I haven't seen anything in the forums, but I've noticed criticism of Casey's rotations by RR writers (especially his "hockey style substitutions", I'm not sure what podcast it was but I think Zarar, posited that it was to "create chemistry in the second unit" the response by the other podcaster, "Why would Casey want to create chemistry in the second unit?" I think this is a very shorted sighted perspective. Here's my argument.
1) If you are a team that is serious about going deep in the playoffs, then purpose of the regular season has to be about preparing your team for the playoffs. Winning and seeding matters a lot,
BECAUSE when you are forced to play a 7 game series against the same team, they are going to take advantage of any weakness they can find..
AND by the time the playoffs come around you don't have time to overhaul your offense or defense (I've noticed more than one current and/or former NBA coach mention something to this effect).
VERSATILITY MATTERS: The more ways your team can play, the harder it is for other teams to game plan against you, and the easier it is game plan against them. A good is example is the Spurs use of Matt Bonner in the Western Conference Finals. He's pretty far down their depth chart and yet Pop was able to insert him into the starting line up against OKC (in order to bring Ibaka away from the basket and hurt the Thunder's help defense). It worked.
2) The Raptors are finally a team that should be serious about going deep in the playoffs (I hope the team sees anything other than a 1 or 2 seed, and a Conference Finals appearance as a wasted opportunity/failure.
THEREFORE: The Raptors need to start preparing for the playoffs now. It's not about looking ahead, it's about preparing for a goal. Roster versatility is crucial if you want to go deep in the playoffs especially so, if you are facing a team that has more talent.
THE COUNTER-ARGUMENT:
1) Casey's weird rotations jeopardize wins and any gains in playoff performance from versatility might be more than lost by not having home court advantage.
2) Weird rotations can engender resentment among starters who have their minutes cut.
RESPONSE:
1) Raptors are a very deep team, with little roster turnover from last year. They can afford to get funky with their rotations and still win games.
2) Raptors have leadership from three key players Lowry/Derozan/Amir, and everyone seems to be focused on the big picture (winning in the post-season) as long as it is communicated to players by coaches, with an understanding that it is being done to make the team better in the playoffs, I'm pretty sure everyone (with the possible exception of James Johnson, although he seems okay with his role thus far) is willing to be on board. Plus you don't need to cut players minutes a lot, or even every game. This is also offset by the theory spurs theory that by limiting the minutes of your starters you reduce the likelihood that players are injured come playoff time.
CONCLUSION: Casey can and should continue to be creative with rotations. Yes, you need to try to do it in a way that doesn't offend people if their minutes are cut for a particular game. Ideally, the starters would blow out weaker opponents early, so that they've "earned" the night off, and you can give second and third unit players good burn, while resting your starters. Also, don't be afraid to use bench heavy rotations on a few "big games" to build their confidence (think of the spurs sitting Duncan and Parker vs. the Heat in the regular season).
Personally I like the fact that Casey has experimented with unusual line ups: including the Vasquez-Lou Will-Lowry 3 PG line-up, and the super small Hansbrough-James Johnson-Demar-Williams-Vasquez line up he played during the Heat game. It was mostly effective, with the exception of some giving up a bunch of offensive rebounds. Inserting Lowry for Williams or Amir (who was not available for the Heat game) for Hansbrough, and that should help limit offensive rebounds.
Supplemental Conclusion: Whether you think the Heat are the real deal or not they do pose a serious match-up problems for our defense. (I'm not worried about our offense since Lebron can only guard one player, and even if they put him on lowry we can go to a two-pg line up and have the other pg initiate the offense.) Both Lebron and Kevin Love create problems for our defense.
Lebron, because he is the best player in the world and he is flat out to big and strong for Ross (except in limited minutes/switches-- I am a firm believer that you can't afford to double him, and guys just have to try their best if they get switched on to him).
Kevin Love, although I do think that Amir will be able to do an adequate job of guarding Love, Love stretches the floor and pulls Amir, our best help defender, away from the basket. This is very problematic as it gives driving lanes to Iving and driving/post-ups to Lebron. Although I'm hopeful JV can make strides on help defense this year, I'm not certain he will be able to be the help defender we need come playoffs.
Rotations I'd like to see in preparation for the Heat.
1) Back-court of Lowry/Vasquez-Ross-James Johnson.
Why? James Johnson is probably our best wing defender-especially for bigger wings. Lou Williams is our instant offense from the bench, and if he's hot we definitely need to ride him. However, there will probably be playoff games where he's just isn't making his shots and hurting the team. Being able to insert Ross at the two alongside Johnson could be a useful rotation for a handful of stretches throughout a 7 game series.
2) Front-court of Hansbrough-Patterson-Amir
Why? The most devastating offensive option the heat have is a Lebron-Love pick and roll. In this scenario you hoping that Patterson or Hansbrough can make it tough on Lebron to post up, and at least challenge mid-range shots. That way Hansbrough and Patterson switch everything on the PNR, and Amir is their for help defense if lebron beats them on the drive.
Not saying these line ups are ideal or that they'll work, just that they may be useful in limited minutes, so why not give them a little burn during the season.
1) If you are a team that is serious about going deep in the playoffs, then purpose of the regular season has to be about preparing your team for the playoffs. Winning and seeding matters a lot,
BECAUSE when you are forced to play a 7 game series against the same team, they are going to take advantage of any weakness they can find..
AND by the time the playoffs come around you don't have time to overhaul your offense or defense (I've noticed more than one current and/or former NBA coach mention something to this effect).
VERSATILITY MATTERS: The more ways your team can play, the harder it is for other teams to game plan against you, and the easier it is game plan against them. A good is example is the Spurs use of Matt Bonner in the Western Conference Finals. He's pretty far down their depth chart and yet Pop was able to insert him into the starting line up against OKC (in order to bring Ibaka away from the basket and hurt the Thunder's help defense). It worked.
2) The Raptors are finally a team that should be serious about going deep in the playoffs (I hope the team sees anything other than a 1 or 2 seed, and a Conference Finals appearance as a wasted opportunity/failure.
THEREFORE: The Raptors need to start preparing for the playoffs now. It's not about looking ahead, it's about preparing for a goal. Roster versatility is crucial if you want to go deep in the playoffs especially so, if you are facing a team that has more talent.
THE COUNTER-ARGUMENT:
1) Casey's weird rotations jeopardize wins and any gains in playoff performance from versatility might be more than lost by not having home court advantage.
2) Weird rotations can engender resentment among starters who have their minutes cut.
RESPONSE:
1) Raptors are a very deep team, with little roster turnover from last year. They can afford to get funky with their rotations and still win games.
2) Raptors have leadership from three key players Lowry/Derozan/Amir, and everyone seems to be focused on the big picture (winning in the post-season) as long as it is communicated to players by coaches, with an understanding that it is being done to make the team better in the playoffs, I'm pretty sure everyone (with the possible exception of James Johnson, although he seems okay with his role thus far) is willing to be on board. Plus you don't need to cut players minutes a lot, or even every game. This is also offset by the theory spurs theory that by limiting the minutes of your starters you reduce the likelihood that players are injured come playoff time.
CONCLUSION: Casey can and should continue to be creative with rotations. Yes, you need to try to do it in a way that doesn't offend people if their minutes are cut for a particular game. Ideally, the starters would blow out weaker opponents early, so that they've "earned" the night off, and you can give second and third unit players good burn, while resting your starters. Also, don't be afraid to use bench heavy rotations on a few "big games" to build their confidence (think of the spurs sitting Duncan and Parker vs. the Heat in the regular season).
Personally I like the fact that Casey has experimented with unusual line ups: including the Vasquez-Lou Will-Lowry 3 PG line-up, and the super small Hansbrough-James Johnson-Demar-Williams-Vasquez line up he played during the Heat game. It was mostly effective, with the exception of some giving up a bunch of offensive rebounds. Inserting Lowry for Williams or Amir (who was not available for the Heat game) for Hansbrough, and that should help limit offensive rebounds.
Supplemental Conclusion: Whether you think the Heat are the real deal or not they do pose a serious match-up problems for our defense. (I'm not worried about our offense since Lebron can only guard one player, and even if they put him on lowry we can go to a two-pg line up and have the other pg initiate the offense.) Both Lebron and Kevin Love create problems for our defense.
Lebron, because he is the best player in the world and he is flat out to big and strong for Ross (except in limited minutes/switches-- I am a firm believer that you can't afford to double him, and guys just have to try their best if they get switched on to him).
Kevin Love, although I do think that Amir will be able to do an adequate job of guarding Love, Love stretches the floor and pulls Amir, our best help defender, away from the basket. This is very problematic as it gives driving lanes to Iving and driving/post-ups to Lebron. Although I'm hopeful JV can make strides on help defense this year, I'm not certain he will be able to be the help defender we need come playoffs.
Rotations I'd like to see in preparation for the Heat.
1) Back-court of Lowry/Vasquez-Ross-James Johnson.
Why? James Johnson is probably our best wing defender-especially for bigger wings. Lou Williams is our instant offense from the bench, and if he's hot we definitely need to ride him. However, there will probably be playoff games where he's just isn't making his shots and hurting the team. Being able to insert Ross at the two alongside Johnson could be a useful rotation for a handful of stretches throughout a 7 game series.
2) Front-court of Hansbrough-Patterson-Amir
Why? The most devastating offensive option the heat have is a Lebron-Love pick and roll. In this scenario you hoping that Patterson or Hansbrough can make it tough on Lebron to post up, and at least challenge mid-range shots. That way Hansbrough and Patterson switch everything on the PNR, and Amir is their for help defense if lebron beats them on the drive.
Not saying these line ups are ideal or that they'll work, just that they may be useful in limited minutes, so why not give them a little burn during the season.
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