So much of the Raptors’ approach in training camp seemed design to integrate Leonard. Nurse said on Friday that he has chopped down the playbook from over 100 plays a few years back to fewer than 10 so far this year. It is simply a read-and-react offence, maybe best shown by Leonard hooking up Danny Green, his long-time teammate in San Antonio, for a 3-pointer after he felt pressure coming. Green’s feel was obvious, knowing precisely when to raise up to the elbow to provide an exit valve for the star.
That type of chemistry will take longer to form between Leonard and the incumbent Raptors. The hope is that this type of offence will minimize the time that it will take.
“That is just how basketball is played,” Leonard said. “You (are) playing off closeouts, someone is going to run pick-and-roll and from there you are breaking down the defence.”
“I think (Nurse) has to (keep the playbook simple) because he knows there are a couple new guys,” Green said long after most of the locker room had cleared out. “It helps us adapt and adjust to his system, try to keep it simple and just play basketball. We work off of those plays. I’m sure he’ll add some as the season goes along. Right now, keeping it simple makes it easier for me and Kawhi and Greg (Monroe).”
At times, the length of Leonard’s layoff was obvious. Leonard tried to post up from the left block twice, scoring the first time when he went to back to his right shoulder with a left-handed scoop shot. He tried the same move the second time, and it nearly resulted in a turnover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GObBC4dss4
GANTER: Third-year Siakam looks like a great candidate to ‘pop’ this year | Toronto Sun
Already in the first game of this pre-season Saturday in that win over Portland, Siakam has shown an eagerness to be in the centre of things. He had 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes Saturday, six of them off the offensive boards by itself is impressive. The other seven from off the glass of his own basket he ripped down and headed up court to initiate the offence.
There was no hesitation. No second-guessing whether he should give it up to a point guard. It’s exactly what his team wants of him. Trust his handle and use his speed and create opportunities for his teammates.
The same confidence he has in that ability is the kind of confidence they want Siakam to have in his shot.
“For me, I always felt my shot was good,” Siakam said. “My shot was never broke. I went through a tough stretch last year (in December he was just 1-fo-27 from three) which was tough to go through then and then I kind of overthought a lot of things. I was thinking about it way too much. (This off-season) was just a fresh start for me. I didn’t change much. For me, I just have to be confident. That’s something I am learning to do. Coming in you always want to take a step back and see things first, but now it’s time. I just have to be confident and continue to shoot.”
Siakam is convinced just believing in himself is the key.
“That is the most important thing for me. Obviously, I am learning different things and new things every day but most of the things is just about confidence and just doing it because I’m always working on it. Just get to the point where I go out and do it and it becomes second nature.”
Great ball movement pic.twitter.com/onbxWmEuFu
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) September 29, 2018
Raptors have two weeks to prepare their defence | The Star
It’s folly to think the style that worked well in brief stints against Portland is anything like what the Raptors will play when the season starts for real on Oct. 17. Nurse said the team hasn’t even scratched the surface of what it can, or wants, to do.
“We put in a lot of our foundational defensive stuff which involves no switching and this (Portland) team kind of forces you to be a pretty good switching team,” he said. “We were miscommunicating when we said go ahead and switch a few.
“People talk about offensive chemistry all the time but defensive chemistry is something you have to build, too, and there’s a lot of that work to be done with just communications and the feel of who certain guys play.”
The conundrum, if it can be called that, is what to do with Kawhi Leonard, who could emerge as the best defensive player the Raptors have ever deployed. Leonard looked fine for most of his 19 minutes against Portland and his instincts were true but Nurse has to decide how he’s best used.
Letting him switch on pick-and-roll action will maximize his ability to guard different positions, and likely take some pressure off Leonard’s teammates.
Peak JV #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/HHMmuBqJFL
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) September 29, 2018
A good problem is still a problem. The Raptors have 12 guys who have reasonable expectations for minutes, and aside from Norman Powell, who probably has to leap-frog a wing, it is tough to predict the player (or two) who will be left unhappy. The Raptors have three point guards who should figure prominently, all able to play together in any combination. The wing is a jumble, with Leonard slotting in as a starter, with Powell, C.J. Miles, Danny Green and OG Anunoby filling out the rest of the rotation in some manner. Up front, Jonas Valanciunas, Serge Ibaka, Greg Monroe and Pascal Siakam will fight for minutes, with Siakam having the versatility to slide to the wing if necessary.
With all of the talk regarding Ibaka’s ideal position being centre, it might be easy to project Monroe will have to wait his turn. However, Nurse said that he thought Ibaka could bring the requisite rim protection and shot blocking from the power forward spot, and Monroe does not sound like the type who came to Toronto to just earn a playoff bonus.
“I think I’ll get minutes,” Monroe said when it was suggested that he could have gone to another team in free agency to get a clearer path to playing time. “It was just about the team.”
Nurse is the type to experiment and tinker throughout the season — it is a good guess he will be a bit looser on a game-to-game basis than Dwane Casey was, with less of an emphasis on role definition. He seems likely to switch up the rotation, and even the starters, based on the opponent. Injuries will also pop up. It will be tough for Nurse to keep everybody happy.
Savage step-back #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/ExiRuJOFWK
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) September 30, 2018
Kawhi Debuts, Jonas Runs & More from the Preseason Opener – Locked on Raptors
In Episode 388 of Locked on Raptors, Sean Woodley runs through the box score of the Raptors’ 122-104 win over the Blazers and goes a couple minutes on each Raptors’ contributions. Jonas scored fast break buckets now, Pascal remains fast, and oh yes, Kawhi Leonard plays for the Raptors.
Missed being a complete psychopath. Welcome back, basketball. pic.twitter.com/U6i0XEH6Rl
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) September 29, 2018
One Team, One Stat: Toronto Raptors struggled to defend the league’s best | NBA.com
Good news! Not only has LeBron James taken his talents to the Western Conference, but the Raptors also acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from the team that has ranked in the top five defensively for each of the last six seasons.
It’s possible that, with a year of NBA experience under his belt, Anunoby will be one of the league’s best wing defenders this season. If so, if Leonard is healthy, and if Green doesn’t see much drop-off at the age of 31, the Raptors will have three of league’s best wing defenders. Not only will they be able to put together some terrific defensive lineups, but they’ll also (and maybe more importantly) be able to keep at least one stopper on the floor at all times.
Playing in an Eastern Conference that lost its best offensive player, the Raptors will certainly be a top-10 defensive team once again. But where progress can be made is in their ability to defend the best.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoVWf5lH3YA/
NBA preseason: Four reasons to watch in 2018 | SI.com
3. Will Kawhi Leonard ever laugh again?
Imagine if, for years, your spouse/significant other/life partner implored you to open up. Begged you to show some more emotion. And when you finally did, you were ruthlessly mocked for it on the internet. That’s basically what happened to Kawhi Leonard after NBA media day, when his “laugh” went viral after a seemingly innocuous question. Leonard’s, uh—guffaw? chuckle? chortle?—spawned some legendary memes. Can Leonard ever be compelled to laugh in public again? Preseason can be a time for teams to build camaraderie. After all, the stars spend so much time on the bench they’re bound to crack a joke or two. Will Leonard participate, or is he so scarred that he’ll be stone-faced for the entire year? I’m only half-joking when I say I’m just as invested in that storyline as much as I am in how Leonard actually fares on the court.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoU6vkAArUH/
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