Casey, Lowry and Anderson

[CT2010]

The sky isn't falling man. Just pointing out that it wasn't just Irving hit a big shot...he was given the shot. I would definitely be a bit less upset if we, you know, actually defended the last possession. He hit a big shot, but not a tough shot.

Good point. I agree with your basic point here. I don't feel that a shot from 5 feet beyond the arc is an easy shot, but if you are going to something up, especially in a short shot clock situation give up the tie, not the dagger. I thought Anderson was doing the right thing at first but as the clock wound down, he should have stepped up to contest a bit. Live and learn.

[Pill]

The bottom line is that play should have never happened because again we threw away a 10+ point lead. They need to fix that. Giving up this many 4th quarter leads is on Casey. I don't like his player rotations. Sure he has some injuries to deal with but his insistence of always having AA out there with less than 6minutes to go pisses me off. AA is obviously playing for a career out there, not for the team and it is obvious.

[CT2010]

+1

Rap of the day candidate?

I think it comes down to coaching. So many games we're up by double digits in the 4th...only to see the opposing team take the momentum from us and eventually the game.

Where is our coach's sense of urgency??

He clearly ICED Demar Derozan and kept Acy and Lowry in the game too long. How can you have 1 starter in the game (Amir) to start the 4th in a close game???

He then put back Jose, Ed and i believe DD with only 4-5 minutes left to go in the game!! Maybe Casey thinks this roster is better than it is (goes back to that depth talk at the beginning of the year).

16 wins 28 losses - That's where we are Casey! Are the Raptors less talented than the Cavs??? Maybe it isnt a talent issue....Its about how you use the talent you have.

This is all well and good, but if Casey coached the way you are suggesting the same 5 players would be on the court all game. It simply doesn't work that way. One of our supposed strengths is that we don't have a big drop off from starters to bench. I don't know if that's true, but in an 82 game season guys need to rest and if they don't need it they are not playing hard enough.

[Matt52]

The bottom line is that play should have never happened because again we threw away a 10+ point lead. They need to fix that. Giving up this many 4th quarter leads is on Casey. I don't like his player rotations. Sure he has some injuries to deal with but his insistence of always having AA out there with less than 6minutes to go pisses me off. AA is obviously playing for a career out there, not for the team and it is obvious.

And multiple times!

This is the problem.

[[email protected]]

1. We all know at this point that Demar Derozan is a streaky player and is therefore very liable to go cold. So why is Casey keeping him off the court for 10 minutes at a time? If you're that worried about his minutes, don't play him for the entire 1st quarter, put on the backups and take which ever one is playing poorly off after 3-4 mins and put demar back in before he goes cold. Same thing happened in the bulls game, Demar starts off hot, doesn't play for a while and shits the bed for the rest of the game.
2. Who the hell is Alan Anderson to be getting iso situations? I like him as a 3pt shooter and defender, that's it. I'd rather Ross, a rookie get the opportunity to go iso. BTW last night Alan Anderson was 3/9 at the half and still being allowed to go iso.
3. It was obvious that Lowry needed to get out of there way before he was taken out. Jose, at this point, is just more in sync with the rest of the team. This has happened several times this year and it's losing us games. By the time Jose was back in, Kyrie had gotten way too hot to contain and Cleveland had all the momentum.

[ezz_bee]

I do think that had Kyrie missed the shot, we would still have people point out that it wasn't contested well, but it wouldn't have sparked the 3 pager that we currently have.

I also think that we have a problem in fourth quarters, but how much of that is Casey's fault, how much is lack of talent on the team, and how much is due to the fact that we are very thin up front after Davis and Amir. I mean at the start of the season Q&A is our second round pick, projected to be in the d-league or glued to the bench and living with garbage minutes.

I can't help but thinking that the return of bargs or jv would've have helped us in at least a couple of the recent losses, but again shoulda/woulda/coulda doesn't by you anything.

I think we can point out a few factors that are clearly issues, but at the end of the day, I don't think we have the talent. And I don't think there's anything casey can do about that.

[footarez]

I do think that had Kyrie missed the shot, we would still have people point out that it wasn't contested well, but it wouldn't have sparked the 3 pager that we currently have.

I also think that we have a problem in fourth quarters, but how much of that is Casey's fault, how much is lack of talent on the team, and how much is due to the fact that we are very thin up front after Davis and Amir. I mean at the start of the season Q&A is our second round pick, projected to be in the d-league or glued to the bench and living with garbage minutes.

I can't help but thinking that the return of bargs or jv would've have helped us in at least a couple of the recent losses, but again shoulda/woulda/coulda doesn't by you anything.

I think we can point out a few factors that are clearly issues, but at the end of the day, I don't think we have the talent. And I don't think there's anything casey can do about that.

I agree with everything you said but the bolded part. He is the coach and he must manage the personel we have - clearly we have an issue with 4th quarter breakdowns.Casey MUST find the lineup or plays that would work best late in games.
As for Acy I think that is a great experience for him which gives him an opportunity to showcase himself early in his career. If he would ever have a chance to remain in the league this would be the main reason. I really like what I have seen from him so far. I don't see him developing as some kind of star but I think he may become servicable big man off the bench. I don't like the comparison to Reggie Evans as Acy is a lot more talented offensively but lacks the rebounding "nack". However he shows good defense and right instincts.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

Ok, so yeah, Irving hit a tough shot that you can't really do anything about when it happens, but I think your first question is stupid. You're up 2, with the other team only having time for one shot, and you don't get up on him at the 3pt line, the only place a shot can win the game for them? And don't say he could have drove and kicked to an open shooter, because I'd rather anyone taking a shot than Irving. There isn't much a coach can do about it, so maybe it's on AA, but either way it was poor score recognition for what type of situation they were in, whoever's fault it was.

Agree. I think AA should have already thought that the reason why he was put on Kyrie was because he's bigger and longer and can bother Kyrie if he ever decides to take a jumpshot. Im not sure why he was waiting for the screen when there were only 4 secs on the clock. Even if the screen came, worse could happen is a tie and they go to overtime. This is why the Raps desperately need clutch players, not just to make shots, but to make defensive plays as well.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I was actually surprised the Raptors didn't put on a full-court press, considering Cleveland was inbounding from their own baseline, with just 12 seconds left. I think it would have surprised Cleveland and left them struggling to find a decent shot, or it could have taken the ball out of Irving's hands. Even if it just forced them to burn another timeout after getting past the mid-court line, it would have meant having to draw up a new play in the half-court setting, giving Irving much less time to simply stroll up the court, line up the shot and take a virtually unguarded long 3.

Absolutely horrendous exectuion down the stretch, especially with the second unit staying on until about the 4 minute mark. I also don't get why Fields, who's often referred to as the team's best defender, is rarely on at the end of games. From a defensive standpoint, it would have made more sense to see him out there instead of Anderson, DeRozan or Ross, even to guard Irving!

[golden]

I was actually surprised the Raptors didn't put on a full-court press, considering Cleveland was inbounding from their own baseline, with just 12 seconds left. I think it would have surprised Cleveland and left them struggling to find a decent shot, or it could have taken the ball out of Irving's hands. Even if it just forced them to burn another timeout after getting past the mid-court line, it would have meant having to draw up a new play in the half-court setting, giving Irving much less time to simply stroll up the court, line up the shot and take a virtually unguarded long 3.

Absolutely horrendous exectuion down the stretch, especially with the second unit staying on until about the 4 minute mark. I also don't get why Fields, who's often referred to as the team's best defender, is rarely on at the end of games. From a defensive standpoint, it would have made more sense to see him out there instead of Anderson, DeRozan or Ross, even to guard Irving!

Bingo. I was thinking the same thing. Irving was red hot - take your chances with a scrub. Worst case it's going to OT. Nobody but Kyrie would have the balls to take a 3. A Van Gundy would have taken the ball out of his hands.

[psrs1]

TRex man your threads are all panic button pushes lol. Lowry Ross and AA are the scorers Raps just take theirfoor off the throuat and stop playing desperate throughout the game and thats why they lose, also we are missin JV in the rotation Amir and Ed cant play these heavy minutes.

Good teams play desparate all the time and crank it up even more when get ahead to put the other team away. We are not a good team--we do not know how to play with a lead. GOOD TEAMS AVOID CLOSE GAMES.