Posts Tagged ‘Toronto Raptors’

What the Raptors’ rotation SHOULD look like for the stretch run

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Heading towards their 61st game of the regular season … this evening against the Los Angeles Lakers, at the Staples Center … the most productive players for the Toronto Raptors have been:

Pos

PLAYER

KPER/MP

PF-C

Chris Bosh

0.698

SF

Hedo Turkoglu

0.466

C

Rasho Nesterovic

0.448

PG

Jose Calderon

0.412

PF-C

Andrea Bargnani

0.390

PG

Jarrett Jack

0.389

PF

Amir Johnson

0.342

PG

Marcus Banks

0.326

PG-OG

Marco Belinelli

0.291

PF

Reggie Evans

0.288

OG-SF

Sonny Weems

0.276

OG

DeMar DeRozan

0.258

C

Patrick O’Bryant

0.227

OG-SF

Antoine Wright

0.201

 

Pos

PLAYER

KPER/MP

BIGS

PF-C

Chris Bosh

0.698

C

Rasho Nesterovic

0.448

PF-C

Andrea Bargnani

0.390

PF

Amir Johnson

0.342

PF

Reggie Evans

0.288

C

Patrick O’Bryant

0.227

WINGS

SF

Hedo Turkoglu

0.466

OG-SF

Sonny Weems

0.276

OG

DeMar DeRozan

0.258

OG-SF

Antoine Wright

0.201

POINT GUARDS

PG

Jose Calderon

0.412

PG

Jarrett Jack

0.389

PG

Marcus Banks

0.326

PG-OG

Marco Belinelli

0.291

——————————-
LEGEND:

KPER = khandor’s Player Effeciency Rating [PTS - (FGA-FGM) - (FTA-FTM) + TReb + Ast + St + BS - TO - PF]

KPER/MP - khandor’s Player Efficiency Rating Per Minute Played 
———————————–

If the Raptors were to use their players in an 8-Man rotation which looks like this:

Pos

PLAYER

KPER/MP

STARTERS

PG

Jose Calderon

0.412

OG

DeMar DeRozan

0.258

SF

Hedo Turkoglu

0.466

PF

Amir Johnson

0.342

PF-C

Chris Bosh

0.698

KEY SUBS

PG

Jarrett Jack

0.389

OG-SF

Sonny Weems

0.276

PF-C

Andrea Bargnani

0.390

RESERVES

PG-OG

Marco Belinelli

0.291

OG-SF

Antoine Wright

0.201

PF

Reggie Evans

0.288

C

Rasho Nesterovic

0.448

EXTRAS/OUTS

PG

Marcus Banks

0.326

C

Patrick O’Bryant

0.227

they would qualify for the Eastern Conference playoffs without a great deal of difficulty.

The chief reason the Raptors have not used their players in the proper way … at least, thus far … this season is connected with the flawed Basketball Philosophy of their GM, Bryan Colangelo, who has consistently prioritized “offensively” skilled players, when constructing his teams in Phoenix and Toronto, rather than players with an abundance of “defensive and rebounding” skills.

More Wright fails to equal less Wrong for Raptors

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Since the Raptors have now lost 5 of their last 6 games, and dropped into 6th place in the Eastern Conference, discussion [i.e. A and B] has been rekindled regarding the proper use of DeMar DeRozan/OG, Antoine Wright/OG-SF and Sonny Weems/OG-SF.

When making an initial evaluation of these 3 wing players for the Raptors, this season, it can be helpful to consider a simple stat, like KPER, which is derived from readily available boxscore information.

[i.e. khandor's Player Efficiency Rating = PTS - (FGA-FGM) - (FTA-FTM) + TREB + AST + ST + BS - TO - PF]

This basic measure generates the following raw scores for these 3 players:

DeMar DeRozan, +304
Sonny Weems, +227
Antoine Wright, +204

When Minutes Played are factored into the equation, it becomes even more obvious which of these 3 players has generated the most on-court production for the Raptors this season:

PLAYER

MINUTES PLAYED

KPER/MP

Weems

820

0.276

DeRozan

1178

0.258

Wright

1015

0.201

Over the course of their remaining 22 games … at least, if the Raptors hope to secure a playoff position above the No. 8 seed … Toronto would do well to ensure that Antoine Wright actually has his MP reduced; while, both, DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems have their MP increased.  

RAPTORS vs 76ers: 15 Key Possessions in the 4th quarter

Monday, March 8th, 2010

When crunch time happens in a NBA game, it’s the team which can respond with the best Offensive/Defensive/Rebounding execution that usually triumphs.

Philadelphia 76ers 114
TORONTO RAPTORS 101
Complete Game Info

In yesterday’s contest:

After Toronto cut Philly’s lead to 7 points, mid-way in the 4th quarter…

[Full Play-By-Play]

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

 

TORONTO RAPTORS

 

06:26
[TOR 87-94]

Calderon 3pt Shot: Made (3 PTS) Assist: Jack (7 AST) 

Team Timeout : Regular 

06:26

 

TEAM

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

Start

End

Diff

Dur

PHI

Holiday

Green

Iguodala

Young

Brand

94

100

-1

2:22

TOR

Calderon

Jack

Wright

Bosh

Bargnani

87

94

+1

 

#1. Iguodala Fade Away Jumper Shot: Made (16 PTS) 

Vs Wright [tough contested shot]

06:02
[PHI 96-87]

 

 

05:45
[TOR 89-96]

#1. Calderon Pullup Jump shot: Made (5 PTS) 

#2. Brand Fade Away Jumper Shot: Made (12 PTS) 

Vs Bosh [tough contested shot]

05:20
[PHI 98-89]

 

 

05:03

#2. Bargnani 3pt Shot: Missed 

 

05:02

Bosh Rebound (Off:4 Def:8) 

Brand Foul : Personal (5 PF) 

05:01

 

 

04:49
[TOR 91-98]

#3. Wright Layup Shot: Made (5 PTS) Assist: Jack (8 AST) 

#3. Holiday Layup Shot: Made (16 PTS) 

Vs Jack [+ Bargnani, tough contested shot]

04:29
[PHI 100-91]

 

 

04:12
[TOR 94-100]

#4. Calderon 3pt Shot: Made (8 PTS) Assist: Jack (9 AST) 

 

04:04

Jack Foul : Personal (2 PF) 

Brand Substitution replaced by Dalembert 

04:04

 

Green Substitution replaced by Williams 

04:04

 

TEAM

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

Start

End

Diff

Dur

PHI

Holiday

Williams

Iguodala

Young

Dalembert

100

109

+7

2:42

TOR

Calderon

Jack

Wright

Bosh

Bargnani

94

96

-7

 

#4. Williams Driving Layup Shot: Made (12 PTS) 

03:51
[PHI 102-94]

 

Holiday Foul : Personal (1 PF) 

03:35

 

 

03:32

#5. Calderon Foul : Offensive (3 PF) 

 

03:32

Calderon Turnover : Foul (3 TO) 

#5. Holiday 3pt Shot: Made (19 PTS) Assist: Iguodala (9 AST)

Vs Bosh [+ Calderon, Switching Man-Zone Defense] 

03:13
[PHI 105-94]

 

 

02:55

#6. Bosh Driving Layup Shot: Missed 

Dalembert Rebound (Off:0 Def:1) 

02:53

 

#6. Holiday Driving Layup Shot: Made (21 PTS) 

Vs Jack [+ Bargnani, tough contested shot]

02:34
[PHI 107-94]

 

 

02:33

Team Timeout : Regular 

 

02:27

#7. Calderon 3pt Shot: Missed 

Dalembert Rebound (Off:0 Def:2) 

02:26

 

#7. Iguodala Jump Shot: Missed 

02:06

 

Dalembert Rebound (Off:1 Def:2) 

02:05

 

#8. Dalembert Fade Away Jumper Shot: Made (6 PTS) 

Vs Bosh

02:03
[PHI 109-94]

 

the Raptors responded by scoring on only 3 of their 7 ensuing possessions …

i.e. J2; J3; O-Reb-LU; J3; OFF PF/TO; DLU; J3 [Conversion = 42.9%] 

while the 76ers responded by scoring on 7 on their next 8 possessions …

i.e. FA-J2; FA-J2; LU; LU; J3; DLU; J2; O-Reb-J2 [Conversion = 87.5%].

Specifically, what happened during these 15 possessions to cement the victory for the 76ers? 

FOR PHILADELPHIA

- Andre Iguodala hit a tough fade-away jump shot vs Antoine Wright … primarily because Iguodala is a better basketball player than Wright, with a higher skill level, overall and superior athleticism

- Elton Brand made a tough [i.e. highly contested], fade-away jump shot in a right block post-up situation vs Chris Bosh

- Jrue Holiday made 2 terrific drives to the basket vs Jarrett Jack [Primary Defender] and Andrea Bargnani [Secondary Defender/Made unsuccessful shot block attempt]

- Holiday made a big 3PT shot when the Raptors were scrambled on defense, switching between Man-2-Man and Zone coverage

- Samuel Dalembert [Primary defender] and Iguodala [Secondary defender] did a good job contesting Chris Bosh’s driving layup attempt without fouling

- Dalembert secured a big offensive rebound and made a solid jump shot vs Chris Bosh

FOR TORONTO

- Jarrett Jack was repeatedly beaten off the dribble by Jrue Holiday

- Andrea Bargnani missed a 3PT shot

- After keeping the Raptors in the game with 2 big made jump shots, Jose Calderon made an uncharacteristic Turnover [Offensive PF] and missed a 3PT shot 

- Chris Bosh was ineffective … after re-injuring his ankle during the early stages of the 4th quarter [10:19], leaving to have it re-tapped, and then re-entering the game at the 7:54 mark … and surrendered a difficult fade-away jump shot to Elton Brand and an uncontested jump shot to Samuel Dalembert [after giving up an offensive rebound]

IN GENERAL

- Philadelphia’s two 5-man units of …

a. Holiday + Williams + Iguodala + Young + Brand
b. Holiday + Williams + Iguodala + Young + Dalembert

were too athletic and dynamic for the Raptors’ quintet of …

Calderon + Jack [?]+ Wright [?] + Bosh [re-injured?] + Bargnani [?].

LOOKING AHEAD

If the Raptors are going to maintain their current 6th place standing in the Eastern Conference, working through their upcoming 4-game west coast road trip, they will need to:

1. Have the services of a healthy Chris Bosh;

and,

2. Use a different combination of players to finish games.

If the Raptors do not have these 2 things occur, however, their fans will need to brace themselves for the rocky road ahead …

which just might see this team:

i. Lose, at least, 3 of their next 4 games;

ii. A. Have to battle the Chicago Bulls for the 8th and final playoff position, coming down the stretch, and the right to be eliminated from the post-season by the Cleveland Cavaliers/#1;

or,

ii. B. Perhaps miss the playoffs entirely;

and, then,

iii. Have a very difficult time retaining the future services of Chris Bosh, as he heads towards unrestricted free agency this coming summer.

—————————-

Related:

Raptor alarmed by lack of team focus

RAPTORS vs Knicks: Game Review, plus look ahead

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Last night’s game was a must-win situation for Toronto [5th; 28 L's], looking ahead to the 4-game west coast road trip which begins next week:

Game 62, at LAL [46-17, L?]
Game 63, at SAC [21-41, L?]
Game 64, at GSW [17-44, W?]
Game 65, at POR [37-27, L?]

and in the rear-view mirror, as Milwaukee [6th; 29 L's], Chicago [7th; 30 L's], Miami [8th; 31 L's] and Charlotte [9th; 31 L's] each continue their pursuit of a playoff position [i.e. #5-8] in the Eastern Conference.

New York Knicks 96
TORONTO RAPTORS 102
Complete Game Info

Operating without the services of Chris Bosh for the 7th consecutive game, the Raptors were able to post a solid victory, led by the stellar offensive performance of Sonny Weems and Jose Calderon:

 PLAYER

pos

min

fgm-a

3pm-a

ftm-a

+/-

REB
off

REB
def

REB
tot

ast

pf

st

to

bs

ba

pts

KPER

Turkoglu

F

25:13

3-6

2-3

4-6

-10

1

8

9

4

2

0

2

1

1

12

+9

Johnson

F

30:35

7-13

0-0

0-0

+12

5

3

8

0

3

1

0

0

0

14

+14

Bargnani

C

37:05

4-15

1-3

0-2

+9

1

3

4

2

1

0

1

1

1

9

+1

DeRozan

G

24:44

5-8

0-0

0-0

+2

0

2

2

2

4

1

0

0

0

10

+8

Jack

G

28:19

7-11

0-1

0-0

-5

1

3

4

2

3

3

3

0

1

14

+13

Calderon

 

27:52

8-13

0-1

0-0

+14

0

3

3

6

1

0

1

0

0

16

+18

Wright

 

32:37

3-8

1-4

0-0

+6

1

1

2

0

1

1

1

1

0

7

+4

Weems

 

28:28

9-16

0-0

2-2

+4

2

7

9

2

0

1

0

1

0

20

+26

Evans

 

05:05

0-1

0-0

0-1

-2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-2

Nesterovic

 

00:02

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

who were simply too quick, strong, and athletic for their counterparts on the Knicks to contain off the dribble.

If the Raptors can secure another W tomorrow afternoon, at home against the still struggling 76ers, it would ensure that Toronto [32-28] will be able to return to the cozy confines of the ACC [22-9] for Games 66 and 67 on their schedule, against Atlanta [40-21; Away/15-14] and Oklahoma [37-24; Away/17-13], respectively, no worse than 1 game above the .500 mark [i.e. if they somehow manage to go O-for on their road trip].

With the favourable upcoming schedules held by Charlotte and Miami, and with Milwaukee playing much improved basketball of late … following their acquisitions of John Salmons/G-F and Jerry Stackhouse/G-F … it looks like the battle for the 8th seed in the East might come down to the final 3 games of the regular season for, either, Toronto or Chicago:

TORONTO
Game 80, vs Chicago [W?]
Game 81, at Detroit [L?]
Game 82, vs New York [W?]  

CHICAGO
Game 80, at Toronto [L?]
Game 81, vs Boston [L?]
Game 82, at Charlotte [L?]

where the Raptors should have a decided edge.

When the Knicks are shooting well from beyond the arc, they can be a difficult opponent to play against.

However, when they shoot like they did yesterday [3-16/.188], they become easy pickings for a high-scoring, offensively oriented, team like the Raptors.

Pistons’ main problem this year is their head coach

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

For those who watched last night’s Pistons-Celtics game,

Boston Celtics 105
DETROIT PISTONS 100

Complete Game Info

you saw all the evidence you need to realize that Detroit actually has a good deal of solid “NBA talent” on its current roster that is simply under-acheiving this season under the direction of John Kuester.

For example …

- using Rip Hamilton as a SF is a mistake

- using Will Bynum as a primary back-up PG to Rodney Stuckey is a mistake … when you also have Ben Gordon/OG-PG and Rip Hamilton [OG] on your squad, since there are simply not enough minutes available at the OG position, exclusively, for both Rip and BG to develop their rhythm properly in a given game

- using Ben Wallace as their starting C is a mistake … as opposed to using Kwame Brown in this lead “supporting” role and then shifting BW to the role of his primary back-up

- using Austin Daye [being wasted, thus far], Jonas Jerebko [just beginning to be used] and DeJuan Summers [being wasted, thus far] properly this season, should be a priority for the Pistons, as each one of these players has the capacity to develop into a front-line performer for Detroit … which is simply not happening this year under Coach Kuester

- signing offensive players like Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon and then NOT using them correctly, by actually running specific set plays designed to get them high percentage shots on a consistent basis, is a mistake … and certainly not what Joe D had in mind when he made those two roster moves this past summer

Those who think that the following list of players, used in the following way:

STARTERS
Stuckey/PG, Hamilton/OG, Prince/SF, Maxiell/PF and Brown/C

KEY SUBS
Gordon/OG-PG, Jerebko/SF-PF, Villanueva/PF-SF and Wallace/C

RESERVES
Daye/OG-SF and Summers/SF-PF

EXTRAS/OUTS
Atkins/PG, Bynum/PG [who should be traded in a package deal for a front-line multi-purpose Big] and Wilcox/PF-C

does not contain “enough” NBA talent to be a top 6 team in the Eastern Conference this season, and beyond, do not possess a high degree of basketball acumen.

Despite the injuries which the Pistons have faced this season, this group of players, if used properly, has more than enough NBA talent to be in the thick of the battle for the #5-8 playoff spots in the east …

Evaluating The NBA Talent Level

of Legitimate Playoff Contenders

in the Eastern Conference

Pos

TORONTO

31-28/.525

5TH

RK

CHICAGO

31-29/.517

6TH

RK

MILWAUKEE

30-29/.508

7TH

RK

MIAMI

29-31/.483

8TH

RK

CHARLOTTE

28-30/.483

9TH

RK

DETROIT

21-39/.350

12TH

RK

 

COACH

 

 

Triano

5

Del Negro

4

Skiles

2

Spoelstra

3

Brown

1

Kuester

6

SUB-TOTAL

5

 

4

 

2

 

3

 

1

 

6

 

STARTERS

 

PG

Jack

3

Rose

1

Jennings

5

Alston

6

Felton

4

Stuckey

2

OG

DeRozan

6

Hinrich

4

Delfino

5

Wade

1

Jackson

2

Hamilton

3

SF

Turkoglu

4

Deng

3

Salmons

5

Richardson

6

Wallace

1

Prince

2

PF

Bosh

1

Gibson

6

LRMAM

3

Beasley

5

Diaw

2

Maxiell

4

C

Bargnani

3

Noah

2

Bogut

1

O’Neal

4

Chandler

6

Brown

5

SUB-TOTAL

17

 

16

 

19

 

22

 

15

 

16

 

KEY SUBS

 

PG

Calderon

1

Brown

5

Ridnour

6

Chalmers

4

Augustin

3

Gordon

2

OG

Weems

4

Murray

1

Bell

2

Cook

5

Graham

6

Daye

3

SF

Wright

5

Johnson

6

Stackhouse

1

Wright

2

Brown

4

Jerebko

3

PF

Johnson

6

Warrick

5

Ilyasova

4

Haslem

1

Thomas

2

Villanueva

3

C

Nesterovic

5

Miller

1

Thomas

4

Anthony

6

Mohammed

2

Wallace

3

SUB-TOTAL

21

 

18

 

17

 

18

 

17

 

14

 

RESERVES

 

G

Belinelli

3

Law

5

Ivey

6

Arroyo

2

Henderson

4

Bynum

1

F/C

Evans

3

James

6

Gadzuric

4

Magloire

2

Diop

1

Summers

5

SUB-TOTAL

6

 

11

 

10

 

4

 

5

 

6

TOTAL

49

 

49

 

48

 

47

 

38

 

42

 

EXTRAS/OUT

 

 

Banks

5

Pargo

3

Redd

1

Jones

2

Ratliff

4

Atkins

 

 

O’Bryant

4

Hunter

1

Brezec

2

Diawara

3

Ajinca

5

Wilcox

 

 

 

 

Alexander

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEGEND: Pos – Position; RK – Ranking.

and, the only reason Detroit is now on the outside looking in is because of their head coach, John Kuester.

i.e. re: Legitimate Contenders to Win the NBA Championship, The Pistons are No. 9 in Rebounding Differential and No. 10 in Points Allowed. The fact that they are also No. 25 in Points Scored Differential is primarily attributable to the relatively poor work of their coach, at the offensive end of the floor, based on how he has decided to use their personnel, thus far.

Raptors best not fall asleep, in pursuit of a playoff position

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

The battle for the final 4 playoff spots in the Eastern Conference is shaping up as a doozy with the current standings looking like this:

 

2009-2010 Eastern Conference Regular Season Standings

TEAM

W

L

PCT

GB

CONF

DIV

HOME

ROAD

L 10

STREAK

Cleveland1

47

14

0.770

0.0

27-8

6-1

26-4

21-10

7-3

W 4

Orlando2

41

20

0.672

6.0

29-11

7-4

23-6

18-14

7-3

W 2

Atlanta3

38

21

0.644

8.0

20-12

4-6

23-7

15-14

6-4

W 2

Boston4

36

21

0.632

9.0

23-13

10-2

16-11

20-10

5-5

L 2

Toronto5

31

28

0.525

15.0

22-17

7-3

21-9

10-19

5-5

L 4

Chicago6

31

29

0.517

15.5

19-18

8-4

19-10

12-19

6-4

L 2

Milwaukee7

30

29

0.508

16.0

21-15

7-5

18-9

12-20

7-3

L 1

Miami8

29

31

0.483

17.5

18-17

7-5

14-14

15-17

5-5

L 4

Charlotte

28

30

0.483

17.5

17-18

5-4

20-8

8-22

4-6

L 1

Although the Raptors’ head coach, Jay Triano, neglected to mention the Miami Heat in his post-game comments last night …

————————–
Shorthanded Raptors lurch to another defeat

With Jose Calderon sitting out due to a cut on his right elbow, Hedo Turkoglu taking the second half off with a bad ankle and with Chris Bosh back home in Toronto nursing his sore left ankle, the Raptors were drilled 116-92 by the Rockets here Monday in a game that evoked memories of the horrific defence of the first six weeks of the season.

And coach Jay Triano sounded some warning signs after the loss.

“I don’t know what you mean about playoffs. I would say that we’re not even close to being in the playoffs yet,” he said when the topic of the post-season was broached.

“We’re going to be in a fight until the last day in the schedule. Milwaukee’s playing well, Chicago’s playing well, Charlotte’s playing well. We’re going to be in a fight for a playoff spot right down to the very end.”
————————–

it could well be the case that:

1. Any of these 5 teams could be the 1 to miss out on this year’s playoffs …

Given the “relative strength” of the current rosters for these teams:

Pos

TORONTO

31-28/.525

5TH

RK

CHICAGO

31-29/.517

6TH

RK

MILWAUKEE

30-29/.508

7TH

RK

MIAMI

29-31/.483

8TH

RK

CHARLOTTE

28-30/.483

9TH

RK

 

COACH

 

 

Triano

5

Del Negro

4

Skiles

2