Says Casey:
“(The performance of Lucas) throws a monkey wrench in there. We’ve got to look at the three-guard rotation, the two of the three playing together at some point, which may bump Landry (Fields) to the three or DeMar (DeRozan) to the three or whatever,” Casey said.
Says Calderon:
“All of us, we’re different, different speed, different kind of games. That’s good for the team, (it) is more difficult for the other team to adapt their defence to our offence.”
Say the fans:
PG controversy!
Naah naah. This ain’t no PG controversy, it’s a plethora of choice, each one better than the last. In that regard it’s much like the lineup at the Rail on a cold Thursday evening. Half-joking aside, this is a “problem” that resolves by itself quite naturally. Before we start sticking DeMar DeRozan at the three and start putting out an under-sized backcourt in a 2-PG lineup, let’s wait and see if this really is the surplus that some think it is.
The situation is quite simple: Lucas has made the case for minutes in the pre-season thus far, and if that continues to be the case at the outset of the season and beyond the honeymoon period, then you start thinking about your options here. Certainly, you don’t start adjusting your basketball strategy just to accommodate players, you trade from surplus to address deficits. Just like the two-PG lineup of Jack/Calderon, Ford/Calderon didn’t click, there’s no reason to believe putting out another midget at the two will do the trick.
Source of this logjam is Kyle Lowry who will play tonight versus the Wizards. Says Casey on Lowry who looked a little tired considering he’s had 12 days off:
“He looked good. Mentally he’s there, physically he’s still working, he worked a little longer. . . just because he needs to run, he needs to work, and he understands that.
While Casey says Lowry was tired, Lowry says no kidding:
“I’m still fatigued. I had 10, 12 days off for resting and rehab so my conditioning isn’t there, but there’s time, I’ve got 15 days to get right”
So there you have it, let’s recap:
- We have three point guards and two spots, the question is whether we’ll trade Calderon for something or pretend this is actually a good thing.
- Lowry is back, still tired, but ready to go.
Terrence Ross spoke too and I know I’m going on a tangent, but man, do rookies ever look skinny, eh? Every time I see him on the screen I keep thinking, “Who’s this skinny black dude we got?” then I’m like, “Hey man, that’s Terrence Ross!”, and then I go, “Damn, that dude looks skinny”.
As the reporters were asking him deep questions like “So far so good, eh?” somebody decided to ask who he’s looking most forward to playing against and I’m thinking LeBron? Kobe? Wade? Naaah…it’s Terrence Jones. Yeah, Terrence Jones, just because they grew up together. Imagine if he doesn’t play against Portland or Jones doesn’t get in the game against the Raptors? Ross will be devastated.
Some interesting matchups tonight. We get to see Jonas Valanciunas take on Emeka Okafor, who will give him a good contest for those rebounds and will keep up with him on those rolls. The aforementioned Ross perhaps go a little toe-to-toe with Bradley Beal, who has Jordan Crawford in front of him much like Ross has DeRozan. There’s no John Wall due to injury (out till end of November) so Lowry gets to go up against Jannero Pargo, assuming he starts. Meh.
You like offensive-minded power forwards not known for their effort or defense? You must be talking about Andray Blatche, who I really looked forward to watching for some reason and now that he’s with the Nets, this game carries less significance for me.
Prediction: Raptors 92, Wizards 82 – Jonas with a double-double.
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