recently chatted with Green about what goes into good transition defence and what makes him elite — my word, not his — at that end.
“Just the effort. Obviously, timing. Reading guys, their speed, their rhythm, and their mindset,” Green said.
The idea of rhythm comes up a lot with Green, and it underscores how difficult it is not only to defend in transition but to communicate it. Even more than in the half court, transition play is open to improvisation, and offensive players in the open court have far more freedom for creativity and a built-in advantage in the matchup. Getting the jump on a situation from a disadvantage, then, requires a psychological approach. Thinking a step ahead of an opponent even when they have the right to make the first move is difficult but not impossible.
“Everybody in this league is good at what they do and good at even things that they’re not good at,” he said. “So every time you close out to somebody, you’ve got to know your personnel of who it is you’re guarding, who you’re playing against, what are their strengths, where do you want them? A lot of times you have to react and make quick decisions. A lot of those guys, you know by their strengths and weaknesses. They’re quick decisions, it happens fast. Your mind’s got to be thinking quickly.”
Green inhales scouting reports, even if there’s a large element of anticipation at play. A shooter might require an aggressive stunt for a full-on close-out that risks a pump-fake and drive to chase him off the line. A drive-oriented player might require a shorter close to dare the shot but still be in range to contest. Being a transition weapon on the other hand helps Green’s thinking on defence, too, because he knows how he would react to different defensive approaches.
For Kyle Lowry and the Raptors, success is rooted in subtlety | SI.com
Many of Lowry’s assists are more pitch than pass, which is really a credit to how deftly he operates. There’s a reason playmakers tend to work at a distance. The top of the floor is a lookout, the single best place to see the full panorama of a play’s development. It’s where the Warriors position Draymond Green as Stephen Curry darts around screens, where Nikola Jokic sets up shop to orchestrate the Nuggets, and where LeBron James surveys to pick out defenders even a step out of position. Its value is self-evident.
Lowry relies on it in some cases, though he’s at his best when mixing it up, jumbling the defense before assisting a teammate in close quarters. There are four defenders clustered around Lowry on this possession. With a quick shift and well-timed hand-off, he creates a path for OG Anunoby to course between them:
The complexity of these exchanges is undersold by the path of the ball itself. Yet if we accept that the most important scorers in the game are those who create the easiest shots, wouldn’t there also be some virtue in creating by way of the simplest passes? This season, Lowry has produced an astounding 44.9 points per game by way of score or assist for a top-three offense, per NBA.com. His production is just a few baskets shy of what we might expect of an MVP candidate.
Lowry is as poised, and skilled, and resourceful as any team should want its point guard to be—and he still does all the work of running a team. It just comes to him differently than it does others, and more easily now than ever before.
Draymond Green pays Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard some respect | The Star [subscription]
“I got much respect for him,” Green told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday. “But I think I’m the best. If you want my honest opinion, there’s no one in the (contemporary) category with me but Kawhi.”
Leonard, a two-time winner of the defensive player of the year award himself, leads Toronto in total rebounds (7.8) and steals (2.0) so far this season, not to mention the dominant presence he has brought to the Raptors’ lineup that has helped the team dispose the likes of the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers without putting together a complete performance.
Green’s numbers are similar, with 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals in nine games.
Battling for an end-of-season award may not be at the forefront of Leonard’s mind like it is for Green. Leonard said the compliment was “great” but he is still working on getting back to his best after missing the bulk of last season through injury.
“It’s only …eight games so far,” Leonard said on Thursday. “It’s a long season but I appreciate the support. (Green) does a tremendous effort of going out every night and trying to defend one of the best players on the court.”
Leonard came away from Tuesday night’s win over the 76ers with a season-high four steals. The 27-year-old said it’s a natural reaction more than anything: if the ball is in front of him and he feels he can poke at it without losing his defensive position, he will try and go for it.
“His understanding and the athleticism to do it are both really at a high level, and they’re gifts,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
“From our standpoint we are just happy our guys are engaged and wanting to use those gifts. They want to play defence, they’re engaged in it. At least through some stretches here. It’s really important, it’s going to take our team a long ways if they’re engaged and we can polish some that up as we go here.”
Leonard, Warriors’ Green, defend each other’s reputation | Toronto Sun
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said Leonard’s anticipation and his athleticism help him shut down opponents.
“His understanding and the athleticism to do it are both really at a high level and they’re gifts,” Nurse said.
If Leonard’s work rubs off on his teammates, all the better.
“From our standpoint we are just happy our guys are engaged and wanting to use those gifts. They want to play defence, they’re engaged in it,” Nurse said.
“I think we’ve had some real scary stretches (of dominant defence).”
Most of those led by Leonard.
Woz Blog: Lowry’s assist bonanza leaves Raptors star in sight of Mighty Mouse | Toronto Sun
Jonas Valanciunas said sometimes he can’t believe what verstatile forward Pascal Siakam is doing out there.
“He’s playing with a lot of skills. He’s P-Skills. He’s handling the ball,” Valanciunas said.
“Sometimes I don’t know, he’s trailing, he’s handling, I get confused because he’s all over the place.”
The Waterboy Report
Kawhi pushing to play in hometown with another back-to-back looming – Video – TSN
The Raptors hit the road for four games which will feature a back-to-back in Los Angeles and Utah but with Kawhi Leonard sitting out one game for the previous back-to-backs this season. Josh Lewenberg explains why Kawhi will likely be pushing to play in L.A.
Toronto Raptors need Serge Ibaka to separate as team’s third best player – Raptors Rapture
The most important move that Nick Nurse has made so far has been to turn Ibaka into a centre. The strategic value in taking formerly athletic power forwards and moving them up a position is conventional wisdom, so we all should have seen this coming.
It is, however, hard to overstate how important this shift was, and how much the Raptors need this version of Ibaka if they are going to make the NBA Finals. In his new role, Ibaka has been the Raptors’ third best player behind Leonard and Lowry.
He is averaging over 16 points per game (third highest on the team), 7.8 rebounds per game (tied for first on the team), shooting over 50-percent from the field, and leading the team in blocks per game.
In terms of talent and career achievements, Ibaka is the Raptors’ third-best option. You wouldn’t have known watching the past two years. During his time in Toronto, Ibaka has failed to provide consistent production when it mattered most.
When Serge plays well within the offense, the Raptors add a whole new dimension to their attack. This isn’t to say that Ibaka needs to score upwards of 20 points every night, he just needs to stop having games wherein he scores something like six points and doesn’t play in the fourth quarter.
Ibaka is too good for that.
Tipoff: Raptors at Suns | Toronto Sun
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Jonas Valanciunas vs. Deandre Ayton
A throwback matchup of classic centres will likely see Valanciunas draw the start against the impressive rookie. Ayton was the first pick of the draft and has been impressive, averaging 16.9 points on 62% shooting from the field and 86% accuracy from the free throw line, along with 10 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. The 7-foot-1 Bahamas native can score down low, face up and hit jumpers or find teammates for good shots. If he becomes a plus defender one day, he’ll be an all-star. He’s the first player to average 15/10/3 through his first six games since Chris Webber in 1993.
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