Game #14 Toronto Raptors 110 (12-2) - New Orleans Pelicans 126 (7-6)

[G__Deane]

I see that tonight will be game number 10 for Kawhi for Toronto, eclipsing the 9 that he was able to play for SA all of last season.

Celebration time!

Show The Brow why he wants to sign here as a FA with Kawhi returning ....

[KeonClark]

Heres kawhis weakness on his draft report(comparisons were mbah a moute and gerald wallace)

Weaknesses: Does not have one aspect offensively that stands out or which allows him to consistently score the ball … With his size and frame, will almost certainly be a perimeter player at the next level, but he lacks the polish and skill necessary to consistently operate on the wing … He does not have break down ability off the dribble and he is especially shaky handling the ball with his left hand … His jumpshot (while definitely improved) is still very inconsistent … The release comes high off his head and it is somewhat of a sling motion, which results in a fairly flat shot that goes all over the place … At this level, he has a size advantage on almost a nightly basis, but he still chooses to take the majority of his shots from the outside … Takes a high number of off balance shots, but does not show the ability to convert them at a good percentage … He does not have a great touch around the basket, and unless he can get inside position on the defense, he struggles finishing when contested … Not very disciplined defensively, he gambles far too often and leaves his team susceptible to giving up easy baskets …

The top ranked wing on our Big Board, Kawhi Leonard's stock is based primarily on his physical attributes, defensive abilities, and upside, so it's not a huge surprise that he doesn't fare very well from a purely statistical standpoint. His profile strongly indicates that he's destined to play a complimentary role in the NBA, at least in his first few seasons. - Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kawhi-Leonard-5821/ ©DraftExpress

Kawhi Leonard was not much further along than anunoby at 21. To suggest otherwise is revisionist history. Obviously kawhis trajectory and improvement is an outlier, but a worker like OG has the chance to make great leaps and bounds as well

[inthepaint]

Actually Lopez, like his brother, is one of the masters of the box out. That's why his teams rebound better, and sometimes massively better, with him on the court than off.

Yeah but that's more the case when he plays real center. He's pretty much a perimeter player now under Budenholzer. I think the best player to guard Lopez on this Bucks team is Siakam.

Sounds counterintuitive but I would put Ibaka on Giannis. Let Ibaka sag off him and wait for him in the paint, while Leonard/Green/Siakam stay home on the shooters outside, locking down Middleton/Lopez/Brogdon on the perimeter. Giannis would probably own Ibaka in the paint and would score a lot himself, but if we try to limit Brogdon/Middleton/Lopez to less than 10 each but taking away their 3's, they're very beatable.

[planetmars]

Yeah but that's more the case when he plays real center. He's pretty much a perimeter player now under Budenholzer. I think the best player to guard Lopez on this Bucks team is Siakam.

Sounds counterintuitive but I would put Ibaka on Giannis. Let Ibaka sag off him and wait for him in the paint, while Leonard/Green/Siakam stay home on the shooters outside, locking down Middleton/Lopez/Brogdon on the perimeter. Giannis would probably own Ibaka in the paint and would score a lot himself, but if we try to limit Brogdon/Middleton/Lopez to less than 10 each but taking away their 3's, they're very beatable.

What's the solution for Thon Maker? He always kills us for some reason. He's a scrub against everyone else in the NBA though.

[3inthekeon]

what's the solution for thon maker? He always kills us for some reason. He's a scrub against everyone else in the nba though.

dnp-cd

[3inthekeon]

Yeah but that's more the case when he plays real center. He's pretty much a perimeter player now under Budenholzer. I think the best player to guard Lopez on this Bucks team is Siakam.

Sounds counterintuitive but I would put Ibaka on Giannis. Let Ibaka sag off him and wait for him in the paint, while Leonard/Green/Siakam stay home on the shooters outside, locking down Middleton/Lopez/Brogdon on the perimeter. Giannis would probably own Ibaka in the paint and would score a lot himself, but if we try to limit Brogdon/Middleton/Lopez to less than 10 each but taking away their 3's, they're very beatable.

Box out stats - B. Lopez #6 in the NBA. He's still a C on D.

[Hotshot]

What's the solution for Thon Maker? He always kills us for some reason. He's a scrub against everyone else in the NBA though.

Wait for Chris Boucher to gain 20 lbs.

[inthepaint]

Box out stats - B. Lopez #6 in the NBA. He's still a C on D.

Oh no doubt, his individual rebound numbers are low, but on their defensive end he still goes back to the paint to box out for his teammates. He's still very good at that. That's our offensive rebounding though, so putting Siakam on him (one of our better offensive rebounders) will help balance that. On the other end of the floor though (our defensive glass), he's mostly camping out the perimeter waiting for a kickout from Giannis, so he's offensive rebounding/boxing out are less of a factor on that end this year.

[inthepaint]

What's the solution for Thon Maker? He always kills us for some reason. He's a scrub against everyone else in the NBA though.

That's true. He's only a ~33% career (and in this season the same) 3pt shooter, but for some reason he lights up against us. I think that has to do with the high tendency of our defence to bring on help defenders. That's a good trait to have, but if you overdo it, you risk leaving guys like him too open, and they kill you. Historically, we've had trouble resisting that temptation ( and always double/help), and against certain teams you just gotta stay home on shooters no matter what.

Sounds funny but yeah, I think Boucher would be a good guy to put on Thon Maker. He's skinny but Maker is not that bulky either for a centre. Maker typically does a lot more damage to us outside then backing people into the post. Plus on offence, Boucher would pull him out of the paint to the perimeter too (as Boucher is a threat from 3), which would take the rim protector away and open the lanes for FVV/Wright to drive.

[Truth Teller]

That's true. He's only a ~33% career (and in this season the same) 3pt shooter, but for some reason he lights up against us. I think that has to do with the high tendency of our defence to bring on help defenders. That's a good trait to have, but if you overdo it, you risk leaving guys like him too open, and they kill you. Historically, we've had trouble resisting that temptation ( and always double/help), and against certain teams you just gotta stay home on shooters no matter what.

Sounds funny but yeah, I think Boucher would be a good guy to put on Thon Maker. He's skinny but Maker is not that bulky either for a centre. Maker typically does a lot more damage to us outside then backing people into the post. Plus on offence, Boucher would pull him out of the paint to the perimeter too (as Boucher is a threat from 3), which would take the rim protector away and open the lanes for FVV/Wright to drive.

Don't know if Boucher is ready to play against NBA competition. Even if he can guard Thon 1 on 1, can we rely on him to rebound, position and set himself up where he won't be a deer in headlights when he gets switched onto smaller players?

Yeah but that's more the case when he plays real center. He's pretty much a perimeter player now under Budenholzer. I think the best player to guard Lopez on this Bucks team is Siakam.

Sounds counterintuitive but I would put Ibaka on Giannis. Let Ibaka sag off him and wait for him in the paint, while Leonard/Green/Siakam stay home on the shooters outside, locking down Middleton/Lopez/Brogdon on the perimeter. Giannis would probably own Ibaka in the paint and would score a lot himself, but if we try to limit Brogdon/Middleton/Lopez to less than 10 each but taking away their 3's, they're very beatable.

Can't sag too much off him or the Freak is given a clear landing to the hoop where he'll dunk on everyone. I'd keep it simple and put Kawhi AKA best defender on him.

[golden]

Heres kawhis weakness on his draft report(comparisons were mbah a moute and gerald wallace)



Kawhi Leonard was not much further along than anunoby at 21. To suggest otherwise is revisionist history. Obviously kawhis trajectory and improvement is an outlier, but a worker like OG has the chance to make great leaps and bounds as well

One of the biggest differences between Kawhi & OG at the college level was USG% (Kawhi-28 vs. OG-20). That's huge. It's also a pretty good indicator of a player's ability to create on offense (i.e. handles & overall repertoire).

[inthepaint]

Don't know if Boucher is ready to play against NBA competition. Even if he can guard Thon 1 on 1, can we rely on him to rebound, position and set himself up where he won't be a deer in headlights when he gets switched onto smaller players?



Can't sag too much off him or the Freak is given a clear landing to the hoop where he'll dunk on everyone. I'd keep it simple and put Kawhi AKA best defender on him.

Yeah Boucher is just a theoretical 1 v 1 exercise against Maker. It all depends on who else is on the court. If Maker is playing with their starters for example that wouldn't work. Depending on who else is on the court, OG could take him when both second units are in.

As far as Giannis, he's always very difficult to guard, but he's a non-shooter, and as a rule of thumb, the best way to guard non-shooters is to back off a bit, protect the drive, and dare them to shoot. And yes, in theory you put your best defender (Kawhi) on him, but if you do that, one of their frontcourt outside shooters (Lopez & Middleton) would have to be covered by Ibaka, drawing our rim protection away to the perimeter, and leaving even more space at the rim from Giannis to operate, which is exactly what the Bucks want.

Giannis will always get his. What makes or breaks them is how well the other players will do. Any time Lopez/Middleton go off, they most likely win, so I don't think it's as simple as putting Kawhi on Giannis and letting it roll. We haven't seen them play together yet, and we'll probably see a lot of Kawhi guarding him for sure , but I can say this from watching the Bucks this year: If that goes on for too long, Lopez will take your C away from the paint to cover his 3's, and they'll punish you both outside (because Centres usually don't cover the perimeter very well) and inside (because now your rim protector is away, and the greek freak now has all the space in the world in the paint). That's how they're winning games this year.

Imo, to counter that, you stand your ground, stay sound defensively, and leave your best rim protector at the rim (Ibaka), and your best perimeter defender in the perimeter (Kawhi), and see how they respond.

[S.R.]

Can't sag too much off him or the Freak is given a clear landing to the hoop where he'll dunk on everyone. I'd keep it simple and put Kawhi AKA best defender on him.

Yeah, this is where Giannis and Siakam are similar. You can't sag on them on the perimeter even with the weak outside shooting - they're far too big + fast, give them some space to go at the hoop and you can't stop them on the way. Especially when the floor is spread with shooters.

[G__Deane]

I'm going to be watching particularly closely at how the refs handle phantom fouls on Davis tonight. Any of Serge, Siakam then JV could get into early foul trouble.

#NBA ref conspiracy

[MixxAOR]

I'm going to be watching particularly closely at how the refs handle phantom fouls on Giannis tonight. Any of Serge, Siakam then JV could get into early foul trouble.

#NBA ref conspiracy

you mean Davis?