Everything Valanciunas

[lewro]

We drafted poeltl in part bc bebe projected as a borderline 2nd, 3rd string center. Sully was also supposed to be an insurance policy there. It's easy to flip the narrative now that bebe is overachieving. Regardless, bebe as our 8 or 9th best player shouldnt be competing for mins with our supposed 3rd best player.
It's one thing to coddle jv with the current team but it's another if we trade for millsap to take on lebron. No more bs excuses at that point bc lebron ain't listening to it. He's gonna try to take the rim down and someone has to stand up to him. That's why we needed biz and that doesn't show up on paper. Get serious.

[A.I]

We drafted poeltl in part bc bebe projected as a borderline 2nd, 3rd string center. Sully was also supposed to be an insurance policy there. It's easy to flip the narrative now that bebe is overachieving. Regardless, bebe as our 8 or 9th best player shouldnt be competing for mins with our supposed 3rd best player.
It's one thing to coddle jv with the current team but it's another if we trade for millsap to take on lebron. No more bs excuses at that point bc lebron ain't listening to it. He's gonna try to take the rim down and someone has to stand up to him. That's why we needed biz and that doesn't show up on paper. Get serious.

Lebron averaged 26 points and shot 62% last Playoffs against us. Biz isn't stopping him, JV isn't stopping him, Carroll isn't stopping him.

[white men can't jump]

I do agree with you, the perimeter D makes JV's D look worse than it already is, but JV isn't that great himself, especially when defending the P&R.

All bigs struggle with the p'nr. It takes team D to stop it. That's why it's been the go-to play as a 2-man game since...forever? I don't understand what people expect the big man to do. Especially a big man who isn't getting help from his teammates when he has to hedge or help on the ballhandler.

Most bigs will get blown by on the ballhandler if they have to come out on the high screen and role (saw this happen to super long and mobile Porzingis, the supposed modern ideal for a PF/C, just this weekend...the guard got the step and even with Zinger's tools he was fucked).

And if they do manage to stop the drive, it's unlikely they'll also be able to prevent the pass to the roll/pop man. And it leaves the team open to giving up boards as well if no one helps in the lane.

The only way around these problems is if every one on the court is consistently responsible with their rotations.

Now JV can be (and has gotten) better with time, but there are moments he plays it perfectly in terms of his coverage and it won't matter because rotations fail or no one helps to box out his man and we give up a bucket anyway.

The difference a more mobile big could make is pure speculation. What if they're a worse rebounder? Does it become a wash?






Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[KHD]

We drafted poeltl in part bc bebe projected as a borderline 2nd, 3rd string center. Sully was also supposed to be an insurance policy there. It's easy to flip the narrative now that bebe is overachieving. Regardless, bebe as our 8 or 9th best player shouldnt be competing for mins with our supposed 3rd best player.
It's one thing to coddle jv with the current team but it's another if we trade for millsap to take on lebron. No more bs excuses at that point bc lebron ain't listening to it. He's gonna try to take the rim down and someone has to stand up to him. That's why we needed biz and that doesn't show up on paper. Get serious.

i like how everyone who disagrees with you isn't "serious".

[DanH]

Lebron averaged 26 points and shot 62% last Playoffs against us. Biz isn't stopping him, JV isn't stopping him, Carroll isn't stopping him.

In the one playoffs series that Dwight and LeBron faced off in the playoffs, LeBron averaged 39 points a game (plus 8 and 8, on 60% TS%). His team just couldn't get stops, so they lost out to that incredible 4-out offence SVG put together way ahead of its time. And that was really early in LBJ's career, the version of LBJ that, according to Casey, was far easier to stop than the current iteration.

Nobody stops LeBron. Getting on your horse and trying to outscore him seems like the way to go.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

This is where I disagree with you. I think there are two huge issues that JV takes the brunt force for.

1) Our guards can't defend if their lives depended on it. Lowry (as much as I love him) takes way too many chances and gets blown by easily and Demar is terrible. This puts added pressure on our bigs.

2) The scheme that Casey implements for his bigs doesn't suit JV. Since our guards don't put up enough pressure, we then have to have our bigs hedge, which slower bigs like JV struggle on.

This is the key to JV's playing time 'issue'. Casey doesn't feel that JV's strengths fill the defensive gaps in Lowry's & DeRozan's games, hence he doesn't get as much playing time when defense is critical.

This team, like it or not, is Casey/Lowry/DeRozan first and everybody else second. JV will never be an offensive focal point, regardless of how well he plays, and he'll always be perceived as having defensive shortcomings because he's not an athletic, shot-blocking C (ie: Biyombo & Bebe). As long as the core remains, any discussion or debate about JV's playing time in a moot point, unfortunately.

[3inthekeon]

Of course he gets the blame as well, but my point is, if he didn't bulk up and instead put on some muscle while improving on his strengths, RR would be having totally different conversations about JV.

My point is; how much of the bulking up w/o muscle is on the Raptors and how much on JV? Strictly my opinion, impossible to prove either way, but it's far more JV than Raptors.

[A.I]

All bigs struggle with the p'nr. It takes team D to stop it. That's why it's been the go-to play as a 2-man game since...forever? I don't understand what people expect the big man to do. Especially a big man who isn't getting help from his teammates when he has to hedge or help on the ballhandler.

Most bigs will get blown by on the ballhandler if they have to come out on the high screen and role (saw this happen to super long and mobile Porzingis, the supposed modern ideal for a PF/C, just this weekend...the guard got the step and even with Zinger's tools he was fucked).

And if they do manage to stop the drive, it's unlikely they'll also be able to prevent the pass to the roll/pop man. And it leaves the team open to giving up boards as well if no one helps in the lane.

The only way around these problems is if every one on the court is consistently responsible with their rotations.

Now JV can be (and has gotten) better with time, but there are moments he plays it perfectly in terms of his coverage and it won't matter because rotations fail or no one helps to box out his man and we give up a bucket anyway.

The difference a more mobile big could make is pure speculation. What if they're a worse rebounder? Does it become a wash?






Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Agreed. Realized that after I wrote it and changed it

[DanH]

And if they do manage to stop the drive, it's unlikely they'll also be able to prevent the pass to the roll/pop man. And it leaves the team open to giving up boards as well if no one helps in the lane.

The only way around these problems is if every one on the court is consistently responsible with their rotations.

Now JV can be (and has gotten) better with time, but there are moments he plays it perfectly in terms of his coverage and it won't matter because rotations fail or no one helps to box out his man and we give up a bucket anyway.

Those moments are known as literally whenever he's on the court with Siakam. There's a very obvious reason why the exact same lineup with Patterson is literally 10 points better defensively (102.9 DRTG vs 113 DRTG). Patterson is the best (and quickest) frontcourt player on the team when it comes to just being in the right place on rotations.

[KHD]

My point is; how much of the bulking up w/o muscle is on the Raptors and how much on JV? Strictly my opinion, impossible to prove either way, but it's far more JV than Raptors.

i dunno, I remember casey going on and on about Rudy Gay and Derozan bulking up too. I think there has in the past been a focus on strength in this team.

[DanH]

My point is; how much of the bulking up w/o muscle is on the Raptors and how much on JV? Strictly my opinion, impossible to prove either way, but it's far more JV than Raptors.

Pretty sure the Raptors (Casey, BC) were on record as saying JV needed to put on a ton of weight to be able to defend better and stay on the floor.

I'm sure JV could have done better with his diet, but the direction they sent him in was flawed from the start.

[A.I]

My point is; how much of the bulking up w/o muscle is on the Raptors and how much on JV? Strictly my opinion, impossible to prove either way, but it's far more JV than Raptors.

Agree to disagree. I blame Casey and Raptors for it. JV came into the league in 2011, back when players like Hibbert, Howard and Bynum were the kings of the Center position.

[slaw]

So, JV is to blame for the defense. But, wait! It's actually Derozan and Lowry who are to blame cause they can't guard anyone. But, wait! It's the training staff's fault because they don't understand how to train professional athletes! But wait, it's the coach's fault because he doesn't understand how defense works! But, wait! It's all actually Siakam's fault because he is a rookie!

Man, it's a wonder these guys can even find their way out of the locker room, let alone win 55 games.

[tDotted]

Those moments are known as literally whenever he's on the court with Siakam. There's a very obvious reason why the exact same lineup with Patterson is literally 10 points better defensively (102.9 DRTG vs 113 DRTG). Patterson is the best (and quickest) frontcourt player on the team when it comes to just being in the right place on rotations.

Exactly. If JV was such a sieve on defense, Patterson wouldn't be able to help that lineup as much as he does.

Pretty sure the Raptors (Casey, BC) were on record as saying JV needed to put on a ton of weight to be able to defend better and stay on the floor.

I'm sure JV could have done better with his diet, but the direction they sent him in was flawed from the start.

Don't you think Poeltl needs to bulk up to be a more well rounded defender?

[KeonClark]

So, JV is to blame for the defense. But, wait! It's actually Derozan and Lowry who are to blame cause they can't guard anyone. But, wait! It's the training staff's fault because they don't understand how to train professional athletes! But wait, it's the coach's fault because he doesn't understand how defense works! But, wait! It's all actually Siakam's fault because he is a rookie!

Man, it's a wonder these guys can even find their way out of the locker room, let alone win 55 games.

Today on raptors republic: let's find our teams negatives and find someone to be mad at!
Tomorrow on raptors republic: same shit!