Breakdown: Raptors d. Hornets, Oct. 22

Raptors 127, Hornets 106

Recap

· The Raptors thoroughly dominated Charlotte for their first blowout win so far this season.

· What stood out in this game was how hard the Raptors competed on the defensive end. I’ll explain this in more detail below, but it’s unusual to see an NBA team (especially this early in the regular season) that is as committed to the defensive end as the Raptors are right now.

· Offensively, they had no issues getting the looks they wanted. They ran significantly less spread ball screens with Lowry tonight, and ran 7 different offensive sets/actions in the first quarter alone.

· The Raptors dictated the pace of the game and played at a pace faster than what the Hornets were comfortable with.

· The Hornets did a good job on the offensive boards.

· Kemba Walker is a nightmare in the ball screen — he can shoot it at anytime, and he attacks the hips of the waiting bigs incredibly well.

Once Kemba gets downhill, he gets incredibly low and directly attacks Serge’s hips.

Defence

Compete level

· Nick Nurse has gotten through to his guys about the importance of competing on the defensive end. Of course, the Raptors will be improved defensively with the addition of Kawhi and Danny Green, but the way they are competing is a good indication that Nurse has not only the ear, but the belief of his players.

· When I use the term “competing”, I am more so referring to the way the Raptors are mentally approaching the defensive end as opposed to just the physical aspect of defending. The physical component is table stakes — if you are not in stance and trying your hardest, you may win here and there, but you give yourself no chance of winning in the long run. The following clips are examples of what I am referring to:

With the shot clock winding down, Fred Van Vleet recognizes that Monk is going to call for a ball screen. Because of that recognition, he switches onto JV’s man who is sprinting up to set the ball screen — Fred knows they are trying to go after JV in the ball screen, and that if he switches onto JV’s man he will inherit the ball handler. However, the screener recognizes this so he doesn’t set the screen. Monk gets impatient and attacks, which leads to a blocked 3 pt attempt. Fred Van Vleet completely blew up this play simply with his mind. Competing!

This play is an all around great defensive possession. The Raptors handle two handoffs and a down screen until Siakam is 1-on-1 with Kemba up top. Lowry makes a smart play by switching with Kawhi so that Kawhi can stay low and discourage Kemba from getting deep. Pascal is in stance, forcing Kemba to his off hand, and constantly making him feel uncomfortable by extending his arm above Kemba’s shooting pocket.

Defending the Nail

· The more I watch the Raptors, the more their defensive principles become apparent. I have noticed that the Raptors really make an emphasis of protecting the “nail” (middle of the free throw line) with the offside high guard. I believe their priorities on any middle penetration are:

Help or bluff at the nail.
Don’t let the “one more” pass to the corner, as the corner 3 is the most coveted shot on the floor.

Notice at the beginning of the play that Siakam is the high guard so he is protecting the nail. As the ball gets swung, Danny Green inherits the nail. Danny Green is on his own to bluff and contest the 3 as Kawhi is not going to leave the corner.

Notice Fred has the nail to start the play and as the ball gets skipped, Powell inherits the nail.

Switching

· Also, the Raptors are switching every action that they can — 1–4 and 2–5. The only times they aren’t switching are when Fred Van Vleet or Lowry are in an action (ball screen, or off-ball screen) with JV or Serge Ibaka.

Good example of multiple different types of switches.

· With switching as much as the Raptors do, it puts an emphasis on awareness and communication. When the Raptors broke down defensively in this game, it was usually related to errors while switching:

Miscommunication between Kawhi and Pascal — Pascal thinks they are switching, Kawhi doesn’t.

In this scenario, Pascal again thinks him and Danny Green are switching, but Danny doesn’t and stays with his man.

Defending Down Screens — Chase to Gap (Gap to Chase)

· One thing I noticed last night that I got way too excited about was watching Kawhi “chase to gap” a pin down in the first half. Throughout the 7 or so games I’ve analyzed so far between the Celtics and the Raptors, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with how often defenders would chase a down screen just because they’ve been told to chase a down screen. Look at these examples:

Focus on the second screen in the staggers. After Jaylon Brown loses seperation on the first screen, there is a gap between him and his man and he’s effectively lost his chase. When the second screen comes, the screener knows he’s chasing and steps into his path. Instead of adjusting and going under (gapping), he continues to chase and takes the longest possible distance to get to the ball.

Same thing here with Kyrie, but even more noticeable. He’s lost his chase after the first screen. Watch how far Ibaka moves to get into Kyrie’s way on the second screen. This is the concept of Chase to Gap, or Gap to Chase. If you chase and the defender moves into your path, move where the defender came from and gap the screen. If Kyrie gaps this Ibaka screen, he will have a much better chance of contesting Lowry’s shot.

·Now watch the difference when Kawhi is chasing Batum off this screen:

Right at the start of Kawhi’s chase he realizes he’s lost separation. As he continues to chase, he forces the screen to move into his path, where he then gaps the screen and is able to cut off Batum.

Offense

Transition

· As a result of 10 steals and a stingy defense, the Raptors spent a lot of time in transition in this game. What came apparent (and unsurprisingly so) was that when the Raptors got paint touches in transition, good things usually happened for them.

· Also of note, Serge Ibaka was fantastic last night in transition. The early season trend of him using his athleticism and playing hard is making the Raptors much better.

He doesn’t get the ball here, but he is sprinting as hard as he can down the floor.

Half Court

Sets

· Apart from spread ball screens, the Raptors ran their staggers series, cross screen series to post up Kawhi, Spain action, and double high or double wing ball screens. All sets I’ve posted in previous game breakdowns.

· New sets I noticed last night:

This was the first play of the game. Mid post entry to Lowry, Kawhi clears out and Serge sets a cross screen for Danny Green.

Handoff to X screen for the 5. They ran this play 3 times in the game.

· From the side out, the Raptors are consistently running their Spain action or direct action into their spread ball screen. I was amazed that Charlotte got scored on twice in the second quarter on the Spain action from a sideline out of bounds play. It’s the only play the Raptors have run from the side out all season!

Notes

· I saw a great (but probably illegal) “veteran” move by Nicolas Batum in the game that got me pretty excited. Check it out:

Batum realizes the Raptors are switching all screens, so he grabs OG’s arms and doesn’t let him switch, which results in an open 3 for Kemba.

· Also, if you don’t believe in the value of constantly staying in stance on the defensive end, check out what happens to the talented and athletic Malik Monk on this defensive possession: