How to beat the Raps ... a scouting report

[CT2010]

"Other coaches adapt , Casey doesn't"

Personally I feel like this is one flaw we can all agree on. This may be due to arrogance or a shallow understanding of the game. Perhaps he thinks his defensive strategy is flawless who knows but it's a fact that other teams , heck even analyst have dissected the raptor defence.

The big question at the moment is.... "Now what?"

Has your defence been figured out or just not implemented properly? Either way we'll all be patiently watching.

I guess the problem that I have with all of this Casey talk is that most coaches have a system that they implement regardless of the personnel. The Triangle, Princeton, motion offense etc. Most coaches do not adjust their system for their players but instead ask the players to buy in.

I am not saying that Casey could and should rise above what has been the norm in coaching and design an offense and defensive system to better utilize the players he has, but I think it is a little simplistic to point to this as a character flaw when most NBA and college coaches do it.

[raptors999]

I guess the problem that I have with all of this Casey talk is that most coaches have a system that they implement regardless of the personnel. The Triangle, Princeton, motion offense etc. Most coaches do not adjust their system for their players but instead ask the players to buy in.

I am not saying that Casey could and should rise above what has been the norm in coaching and design an offense and defensive system to better utilize the players he has, but I think it is a little simplistic to point to this as a character flaw when most NBA and college coaches do it.

Coaches implement systems on offence. On defence using a scheme that isn't working and requires pieces that aren't on the roster is crazy. If Cleveland used a defence funnelling guys into Love they would be a laughing stock.

[KHD]

At this point i just find it hilarious.

[DanH]

What bugs me about that soft zone Portland uses is it is SO similar to the man/zone hybrid Casey designed in Dallas. That system would fit so much better with our personnel, and he has never tried to implement it here. He was basically hired because of that system - why has he never gone back to it here?

[raptors999]

What bugs me about that soft zone Portland uses is it is SO similar to the man/zone hybrid Casey designed in Dallas. That system would fit so much better with our personnel, and he has never tried to implement it here. He was basically hired because of that system - why has he never gone back to it here?

Portland has Mathews and Batum to matchup. Casey doesn't matchup

[mjt20mik]

They asked JV to bulk up. Of course he lost some mobility. I think getting him stronger without gaining too much is the key to have him moving better. Running more PnR for him as compared to postups would also help.

[psrs1]

I laughed at this.

I'm past the point of frustration.

I just laugh now.

Casey will be gone by the summer - book it.

I hope you are right. It seems to me that if DC will not adjust he should be replaced to avoid first round playoff loss.

[yabadabayolo]

What bugs me about that soft zone Portland uses is it is SO similar to the man/zone hybrid Casey designed in Dallas. That system would fit so much better with our personnel, and he has never tried to implement it here. He was basically hired because of that system - why has he never gone back to it here?

Um k so how do you know it would work sooooo well here?

It's not like team has practises where they try and implement shit. What if when they tried to do it, it just didn't work. No one understood what to do. Easy baskets everywhere. Maybe there is a reason he hasn't went to it, maybe his guys don't get it, maybe it was too confusing for them, maybe the players told Casey not to use it ?

I'm sure since it worked soo well in Dallas, he has tried to make it work here, but it just didn't so he never brought it in game.

[golden]

Um k so how do you know it would work sooooo well here?

It's not like team has practises where they try and implement shit. What if when they tried to do it, it just didn't work. No one understood what to do. Easy baskets everywhere. Maybe there is a reason he hasn't went to it, maybe his guys don't get it, maybe it was too confusing for them, maybe the players told Casey not to use it ?

I'm sure since it worked soo well in Dallas, he has tried to make it work here, but it just didn't so he never brought it in game.

But I think the point is that Casey was hired for his reputation as a defensive genius. Of course, we can't really know the nuances of the defensive schemes, but in the case of Portland, these tiny adjustments have made a huge difference. Those adjustments were made by Stotts with the current Blazers' personnel in mind, while maintaining the offense. That is EXACTLY what we hired Casey for.

And Casey has already showed that he could take a team featuring Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and Demar as starters and improve the defense significantly from the previous season. That group went from 30th under Triano to 14th in DRTG under Casey. Why: because he changed the system. This example, alone, clearly refutes the argument being thrown around that "Casey doesn't have the personnel" to improve the defense.

Either (a) the players are not listening to him, (b) the system itself has flaws that can be repeatedly exploited and can't be easily fixed mid-season, on-the-fly, or (c) the system does not suit the personnel.

[yabadabayolo]

But I think the point is that Casey was hired for his reputation as a defensive genius. Of course, we can't really know the nuances of the defensive schemes, but in the case of Portland, these tiny adjustments have made a huge difference. Those adjustments were made by Stotts with the current Blazers' personnel in mind, while maintaining the offense. That is EXACTLY what we hired Casey for.

And Casey has already showed that he could take a team featuring Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and Demar as starters and improve the defense significantly from the previous season. That group went from 30th under Triano to 14th in DRTG under Casey. Why: because he changed the system. This example, alone, clearly refutes the argument being thrown around that "Casey doesn't have the personnel" to improve the defense.

Either (a) the players are not listening to him, (b) the system itself has flaws that can be repeatedly exploited and can't be easily fixed mid-season, on-the-fly, or (c) the system does not suit the personnel.

IMO, I think it is a personnel problem/lack of effort problem. Lowry demar gv and ross constantly get blown by, they just can't seem to keep anyone in front of them, this leads to jonas being out of position, which leads to either an easy layup or open three. These guys didn't get blown by this much last year or earlier this year. It only started during this slump, I feel this has a direct correlation to our whack defence

[golden]

IMO, I think it is a personnel problem/lack of effort problem. Lowry demar gv and ross constantly get blown by, they just can't seem to keep anyone in front of them, this leads to jonas being out of position, which leads to either an easy layup or open three. These guys didn't get blown by this much last year or earlier this year. It only started during this slump, I feel this has a direct correlation to our whack defence

Personnel & effort is the problem?

Again, Casey can design a Raps defense with Jose and Bargs that performs better than the one with the personnel that we have today? Are there 2 worse defenders at their position in the NBA than those 2 guys? I mean, seriously.

[3inthekeon]

But I think the point is that Casey was hired for his reputation as a defensive genius. Of course, we can't really know the nuances of the defensive schemes, but in the case of Portland, these tiny adjustments have made a huge difference. Those adjustments were made by Stotts with the current Blazers' personnel in mind, while maintaining the offense. That is EXACTLY what we hired Casey for.

And Casey has already showed that he could take a team featuring Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and Demar as starters and improve the defense significantly from the previous season. That group went from 30th under Triano to 14th in DRTG under Casey. Why: because he changed the system. This example, alone, clearly refutes the argument being thrown around that "Casey doesn't have the personnel" to improve the defense.

Either (a) the players are not listening to him, (b) the system itself has flaws that can be repeatedly exploited and can't be easily fixed mid-season, on-the-fly, or (c) the system does not suit the personnel.

The 11-12 team had Bargs as a starter except he "unfortunately" only played 31 games. DeMar and Jose did play the most minutes, but after that were the 2 Johnsons (JJ and Amir) , and Ed Davis. Aaron Gray played 800 minutes compared to AB's 1000. All that emphasis on D also had the team finish 29th of 30 in offence.

[golden]

Another one to explain would be the Pistons this season after the Josh Smith trade. Yes, Smith is a knucklehead on offence, but he is a former NBA all-defensive team member, so you can't argue that he doesn't have defensive BBIQ or physical capability.

Yet the Pistons apparently have improved a mind-blowing 10 pts in DRTG, since J-Smoove moved on. 105 to 95 post-trade, after losing their best defensive player.

This argument is even better than the Blazers. You have worse defensive personnel, and the team still improves. And you also have SVG, btw.

[3inthekeon]

Another one to explain would be the Pistons this season after the Josh Smith trade. Yes, Smith is a knucklehead on offence, but he is a former NBA all-defensive team member, so you can't argue that he doesn't have defensive BBIQ or physical capability.

Yet the Pistons apparently have improved a mind-blowing 10 pts in DRTG, since J-Smoove moved on. 105 to 95 post-trade, after losing their best defensive player.

This argument is even better than the Blazers. You have worse defensive personnel, and the team still improves. And you also have SVG, btw.

In the case of Smith, his defensive IQ never was as high as his rep suggests. He was super athletic, now he's fairly athletic.

[golden]

In the case of Smith, his defensive IQ never was as high as his rep suggests. He was super athletic, now he's fairly athletic.

But even so, you're still left with 4 guys in the starting lineup with really bad defensive reps. Drummond was considered a very low IQ player, despite his athletic gifts, up until the last few months. Jennings, Monroe & Singer are basically one-way offensive players.