Does Anyone Think Evans Is The Missing Piece?

[Dr. James Naismith]

Good read courtesy of the "Basketball Outsider Blog" which discusses whether or not Evans is that player that can help take us from "pretenders" to "contenders". I'm really skeptical on what to expect from Reggie, but if he comes back and plays like the effective player he's been over the last number of years than I definitely think he'll help improve this team ten fold.

What do you guys think?

Set to return after the All Star break, when we separate the pretenders from the contenders, Evans is the most crucial piece for the second half of the season. With the likes of Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu as weapons on offense, an offense that has scored 100+ points on the last 12 games, the defense event is clearly the area that will define the Raptors’ season. They are 17-0 when hold opponents under 100 points. The return of Evans is expected to bring toughness & rebounding to a team that has been lacking just that.

After all the moves on the offseason, Toronto is finally starting to reach expectations. They are currently 5th on the East and with a winning record. If Evans brings to this team all the things he’s expected to, Toronto becomes a very dangerous team when playoff time comes.

Source - Click here

[Dark Knight]

Evans will play barely 10 minutes a night. Hardly a "missing piece", but he will bring energy and rebounding off the bench.

[Buddahfan]

I think that the author has a hole in his screen door.

Evans is am average defender at best go here and has no offense. His two skills are rebounding and banging people around. However his rebounding rate declined significantly over the last two seasons and now is not much better than Johnson's on a 36 minute basis.

At this point Johnson is rated #2 in the NBA in defense. Go here. Click on Top Players and then sort 1 Year Defensive Rating twice to sort it by best to worst.

Johnson's offense has also picked up significantly over the last seven games. See my post this morning on NBA 25.15

Evans in my opinion should only be used as a backup for Johnson when Johnson gets into foul trouble which prevents him from getting his regular minutes.

However, how Triano will actual use Evans remains to be seen.

Regardless of how Triano uses Evans, Evans is a major downgrade on defense compared to Johnson and even a downgrade on offense compared to Johnson.

[.40 Cal Flakes]

Evans in my opinion should only be used as a backup for Johnson when Johnson gets into foul trouble which prevents him from getting his regular minutes.

However, how Triano will actual use Evans remains to be seen.

Regardless of how Triano uses Evans, Evans is a major downgrade on defense compared to Johnson and even a downgrade on offense compared to Johnson.

Like you say Buddah, Evans' D is suspect and he can be a total liability on O. That said, he can still serve a purpose and role on this team. He will bring much needed toughness down the stretch and in the playoffs when the Raps will need it the most. He'll be able to cover the Perkins' and Sheeds' of the league while holding his own. IMO it would be best to use him in limited mins and for certain match ups or situations. Like when the Raps are getting bullied on the court put him in, or when Amir gets into foul trouble put him in.

Amir has been doing an great job for the Raps providing consistency and energy off the bench. IMO it would be the wrong move to cut his mins significantly.

[.40 Cal Flakes]

Here is Doug Smith's take on the Amir/Reggie dilemma:

The question on everyone’s mind is what happens to him (Amir) when Reggie Evans comes back (and in case you’ve been under a rock, the expectation on Reggie’s return is the game after the all-star break).

I suspect Jay, like most coaches, doesn’t really like to play a four-bigs rotation and that’s going to cause an interesting dilemma for the coach, if Reggie is ready to contribute right away.

What I suspect will happen is that Jay’s going to have to at least investigate playing four bigs and perhaps limiting Amir’s minutes every now and then.

It’s a nice problem, I guess, since Johnson and Evans bring two different styles to the court, but it’s going to be problem nonetheless.

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/

[f91ultra]

I see Evans having a greater impact against the heavier/shorter power forwards or centres in the league, eg glen davis, dejuan blair, who eats up our team for offensive boards because we can't box them out effectively. Amir would be useful for more athletic bigs, as well

[MattyG-Ray]

He will be a positive, since he plays hard every time he gets on the court. But be plays a position that is already crowded with Bosh, Bargs and Amir. He isn't enough of an upgrade, over Amir, to make a significant impact on the team as a whole. It will be nice to have him back, but it isn't going to transform this team into a contender.

[Buddahfan]

There us another option and that is

Johnson is playing about 17 say 18 minutes to round it off. So that leaves 80 minutes. Right now Triano is playing Bosh about 36 minutes and Barganani about 34.

To if you add them up

Bosh 36
Barganani 34
Johnson 18
-------------------
Total 88

The other 8 minutes or so are going to small ball.

It is possible that Triano will put Evans in that 8 minutes slot depending on the situation and maybe take above another 5 minutes from Bosh, Bargnani and Johnson or maybe not.

[Ripp]

Evans should not take any minutes from Amir unless we want to lose games.

[Bendit]

I see Evans having a greater impact against the heavier/shorter power forwards or centres in the league, eg glen davis, dejuan blair, who eats up our team for offensive boards because we can't box them out effectively. Amir would be useful for more athletic bigs, as well

Ditto.

JT should use him as a situational sub against certain teams and personnel (typically other bigs) who have become a handful in the paint for the Raps. Setting picks, boxing out and rebounding should be his only game....a Glen Davis type without the scoring other than putbacks.

[.40 Cal Flakes]

I see Evans having a greater impact against the heavier/shorter power forwards or centres in the league, eg glen davis, dejuan blair, who eats up our team for offensive boards because we can't box them out effectively. Amir would be useful for more athletic bigs, as well

+ 1

Ditto.

JT should use him as a situational sub against certain teams and personnel (typically other bigs) who have become a handful in the paint for the Raps. Setting picks, boxing out and rebounding should be his only game....a Glen Davis type without the scoring other than putbacks.

+ 1

You both hit the nail on the head.

[Buddahfan]

I see Evans having a greater impact against the heavier/shorter power forwards or centres in the league, eg glen davis, dejuan blair, who eats up our team for offensive boards because we can't box them out effectively. Amir would be useful for more athletic bigs, as well

Kind of like Rasho plays some against the bigger centers. So against the Celtics, Cavs etc the Raptors second team would be Rasho, Evans, Weems with Belinelli and Calderon.