Who is the Most Overrated Team in the East ..aka.. Why Boston Sux.

[Demographic Shift]

I don't really know if other teams have this problem but I do know we are at the bottom half of the league in 3 point percentage. So we will probably have a good bit of games where the 3 isn't falling compared to other playoff teams in the east. If not shooting the ball well is going to be our excuse as to why we lose we may not get very far come playoff time. I have confidence in this team and I believe we can beat anybody in the East but I just think learning how to win when shots aren't falling and playing better in the clutch are two things we must improve on. Oh and rebounding obviously. If we were a really good 3 point shooting team it wouldn't bother me as much but the reality is we're not and shooting nights like against the bucks will happen more often than not. Still have to win those games.

I miss the more upbeat version of yourself from earlier in the year.....must be the february blahs sending you sliding back to being unwarrantedly pessemistic my friend.

Whatever these guys do and however they do it... they have not lucked into 40 odd wins before March...
Its not an optical illusion they rack up points ... lots and lots of points... to the tune of the third best on average league wide... to do that you have to make more than your fair share of 3's
They play pretty good defense as well.... not like the Pistons of years gone but top 10 defense
The Raps bench is the envy of the entire association...Ujiri has found players that contribute big time off the pine.
No team is perfect.. but this one is as solid a collection of talent this organization has ever seen....during past trade deadlines the boards would fill with petabytes of data on positional needs suggestions... this year.... whats the glaring weakness ? there really isn't one....

And this is the year that Lebron .. as good as he is.. and thats damn good.... doesn't have the supporting cast around him that gives the 3 time eastern champs a decided edge in a 7 game series...

Doors open.... Raps making a house call ....here they come....

[planetmars]

Philly is trying their hardest to recruit Lebron. If they get him this summer, we're so fucked.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...e-philadelphia

[GLF]

As has been pointed out in another thread, if you remove the three pointers taken (and missed) by Pascal and Norm, the Raptors would rank 6th in 3 point percentage. The obvious strategy in the playoffs is for those two not to shoot the three pointer. That will hardly affect the Raptors offense at all, given their other strengths.

Oh I didn't even know that. Interesting, well we also guard the 3 well. We didn't against Milwaukee but we normally do. I believe we're top 10 in guarding the 3 (were probably top 5 before the Milwaukee game). So that's probably how we get by without being a good 3 point shooting team. We may shoot it badly but normally we make sure the other team does as well.

[GLF]

I miss the more upbeat version of yourself from earlier in the year.....must be the february blahs sending you sliding back to being unwarrantedly pessemistic my friend.

Whatever these guys do and however they do it... they have not lucked into 40 odd wins before March...
Its not an optical illusion they rack up points ... lots and lots of points... to the tune of the third best on average league wide... to do that you have to make more than your fair share of 3's
They play pretty good defense as well.... not like the Pistons of years gone but top 10 defense
The Raps bench is the envy of the entire association...Ujiri has found players that contribute big time off the pine.
No team is perfect.. but this one is as solid a collection of talent this organization has ever seen....during past trade deadlines the boards would fill with petabytes of data on positional needs suggestions... this year.... whats the glaring weakness ? there really isn't one....

And this is the year that Lebron .. as good as he is.. and thats damn good.... doesn't have the supporting cast around him that gives the 3 time eastern champs a decided edge in a 7 game series...

Doors open.... Raps making a house call ....here they come....

LOL I'm still a work in progress.

[GLF]

Philly is trying their hardest to recruit Lebron. If they get him this summer, we're so fucked.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...e-philadelphia

We're fucked wherever Lebron goes (in the east) and in a few years, probably less, Philly would have been better than us anyway. I'm not too worried. Philly will move ahead of us and Cleveland will fall significantly. They'll just swap places pretty much.

[GLF]

Meh. In our 20 worst 3-point shooting games this year, we are 10-10, with wins against WAS, PHI, MIL, MIN and IND. We can win shooting poorly.

Is 10-10 good? Why does that not seem like a great record to me? Maybe I'm going crazy lol

[DanH]

Is 10-10 good? Why does that not seem like a great record to me? Maybe I'm going crazy lol

10-10 in literally the coldest shooting nights of the year. What, you expect a 70% win rate when we can't hit a shot to save our lives?

[GLF]

10-10 in literally the coldest shooting nights of the year. What, you expect a 70% win rate when we can't hit a shot to save our lives?

Good point.

[S.R.]

If they can improve on clutch situations, that's all you can ask for. At the root of that is the fact that this team still doesn't have a guy like Lebron, Durant, Curry, etc. to hand the ball to. They hand it to DeMar but with all due respect to DD, it just isn't the same. The team should be taking a "make the right basketball play" approach to clutch situations, instead of the far more typical "ISO your best scorer" approach. If they do that, win or lose I can't complain. They'll go as far as this talent can take them.

[Demographic Shift]

If they can improve on clutch situations, that's all you can ask for. At the root of that is the fact that this team still doesn't have a guy like Lebron, Durant, Curry, etc. to hand the ball to. They hand it to DeMar but with all due respect to DD, it just isn't the same. The team should be taking a "make the right basketball play" approach to clutch situations, instead of the far more typical "ISO your best scorer" approach. If they do that, win or lose I can't complain. They'll go as far as this talent can take them.

Could be it’s a blend of recognizing the right play and either making the pass to exploit the defense or if thats shut down then iso-ing your best scorer. Both choices are situational,depending on what the defense is giving you, or if there is a missed assignment by someone or if you get the switch you want with a favourable matchup for DD.

Think yesterday’s 2 hour session may have been focused on recognizing what’s available to you and then executing the preferred option faster.

These guys know they have a shot at getting to the nba finals. The way they guys carry themselves they expect to win. You got an experienced solid coaching staff who have been there before in Rex and Dwane. It’s now attention to detail.

[golden]

If they can improve on clutch situations, that's all you can ask for. At the root of that is the fact that this team still doesn't have a guy like Lebron, Durant, Curry, etc. to hand the ball to. They hand it to DeMar but with all due respect to DD, it just isn't the same. The team should be taking a "make the right basketball play" approach to clutch situations, instead of the far more typical "ISO your best scorer" approach. If they do that, win or lose I can't complain. They'll go as far as this talent can take them.

In other words, just forget about practicing "end-of-game" and "closing" situations. That's over-coaching. Just run the normal offense all game long and find the open man.

And speaking of Lebron, remember how he got crucified early in his career for "being scared of the moment", deferring to other guys to make the open shot? Then when he finally won a ring, he was lauded for those same scared plays as "making the right basketball play".

And GSW doesn't run that much static backcourt ISOs, even late in games. At least not to the extent of grinding the offense to a halt like the Raps. They'll run Curry/Durant pick & rolls with several options out of those and of course, the result is putting the ball in the hands of an MVP. But at least there's some motion and distraction going on, getting the defense moving. With the Raps, it's predictable and deliberate, backcourt hand-offs or lazy passes that can get blown up rather easily.

[S.R.]

In other words, just forget about practicing "end-of-game" and "closing" situations. That's over-coaching. Just run the normal offense all game long and find the open man.

And speaking of Lebron, remember how he got crucified early in his career for "being scared of the moment", deferring to other guys to make the open shot? Then when he finally won a ring, he was lauded for those same scared plays as "making the right basketball play".

And GSW doesn't run that much static backcourt ISOs, even late in games. At least not to the extent of grinding the offense to a halt like the Raps. They'll run Curry/Durant pick & rolls with several options out of those and of course, the result is putting the ball in the hands of an MVP. But at least there's some motion and distraction going on, getting the defense moving. With the Raps, it's predictable and deliberate, backcourt hand-offs or lazy passes that can get blown up rather easily.

Yeah, it's not that there's nothing, there's usually 1 or 2 off ball options it's just so predictable (and often slow in developing) that it's too easy to disrupt, Toronto ends up forcing a contested shot and/or running out of time.

Practicing end of game situations is great, like you say it's not that they have to come up with new plays, you just need really crisp execution under pressure. With talent across the lineup they should attack wherever the weak spot is, not just hand it to DeMar or Lowry. JV driving on Milwaukee for the tie was a great example. He was trying to get it back to CJ (the obvious perimeter hand off to the shooter) but was quick enough to take what the defence gave him - an open lane. If DD/Lowry have it they tend to just force their own shot imho. A lot of this is going to come down to them being willing to move the ball and they really need to execute early enough to give themselves a shot at offensive rebounds (have JV out there for that).

[slaw]

In other words, just forget about practicing "end-of-game" and "closing" situations. That's over-coaching. Just run the normal offense all game long and find the open man.

I would just add that I don't think any team runs a different EOF offense. Teams may have a particular ATO setup that the scouting tells them might work, etc. but typically teams are just running their most effective sets late.

The difference with the Raps isn't so much the action they run as what happens when they run it. Derozan, in particular, stops looking to continue with the options available and starts trying to force the action himself. Lowry is guilty of this to a lesser extent though he seemingly has the ball for fewer touches than Derozan late. DD is particularly guilty of this when he comes off of screens late as he has a tendency to back out with the dribble and go one-on-one when he should be looking to pass instead.

[Demographic Shift]

You can look back to the week post the ASG break as to when the Detroit Pistons went out for some bread and milk in the playoff race and never came back. In 3 must win games the Pistons have lost by a combined 57 points....20 a game and two weren't that close. Hard to see this team getting up off the mat. And oh yeah... Blake Griffin sure looks like he doesn't want to be there and the Pistons are stuck with this cluck for another 4 years at a bazillion dollars a year ACV.

Which leaves the the race for 8 between the Heat,the now relevant but still lousy Charlotte Hornets, and the on again off again Hinkies (if they are more off than on).

The Hornets have won their first 3 post break and get the Hinkies twice in the next 10 games. They also get the Raps and the Celtics and for the other 6 a steady diet of tanking cupcakes. A split with the Hinks inside of 7 and 3 run vaults the BobHornetCats into the discussion. It'll be tough as they are 4 back in the loss column on the Heat but if they surprise and hang 2 on the Hinkies they can get back to being in the conversation.

The Heat.. the little engine that could are 1 and 1 post break and play 6 of the next 10 at home. Of those 10 they get the Hinkies and the ever humble part time superstar and king of twitter Joel Embiid twice ... one being tonight. They do see Charlotte in the rearview mirror but can help themselves in this stretch where they get Sacto, the Lakers twice, the putrid Suns and the recently deceased Pistons along with the inconsistent Whiz twice as well. A run of 5 and 5 will tighten throats in South Beach... but a 7 and 3 record puts them in a pretty solid spot for the post season. 6 and 4 keeps the status quo.

The Hinkies. One of the teams the MSM has fallen in love with and keeps writing about merited or not. In the Hinks next 10 they can justify the love they are getting or, they can look like a pig with lipstick.It might look good but its still a pig. Of those next 10 ....7 are on the road. They get 3 semi cupcakes in the Nets twice and the floundering Knicks once but two of them are roadies. The other 7 will be telling. They get the Heat on the road twice, the trying to be relevant Hornets twice, Indy, the Bucks and the NewLooks. Mixed in there are 2 back to backs and a stretch of 3 games in 4 days. Joel better take his vitamins.If the Hinkies go 7 and 3 they may get to 5th or 6th. If they go 3 and 7 they will be scrapping for 8th.

After these 10 game segments there will be but a dozen games left in the season. If your a couple of games back in the loss column it will be tough.. If your 4 or 5 back its over.

Great stretch of ball coming up to determine who the Raps are going to get in the first round and the odds are its going to be one of these 3.

[slaw]

I think 1-8 is fairly locked in barring some catastrophic injury/collapse.Pistons are a mess of a roster. They don't have the perimeter people to compliment that front court. And both DET and CHA are terrible on the road. I feel fairly confident neither team is catching Philly or Miami.

The Sixers will be fine if Embiid stays healthy. I could see them clawing up a couple spots. The Heat should be okay with a home-heavy schedule and they play some awful teams down the stretch. Bucks are inconsistent but it's hard to see them going well below .500 rest of the way.

The most interesting battle is for 3rd and 4th (Raps and Celts are locked in at #1 and #2). The most vulnerable team for me is WSH. They have a real tough schedule left: Bucks, Warriors, Raps, Pacers, Heat, Pelicans, Heat, Wolves, Celts and Pacers over the next 10. Then they still have the Spurs twice, Rockets, Cavs and Celts. Gotta think the Cavs are going to get that third seed with their schedule, which is full of cream-puffs.