Jonas Valanciunas’s efficiency and ability to score the ball has prompted many Raptors observers to assert he needs more touches. There is certainly merit there, but in years past, there did not seem to be the schematic framework or foundation for him to actually cement his spot as a high-usage offensive weapon on a team with concrete and defined roles. This preseason, the Raptors have shown flashes and signs that there is at least the possibility for growth to occur, from a tactical standpoint, at least.
Thumbs Up
Last year, the Toronto Raptors ran a play that was signaled by, and is referred to as, “Thumbs Up.” Anytime the ball handler came down the court with his thumb held up high in the air, the same choreographed set of actions were about to unfold to get Valanciunas his token post touch. None of the actions resembled anything else the Raptors did on offense, so it is was as easily predictable of a play as they come.
The play starts with a superfluous down screen to create space between a wing player and his defender, so that said wing player can engage in a “flip” of the ball with the ball handler while continuing to exit to the weakside of the court. Additionally, the exiting wing player would sometimes use the other big man’s screen on the way to the opposite side of the court. The ball, having not moved, finds its way into the corner for the newly entered wing player to catch in tight quarters so that they can relay the ball to Valanciunas on the low block.
Some aspects of this play were glossed over, as a long, but direct, entry to the post occurred at times. Regardless, entry into the post rarely occurred early in the shot clock so that at least 5-8 seconds of relatively useless, and rarely fruitful, actions and movements could be enacted. Then, a very difficult entry pass from the corner into the same side post occurred, where Valanciunas had to deal with perimeter defense digging down into his lap while the remaining players emptied to the other side of the court. No meaningful movement to act as a deterrent from swarming Valanciunas was used.
Also notable is that Valanciunas is a talented post-player, so sometimes it worked. Not necessarily in spite of the play-call, but probably not as a direct result of the inherent genius of it, either. Regardless, the effort was rarely worth it as more times than not, turnovers and bad shot attempts occurred from crowded spaces.
This is not intended to be a tear-down of Dwane Casey’s ability to design a play, but to contrast it with the subtle, yet important improvements which he has made that are evident in the preseason – both in the changes made to this set play, as well as the implementation of others.
For example, upon the post-entry from the strongside corner, the passer no longer inevitably empties to the other side of the court to create more space. Rather, Casey has had them use a variant of a “brush screen,” which is almost surely an illegal screen that’ll never get called because of its infrequency and absurdity. It’s a small wrinkle, but it’s innovative and seems to work.
The issue is that the borderline-illegal brush screen still doesn’t solve the slow set-up of the post touches Valanciunas saw. Casey seems to have amended that issue while also finding ways to punish wandering weakside defenders from swarming the Lithuanian.
Slice Punch & Stagger
This set allows Valanciunas to get to work in the post much more quickly than “Thumbs Up.” First, the 2-guard sets an angled screen for Valanciunas in the paint, while he makes a Slice cut. Typically, this will catch Valanciunas’ defender, as long as the screen is set correctly, allowing for enough space for Valanciunas to gain post position.
Meanwhile, the ballhandler and the power forward engage in a side ball screen to allow for space to make the entry pass, while also occupying two defenders.
Once the wing who has set the screen for Valanciunas, and the big man who has set the screen for the ballhandler, have completed their respective duties, they space out to the weakside and engage in meaningful off-ball action! Those two will set a stagger screen for the wing who had been slotted in the corner. The impact of this is that any weakside defender who has “dug” down to swarm Valanciunas’ post up will now be out of position to negotiate defensive responsibility for the wing coming off the staggered screen, allowing for open three point attempts.
The implementation of quick, simple and effective principles do not end here.
SLOBs / Split Cuts
The Raptors have used SLOB (Sideline Out of Bounds) plays to establish Valanciunas in the post as well. A simple zipper cut from a wing player, taking them from the baseline to above the arc, is followed by an entry pass into the post. What the Raptors have done in the preseason that wasn’t evident in years prior is having the two perimeter players on the strongside of the court to engage in what is called a “Split Cut,” which occurs above a post player. The Warriors have re-popularized this action in recent years, but they do it as a means to facilitate their perimeter offense.
Its impact for the Raptors, and more specifically Valanciunas, is that it preoccupies the perimeter defense to dissuade from digging down into Valanciunas’ space. In the first clip, the perimeter defenders were preoccupied by the split cut, unable to help and dig below into the paint, allowing Valanciunas time and space to operate and score from the low block. In the second, a roaming Will Barton loses Drew Crawford after he digs down. In that scenario, the Raptors didn’t have a split cut and just allowed the post entry passer to exit to the opposite side of the court, but the principle remains the same. Having meaningful off-ball movement to counteract and dissuade defenders from helping into the lane is a positive for the emergence of Valanciunas’ post game.
The Raptors introduced Split Cuts into their offense very late last year, beginning in the playoffs. It is interesting to see that it has remained in the Raptors offensive repertoire and is a good sign of growth
Impromptu Post Ups
This last set of post ups are a bit less concrete in schematic terms but do make sense in a broad way.
During the preseason, in possessions where the Early Offense has died out on the first option or once a set has run its course without producing an advantage, the Raptors have seemed to spontaneously dumped the ball into Valanciunas. In years past, those possessions may have ended in long-range, off-the-dribble jumpers, but a possession or two in most games have seemed to find their way to Valanciunas on the low block as a way for the offensive possession to be saved.
In order, those possessions featured Valanciunas and Joseph engaging in a pick and roll, which lead to Valanciunas rolling into post position, a smart way to gain valuable real estate in the paint without having to waste valuable seconds on the clock. Next, the Raptors ran a Wedge Pick and Roll, which is essentially a screen-the-screener action along the sideline. Typically, Valanciunas’ tendency to clog up the lane would’ve worked to the Raptors’ detriment, but they leveraged his position and got him an impromptu post up where he showed decent vision after Patterson wisely sealed his man. Lastly, after Derozan failed to find a good lane to the rim in early offense, the Raptors dumped the ball into Valanciunas after clearing that side of the floor.
It’s unclear if they did this with clear instruction from Casey or Valanciunas’ incredible playoff run has brought him valuable recognition from his teammate recognizing his skills as an offensive weapon, even one that can bail them out when all else fails.
This is not to say the Raptors will no longer go to Lowry or DeRozan late in the clock. A vast majority of those possessions will stay with those two, but expect a slight uptick in Valanciunas’ usage late in the clock.
Concluding Thoughts
The preseason is a weird environment where fake lineups and minutes are paraded throughout, so sometimes it becomes difficult to take any meaning out of it. There is a lack of large sample sizes to draw concrete observations and conclusions from, but there seems to be something here with Valanciunas from a tactical perspective. This is not to say that the Raptors are going to become a team which has its half-court possessions dominated by post ups, but I think it is fair to say that there will be more variety for Valanciunas in regards to the looks he sees on the low block.
