Kawhi Leonard

[esqtvd]

Depends on who the trade is for.
So Jonas is bad defensively? I kinda thought he could be an upgrade at the Center spot for us, no?

April 2018:

https://raptorsrapture.com/2018/04/17/toronto-raptors-still-jonas-valanciunas-problem/

In today’s NBA, Valanciunas is too large of a liability on the defensive end. On/Off lineup data shows the Raptors are a better defensive team when JV is not on the court. When JV is on the court the Raptors have a defensive rating of 106.0, which would rank 15th in the NBA. However, when he is off the court the Raptors rating improves to 101.3, which would rank first.

Valanciunas is not a victim of circumstance either, JV’s presence negatively impacts the team’s defensive ratings when paired alongside both Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam.

As for Zubac,

16.3 mpg 110.2 ORtg 93.7DefRating +16.6 NetRating

Now, I think he's being babied, mostly only out on the court when the opps have a traditional center out there as well, but it doesn't look like there's any serious upgrade out there either. Unless he develops some heretofore unknown skill, he'll have trouble breaking 20 mpg, but when you need a 7-footer to face off against a 7-footer, Zubac is up to the job.


And in case you're wondering about Trezz [and you are]:

27.7 mpg 115.8 ORtg 113.1 DefRating 2.7 NetRating

...although keep an eye on this

Home 31.9 109.0 100.5 +8.5
Road 23.5 124.7 129.7 -5.0

Maybe Jonas wasn't the optimal fit for what Toronto had, but I (again) wonder is/was Jonas really liability on Defense?

Broad strokes...

Career Def Rtg

104 - Marc Gasol (111, Off Rtg)
104 - Jonas Val (117, Off Rtg)
108 - Ivica Zubac (114, Off Rtg)
109 - Montrezl (124, Off Rtg)

(DefRtg in the Playoffs, 104, 107, 113, and 121)

22 yr old Zubac doesn't have his man-strength yet.
27 yr old Jonas is coming into his physical prime right now.
34* yr old Marc (of last year*) gave Toronto veteran savvy at C.
6'8" Montrezl hasn't learned what Rebound is yet (evidently).

Mind you, in the 2018 PLAYOFFS, Jonas lead the LEAGUE in Rebounding Percentage; Def, Off, and Tot (10 games)... #4 in PER... #5 and #6 in Blk Ptg and Blk/G... #8 in Reb/G...

Well, I took your suggestion seriously and did some homework on it. My only contribution is that although I'm not a Zubac believer [yet], at age 22 with a team-favorable contract, I think we should play the hand for now. Jonas is a FA after this season and I don't think he presents a serious upgrade. What he brings at one end, he may give back at the other, and we need D more than O.

And yes, Trezz is a worry. He just can't play anywhere except at center. I like J-Myke and Patterson's contributions at the 4, but rebounding is gonna be a weakness in the 2nd unit and I don't know where we're going to make it up. PG with the 2nd unit at the 3? After all, he had a dizzying 8.3 rpg last year. We might have to use Kawhi and George as much as a relay race as a tandem.

[TheNewEra]

Depends on who the trade is for.
So Jonas is bad defensively? I kinda thought he could be an upgrade at the Center spot for us, no?

April 2018:

https://raptorsrapture.com/2018/04/17/toronto-raptors-still-jonas-valanciunas-problem/

In today’s NBA, Valanciunas is too large of a liability on the defensive end. On/Off lineup data shows the Raptors are a better defensive team when JV is not on the court. When JV is on the court the Raptors have a defensive rating of 106.0, which would rank 15th in the NBA. However, when he is off the court the Raptors rating improves to 101.3, which would rank first.

Valanciunas is not a victim of circumstance either, JV’s presence negatively impacts the team’s defensive ratings when paired alongside both Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam.

As for Zubac,

16.3 mpg 110.2 ORtg 93.7DefRating +16.6 NetRating

Now, I think he's being babied, mostly only out on the court when the opps have a traditional center out there as well, but it doesn't look like there's any serious upgrade out there either. Unless he develops some heretofore unknown skill, he'll have trouble breaking 20 mpg, but when you need a 7-footer to face off against a 7-footer, Zubac is up to the job.


And in case you're wondering about Trezz [and you are]:

27.7 mpg 115.8 ORtg 113.1 DefRating 2.7 NetRating

...although keep an eye on this

Home 31.9 109.0 100.5 +8.5
Road 23.5 124.7 129.7 -5.0

Maybe Jonas wasn't the optimal fit for what Toronto had, but I (again) wonder is/was Jonas really liability on Defense?

Broad strokes...

Career Def Rtg

104 - Marc Gasol (111, Off Rtg)
104 - Jonas Val (117, Off Rtg)
108 - Ivica Zubac (114, Off Rtg)
109 - Montrezl (124, Off Rtg)

(DefRtg in the Playoffs, 104, 107, 113, and 121)

22 yr old Zubac doesn't have his man-strength yet.
27 yr old Jonas is coming into his physical prime right now.
34* yr old Marc (of last year*) gave Toronto veteran savvy at C.
6'8" Montrezl hasn't learned what Rebound is yet (evidently).

Mind you, in the 2018 PLAYOFFS, Jonas lead the LEAGUE in Rebounding Percentage; Def, Off, and Tot (10 games)... #4 in PER... #5 and #6 in Blk Ptg and Blk/G... #8 in Reb/G...

JV makes 16 mil for the difference in production you keep the Zubac contract and run with it. Keeping depth for the future you need those steal contracts

[50CalClips]

Maybe Jonas wasn't the optimal fit for what Toronto had, but I (again) wonder is/was Jonas really liability on Defense?
...
22 yr old Zubac doesn't have his man-strength yet.
27 yr old Jonas is coming into his physical prime right now.
34* yr old Marc (of last year*) gave Toronto veteran savvy at C.
6'8" Montrezl hasn't learned what Rebound is yet (evidently).

Mind you, in the 2018 PLAYOFFS, Jonas lead the LEAGUE in Rebounding Percentage; Def, Off, and Tot (10 games)... #4 in PER... #5 and #6 in Blk Ptg and Blk/G... #8 in Reb/G...

JV makes 16 mil for the difference in production you keep the Zubac contract and run with it. Keeping depth for the future you need those steal contracts

^That's the "Silver Lining" that ya might rest your hat on if you decide to keep baby Zubac through these critical next 2 years and beyond. (I love the contract, especially because he just fell in our lap)

But then again that could also be "penny wise and a [dollar] foolish."

[NippySudz]

JV is fools gold. He's a liability defensively. The guy lacked lateral quickness and defensive awareness. He will get cooked by lebron in the west just as he did in the east. He will get cooked in the PNR and he cannot guard anthony davis.

We just saw this in memphis game. AD had 40/20 game.

[Yogatti]

Read on Twitter

I think Zubac really enjoys playing with Kawhi

[nickhx2]

i mean when you're used to playing with garbo laker squads, it'll be a lot more fun with a team that actually wins most of their games.

[esqtvd]

Read on Twitter

[Quake Griffin]

No decision on whether he will sit out tomorrow or not.

[TheNewEra]

No decision on whether he will sit out tomorrow or not.

Out tomorrow and will play against Blazers

[NippySudz]

Man I'm sorry but this is BS. Load Manet in the beginning of the season. Can't play a back to back when the next game is next Sunday

Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using Tapatalk

[esqtvd]

The only GOOD reason I can think of is that we're not going to beat a team as good as the Bucks unless Kawhi plays a ton of minutes and works his ass off. It's almost like a double game load-wise, esp is there IS a little soreness in the knee.


Hopefully all this will be in the rearview in a week or two when PG gets back.

[Max Headrom]

Kawhi proved last year that if you get him to the playoffs healthy, he's unstoppable. And seeding doesn't matter if we have a fully healthy squad in the playoffs. There's not many teams that can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series.

And besides, he literally calls the season practice. You think he cares about the sitting out at all? He's proven himself already

[esqtvd]

Kawhi proved last year that if you get him to the playoffs healthy, he's unstoppable. And seeding doesn't matter if we have a fully healthy squad in the playoffs. There's not many teams that can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series.

And besides, he literally calls the season practice. You think he cares about the sitting out at all? He's proven himself already

I always put the Laker game on to cheer against, LOL. And although I'm a little scared because they ARE getting it done, tonight LeBron had to go 35 minutes and work his A$$ off to beat the Bulls on the road, who led for 3 quarters.

Bron was plus+17, Cook managed a plus+14, and everybody else was dogspit. AD was minus-4! At age 35 [on December 30], Bron just can't be doing this s*** for another 90 or 100 games.

Meanwhile, while PG warms up in the bullpen, Kawhi sits back and gets a mani-pedi. Thx for talking us down of the ledge, Max.

_________________
ADD: Lou and Pat Bev got Tuesday's practice off for rest. After we get through the next 3 weeks, we gotta take good care of those MAJOR Clippers as well.

[Clemenza]

Sitting out against Milwaukee is a bad look. You can't rob the fans of a Giannis vs Kawhi matchup on national tv. Also Kawhi and the Raps were the team that eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs last season. Yes I get load management and its about being healthy for the post season run but this game could've been special.. smh

[nickhx2]

winning championships is more special

[Max Headrom]

Sitting out against Milwaukee is a bad look. You can't rob the fans of a Giannis vs Kawhi matchup on national tv. Also Kawhi and the Raps were the team that eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs last season. Yes I get load management and its about being healthy for the post season run but this game could've been special.. smh

Kawhi has NOTHING to prove against Giannis. Kawhi proved last year in the playoffs that he's a tier above Giannis. And again, the guy calls the regular season practice!! lol Lob City had A LOT of exciting games and record breaking win streaks that amounted to absolutely nothing in the playoffs because guys were beat up from the grind and was ALWAYS injured. Blame the NBA for the ridiculous 82 game schedule. That's a lot of wear and tear on the body. Look at how hard LeBron and Davis has to go right now to win games this early to be the "talk" LeBron is playing close to 40 minutes a game in his 17th season and that will for sure catch up with him later down the line.

I personally don't care about seeding or anything, health is thee most important thing with this team if they want to win a ring this year.

[Yogatti]

Adam Silver should just eliminate back to backs or he should fire whoever scheduled this back to back national tv games knowing Kawhi load managed entire season last year

[nickhx2]

hopefully this will further push the league to remove back to backs. yes I'd rather watch him play but I'd much rather see him go insane in the playoffs. so I'll gripe as little as possible.

we've seen it work last year and we've seen guys push all season only to get hurt in the playoffs or run out of gas. it's all about the big picture.

[Clemenza]

Sitting out against Milwaukee is a bad look. You can't rob the fans of a Giannis vs Kawhi matchup on national tv. Also Kawhi and the Raps were the team that eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs last season. Yes I get load management and its about being healthy for the post season run but this game could've been special.. smh

Kawhi has NOTHING to prove against Giannis. Kawhi proved last year in the playoffs that he's a tier above Giannis. And again, the guy calls the regular season practice!! lol Lob City had A LOT of exciting games and record breaking win streaks that amounted to absolutely nothing in the playoffs because guys were beat up from the grind and was ALWAYS injured. Blame the NBA for the ridiculous 82 game schedule. That's a lot of wear and tear on the body. Look at how hard LeBron and Davis has to go right now to win games this early to be the "talk" LeBron is playing close to 40 minutes a game in his 17th season and that will for sure catch up with him later down the line.

I personally don't care about seeding or anything, health is thee most important thing with this team if they want to win a ring this year.

Trust me I get all of that but its just really really bad optics to sit out this nationally televised game against the Bucks. Its looks bad on the organization and the league point blank. Sit out the Portland game on Thursday. Of course he needs load management and to be healthy for a big playoff push.. no question but games like this he needs to play in. Plus this is the only Bucks visit for us the entire season & right now Bron and company are putting their foot on the necks of their opponents Play tonight and sit out tomorrow- is that too much to ask? This is box office and pushes our 'brand' forward. Don't cheat the moment

[nickhx2]

winning championships pushes the brand forward, more