Which Raptor Improves Most on "D"? Who is the Raps Stopper?

[Puffer]

We've been reading a little in the FIBA thread, about improvements in DeMar's defense. There have also been some mentions of JV showing up on D in the friendlies. In the last half of the season Ross seemed to come into his own as a defender. And then the organization picked up JJ.

So I started wondering a bit about who would emerge as most improved in their defensive play, and who would ultimately be the Raptor's stopper?

It's waaaay to early to start talking about the "block brothers" in this conversation, so I think I will leave the Raps two rookies out of the convo.

Last season JV showed he was able to play pretty good "D" within the system, especially later in the season. His increased strength was a big help. In this off-season he appears to have gotten stronger, and added a little weight, without affecting his speed. Doe he emerge as the post presence everyone hoped he would become?

Lots of surprised comments about DeMar's defense playing for Team USA. Will it carry over into the regular season? Have his improved offensive skills (dribbling, post game and jab step) and possibly better usage by Casey, along with improved scoring from the rest of the team put him onto a position where he will have more energy on the other end?

Casey has praised the team for getting back to a better defensive effort. Will he put more focus on Ross and require him to continue and even improve on his D?

Landry Fields, most would agree, was the number one choice to shutdown the opponents best offensive weapon. But his "O" game has been flawed, and now James Johnson is on-board. I remember James as a defensive wizard whenever his mind was engaged. Does he step into that spot now?

Lot's of reason to expect better defensive play on the part of the Raptors. Does it happen, and who steps up? Inquiring minds want to know.

[DanH]

I think Terrence Ross comes back a level above where he was last year defensively. Jonas and DD should improve incrementally, but Ross is where the big difference will be.

[Puffer]

I think Terrence Ross comes back a level above where he was last year defensively....

That would be nice to see. Incremental improvement on the part of JV and DD along with a "leveled up" Ross would have a significant impact on the Raps D overall.

[Puffer]

I think Terrence Ross comes back a level above where he was last year defensively. Jonas and DD should improve incrementally, but Ross is where the big difference will be.

What kind of an impact do you expect JJ to have?

[DanH]

What kind of an impact do you expect JJ to have?

I think he'll help in small doses against big forwards, but I hope to see even more minutes than last year go to Ross, so JJ's impact should be small, just based on limited playing time (10-15 MPG).

[WJF]

Back-Court

I think we will see the same old DeMar on defense....he is playing too many minutes and carrying too much scoring load to put the effort in on D that he can with team USA. Now if his role changes a bit and minutes are reduced, we may see some improvement.

Lowry will be the same scrappy defender we are use to. Look for him to sacrifice his body taking charges and picking the odd pocket.

The backups, Grevis and Williams both have limitations, but both bring some positives as well. Grevis has the length to bother small guards and too match up with bigger ones. Williams has the speed and craftiness to chase shooter around screens and enough keep quicker guards in-front of him.

Wings

We have some solid potential at the wing spots. Ross should come back stronger and just for that will be improved, add to that what he learned during last season and we should see more consistency from him. James Johnson give us the size to match up with bigger 3's keeping them out of the block and from over-powering to get in the lane. His highlight shot blocks will be fun and frustrating at the the same time. Fields will provide solid defense in his limited minutes and Bruno is a wild card.

Bigs,

We know what we get with Amir, I don't expect any improvements, but I don't see any decline either. Jonas, I expect, will show marginal improvements, better rotations and ability to not give up deep post position as often. I would like to see an increase in shot blocking from him, but I don't think it is in his game.

Patterson is nice on stretch fours and hedging on pick and roles, he is a player that I think we can see marked improvement in. He should feel comfortable with his place on the team and know now that getting stops will be his ticket to even more playing time.

Tyler will smack people and make them angry, hustle, hustle, hustle. Bebe will frustrate the hell out of us, falling for shot fakes and swatting at thin air.

[Puffer]

I think JJ and BeBe both bring a different dimension to the Raptors practices. Might their ability to block shots help the starters improve their offense?

[JordanMariam14]

Defensive lineup:

Lowry
Ross
JJ
PPatt
Amir

[planetmars]

Until he is traded, Amir will continue to be the team's defensive anchor. So in my mind he is the most important defensive player. I think Ross improves the most though. Having JJ there to steal minutes should motivate him further as well (hopefully).

That aside I'm a bit concerned about the team's defense going into next season. I don't have stats to back me up (mostly because I'm lazy) but it felt to me that the Raptors defense came down a big notch in the second half of last season and into the playoffs.

Talent wise JJ will be an improvement but he's good for only about 10-15mpg. Salmons despite his faults is a much better defender then Lou Williams will be. I don't think Bebe gets many minutes either (and is basically a rookie). So the team really needs to play like they did post Rudy Gay trade and before the last 20 games of the season to have a big impact in the standings next season. I would think it should be no problem since the same team is practically coming back... but Casey's team did perform very poorly on defense in his second season. So it's not out of the ordinary to see his team struggle on defense.

The key for me will be how healthy Amir is to be frank. If he's injured (or playing injured) then there could be some long nights. I don't think Patterson, Hayes or Psycho-T are reliable enough on D to help JV out when he struggles himself.

[godkingleonidas]

PG Lowry
SG Ross
SF JJohnson
PF AJohnson
C Nogueira

[S.R.]

The Raps defense did drop off in the latter part of the season. Hopefully it was a blip and not regression to their actual ability level.

Basically they were a (barely) top 10 defense that we can reasonably expect to be better because of continued improvement from Ross, JV, and DD, and the addition of JJ and rookies with good defensive upside. If they can step up to a top 7 or 8 defense in the league, then I'm gonna be twice as excited about their potential in the playoffs.

Ross is the wing stopper, Lowry is good on the ball, and AJ is your main guy in the post. All good options.

JJ is gonna be really important against guys like Durant, Lebron, Carmelo, and even Blake Griffin. If the Raps had been able to put JJ on Durant last year out at the three point line in double overtime instead of Amir (who did an admirable job for a big), there's a damn good chance the Raps would have swept OKC last season.

[Abbas]

Best Defensive line up
pg-Lowry
sg-Ross
sf-JJ
pf-2Pat
c- Amir
SM- Demar

Most used Line up
pg-Lowry
sg-Demar
sf- Ross
pf-Amir
c- JV
SM- 2Pat or GV

Best offensive line up
pg-Lowry
sg-GV
sf-Demar
pf-2Pat
c- JV
SM- Lou

My Favorite line up
pg-Lowry
sg-Demar
sf-JJ
pf-2Pat
c- JV
SM- GV

Best Line up overall
pg-Lowry
sg-Demar
sf-JJ
pf-2Pat
c- Amir
SM- JV

WE have so much Dept
Pg-GV - Will
Sg-Lou - Landry
Sf-JJ - Bruno
Pf-2Pat - Hayes
C-Tyler - Bebe

I wound not be surprised at all if our dept team can make it to the playoffs in that east. I would think they will fall anywhere between 7-11 in the east

[Bonus Jonas]

WE have so much Dept
Pg-GV - Will
Sg-Lou - Landry
Sf-JJ - Bruno
Pf-2Pat - Hayes
C-Tyler - Bebe

I wound not be surprised at all if our dept team can make it to the playoffs in that east. I would think they will fall anywhere between 7-11 in the east

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. That team would be terrible

[YoungGunRaptor]

As mentioned by others in this thread, Derozan's role on Team USA is different than his role on the Raptors. He is the leading scorer, who also plays extremely heavy minutes while taking a beating from opposing defences every single game. His defence has always been lacklustre in the NBA, but in the FIBA tournament, his defence has been solid and he has been playing the role-player role very well.

I think that Demar can play the passing lanes more, and look to create his offence in the fast break rather than from half court sets. He averaged a steal per game last season, a stat that I believe he can improve upon simply by playing the passing lanes more, or better yet, by being aggressive on the defensive end and forcing turnovers. We saw him do that in today's game vs the Dominican Republic (3 steals).

I realistically expect improvement only from Ross and JV. Both will likely be playing heavier minutes next season, and both can stay on the floor longer by staying out of foul trouble. (Especially JV). One thing I hope Casey focuses on this coming season is giving touches to JV in the post in order to put pressure on opposing bigmen from the get go, rather than vice versa.

Ross should come back stronger, so hopefully we can rely on his defensive prowess more. Hopefully he is working on his shot creating ability as well, especially from mid range.

[Puffer]

WE have so much Dept
Pg-GV - Will
Sg-Lou - Landry
Sf-JJ - Bruno
Pf-2Pat - Hayes
C-Tyler - Bebe

I wound not be surprised at all if our dept team can make it to the playoffs in that east. I would think they will fall anywhere between 7-11 in the east

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. That team would be terrible

That is the second unit and the third unit. I believe there is the talent in that group to kill most second units in the NBA, with lots of opportunities to exploit match-ups.