Everything Kawhi Leonard

[KeonClark]

I'd rather have both. What a combo that would be.

I always loved Kawhi in San Antonio..Durant is a loser. I mean sure I'd take him on my team but the Toronto Raptors can win it all this year or the next couple years without the snek

[The Great One]

[inthepaint]

Durant is not gonna be killing like this when Curry is back. There just won't be as many touches for him. This is an example of an excellent player that picked up a lot of the production of an absent teammate (and also some of Klay's which was kinda of cold for his standards), but when Curry's back (and Draymond), I think things will be different for Durant individually.

The dynamic will also change quite a bit when Cousins is back in.I thinks GSW's defence in particular will look quite different with both Curry and Cousins on the court. It's a David and Goliath thing, but there are chinks ion the armor.

[MixxAOR]

[Hotshot]

[G__Deane]

At the beginning of the year, who called Ibaka and Siakam as our big game players? We're not that deep, though. FVV, OG & Miles were AWOL. JV gave back more than he helped. Delon was good enough. Our starting lineup is killer, though.

The whole "we're deep" mantra from last year and the bench mob idea is diluted if not dead. We now have an awesome starting lineup especially if Kyle and Serge can hold up to the grind. But this is not a particularly deep team and the bench mob that can take over games is gone but not forgotten.

[Yuri Gagarin]

Why though? 3/5 players are still there. JV is arguably an upgrade from Poetl. Is OG in place of Siakam that much of a difference? Last year best bench in the league to many many posts around here about how shit the bench is.

[Yuri Gagarin]

Dan you mentioned whack lineups but I think until recently he was going all bench substitutions. This starting lineup is awesome but I think the bench needs to be addressed by playoff time

[Mitch P]

I was more of a San Antonio fan a decade ago than a Raptor fan (I watched all the games but didn't like Bosh and what else was there?). Thus I enjoyed the arrival of Kawhi on the scene and witnessed his emergence to star or even superstar status when he won the Finals MVP. Like everyone else I wasn't sure what to make of that fiasco last year. I'm an admirer of Popovich and hate to be critical of the Spurs when none of us know what was really going on. So I wasn't sure what we were getting. But what we appear to have in Kawhi is MY favourite player in the NBA. His skill set is unique, his effort level consistent and what I really love is his stoic demeanour. I realize that isn't everyone's thing; my secretary (an ex CIS All-Canadian) actually likes Curry's dance. I'm actually noticing that the other Raptors have become more low key with their post "big play" celebrations. Again....not for everyone but I love it. The "Quiet Assassin" someone dubbed Kawhi on one of the RR blogs. Great name. I'm feeling pretty confident that he will stay. This team, city and organization seem perfect for him.

[DanH]

Dan you mentioned whack lineups but I think until recently he was going all bench substitutions. This starting lineup is awesome but I think the bench needs to be addressed by playoff time

I 100% agree. I wrote a whole article on it!

https://www.raptorshq.com/2018/12/1/...nch-mob-broken

Summary: the bench is broken, the guards have their roles flipped from last year which is disastrous, JV's talent upgrade over Poeltl is largely valueless because he doesn't fit the bench style that made them successful last year, but most importantly, the bench really needs Pascal's skill set. Desperately. OG is good at what he does, and what he does is NOT what Pascal does.

Meanwhile, with the starters so effective no matter who is in the front court, it would make sense to move some of Pascal's (and Serge, to keep the frontcourt pairings together for fit) minutes to overlap with the bench, whether that means him coming off the bench some games, or just getting an early hook when he starts.

[bertarapsfan]

Why though? 3/5 players are still there. JV is arguably an upgrade from Poetl. Is OG in place of Siakam that much of a difference? Last year best bench in the league to many many posts around here about how shit the bench is.

But is JV really an upgrade over poetl with that bench unit? the things jakob did with the bench were very underrated and right now we are missing him more then demar. The way jakob just set good screens and grabbed o boards without needing anything ran for him was super valuable. not to mention he could step out and guard permiter player lead to alot of turnover which got that bench going in transition. I said it earlier in the season and ill say it again. the bench mob is not coming back this year. Jakob+ siakam were the key cog that made them able to play the style they did last year. Frustrating to see him not getting consistent min in SA so far cause he seemed liked the perfect player for their type of system.

[Mitch P]

But is JV really an upgrade over poetl with that bench unit? the things jakob did with the bench were very underrated and right now we are missing him more then demar. The way jakob just set good screens and grabbed o boards without needing anything ran for him was super valuable. not to mention he could step out and guard permiter player lead to alot of turnover which got that bench going in transition. I said it earlier in the season and ill say it again. the bench mob is not coming back this year. Jakob+ siakam were the key cog that made them able to play the style they did last year. Frustrating to see him not getting consistent min in SA so far cause he seemed liked the perfect player for their type of system.

I agree! No one is talking about missing Jak but he really did bring something different that neither JV or Serge have. As a member of the "JV hive" I can't believe I'm thinking this but if Nurse is making JV the backup (and that seems to be the case more and more) then Jakob would have fit the role better. He's looked quite good in the minutes I've seen with the Spurs so far. He really needs to develop some kind of shot though.

[Yuri Gagarin]

Dan yes I remember your suggestion I agree get pascal back with the bench as much as possible.

Mitch I totally dig the low key silent assasin style. We’re Canadian we started that! 😜

[ReubenJRD]

Kawhi has been such a joy to watch, and vs. GSW was probably the closest to 100% we've seen him. He was unconscious and every shot and play he made defensively came at really, really timely points of the game. He gets that lead from nine to 11, or he makes a key defensive stop, or hits a shot as the opposition starts to feel good about themselves, etc. It's no coincidence that he has all the intangibles -- everything he does on the court leaves an impact.

But... the team has to do a much better job of running sets with him on the floor, he's such a superstar the Raptors tend to gravitate towards giving him the rock and getting out of the way. Which is good sometimes, but, they've also lacked productivity that way, esp. in the clutch where unfortunately he hasn't proven to be a game-winning type of shooter. I say they try running action, i.e. vs. the Magic with Green coming off the pin-downs. Would be nice to see a play ran like that for Kawhi, or some high pick-&-roll with JV, or force a switch P&R with Lowry and get Lowry to flare off a screen on the opposite wing. They've got to get some action going. Kawhi is 0-3 vs. DET, BOS, and GSW with those final possessions going iso.

[G__Deane]

"Popovich praised coach Jeff Van Gundy for leading the United States men’s basketball team to a berth in the 2019 World Cup in China with a 78-70 victory over Uruguay on Sunday. Popovich will coach the U.S. squad in the World Cup in August 2019 and in the 2020 Olympics."

Kawhi must be looking forward to that .....awwwkward ....