Everything Round 2 (2016)

[MACK11]

I'm just really sad we tied it up like that only to lose

Yup. The team had all the momentum but could barely score in OT

[The Great One]

I agree with Chuck.

[Barolt]

In the playoffs, Lowry+DeRozan are shooting 11/68 on 3s, for an expected payoff of 0.49 points per shot. A Drummond FT trip? 0.7 points.

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) May 4, 2016

[danno]

In the playoffs, Lowry+DeRozan are shooting 11/68 on 3s, for an expected payoff of 0.49 points per shot. A Drummond FT trip? 0.7 points.

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) May 4, 2016

How does that compare to a Biyombo free throw trip?

[Nilanka]

Casey's shown he's capable of giving DeRozan a short leash. If Lowry continues to struggle (and provide little else outside of shooting), then ya, Lowry's gotta be prevented from costing us games.

Joseph shooting 56% in the playoffs? Wow.

[Chr1s1anL]

Not worried about Lowry. He'll find a way to impact winning. DD/JV will have to carry the offensive load. We can still win this series.

Man, just upset we waisted a finally good game from Ross. I don't know if we can expect another good game from him.

[Apollo]

I agree with Chuck.

Me too. Quick hook for Kyle but you know that's probably not happening. "Ride or Die" volume two.

[Chr1s1anL]

You have to ride with the guys who got you there. Lowry can be effective without scoring. Cant believe the fan base is turning on Lowry like this. Don't count Lowry out just set.

[slaw]

He can do a heck of a lot more with the ball than settle for jumpers. Yes, the defence is sagging off him, asking him to shoot, and he is doing so, and it is NOT helping the team, at all. He needs to move into the open space, pressure the defence more, try to get to the rim. The defence still can't give him layups, and the Heat showed early in this one that they WILL open up room for JV inside and for our shooters if the ball handler is attacking the rim and drawing help.

Settling for jumpers (especially jumpers that you are not hitting at all) is the worst thing you can do. Miami will be giving Lowry room to shoot anyway until he actually starts hitting some. It's what he does with that space that will determine his success. Brick a bunch of shots and every game will be like this one. Attack the space, or start hitting shots and it's a completely different story. I doubt the latter happens (and it's not really a controllable variable) but the former should be easy for a guy who was near the top of the NBA in drives this year.

Even in the playoffs this year, Lowry has been effective creating for his teammates by driving a lot - 9 drives a game, and Indy played him like he couldn't shoot all series (because he couldn't) - he just attacked into the space and forced them to do something, even if it led to more assists than scoring opportunities for him. Last night he drove a total of 4 times. 4 times. Unacceptable. That's as many drives as CoJo, in twice as many minutes.

Have you considered that there is a reason he can't attack? Like, the defense is forcing him to shoot? If he's reduced to being a one-dimensional player then the defense will just take that away. It's all of a piece. You can't just say, "oh, don't shoot, drive, attack'. Don't you think the other team is aware of what is happening? They are taking away his drive game as much as they can. This has happened for most of the last 7 games or so. He is trying to force the issue but you can only do that so much.

There is no smart tactical adjustment here. He needs to start making shots. I know that sort of thinking is anathema around here because there is always some sort of simple, obvious tactical fix that will solve all the problems but sometimes players simply need to execute. If he doesn't, the Raps will lose. If he does, they will win.

[Barolt]

You have to ride with the guys who got you there. Lowry can be effective without scoring. Cant believe the fan base is turning on Lowry like this. Don't count Lowry out just set.

I'm getting more and more convinced that Chr1s1an is Dwane Casey.

[Axel]

You have to ride with the guys who got you there. Lowry can be effective without scoring. Cant believe the fan base is turning on Lowry like this. Don't count Lowry out just set.

You also have to play to win. Don't waste a full season to simply go down like that. Lowry has shown in round 1 that he can play well without shooting; game 1 was not that. He should bounce back (even without the shooting) but we can't simply go down with the ship cause they're our guys.

[Axel]

I'm getting more and more convinced that Chr1s1an is Dwane Casey.

No man, he's 100% Leo.

[Apollo]

Eight bad games in a row. They're here today not thanks to Kyle. He helped tremendously in getting the second seed. That got erased now two game ones in a row where his play had a direct impact on them losing their home court advantage. 2nd seed doesn't matter, pretty regular season stats don't matter, they could have been 5th or 6th or 7th and there would have been no disadvantage compared to how they've started both rounds.

[The Great One]

You have to ride with the guys who got you there. Lowry can be effective without scoring. Cant believe the fan base is turning on Lowry like this. Don't count Lowry out just set.

Shooting is not the only issue with Lowry. He's playing too fast, his decision making/play making has been poor. He's like a completely different player in these playoffs. Its like watching a rookie play in the NBA for the first time.

[Apollo]

End of the day you need to pause and asked the question: He's 30 years old, his body is breaking down, he shrinks like a scared turtle when the games matter, where is he taking the team and how long does he still hold great market value?

I think the answer is nowhere and this offseason.