I, too, am hopeful that DD is capable of developing in this way, as a plus rebounder at the OG position.

IMO, however, it will only happen down-the-road … as he still has considerable amount of work to put into this specific phase of the game before this description can be applied accurately to his individual game.

Welcome aboard!

re: my thoughts on rebounding

Brings to mind a new favourite quote provided by a commentor [Baron Von Munchasen] at David Berri’s site [Wages of Wins Journal]:

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“Wisdom cannot be passed on. Wisdom which a wise man tries to pass on to someone always sounds like foolishness … Knowledge can be conveyed, but not wisdom.”
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Keeping this simple truth in mind … and without meaning to sound trite, in the least:

At the NBA level, the way to properly address a team’s inability to rebound the ball effectively is to:

A. Get [and, then, actually play in games] more players who are better at the skill of Rebounding, relative to their position; and,

B. Get a coach … and a GM … that knows the proper way to emphasize the importance of this phase of the game for the players on this team.

IMO … the Raptors’ difficulties in Rebounding are not related to “what happens 5-10 seconds before the shot goes up” when their players are unable to stop/deter dribble penetration on the perimeter of their defense.

Although regularly allowing dribble penetration has indeed been a problem for the Raptors in recent years, as well, it is not the case that this failure must inevitably lead to a rebounding deficiency.

I agree with the perspective that says:

There are many in the on-line hoops community who “talk” of the Raptors’ Rebounding woes without really knowing what causes it, or how to go about fixing the problem in an effective manner.

IMO …

Calderon [PG] is not a + rebounder.
DeRozan [OG] is not a + rebounder.
Turkoglu [SF] is not a + rebounder.
Bosh [PF] is a + rebounder.
Bargnani [C] is not a + rebounder.
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Jack [PG] is not a + rebounder.
Belinelli [OG] is not a + rebounder.
Wright [SF] is not a + rebounder.
Evans [PF] is a + rebounder.
Nesterovic [C] is a + rebounder.
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Banks [PG] is not a + rebounder.
Johnson [PF] is a + rebounder.
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Douby [OG-PG] is not a + rebounder.
Weems [OG-SF] is a + rebounder.
O’Bryant [C] is not a + rebounder.

Until the configuration of the Raptors’ line-up changes, and the GM and coach truly understand the importance of Rebounding, there will be no significant improvement in this area of the game.

If the fg % were to decrease at the 2 & 3 offensive position and penetration was negated, leading to more kickouts and shooting from outside, you might see more solid box outs & better rebounding totals.

I think we talk about rebounding at RR & various blogging sites as if it is a function of jumping higher & faster when in fact the set up for these rebounds begins 5-10 seconds before the shot goes up.

Also, it appears that Triano is aware of this by taking away the paint and driving the ball to the outside.

Your thoughts?

The “answer only” option in math gets full marks in school, only if the answer is the “right” one, in the first place.

By contrast, even if the final answer is “wrong”, part marks are usually available for at least showing your “work”.

As a “qualitative assessment” of this team, the answer given here misses the mark by a wide margin, when it has only 5 words about the Raptors’ defense and rebounding vs 140+ words about their offense, etc., while suggesting they will advance to the 2nd Rd of the playoffs this season.

In general, teams that make it that far in the playoffs don’t have a 30:5, offense [etc.]:defense and rebound ratio.

Welcome aboard!

Binary printouts, etc., are already available through a variety of NBA game simulators … and although they can certainly be fun, they are a poor substitute for the real thing, in isolation.

In my book, the best way to evaluate a team or player or coach or GM is with the naked eye of a well-trained, experienced, professional.

No - s/he may not be showing you any supoort for her/his conclusion, but s/he is NOT showing you that s/he does NOT understand the game… It’s like a high school math question where the kid gives an answer but does show her/his work… that doesn’t mean the answer’s wrong, it just means you can’t evaluate his/her analysis.

If this were intended as an argument or analysis to support the 6th place conclusion, as opposed to a qualitative description of the team, I might agree with you.