Moving from a two-way deal to a full-time NBA contract meant many changes for Brown, the first of which was a change in lockers. It turns out the G League MVP award only had to be shipped two stalls away. The crystal basketball remains on the top shelf of Brown’s locker to this day, serving an important purpose.
“It’s just there,” he said, before shifting his answer. “It’s also a reminder as well just so that I know that I belong. Not a lot of guys get to have that trophy right there, so I’m just blessed.”
Brown could be forgiven for needing the reminder, even in what is technically his fifth NBA season. He’s still only logged 82 career games and only cracked 1,000 career minutes on Friday, the heavy majority of that experience coming in an extended run with the Timberwolves in 2014-15. His more recent time has come largely in blowouts or unimportant games, and Brown’s play has been uneven. Last year, he shot the ball poorly for the Raptors and sometimes struggled to make clean passes against NBA sized defenders, but acquitted himself well on defence and finished with the best net rating on the team in his tiny sample. In baseball, there is a term, Quad-A, for players who have nothing left to prove or are too good for Triple-A but never quite find success in the majors; Brown has at times looked the part of basketball’s version of that paradoxical player archetype.
Even this year, with an NBA contract that assures him a roster spot at least until January, Brown’s status has seemed uncertain. He’s struggled since the preseason with finishing at the rim and with his jump shot, meaning he’s been at the Raptors Training Centre every night the team isn’t in action putting in extra work. He’s gained five pounds since the start of camp to help with finishing and with his defence, which might not sound like a lot until you realize Brown has 2.9-percent body-fat, so almost the entirety of that push from 190 pounds to 195 has been muscle. As the team’s fourth point guard, it’s hard to know when he’ll get a chance to prove himself again, which can ratchet up the leverage of every minute he does receive, making those shooting struggles even harder.
“Honestly, I never know, you know what I’m saying? I’m just here for when my name is called,” he said.
Podcast: Locked on Raptors #405 – Preparing for the Milwaukee Bucks w/ James Herbert – Raptors HQ
In Episode 405 of Locked on Raptors, Sean Woodley chats with James Herbert from CBS Sports about his early impressions of the Raptors as well as his recent piece on the revamped Milwaukee Bucks — a team the Raptors take on in Milwaukee on Monday night. They also react to the firing of Tyronn Lue, which breaks mid-pod.
Sneak Peek at Bucks-Raptors: A Clash of Eastern Conference Titans – Brew Hoop
Monday’s clash of these Eastern Conference titans will have something for everyone, but it’s going to mean a lot for Milwaukee. If the Bucks win, fans might crow about their 7-0 record and start tossing out predictions about the conference finals and end-of-season hardware for Coach Bud, Jon Horst, and yes, maybe even John Henson. But if the Bucks lose, fans might lament how the team isn’t ready to contend, can’t hang with the big dogs, and start looking at what changes need – NEED – to be made between now and February.
But here’s the thing: it’s just one game. Sure, it might factor in to tie breaking conversations in six months, but each game matters as much as the next when it comes to how the game is played, how the strategy is executed, or how much #EnergyAndEffort is exerted. The Bucks might win, and extend their undefeated streak to start the year with the Boston Celtics waiting for them on Thursday. The Bucks might lose, and they’ll still sit at 6-1 with the Boston Celtics waiting for them on Thursday. Monday’s contest might matter for a few weeks, but in the long run neither result should knock the hype train off its rails.
The important thing is the system. If the Bucks maintain their dedication and discipline to Coach Bud’s strategies, they will be in a position to succeed. Maybe their high turnovers comes back to bite them, or their heretofore hot shooting cools off too much. But no matter what, as long as they play the same way they’ve played since preseason started, things are looking up in Milwaukee, win or lose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dR5yXulep0
Like the Raptors last year, the Bucks have wasted little time adapting. Along with the Raptors, they are the only undefeated teams in the league. They are ninth in offensive efficiency. The biggest change, though, is that they are second in 3-point rate — the percentage of 3-pointers that they take among their field goal attempts. Last year, they ranked 25th.
It was a change that basketball fans were desperate for as the old regime in Milwaukee, led by Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty, wasted the unique set of skills and size of Giannis Antetokounmpo by playing a regressive style of basketball. Milwaukee became one of the most predictable teams in the league last year, filling the paint and playing a role in slowing down Antetokounmpo, who can do things in space and access angles that other players simply cannot access.
Think back to the Raptors’ playoff series against the Bucks two years ago. He was largely excellent, averaging 24.8 points and 9.5 rebounds in the six games, but there was a very simple strategy to guard him: go under every pick-and-roll in which he had the ball — switch if you need to — and dare him to shoot.
Antetokounmpo’s jumper remains the weakest part of his offensive game, but the Bucks have de-emphasized its importance. If you have a superstar who is not a supreme shooter, surround him with guys who can make up for that. The other four starters in the Bucks lineup are averaging 18.1 3-point attempts per game. Additionally, given Antetokounmpo’s natural ability, he does not need to be in as many pick-and-rolls to further clog up the paint with one of his teammates and an extra defender. Instead, the Bucks can allow Antetokounmpo to go to work on his own and then make a decision accordingly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LODpsrcBBxo
Stopping Giannis not a one-man job – unless you have Kawhi Leonard as Raptors now do | Toronto Sun
As good as Antetokounmpo has been, he hasn’t done it alone. Khris Middleton is off to the best start of his career, averaging 21.8 points per game on sizzling 57% shooting from beyond the arc. Brook Lopez has been a nice upgrade in the middle and Eric Bledsoe is healthy and playing well, as is fellow guard Malcolm Brogdon.
Still, everything revolves around the do-everything forward.
“The biggest thing with him is just somehow stopping the freight train in transition,” Nurse said.
“He comes off and the floor is spread (with good shooters), and it’s like (LeBron James) and him keep on coming, they go right through your numbers and you’ve got to stand in there and take it or that you can get multiple people and hopefully you can slow him down.”
For once, the Raptors might have someone who might be able to slow Giannis down.
His name is Kawhi Leonard.
“It helps that you have somebody that can match up physically, that can take some of the hits,” Nurse said. “It’s very intimidating (when an Antetokounmpo or a James physically overpower defenders at will). Having a guy, or two guys physically that can take some of those bounces when he’s coming down the lane and guys with some length that can at least almost look eye-to-eye with him, that certainly helps. It’s really a team job to stop these guys.”
A team job that at least becomes a possibility with Leonard, one of the best perimeter defenders in league history, on the scene.
Nurse reiterated that there is no set plan to rest Leonard for part of back-to-back sets (the team hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday), though it might happen sometimes depending on how Leonard feels.
Why Raptors’ unbeaten start is far from perfect | The Star [subscription]
It’s probably better that VanVleet miss games this early in a season rather than much later, which could put him a bit behind heading into the most important time of the year. And despite VanVleet’s absence — plus the fact his backup backcourt mate, Delon Wright, has played about five minutes of the entire season as he battles a groin injury — Toronto is 6-0 and one of just two unbeaten teams left in the NBA.
VanVleet’s seen enough to know there is so much room for improvement, though. The Raptors are winning on talent — and they have tons — but there is a sense that they haven’t put a full game together yet.
“We really haven’t scratched the surface. We haven’t played well for a half (a game), I don’t even think,” VanVleet said. “We’ve just got little spurts here and there where we’re explosive and able to get leads on people, but that’s not going to be enough over the course of the year. So, as the weeks and days and games go on, you just try to continue to get better and become a solid team.”
Having already set a franchise record for consecutive wins to start a season, the Raptors face a difficult back-to-back in trying to extend that mark. The Bucks sport the same 6-0 record as Toronto and are playing in a new home arena for Monday’s game. After that, the Raptors get Philadelphia on Tuesday.
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