposed Marc gasol in the trade thread. Its good that we all recognize the problems but how do we fix it?

Marc doesn't help the defense. He's smarter than JV, but he's also just as slow. He can't fix all the defensive mistakes the perimeter guys are making.

[lewro]

The Raptors point-of-attack defense has been horrendous. Whether it's Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Joseph, Ross or Powell, they constantly get blown by. DeRozan is a pylon, and both Lowry/Joseph seem to get by more on reputation than actual performance, as they've both been dreadful. Carroll was a bad signing (I was in the minority back then) and he definitely been the defense stopper he was hyped as. Ross and Powell have been the best of the bunch, but still not stoppers by any stretch.

Of course JV (and any other big) is going to look bad defensively, both on paper and on film, but when the first line of defense crumbles there's no hope for the anchors.

Powell did a good job of forcing Westbrook into bebe. That's what I want to see

[DanH]

I have a post going up on Raptors HQ today that I wrote after the game last night, that's goes in deep on the defence and comes to the same conclusions seen in here (particularly from Barolt) - Joseph struggling is an issue for the D, but Biyombo being replaced by Nogueira probably isn't, and the biggest issue by far appears to be DeRozan - who has never been stellar, but has been disastrous this year and needs to improve, and cutting back his workload is the easiest path to that.

[MixxAOR]

Schedule has been tough, but...

We expect this team to compete with the best in the playoffs, why shouldn't we expect them to do so now, too?

Well..Western teams kicked our asses but i dont think East is a problem for us yet...

[DanH]

Schedule has been tough, but...

We expect this team to compete with the best in the playoffs, why shouldn't we expect them to do so now, too?

That said, no back to backs or long road trips in the playoffs.

[lewro]

Marc doesn't help the defense. He's smarter than JV, but he's also just as slow. He can't fix all the defensive mistakes the perimeter guys are making.

He's better than jv at d, he can shoot the 3 and pass to our guards. I suggest pairing him with noel for footspeed and rim protection. Kinda like barolts love/tt or Dirk/Chandler

[lewro]

Well..Western teams kicked our asses but i dont think East is a problem for us yet...

Cavs?

[Barolt]

The conclusion I keep coming to, that I believe more and more to be true:

Jonas Valanciunas isn't, and probably never will be, a great defender. He's also not really the problem with our defense.