PG: Raptors blow out the Wizards. Improve to 3-8 in December

[Dennis 37]

Why did it take this long to see this starting lineup

Also: Why do fans see the Potential in this change long before NBA coaches?

[Tha Cynic]

I really don't like how Aichuwa plays but there's a lot of potential there as a guy who defends and takes only open shots. He's a guy I would try to develop, but Darko needs to be more of a general with him.

You can't have him dribble the ball up the court, or break plays to call his own number. Get it into his head that he either plays a team concept, or he doesn't play. He also has a very low motor on defense. A guy like him should be flying around everywhere trying to block shots and keep guys in front of him. He's too offensively focused. Don't clap when he makes mistakes. Let him know that's the wrong play.

Give him one more chance to play a role and nothing but that role. Pull him when he tries to be Carmelo Anthony.

[Tha Cynic]

Lol Darko just had to say, they're not setting Barnes as lead ball handler in stone.

Expect Schroder in the starting lineup at some point in the near future. Let's see if Darko will give Barnes the 30 games Schroder got.

[WaltFrazier]

People taking victory laps about the lineup change like we didn't just put up 132 on the team that allows the most points per game lol.

Only thing the lineup change did, was showed just how unnecessary Siakam is.

Right, we didn't need Pascal's 22 points and 11 assists tonight

[WaltFrazier]

Watching first quarter replay which I missed last night. Yikes Avidja picked PG Scottie clean at the halfcourt line

[oldncreaky]

I’d rather we keep him. He would be a cheap contract. If he finally realizes that he’s a role player and sticks to his role he can be quite valuable.

He's not a good player. It's hard to teach "feel for the game"

He’s good defensively. If on offense he realizes he’s not a superstar and keeps himself limited he’ll be fine. Sometimes it takes a few years though.

I really don't like how Aichuwa plays but there's a lot of potential there as a guy who defends and takes only open shots. He's a guy I would try to develop, but Darko needs to be more of a general with him.

You can't have him dribble the ball up the court, or break plays to call his own number. Get it into his head that he either plays a team concept, or he doesn't play. He also has a very low motor on defense. A guy like him should be flying around everywhere trying to block shots and keep guys in front of him. He's too offensively focused. Don't clap when he makes mistakes. Let him know that's the wrong play.

Give him one more chance to play a role and nothing but that role. Pull him when he tries to be Carmelo Anthony.

Precious reminds me a lot of Stanley Johnson, just a little taller. Defenders who can actually guard multiple positions and most NBA players, great athletes, but turnover prone and very low BBIQ. On those rare occasions when the shot is falling, they are tantalising, but it is always fools' gold.

I really hope Precious gets traded at the TDL because otherwise Masai may extend him -- and I think that will be a bad contract the moment it is signed.

[WaltFrazier]

Why did Gallinari only play 5 minutes? Washed up, or injured?

[ItsDanger]

Watching some of replay, Wizards look worse than the Pistons.

[Badonkadonk]

Watching first quarter replay which I missed last night. Yikes Avidja picked PG Scottie clean at the halfcourt line

This was one reason the experiment didn't go great last year with that ~20 game stretch for Scottie at "PG".

Scottie has obviously ascended and is going to be a superstar, but he'll never have the agility-handle combination to be the kind of PG to tilt or manipulate offenses the way Tyrese or Trae do. Offensively, I've compared him to Draymond, who is a genius facilitating from the elbows or even near the 3pt line as the team goes through its actions and offers shooting options (Draymond has a bunch of 7+ APG seasons, almost hit 9 assists in '21). Pretty wild that he can combine this with the strength of a Kawhi-like midrange game and a legit 3p shot now. He's so good.

The Raps will just need to plan for the inevitable adjustment of teams sending fast and smaller guards to press him or defensive schemes that aggressively go after him at POA, and to make sure he can still play the "free-safety" type role he's currently doing on D while he wracks up steals+blocks (let Gary guard the other PG).

[Jadoogar]

Watching first quarter replay which I missed last night. Yikes Avidja picked PG Scottie clean at the halfcourt line

This was one reason the experiment didn't go great last year with that ~20 game stretch for Scottie at "PG".

Scottie has obviously ascended and is going to be a superstar, but he'll never have the agility-handle combination to be the kind of PG to tilt or manipulate offenses the way Tyrese or Trae do. Offensively, I've compared him to Draymond, who is a genius facilitating from the elbows or even near the 3pt line as the team goes through its actions and offers shooting options (Draymond has a bunch of 7+ APG seasons, almost hit 9 assists in '21). Pretty wild that he can combine this with the strength of a Kawhi-like midrange game and a legit 3p shot now. He's so good.

The Raps will just need to plan for the inevitable adjustment of teams sending fast and smaller guards to press him or defensive schemes that aggressively go after him at POA, and to make sure he can still play the "free-safety" type role he's currently doing on D while he wracks up steals+blocks (let Gary guard the other PG).

Scottie is a fantastic player but he's not a point guard. He's a good playmaker but he doesn't have the handle to operate as the primary playmaker of a team. It's like playing Giannis at point guard. He's a decent passer but you're neutralizing his best skills

And 100% agree on the defensive side. He's not going to be able to guard guys like Maxey or Fox (and he shouldn't be expected to).

[Potential]

Why did it take this long to see this starting lineup

Also: Why do fans see the Potential in this change long before NBA coaches?

Because I truly believe the fans have at least 37% more knowledge of the game of basketball than Darko and Bobsai

[Thaddy]

We need to experiment with removing Poeltl from the starting line up. If Barnes is hitting the three he can be a very good stretch "big" for us. We need to maximize our shooting. It would make Siakam look much better and would raise his value before the year ends.

[Kingsway_fan]

Why did it take this long to see this starting lineup

Also: Why do fans see the Potential in this change long before NBA coaches?

WE don't have to deal with player egos, Management biases, prior agreements, etc. Just as teachers have their pet students, lol so can coaches.

[djsunyc]

Read on Twitter

Uh nooo.....Thats like congratulating the guy who lit the barn on fire and called the fire department 4 hrs later.

and this is why will will remain a fan podcaster and not ascend to dragic's higher ambitions.

that's fine i guess if he's content being that.

[Duffman100]

Why did it take this long to see this starting lineup

Also: Why do fans see the Potential in this change long before NBA coaches?

Because I truly believe the fans have at least 37% more knowledge of the game of basketball than Darko and Bobsai

You... can't be serious.

[ConSarnit]

Read on Twitter

Uh nooo.....Thats like congratulating the guy who lit the barn on fire and called the fire department 4 hrs later.

and this is why will will remain a fan podcaster and not ascend to dragic's higher ambitions.

that's fine i guess if he's content being that.

Those tooting their own horn over the starting lineup change picked just about the worst time to do so:

Trent/OG/Barnes/Siakam/Poeltl:

-47.6 net rating against the Wiz

We all wanted a change but this game is proof of nothing so far.

[MoMan24]

Watching first quarter replay which I missed last night. Yikes Avidja picked PG Scottie clean at the halfcourt line

This was one reason the experiment didn't go great last year with that ~20 game stretch for Scottie at "PG".

Scottie has obviously ascended and is going to be a superstar, but he'll never have the agility-handle combination to be the kind of PG to tilt or manipulate offenses the way Tyrese or Trae do. Offensively, I've compared him to Draymond, who is a genius facilitating from the elbows or even near the 3pt line as the team goes through its actions and offers shooting options (Draymond has a bunch of 7+ APG seasons, almost hit 9 assists in '21). Pretty wild that he can combine this with the strength of a Kawhi-like midrange game and a legit 3p shot now. He's so good.

The Raps will just need to plan for the inevitable adjustment of teams sending fast and smaller guards to press him or defensive schemes that aggressively go after him at POA, and to make sure he can still play the "free-safety" type role he's currently doing on D while he wracks up steals+blocks (let Gary guard the other PG).

Scottie is a fantastic player but he's not a point guard. He's a good playmaker but he doesn't have the handle to operate as the primary playmaker of a team. It's like playing Giannis at point guard. He's a decent passer but you're neutralizing his best skills

And 100% agree on the defensive side. He's not going to be able to guard guys like Maxey or Fox (and he shouldn't be expected to).

Yall can relax. It happened once. He had 2 turnovers in his 33 minutes. Dennis had 3 turnovers in 28 minutes. Scottie is still the best option as a PG for this team. Dennis is great for the bench and is a bench level player. Starting Dennis got us 7 games below .500. Even if you hate the idea of Scottie as the point it can't make us worse and more importantly it's great for his development. Playing Scottie as a big puts a much lower ceiling on him. I want a MVP level player and for that to happen he needs serious on ball reps. Yall crying over one turnover yet he lead us to our first blowout win in long time having a better game than Dennis can dream of. What are we talking about really LOL

[MoMan24]

Read on Twitter

Uh nooo.....Thats like congratulating the guy who lit the barn on fire and called the fire department 4 hrs later.

and this is why will will remain a fan podcaster and not ascend to dragic's higher ambitions.

that's fine i guess if he's content being that.

Those tooting their own horn over the starting lineup change picked just about the worst time to do so:

Trent/OG/Barnes/Siakam/Poeltl:

-47.6 net rating against the Wiz

We all wanted a change but this game is proof of nothing so far.

It's proof Dennis is better for the bench. It's proof we are better when Flynn never plays. It's proof that without Dennis in the way Scottie/Pascal/OG can all eat and Dennis can sill get his with the bench. I think there is something here but be negative.

[ConSarnit]

and this is why will will remain a fan podcaster and not ascend to dragic's higher ambitions.

that's fine i guess if he's content being that.

Those tooting their own horn over the starting lineup change picked just about the worst time to do so:

Trent/OG/Barnes/Siakam/Poeltl:

-47.6 net rating against the Wiz

We all wanted a change but this game is proof of nothing so far.

It's proof Dennis is better for the bench. It's proof we are better when Flynn never plays. It's proof that without Dennis in the way Scottie/Pascal/OG can all eat and Dennis can sill get his with the bench. I think there is something here but be negative.

We played the Wiz, the worst defensive team in the league. As I said, we all wanted to see changes but this game proves nothing.

A 1 game sample size is not proof of anything. I was driving the “replace Schroder with Trent” bandwagon and I’m happy with changes in process but no one should be claiming any type of success yet.

[Zeno]

Also: Why do fans see the Potential in this change long before NBA coaches?

Because I truly believe the fans have at least 37% more knowledge of the game of basketball than Darko and Bobsai

You... can't be serious.

You can’t be serious thinking he’s not being serious. You moderate these forums without reading them? It is pretty clear many people think this.