Raptors 93, Magic 91
Recap
- A win is a win, and the Raptors found a way to win on a Danny Green buzzer beater, after giving up a 10 point halftime lead.
- The Raptors did a great job defensively in the first half both limiting post touches to Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic as well as making them uncomfortable when they got the ball in the post.
- In the second half, a combination of allowing Gordon and Vucevic to get comfortable, as well as a very poor defensive effort covering off-ball screens allowed the Magic to get back into the game.
- Offensively, the Raptors struggled to create the type of offensive flow that they had earlier in the year, shooting only 26% from 3 and 45% from the floor. They especially struggled in the 4th quarter with 8 turnovers.
Post Defence
- In the first half, and especially early on in the game, it was clear that Raptors were prepared for Gordon and Vucevic in the post – likely the Magic’s best offensive strength. The importance of doing a good job on them in the post is that their other players are limited as creators, therefore t limiting both of them in the post was crucial in this game. They were active, occasionally doubling, and generally making both of them uncomfortable.
This is early in the first, and the Raptors do a good job of making Gordon feel like he’s not playing 1 on 1 which is their goal -force him to be a passer and take his aggressiveness away.
The Magic often ran this cross screen action to get the ball to Vucevic in the post. Ibaka does a great job of riding Vucevic over the screen, and forcing him to catch the ball at 18 feet. Also, Danny Green does a good job of showing quickly to slow Vucevic down as well. No double here, but being physical with him and keeping him from his spot on the block made him a passer.
A risky play here from Kawhi leaving Ross open in the corner, but again, the Raptors were concerned with Vucevic feeling comfortable in the post and Kawhi successfully makes him pick up his dribble and takes his focus away from scoring.
- In the second half, the Raptors weren’t nearly as successful keeping the ball out of the post and they allowed both bigs to get comfortable.
Notice here how easily Vucevic catches the ball near the block, what makes matters worse is that he is being covered by Siakam who is much thinner and can’t stop Vucevic from getting to the T (top of the charge circle). Once he gets to his spot comfortably, its very difficult to stop him as he is both a good scorer an a good passer. The Raptors collapse, Danny Green is caught watching, and Vucevic gets an open 3.
In the first half Kawhi did a nice job of fronting Gordon and not letting the ball into the post, but in this transition situation he can’t get in front. Once Gordon catches the ball, he feels like he’s playing 1 on 1 – he’s comfortable – and he uses his size and athleticism against Kawhi to get to the front of the rim.
This is the problem with allowing Gordon and Vucevic to feel comfortable – they are both very talented scorers and very good 1 on 1 players, and if you allow them to feel like they are constantly playing 1 on 1, talented scorers will start making shots likes these.
Covering Screens
- This was a massive issue in this game, and has been an issue in previous losses (ex. Piston’s game). The Raptors, and specifically Danny Green, really struggled to contain Fournier on down screens, pin downs and staggered screens. I will break down a handful of clips below:
Watch Danny Green in this clip – he chases well going into the first screen but gets bumped and loses his chase. Once his chase is lost, he continues to chase Fournier over the second screen. Vucevic’s job is to hit Green, so he takes a step into Green’s tracks – he reads Green and see’s he’s chasing, so he steps towards the 3 point line. At this point, I don’t understand why Green chases the second screen. Fournier feels Green lose his chase, and as a result begins curling before Green even gets to Vucevic – so why not gap the second screen and try and beat Fournier to the foul line?
Here’s another example with Van Vleet. He immediately loses his chase but continues to chase all the way around Vucevic again, instead of gapping (going underneath the screener) and meeting the curling guard around the foul line area – which is the most direct line to the curling guard. As a result of Van Vleet being so far behind his man, Serge has to take one step towards the curler, allowing Vucevic to shoot an open 3.
This clip emphasizes the importance of not getting hit by the down screen, which seems like a simple concept but is crucially important when covering down screens. It starts with Green not being in stance, and allowing separation, but even then there is no excuse for getting hit by a screen this badly. It is very difficult to expect Serge to go from covering the ball to switching out on to an elite shooter moving at full speed, and therefore Green must do better.
I’ve slowed this down to emphasize the chase to gap concept. Notice at the point that the clip freezes, that Fournier has already committed to the curl – he reads that Green chased him so he knows his best decision is to curl and he does. At the same time, Green can read this situation in the exact same way – he knows that Fournier read that he was chasing and is therefore curling, but when the clip freezes, Green could still gap the screen, but chooses to continue his chase. Serge can’t help too much because he’s concerned about Vucevic popping for the 3, and Fournier scores a massive basket late in the fourth for the Magic.
- It seems as though the Raptors have instructed their guards to chase all down screens and pin downs, which fits their defensive philosophy of forcing teams off the 3 point line and making them finish around the rim while digging and bluffing. However, I don’t think they should chase at all costs. As seen above, when continuing to chase after losing your chase occurs, offensive players end up creating more separation for themselves, which forces teammates to compensate and open shots to occur.
Notes
- The Raptors ran ball screens on 15 possessions in the 4th quarter, which resulted in only 8 points. I will take a deeper dive into their struggles in the ball screen in the coming games if this trend continues.
- They ran a new set in their Iverson Cut series twice in the second quarter, neither time getting a good look from the action:
- They also ran a nice back screen to staggers set for Green on the first play of the game:
