James Johnson: 3/3 FG and 3 Rebs in.. 9:17..... why is he our 10th man Dwane Casey??

[OldSkoolCool]

Please make this happen:

PG - Lowry
SG - DeRozan
SF - J Johnson
PF - Patterson
C - Valanciunas

Why is this so hard to figure out. And for a team that doesn't have any egos, Casey's sure is looming larger here with the constant (random) benching. I don't know anything about NBA coaching but this is getting ridiculous.

Honestly I think our smartest lineup that can defend and run plays the best would be

Lowry
Ross
Johnson
Patterson
JV

DD can sit his ass down. Lou can never play again. Amir can go get surgery. Vasquez can be traded.

We then have a 4 men off the bench

Undisclosed Point Guard
DeMar
Bruno
Bebe

DeMar can be a focal point off the bench and use Bruno as a spot up shooter. JJ and Patterson can split PF minutes, or we can run 4 out 1 in with Valanciunas. Stagger the minutes of Bruno and Bebe to limit rookie mistakes, yet this way we can develop them quicker and better (IF we have a strong, non-chucker system). [Or trade DD]

Run the offense through Valanciunas or James Johnson at the high post (FT line). Both players give different options, but both are efficient there. This will suck in the D and allow us to run PnR's closer to the basket, and open up the three point line.

Defensively put Ross on the opposing PG's every game for as long as he can play. Tell him to hound him the full 94 feet. Will slow down the pace and wear down people in the long game, dude has the speed and I bet he would take the challenge. Change our half court defensive system to deny penetration, have JV step up above the restricted area when defending the rim. Right now he is always under the basket (why does Casey think this is a good idea?)

[psrs1]

who pays the pundits?

Exactly.

Finding a credible source that does not have a financial interest in the product they are analyzing can be a challenge.

[yabadabayolo]

Honestly I think our smartest lineup that can defend and run plays the best would be

Lowry
Ross
Johnson
Patterson
JV

DD can sit his ass down. Lou can never play again. Amir can go get surgery. Vasquez can be traded.

We then have a 4 men off the bench

Undisclosed Point Guard
DeMar
Bruno
Bebe

DeMar can be a focal point off the bench and use Bruno as a spot up shooter. JJ and Patterson can split PF minutes, or we can run 4 out 1 in with Valanciunas. Stagger the minutes of Bruno and Bebe to limit rookie mistakes, yet this way we can develop them quicker and better (IF we have a strong, non-chucker system). [Or trade DD]

Run the offense through Valanciunas or James Johnson at the high post (FT line). Both players give different options, but both are efficient there. This will suck in the D and allow us to run PnR's closer to the basket, and open up the three point line.

Defensively put Ross on the opposing PG's every game for as long as he can play. Tell him to hound him the full 94 feet. Will slow down the pace and wear down people in the long game, dude has the speed and I bet he would take the challenge. Change our half court defensive system to deny penetration, have JV step up above the restricted area when defending the rim. Right now he is always under the basket (why does Casey think this is a good idea?)

Lmfao I think that's sarcasm but I'm not sure

If its not, I'd like to remind you that bruno couldn't even get minutes in the d league, he's not going to be able to come off the becnch and shoot threes. Nor is bebe ready yet.

IMO I think that is a strong lottery team that could potentially sneak in as the 8th seed with 33 wins. But that's depending on how god like lowry and Jv could play lol

Hilarious if is sarcasm though lol

[OldSkoolCool]

Lmfao I think that's sarcasm but I'm not sure

If its not, I'd like to remind you that bruno couldn't even get minutes in the d league, he's not going to be able to come off the becnch and shoot threes. Nor is bebe ready yet.

IMO I think that is a strong lottery team that could potentially sneak in as the 8th seed with 33 wins. But that's depending on how god like lowry and Jv could play lol

Hilarious if is sarcasm though lol

Not sarcasm

How do you know Bruno is unable to fulfill this role?

He can shoot. He can defend (especially in a conservative system).

[RandomGuy]

Not sarcasm

How do you know Bruno is unable to fulfill this role?

He can shoot. He can defend (especially in a conservative system).

Well with all due respect, Bruno is trully two years away from even considering this idea. I invested my time to see how he plays (d-league), he's bad, just bad at this moment.

[MixxAOR]

I'm not sure Bruno can shoot. He bricked everything in Dleague and it wasn't like he wasn't getting open looks

[mcHAPPY]

Yeah he must do some stupid sh!t behind the scenes that keeps him on the bench.

My guess is he has 2 issues:
1) he thinks he is better than he is,
2) he speaks his mind very bluntly

[RandomGuy]

c

[jonnywalker]

My guess is he has 2 issues:
1) he thinks he is better than he is,
2) he speaks his mind very bluntly

deff no. 1

[OldSkoolCool]

Well with all due respect, Bruno is trully two years away from even considering this idea. I invested my time to see how he plays (d-league), he's bad, just bad at this moment.

And how do you propose he gets better?

Honestly game experience and very dedicated video time to show him is an incredible tool to just immediate dismiss.

Overreaction to a few D-League games is a little excessive.

My guess is he has 2 issues:
1) he thinks he is better than he is,
2) he speaks his mind very bluntly

1) I think he knows full well how good he is. And he has proven he is a lot better than many of our players right now

[e_wheazhy_]

deff no. 1

But he's actually playing well... He's not necessarily wrong unless he thinks he's Jordan

[bryan colangelo]

Greivis played well and had himself a pretty nice game, but 33 minutes?
DD played rather awfully yet 28 minutes?
Lou will 3/11 shooting (not to mention atleast 3 classic lou 20 seconds on the shotclock huck threes) and 25 minutes?

What's the beef with JJ and DC these days? Our team looks like a team with him on the floor.

This might sound a little crazy, but maybe, just maybe, GV is starting over Ross and JJ because they're trying to boost his trade value.

James Johnson is a steal with his contract, and very easy to trade (not that we will). GV needs more exposure if they're looking to move him

This is total speculation, btw.

[raptors999]

This might sound a little crazy, but maybe, just maybe, GV is starting over Ross and JJ because they're trying to boost his trade value.

James Johnson is a steal with his contract, and very easy to trade (not that we will). GV needs more exposure if they're looking to move him

This is total speculation, btw.

Unless they get a PG back GV is hard to trade. Teams that could use him are the Bucks and Detroit but unless the Raptors want DJ Augustine back they can't move him. Not saying they aren't shopping him but Raptors only have 2 PG on the roster.

[caccia]

I have no doubt that when James Johnson returned to the Raptors, certain rules and expectations for behaviour were set out. He broke one or more of them, and now is suffering the consequences. The "cold shower" will probably last a while, perhaps three or four weeks.

It may not be related, but he does have two technical fouls this year, and the benching occurred right after the second one.

[RandomGuy]

And how do you propose he gets better?

Honestly game experience and very dedicated video time to show him is an incredible tool to just immediate dismiss.

Overreaction to a few D-League games is a little excessive.



1) I think he knows full well how good he is. And he has proven he is a lot better than many of our players right now

It's not overreacting, he was benched after 2 d-league games after his short stint, yes, he was that bad... I would say give him playing time, but we aren't tanking right now, because playing him would mean being 76ers. We have PT issues with some of our starters, JJ, etc. How do you think a guy, who would probably get some playing minutes only in Sixers, can get his minutes in Raptors?