Kyle Lowry and the Raptors front court players

[FluLikeSymptoms]

KL is not a good PG against set defences, not at all. I agree that he's not an accurate lead passer, particularly while on the move, and his entry passes aren't great. I wonder if he can see over the D. He needs to be used like a 3rd option, to have the ball kicked and reversed to him or to attack on the secondary break. He's good at making good, aggressive, quick decisions against scrambling Ds but he's the wrong guard for us because we rarely break, period (except, of course, when Rudy goes coast to almost coast), we don't have a pivot to play through (yet) and we don't have a wing to run PnR.

[rapsfan31]

enough with our bigs, amir is a great bench big and jonas is a raw C just starting his 2nd year, they're not the problems

our 3 main problems is we dont have a big inside presense (like a boozer, west, or lee type of guy), our 1st option takes horrible tough shots, and our coach isn't basketball smart enough

Jonas is supposed to be our inside presence! Personally I would like to see Tyler start next to Jonas. I agree that Jonas is still a raw centre but one that needs to develop under the right coach , system and supporting cast. Kyle is not the right PG for this team.Kyle and Gay are talented players do not get me wrong. This is not the point that I am trying to argue nor Kyle's passion and commitment! Kyle sacrifices his body every night ,however he just does n't make his team mates better and most importantly Jonas.

If the coach and his extension on the court do not change Jonas will regress because he is under-utilized when for the Raptors to be successful will have to go through him. If you watched the game last night the heat were double teaming Gay and Derozan every time they touched the ball ,forcing turnovers and then easy baskets on the break.
The Rapors had no easy basket. In fact I was shocked how close they were and I think was primarily due to the Outstanding shooting performance of Demar and the hustle provided by Tyler and Kyle! They just did not capitalize on the FT line.

The Raptors had the chance to use their strength i.e the front court and instead tried once again to match up against the best 1to2 punch in the world in Lebron and Wade. The final outcome was an inevitable loss !

[SkywalkerAC]

Good chance we get a point guard in the draft.

[rapsfan31]

I agree with the OP's diagnosis. Lowry is very unsure of his passing ability, especially passing forward. He's a poor pick and roll PG, one of the worst I have ever seen. Last night, he bounced a pass to a rolling Jonas but the pass was slow and late, and the play busted. However, Lowry yelled and gestured angrily at Jonas, when as I saw it, the pass was bad. Lowry should be a high end backup on a contender, a role in which he'd be perfect. On a developing team, he's a bad influence, and on a Casey developing team where there is too little offensive structure, he's downright counter-productive at times.

I agree ! The only world that I may add in the last sentence is that : he is counter productive MOST of the time!!!

[Rapcity_11]

Last night, he bounced a pass to a rolling Jonas but the pass was slow and late, and the play busted. However, Lowry yelled and gestured angrily at Jonas, when as I saw it, the pass was bad.

Yeah, this is entirely wrong. On that play the Heat trapped Lowry (as they always do on PnR). JV needs to sit in that pocket just behind the defenders in order to create a 4 on 3. (See the way Indiana operates vs. the Heat for reference) Instead he decided to roll to the rim. That's his mistake, not Lowry's.

Secondly, the PnR isn't entirely about hitting the roll man. No clue why so many fans think it is.

[VanDamme]

Amir has never been and is not being used as a 3pt specialist

In his 8 years in the NBA prior to this season, Amir took a combined 29 3's. He has 20 in 15 games this season.

Jamario Moon 2.0

So increasing a stat line equals a specialist. Got it. /Green Font

[Illuminati_]

Jose didnt have to deal with Demar getting more usage and Rudy gay. That is what's killing lowry right now. He has to get Gay/demar in their spots. Both are reluctant at swinging the ball or creating for others. He also somehow has to get amir/jonas going it just isnt working and wont work. We need better wing players.

[Patman]

Last night, he bounced a pass to a rolling Jonas but the pass was slow and late, and the play busted. However, Lowry yelled and gestured angrily at Jonas, when as I saw it, the pass was bad.

Yeah, this is entirely wrong. On that play the Heat trapped Lowry (as they always do on PnR). JV needs to sit in that pocket just behind the defenders in order to create a 4 on 3. (See the way Indiana operates vs. the Heat for reference) Instead he decided to roll to the rim. That's his mistake, not Lowry's.

Secondly, the PnR isn't entirely about hitting the roll man. No clue why so many fans think it is.

Some good points here.

But the thing with our PnR's is they don't start very well. Not a ton of bigs can stop on a dime to set their pick (KG is a master at this, although he does get away with illegal ones sometimes). You can't expect this as a ball handler. You have to be patient and let the screener set. Also, you have to set up the screen by dribbling towards the basket, and then crossing back over the screen.

Most teams have us scouted and have the screener's man hedge instead of drop back, because they now our handlers rarely hit the rolling big. So while hitting the rolling man is just one of the many options coming out of the PnR, it's the one that defenders are giving us, and also the one we continue to not take.