Nurse juggling and experimenting with roster | What to do with Powell | Boucher ready | Still smoke around Masai and the Knicks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvEbjBJ6HnM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6l-THRR_Kk
On Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Patrick McCaw and earning Nick Nurse’s trust – The Athletic
Hollis-Jefferson did not play on Tuesday, the lone Raptor to not get on the floor. Nurse explained that he had “a tweak on a groin or hamstring or something,” which was enough of a nudge for him to give the energetic Chris Boucher more run, which has been tough to do since Serge Ibaka returned to the lineup. Boucher played 13 minutes.
As the Raptors rolled during the stretch without Ibaka and Kyle Lowry, Hollis-Jefferson seemed like he had earned a regular spot in the rotation. He was a tenacious defender, someone to bring off the bench behind Anunoby to guard the opposition’s primary scorer. He intuitively filled the gaps on offence, and did not hesitate to make the next pass on offence if his path to the rim was blocked. Most of all, he was active on the offensive glass, key for an offence that lags behind its defence and generally needs to win the possession battle to win the game.
“For a few games there I saw it as an incredible knack (to get offensive rebounds),” Nurse. “He seemed to be all over (the court), and one of those guys who was going consistently. And if he wasn’t getting them, he was around. Those are the guys that are a pain in the butt because they always have to be blocked out.”
Interesting use of past tense, coach.
“If he wanted to just make a living doing that because he’s so good at doing it, he probably could. I hope he does.”
Which is to say, Nurse thinks Hollis-Jefferson lost the plot a bit. The forward is one of the few Raptors, maybe the only one, who has an amber or red light when it comes to launching 3-pointers. He does work on his stroke in practice, because you can rarely be too prepared, but it is not pure, more of a push shot from his hip/chest region than a slingshot motion from above his head. He has hit just 22 percent of his 190 career attempts.
Against the Nets he launched two 3-pointers during a rough stretch for a bench-heavy lineup. The second attempt came off of minimal ball movement, with nobody guarding him. Dinwiddie, nominally guarding Hollis-Jefferson, had gone to front Pascal Siakam in the post, making an entry pass virtually impossible. It was the quintessential there’s-a-reason-why-you’re-open moment.
“Not just him, anybody — carve out a role, and if you want to play it and you want to keep it, you do it,” Nurse said. “You go outside that role too far, then you’re probably gonna sit and watch. It’s hard to carve out a role on the bench.”
Norman Powell’s play could prompt change to Toronto Raptors’ starting lineup – TSN.ca
Getting guys like Ibaka, or Jonas Valanciunas early in the campaign – players that had started for all or most of their career – to buy into new roles was a driving force behind Toronto’s championship season. That’s been a strength of Nurse’s early in his career as an NBA head coach. Players respect his straightforward style of communication.
Nobody’s role has fluctuated as much as Powell’s during his five seasons with the Raptors – bouncing back and forth between the starting lineup and the bench, and even falling out of the rotation entirely.
His game should translate as a reserve – you could argue that his skill set is better suited for that role, coming into the game with energy and instant offence as the sixth man – but he’s had far more success as a starter. The difference, now, is that Powell is firmly entrenched in Nurse’s rotation and his minutes should be fairly similar, whether he starts or comes off the bench once VanVleet returns.
VanVleet has been able to participate in a couple recent practices. He stuck around after Tuesday’s session to get some extra work in and take part in one-on-one drills with the young players. He’s still considered day-to-day and isn’t expected to play in Detroit on Wednesday, though he shouldn’t be out much longer.
Like VanVleet or Ibaka – or just about any player in the NBA – Powell’s preference is to start, but he’s shown he will accept his role, regardless of what it looks like.
“I’ve said it before, whatever helps the team,” Powell said on Monday. “I’m going out there doing whatever I can do [to] help the team. Whatever decision they make, however they feel, I’m gonna go out there and put my best foot forward. Whether I’m coming off the bench or starting, it doesn’t matter to me as long as we’re winning. I’ve always been like that and that’s not gonna change.”
Having seven starters for five spots isn’t a bad problem. Neither is having 12 viable options for a rotation that will consist of nine or 10 players on most nights.
Raptors face lineup questions ahead of Fred VanVleet’s return – Sportsnet.ca
And it would seem that the Raptors will be going through it once again — but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The Raptors’ roster versatility and the malleability seen in the starting lineup is something Nurse wants to do more of to be better prepared come the post-season.
“From my past experiences it felt like we were always locked into a set lineup and then all of a sudden we were facing a team and we had bad matchups to start the game,” Nurse said. “Then it was hard, almost impossible to have those conversations that we were switching. Like, devastating that time of year.
“You start all 82 and then all of a sudden here come the playoffs and you’re not. So I think I’m just trying to lessen the devastation factor.”
Added Siakam: “Because we played with different lineups all year [last season] you feel comfortable with anyone on the floor.”
Given how last season finished, experimenting with different lineup combinations, including in the starting lineup, isn’t a bad idea for Nurse and the Raptors, especially when they have a good problem such as the Powell and VanVleet dilemma.
Raptors’ Nurse contemplating change now for the sake of easier change down the road | Toronto Sun
To those of us on the outside the switch he would make looks obvious. Keep Powell, who is finally showing signs of consistency in the starting five and move VanVleet to the bench to bolster that unit while maintaining his end-of-game minutes.
It’s not that VanVleet has done anything to warrant a move out of the starting five. You can make the case easily that his presence in that starting unit along with Pascal Siakam’s scoring carried this team during a near month-long absence of Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka.
But if the starting five can continue to function at a high rate with Powell in there and VanVleet can bolster the second unit without being missed too much with the starters, isn’t that the logical move?
But when Nurse was asked after the topic of lineup changes was broached how tough a conversation that would be with VanVleet he paused noticeably.
“I don’t know that it would be Fred, that’s why I’m hesitating to answer your question,” Nurse said. “Would you like to rephrase that?”
Told no, Nurse continued.
“I don’t know that it’d be Fred,” he said again. “But yeah, they all wanna start. We’ve been through this a million times, right, like with Serge a year ago, with Jonas, you know, we’ve been through it. It’s like this territory they’ve got and they don’t want to give it up. Everybody likes hearing their name called and running out there in front of 20,000 people.”
Boucher appeared in just 28 Raptors games last season, his first on the team. This year, the 26-year-old Montrealer has already played in 23 of Toronto’s 26 contests, averaging 11.7 minutes.
That number of minutes is skewed somewhat though, since the Raptors called on the forward extensively while Serge Ibaka was sidelined for 10 games in November with an ankle injury. He can play both centre and power forward, so Boucher averaged between 12 and 25 minutes a night over that stretch. He scored in double digits six times, including double-doubles with big rebounding numbers against the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks. He also blocked nine shots during that time.
Since Ibaka returned on Dec. 1, Boucher has played as little as three minutes and as many as 14. He knows that when Nurse calls on him, the head coach wants intense energy, shot blocking and rebounding. Boucher is also a steady three-point shooter who can stretch defences.
“I know I’m still part of the team and I work hard and I think people on this team are happy with the energy I have. I always stay ready,” Boucher said. “Last year I was just happy to make the team. Now knowing all the plays feels good, and it’s about how I can help the team and find more of a role – rebounding, blocking shots, whatever they need.”
As the Raptors concluded practice on Tuesday, Fred VanVleet and Boucher were the last two players on the floor. The six-foot point guard from Rockford, Ill., took the young 6-foot-9 Canadian power forward aside and walked him through some ways to beat opponents at the rim.
“We don’t play the same position and we’re not the same size, but Fred can definitely teach me about that because he gets to the rim a lot easier than lots of other people do,” Boucher said. “Getting advice from him is great, because if he can get to the rim at his size, it should be a lot easier for me at my size to beat these big guys.”
Shades of NBA championship run in Raptors’ roster situation | The Star
“From my past experiences, it felt like we were always locked into a starting lineup and then, all of a sudden, we were facing a team and we had bad matchups to start the game, and then it was almost impossible to have those conversations that we’re switching,” Nurse said. “(It would be) devastating that time of the year — you start all 82 and then all of a sudden here come the playoffs and you’re not. So, I just think I’m trying to lessen the devastation factor.”
Nurse declined to specify which changes he was thinking about making to the starting lineup, but it doesn’t take much guesswork to figure out what they might be. The most likely adjustment would see Norm Powell retain his recent starting spot with VanVleet moving to a reserve role. To further drive home that point, VanVleet spent most of Tuesday’s practice working with the bench mob. Another move could see Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka form a platoon as the starting centre.
There are other possibilities here, too. They just don’t seem as likely. OG Anunoby could come off the bench with Powell and VanVleet starting, but that would seem at odds with Nurse’s stated desire to give the third-year player out of Indiana more minutes. Kyle Lowry coming off the bench can safely be ruled out and Pascal Siakam, the cornerstone of the franchise, isn’t going anywhere.
Once the Raptors get back to full strength there’s a strong chance that Nurse will begin to experiment. There likely will be some games when VanVleet is starting and others when he will be coming off the bench. It’s all about creating as versatile a lineup as possible and getting the players to buy into a system where the sum of the parts is greater than any one individual.
It worked last year when the Raptors used 22 different starting lineups. Toronto ended up going with the same starting five for all of its playoff games, but the flexibility that was established earlier in the year paid off in a big way.
What constitutes a successful Toronto Raptors season? Here are four benchmarks – Raptors HQ
2. Player Development Continues to Trend Up
A trademark of the Raptors under Masai Ujiri, continued player development amongst the younger Raptors will be a sign of success in the 2019-20 season. Obviously, that starts with Pascal Siakam, easily the best and most important player on the Raptors this year and into the future. Fresh off a huge extension, if Siakam is truly a top-10 player, then the future of this team is all the brighter with him under contract through the 2023-24 season. Already showing a penchant for year-by-year improvement, an MVP-caliber Siakam is the first step towards future title contention.
A strong supporting cast is an essential as well, and other young Raptors have already shown flashes of being role players on a contending team. Specifically, two 22-year-olds, OG Anunoby and Terence Davis II, who are both under contract to 2021 and will be restricted free agents afterwards, are in a position to be key Raptors for the foreseeable future.
Since his rookie year, Anunoby has shown flashes of being an elite 3-and-D player, with those flashes looking more like the norm this season. Factor in a developing off-the-dribble game, and Anunoby is the type of plug-and-play, versatile player that championship teams crave. If Anunoby shows that his shooting this season is no fluke (he started hot, but is in a slump right now), and continues to play at an all-defense level, then his development will be something Raptors fans can feel good about.
Davis, another gem unearthed by the Raptors, has outperformed expectations as an undrafted rookie. As a big, physical combo guard, Davis has been a spark off the bench for the team. Energetic on defense, and shooting the lights out from deep at 39.7 percent (!), his play looks more like that of an NBA veteran than an undrafted rookie. If the defense and shooting stay strong, and he continues to show flashes of playmaking, Davis could be a long term piece, and another great find for a Raptors front office that has not had a lottery pick to play with since drafting Jakob Poeltl ninth overall in 2016.
Obviously, Fred VanVleet’s continued development has been a revelation as well, but he enters unrestricted free agency after this season. With his play this year, it is not unrealistic to suggest he could command a max contract on the open market. For a Raptors team who appears to be committed to maintaining financial flexibility for the 2021 offseason, a.k.a. the Summer of Giannis, his future with the team is uncertain.
For the young players who the Raptors clearly have their eyes on for the future, Davis, Anunoby, and Siakam, their continued development will be something Raptors fans can hang their hats on this season.
‘Chosen one’ Masai Ujiri could save Knicks in unorthodox move – New York Post
n unreleased footage of Dan Klores’ acclaimed 10-part documentary series “Basketball: A Love Story,” Ujiri talks passionately about wanting to see African athletes get the coaching needed so the continent can become an NBA pipeline.
James Dolan wanted to make a run at Ujiri after axing Phil Jackson following the 2017 draft, but got turned off by the massive draft compensation that would have been required. There’s speculation that two first-round picks would be demanded by the Raptors, even though Ujiri has just one more season left on his pact after this one.
The NBA has been known to help mediate unorthodox transactions. The Knicks are in position before the trade deadline on Feb. 7 to accrue more draft picks with six of their seven 2019 free-agent signings on expiring contracts. The Knicks have all of their own first-rounders and Dallas’ 2021 and 2023 picks.
If the Knicks don’t show progress the rest of the season, Dolan will likely fire president Steve Mills at season’s end, The Post reported on Dec. 7. It would be ironic if Mills made a trade to acquire a pick that eventually went to Toronto in a Ujiri package.
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