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Proof the Culture Change is Real

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  • Proof the Culture Change is Real

    I was watching the hard to watch Atlanta Hawks game when it came to me. The culture change is real. 30+ games into the season and there were the Raptors, still passing the ball. Not only passing, but passing it to Pascal as he set himself up for a 3pt shot at the top of the arc; passing it to Norm in the corner during one of the coldest slumps of his career; passing it to JV (twice) for a three pointer. The whole game was drive and kick, drive and kick.

    Sure there are still moments of regression. But these guys see each other in practice. They know what each other is capable of. They are also aware of Siakim's terrible record at the 3pt line, but they recognize that he CAN make them, and the regular season is the time to build up confidence and entrain muscle memory into their process.

    I believe they are fully onboard. More importantly, so is Casey. I think Casey is constantly harping on them in practice to do the right thing. He sure isn't keeping anyone on a short leash for following the program. He pulls Norm for offensive fouls while running over guys on the way to the basket, but not for corner threes.

    I mentioned in the Hawks game thread, only two players in that game didn't make a three ball, Jakob and Lucas. That tells me something.

  • #2
    Very good point about what they see in practice and we don't. It shouldn't be surprising that they (Demar, Kyle) sometimes revert to old ways when things are going south or they get stressed. Happens to me regularly on the golf course

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    • #3
      If 3 point makes are arguably more important than percentage then the Raptors are almost identical to Boston and very close to Golden State. Attempts are just marginally more. So if an offence is generating lots of open looks and your philosophy is that 3s and layups are what you need the current approach is working. One extra made 3 a game over a season would make a big difference though

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      • #4
        Mitch P wrote: View Post
        If 3 point makes are arguably more important than percentage then the Raptors are almost identical to Boston and very close to Golden State. Attempts are just marginally more. So if an offence is generating lots of open looks and your philosophy is that 3s and layups are what you need the current approach is working. One extra made 3 a game over a season would make a big difference though
        Yeah, and I think it's telling that it's not just the established shooters shooting more. In fact, it's the opposite of that: our three veteran shooters are all just slightly down from career highs in attempts (Lowry at 7.5, just down from a career high of 7.8 last year, CJ at 6.3, just down from a career high of 6.4 a couple years ago with Indiana but up from last year, and Serge at 4.2, down from a career high of 4.5 last year). Everyone else on the roster is at career highs in attempts, in many cases (Powell, FVV, Wright, Siakam, DeRozan), more than a shot-a-game more than last year (and that's not including the rookie shooting more than 3 attempts a game, or JV who looks now like he could be averaging 1 a game over the latter part of the season). I think that's potentially a great investment for this year and beyond, as the percentages will naturally rise for the young guys.

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        • #5
          I'm still a bit on the fence about it. Non 3 point shooting bigs should not be shooting 3's with any sort of regularity imo.
          If they make em it looks great, but if they don't I'm like "what the hell Siakam!"

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          • #6
            I thought the 3 Siakam made in the last game showed a better form; I'm sure he must be shooting a ton in practice and getting some good coaching. Actually I've never understood why JV couldn't shoot 3s; he is one of the best foul shooting big men in the NBA and has a nice stroke from mid range. The 3s he's taken this year so far have all been right on line.....just a little flattish. Poeltl is the guy I'd really like to see become a shooter. In a very limited sample he hasn't actually looked that bad and his foul shooting seems to be getting better. If he develops the ability to pick and pop as well as roll and can be even a slight threat from 3 he could be a top 10 big in the league. His "motor", hands and basketball IQ are all outstanding.

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            • #7
              G__Deane wrote: View Post
              I'm still a bit on the fence about it. Non 3 point shooting bigs should not be shooting 3's with any sort of regularity imo.
              If they make em it looks great, but if they don't I'm like "what the hell Siakam!"
              Ya, I'm actually annoyed at how Siakam has the green light to launch 3s. We're knowingly wasting possessions every time he does so.

              It's not like we're talking about a mini slump. The guy's NEVER been able to shoot.

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              • #8
                Yeah, but if he could hit 3's how big would that be for this team? All about developing the youngsters so I say go ahead.

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                • #9
                  LJ2 wrote: View Post
                  Yeah, but if he could hit 3's how big would that be for this team? All about developing the youngsters so I say go ahead.
                  Personally, I'd rather not use real games as a summer training regimen. It's the same reason I'd rather not see Bebe using the regular season to "develop" his crossover dribble.

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                  • #10
                    Does this year remind you of 2013/14?

                    2013/14 was a crazy year. The only focus was tank or no tank and an early season trade seemed to hint we were heading towards the former. And then, defying expectations, the modern era Raptors were born. I didn't think we would see something as unexpected as that again. One of the perils of being a consistently good team I guess. But, listening to a GSW podcast (below) and seeing some recent posts about FVV, I realized that it's not a bad time to appreciate the similarity.
                    If you think of it, the season officially began with Masai clearly calling for culture change. Many thought that would be the end of the coach. Maybe Lowry and/or Ibaka wouldn't be resigned. We took our traditional strength for years (our bench) and completely dismantled it. Who would have predicted Kyle and Demar's playing time could drop so significantly. Who thought Demar could almost double his career assist rate....and shoot threes?! And finally, who knew a group of rookies, second round picks and undrafted players would play at a level that could hang with league's best starters (even in crunch time). And oh yeah, OG was just supposed to be starting some rehab games right about now. Even though we've been good for so long, it's worth stopping to appreciate how we've become good all over again. (even if they drop one in Philly tomorrow to make me regret writing this, they've still been amazing)

                    https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/20...ll-star-voting

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                    • #11
                      Is the cultures change real?
                      Exhibit A Toronto vs Cleveland Cavaliers
                      Exhibit B Toronto vs Golden State Warriors

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                      • #12
                        Puffer wrote: View Post
                        Is the cultures change real?
                        Exhibit A Toronto vs Cleveland Cavaliers
                        Exhibit B Toronto vs Golden State Warriors
                        TBD in the playoffs

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                        • #13
                          tDotted wrote: View Post
                          TBD in the playoffs
                          Yes, it will be interesting to see if they keep up the pattern of mutual trust and finding the better shot. Of course, they could, and still lose, but that would bode well for next season.

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                          • #14
                            Puffer wrote: View Post
                            Yes, it will be interesting to see if they keep up the pattern of mutual trust and finding the better shot. Of course, they could, and still lose, but that would bode well for next season.
                            Still holding steady around 10th in pace, so they haven't slowed down through the first half of the season. Really good sign.

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                            • #15
                              tDotted wrote: View Post
                              TBD in the playoffs
                              I'll be shocked if there's anything different in the playoffs. They'll keep playing the way they are, they'll likely run the roster unusually deep for the playoffs, and they'll go to simple screens and P'n'Rs in the clutch like most other teams do, to the great consternation of fans when they lose.

                              The only real TBD in the playoffs is to see if all of this gets them any further than the last two years did.
                              "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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