Game #28: Sacramento Kings 93 - Toronto Raptors 108

[GLF]

Casey prioritizes low turnovers first and foremost, and that's the main reason for FVV and 2 PGs, in general + DD.

But Kyle and Demar don't turn over the ball a lot. If we played a guy like CJ or OG alongside them to end the game I don't think we would have high turnover numbers because Demar or Kyle would initiate the offence. They would just be there to space the floor and defend. I much rather at the end of a close game for the ball to be in Kyle or Demar's hands that Fred's.

[3inthekeon]

Raptors win and cover. 20-8 on the season, 11-1 at home, 9 of last 10.

And half the posts are whining about FVV. SMH.

[golden]

But Kyle and Demar don't turn over the ball a lot. If we played a guy like CJ or OG alongside them to end the game I don't think we would have high turnover numbers because Demar or Kyle would initiate the offence. They would just be there to space the floor and defend. I much rather at the end of a close game for the ball to be in Kyle or Demar's hands that Fred's.

Except in crunch time and in playoffs when teams trap Kyle and DeMar with an extra defender. That's when Casey wants that 3rd ball handler, who can hopefully break down the defense and get the ball back to them, or score. Norm was that guy for a few games last playoffs.

[GLF]

Except in crunch time and in playoffs when teams trap Kyle and DeMar with an extra defender. That's when Casey wants that 3rd ball handler, who can hopefully break down the defense and get the ball back to them, or score. Norm was that guy for a few games last playoffs.

That's true. I think OG can do that but I know Casey won't trust him enough. If good Norm is around come playoff time he should be good to do it again. But I don't hate closing with Fred anyway, I just don't think he shouldn't be locked into that position. There have been games where he hurt the team and those nights Casey should close with someone else. So it's more Casey I'm getting at than Fred.

[golden]

That's true. I think OG can do that but I know Casey won't trust him enough. If good Norm is around come playoff time he should be good to do it again. But I don't hate closing with Fred anyway, I just don't think he shouldn't be locked into that position. There have been games where he hurt the team and those nights Casey should close with someone else. So it's more Casey I'm getting at than Fred.

Once they start trusting the new ball-movement system, they should be able to punish aggressive trapping defenses with quick passes to find the open man - ideally a cutter. Having that 3rd ball handler who pounds the ball is a bit of crutch back to the old habits. Small steps.....

[JimiCliff]

Casey prioritizes low turnovers first and foremost, and that's the main reason for FVV and 2 PGs, in general + DD.

I don't see it. I don't think we're turning the ball over more if we have Norm or CJ or OG or whoever in there. And even if we do, that effect will be dwarfed by the benefit of CJ's shooting, or the additional length of Norm and OG on D, etc etc.

I seriously think Casey has an ingrained contrarian streak, and if there's any ambiguity at all as to what the best rotation is, he'll choose one that's sub-optimal.

[white men can't jump]

Not much to actually hate about that game. Sacramento hit a lot of tough shots and played above their talent level offensively in the 1st half. We could have given up the exact same shots and have it been a 20-30 pt win easily. And that's with DeMar having a bit of an off night scoring.

Raps playing great right now. Pretty much everyone doing their job.

Siakam is starting to bug me a bit again, though. His offence is just so all over the place some nights. Even as a backup he needs to be better in terms of playing under control. Needs to take a cue from OG and Poeltl and learn not to force things (something he seemed to be doing a decent job of earlier in the year). I don't know if it's because his shot isn't falling and he's pressing, but even when his shot was off earlier on he seemed to do a better job fitting in. Last 10 games or so that seems to be much less the case. Not sure if recent bench struggles are partly to blame, or if he's a major reason for said struggles.

There 3inthekeon. I didn't whine about FVV.

[raptors999]

Yea pretty much. He is just terrible at in game adjustments whether its lineups, substitutions or the x's and o's. He always needs to look at tape first and then MAYBE the next game he'll make the adjustment, but that's if you're lucky. It's so annoying because most of the lineup stuff is so easy and so obvious. Probably the easiest part of coaching and he's struggles so much with it. He prioritizes spacing a little too much at times

He also deprioritizes defence and rebounding and places too much emphasis on ball security and spacing

[GLF]

He also deprioritizes defence and rebounding and places too much emphasis on ball security and spacing

Yea which has always been weird to me because he's supposed to be a defensive coach lol

[3inthekeon]

Not much to actually hate about that game. Sacramento hit a lot of tough shots and played above their talent level offensively in the 1st half. We could have given up the exact same shots and have it been a 20-30 pt win easily. And that's with DeMar having a bit of an off night scoring.

Raps playing great right now. Pretty much everyone doing their job.

Siakam is starting to bug me a bit again, though. His offence is just so all over the place some nights. Even as a backup he needs to be better in terms of playing under control. Needs to take a cue from OG and Poeltl and learn not to force things (something he seemed to be doing a decent job of earlier in the year). I don't know if it's because his shot isn't falling and he's pressing, but even when his shot was off earlier on he seemed to do a better job fitting in. Last 10 games or so that seems to be much less the case. Not sure if recent bench struggles are partly to blame, or if he's a major reason for said struggles.

There 3inthekeon. I didn't whine about FVV.

The like wasn't just for your last comment either. Good post. That 1st half, Yeah ex-coach Jack and I'm sure Casey in the locker room weren't talking about Kings unsustainably hot shooting, you tell the boys it was all about effort, but that was a huge chunk of the reason we were down by 2.

And yeah, Pascal is at Bismack levels now with his shot, even blowing the 2 bunnies in a row. There are some real self-confidence issues at play.

[GLF]

But I will say Casey has improved a lot since his first day here when it comes to lineups and substitutions so that tells you how bad he was at it lol

[raptors999]

I don't see it. I don't think we're turning the ball over more if we have Norm or CJ or OG or whoever in there. And even if we do, that effect will be dwarfed by the benefit of CJ's shooting, or the additional length of Norm and OG on D, etc etc.

I seriously think Casey has an ingrained contrarian streak, and if there's any ambiguity at all as to what the best rotation is, he'll choose one that's sub-optimal.

Both guards are all-stars, they shouldn't be getting trapped like rookies. Besides FVV is the one most likely to get trapped - sophmore and short

[Puffer]

...How come no one's here lol

Raptors winning.

[planetmars]

Either there are a lot of really bad teams in the NBA or the Raptors are just too good. Even when Hill hit that 3 before the half, I knew this was going to end up a laugher. Sacramento hit some really tough shots early, and a bad team usually can't keep hitting at a clip like that. Our Wright led defense was just awesome again in the second half. Love that aspect of his game is.

On to the next.

[Scraptor]

Raptors winning.

Site's still a little screwy I think. I have to "request desktop site" to get things semi-functional, and I still can't Thank/Like posts.

I'll be back more after Christmas either way. Just enjoying my vacation and glad to see the Raps taking care of business.