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29th out of 30

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  • 29th out of 30

    29th out of 30 teams is where the Raptors stand in in assits per game.

    So there has been a number of different threads started recently about how bad our wings are or how bad our coach is and why we should tank. I'd like to point the spotlight towards an area I see as possibly the main problem for why we have been looking so bad.

    Kyle Lowry, here's looking at you. Kyle has been uncharactaristically passive this year, and I don't know if it's because he's been asked to or because he's in a contract year and wants to put his best foot forward or what, but it needs to stop. We need Kyle to be more of the PG he was in Houston when he would looked to score and penetrate, and most importantly keep the ball out of the hands of the wings. Now that isn't to say that they shouldn't get the ball, but what I mean is he needs to create plays for them as opposed to giving it to them and asking them to create

    Imagine a Clippers team if CP3 dribbled the ball up the floor and passed it to Griffin or Dudley or whomever and just expected them to create while he stood on the 3 point line waiting for an open shot. We need Kyle to penetrate, probe, hit the cutters, create openings and a bunch of other cool stuff that pg's do, and not always defer to our wings.

    Thoughts and stuff?

  • #2
    I'd like an offense that does exactly that - allow Lowry to dominate the ball more and use post-ups with JV much more regularly. DD and Rudy should each take several fewer shots per game and SWING THE BALL.

    But - that would require a very different offensive game plan. Rudy and DD shoot so much because that's what Casey sets up for them - high P&R's with the green light to shoot it from anywhere on the floor.

    Rudy still has an "I can be THE guy" mindset. That has to go. If he flames out with the Raptors, he'll have no choice - his next team will definitely be picking him up as a complimentary/role player. I'd like to see Casey take control of the offense and demand DD and Rudy play a role instead of dominating everything. This team would be a lot better on that end with JV, Fields, and Lowry getting more touches and having more sets catering to their strengths.
    "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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    • #3
      This thread is a breath of fresh air. Thank you Mediumcore.

      Comment


      • #4
        yeah great thread

        and definitely why the team is so hard to watch
        @sweatpantsjer

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        • #5
          A more active and engaged Lowry couldn't hurt. He is not playing anything like he played in Houston. As you say, he basically just initiates the offense and disappears. How much of that is on him, on his teammates or the coaching staff we can't really know.

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          • #6
            Just for starters I'd like KL to run some PnRs and many with JV.

            I am concerned though that by their play....KL, Gay & DD are diminishing their value if MU is trying to move them.

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            • #7
              Sadly, if Fields had better handles I'd be happier with him running our offense then Lowry.

              *drops the mic and runs*

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              • #8
                I think Lowry is doing exactly what Casey is asking him to do and it is not playing to his strengths.

                Casey neutered Lowry last year.

                I'm sure his agent is telling him you can't have any conflict this year, contract year, your reputation, etc. etc. It is like Chauncey said to him last year *paraphrased*, "This might be your last chance. Make it work."

                So Lowry has lost his edge and as a result his confidence. There is no question he is talented but not when he has had his confidence taken from him.

                How do you kill talent? Destroy its confidence.

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                • #9
                  I was going to post this in another thread (http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/forum...rom-Contending), but probably makes more sense here...

                  The problem with the Raptors isn't just one position - it's several.


                  PG:
                  - Lowry isn't allowed to play to his strengths
                  - Lowry can't facilitate an offense (he can't even run a P&R)
                  - this team desperately needs a pass-first PG to make it function (miss you Jose!)
                  - Lowry's defense hasn't been nearly as good as advertised, which was supposed to be his greatest asset
                  --> Lowry is best served as a Ben Gordon style backup PG, where he can play to has strengths as a scorer first & distributor second

                  SG:
                  - DeRozan seems to be his old self (inefficient scoring, heavy reliance on long 2's, weak finishing)
                  - DeRozan's defense is as awful as ever
                  - game is redundant to Gay (with far less contributions elsewhere)
                  --> DeRozan is best served as a Jamal Crawford style backup SG / 6th man scorer

                  SF:
                  - Gay's scoring efficiency is hitting all-time lows, because he has the god-complex that BC instilled in him last season
                  - great rebounding, I must say
                  - game is redundant to DeRozan (better all-around, but older and twice as expensive)
                  --> he's the only legit starter on the Raptors' roster, but shouldn't be relied on as the #1 player

                  PF:
                  - Amir has been pretty good
                  - not enough of a low-post threat (doesn't draw any double-teams)
                  --> I still think he's best served as a 3rd big (especially important with such a young, inexperienced starting C)

                  C:
                  - Valanciunas will be a legit starter in the NBA, but he's still young and inexperienced
                  - expect some growing pains, but let him play! (similar to how NO has let Davis develop on the court)

                  Bench:
                  - Fields (glue guy, off-ball play, defense), Ross (3pt shooting) and Hansborough (banger/rebounder) have been solid
                  - the other 7 guys on the roster... not so much


                  I know we all want our beloved Raptors to win, but this team just isn't very good. They have 1 legit starter and 1 2nd year player who will become one, yet they are capped-out and have one of the most expensive payrolls in the league!

                  BLOW IT UP!

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                  • #10
                    S.R. wrote: View Post
                    I'd like an offense that does exactly that - allow Lowry to dominate the ball more and use post-ups with JV much more regularly. DD and Rudy should each take several fewer shots per game and SWING THE BALL.

                    But - that would require a very different offensive game plan. Rudy and DD shoot so much because that's what Casey sets up for them - high P&R's with the green light to shoot it from anywhere on the floor.

                    Rudy still has an "I can be THE guy" mindset. That has to go. If he flames out with the Raptors, he'll have no choice - his next team will definitely be picking him up as a complimentary/role player. I'd like to see Casey take control of the offense and demand DD and Rudy play a role instead of dominating everything. This team would be a lot better on that end with JV, Fields, and Lowry getting more touches and having more sets catering to their strengths.
                    We can speculate all we want about why Lowry is being passive, as I mentioned it could be directive handed down from management, coaching, being on best behaviour in a contract year, heck he could be miffed for not being named a co-captain and so is giving up that role of being a leader (a see if you can do it without me thing).

                    But what I do know is that Chris Paul ain't gonna defer to no Blake Griffin. Nash played along side a prime Amare and Matrix, but he was the leader and conducted that offense. That is what any great PG Should do. Grab the team by the collar and lead.

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                    • #11
                      Mediumcore wrote: View Post
                      We can speculate all we want about why Lowry is being passive, as I mentioned it could be directive handed down from management, coaching, being on best behaviour in a contract year, heck he could be miffed for not being named a co-captain and so is giving up that role of being a leader (a see if you can do it without me thing).

                      But what I do know is that Chris Paul ain't gonna defer to no Blake Griffin. Nash played along side a prime Amare and Matrix, but he was the leader and conducted that offense. That is what any great PG Should do. Grab the team by the collar and lead.
                      I think that speaks volumes about how/why Lowry lost the starting spot to Calderon last season, despite Calderon's 'matador' defense. Lowry just doesn't seem capable of running the team as a pass-first PG - and that's not a knock on him, it's more a knock on the way all the players 'fit' into this roster - that's on BC (and MU until he does something to rectify the situation).

                      I see lots of ill-fitting pieces in this Raptors puzzle:
                      - a team needing a pass-first floor general is being run by a score-first PG
                      - two highest paid players are redundant wings who both need the ball and volume shooting to be successful
                      - a coach favoring veteran players overseeing a rebuild/build

                      No wonder BC was fired!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Mediumcore wrote: View Post
                        We can speculate all we want about why Lowry is being passive, as I mentioned it could be directive handed down from management, coaching, being on best behaviour in a contract year, heck he could be miffed for not being named a co-captain and so is giving up that role of being a leader (a see if you can do it without me thing).

                        But what I do know is that Chris Paul ain't gonna defer to no Blake Griffin. Nash played along side a prime Amare and Matrix, but he was the leader and conducted that offense. That is what any great PG Should do. Grab the team by the collar and lead.
                        I agree - I wonder though about what Matt52 pointed out above - Lowry's had coaching conflicts already and is in serious danger of "hard to coach" being his tag - in a contract year! He does not want that. It looks like he's working hard to make his coach happy, even though it makes him miserable.

                        Lowry's not a great PG (I'd rather have a distributor), but I agree he'd be a lot more effective taking on a Westbrook/Parker/Rose type of role. He's more talented than Jarret Jack, who once projected as a "maybe" starter but settled into a strong backup. Lowry's no All-Star, but he should be starting calibre.
                        "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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                        • #13
                          What ever happened to player's rocking out the contract year? The Raps even fail at that
                          Heir, Prince of Cambridge

                          If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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                          • #14
                            Axel wrote: View Post
                            What ever happened to player's rocking out the contract year? The Raps even fail at that
                            Rudy's in a win-win situation right now.

                            If he plays well, he gets paid somewhere else.

                            If he continues to shit the bed for the rest of the season, he still has a cool $19 million waiting for him.


                            moral of the story: TRADE HIM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
                            Twitter - @thekid_it

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                            • #15
                              IMO, Lowry will be mostly ineffective if the wings continue to play the way they do. That's not on him as far as I'm concerned, but the coach(es).

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