OG Scrimmage Highlights

Post #1 » by **Reeko** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:53 am

What really stands out is his defense, we all know that OG's man defense is elite, but his awareness seems to have gone to another level this season. At times it seems like he's guarding 3 guys at the same time. Maybe I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but he is impressive none the less.

Watch on YouTube

Salted Meat · Post #2 » by **Salted Meat** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:58 am

His defensive numbers significantly improved after the All-Star break. He's really starting to put all the different aspects of his game together.

I don't like making predictions, but I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the same leap this post-season that Siakam made last year. He learned a lot from Kawhi and I think he really has the ability to step into a bigger role on the team.

Denisaur9 · Post #3 » by **Denisaur9** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:25 am

Crazy that he's the same age or younger then 4 first round picks from last year.

Cameron Johnson, Brandon Clarke, Dylan Wyndler and Matisse Thybulle

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Harcore Fenton Mun · Post #4 » by **Harcore Fenton Mun** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:33 am

It's funny, he was projected as a third. I had my doubts, but most of those are slowly going away.

If he can take his guy to the whole with a semi competent dribble. With his size, he's going to be a handful for a single defender.

G.A. Clone · Post #5 » by **G.A. Clone** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:33 am

He's looking so much more confident out there, not second guessing his drives or shots. His defensive anticipation is also much improved (but this was always a strength of his). He's actually my current favourite Raptor. Hope he stays with us for his entire career.

Psubs · Post #6 » by **Psubs** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:00 am

He's Ron Artest that shoots the 3 really well, without the crazy!

gerrit4 · Post #7 » by **gerrit4** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:03 am

Reeko wrote:What really stands out is his defense, we all know that OG's man defense is elite, but his awareness seems to have gone to another level this season. At times it seems like he's guarding 3 guys at the same time. Maybe I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but he is impressive none the less.

Watch on YouTube

Great highlight reel. A lot of the the drives/pumpfakes look about 5% better than before when he was being called for travels, so maybe that's enough.

The thing with OG is that we need him to be consistent offensively, and have the ability to play 35-40 minutes. Realistically, for this team to contend in the playoffs over the next few seasons, he'll need to play major minutes to guard guys like Giannis. Right now, he's a significant downgrade from Norm offensively, while being an upgrade defensively (especially considering the size factor when guarding 3s).

Johnny Bball · Post #8 » by **Johnny Bball** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:54 am

gerrit4 wrote:
The thing with OG is that we need him to be consistent offensively, and have the ability to play 35-40 minutes. Realistically, for this team to contend in the playoffs over the next few seasons, he'll need to play major minutes to guard guys like Giannis. Right now, he's a significant downgrade from Norm offensively, while being an upgrade defensively (especially considering the size factor when guarding 3s).

I don’t think he’s a significant downgrade on offence at all compared to Norm. Norm is better at scoring, but if Norm was starting....how often do you think he would get to see the ball when Lowry, Siakam and FVV are healthy? The answer is...like OG, less. OG is probably the better passer and offensive rebounder. Maybe he is worse but just not as significant as the other way around on defence.

And that gap offensively won’t last very long imo.

Post #9 » by **lebron stopper** » Thu Jul 30, 2020 7:08 pm

Johnny Bball wrote:I don’t think he’s a significant downgrade on offence at all compared to Norm. ... And that gap offensively won’t last very long imo.

I would pump the brakes here. Anunoby showed some flashes of fluid ball-handling for the first time a few days ago, and that's awesome to see, but he still has a long way to go. Powell is a much better ball-handler, can comfortably shoot floaters and jumpers off the dribble, and uses many kinds of tricks and maneuvers on his drives to evade defenders (ie. hop steps, changing directions, nudging defenders to create separation, switching hands at the rim to finish with the other hand), which currently makes him a much more dangerous and dynamic slasher than Anunoby is right now. Powell is much more lethal in transition, as the Raptors score 1.24 PPP whenever he rebounds a missed opponent FG, compared to 1.05 PPP when Anunoby does that. (The Raptors score 1.13 PPP off of missed opponent FGs on average.) Powell gets to the line at a higher rate than Anunoby does, and has a TS% that is 3 full percentage points higher than Anunoby despite having a much greater Usage.

Johnny Bball wrote:OG is probably the better passer and offensive rebounder. Maybe he is worse but just not as significant as the other way around on defence.

Anunoby is better as a secondary playmaker, but struggles a lot as a primary playmaker whenever he has to create. Making plays against a scrambling/scrambled defense is one thing; doing that against a set-up defense is another.

Johnny Bball wrote:if Norm was starting....how often do you think he would get to see the ball when Lowry, Siakam and FVV are healthy?

Given how efficient Powell has gotten as a scorer, how much he plays without the ball (and yet still manages to be productive), and how much of an off-ball threat he's become with his improved shooting and cutting abilities, touches haven't been that much of a concern for him.

Besides, all three of Lowry/Powell/VanVleet rarely play together anyways (87 min, -6.7 NetRtg), and Powell has had some of the best games of his career while playing right next to Lowry and Siakam (444 min, +8.6 NetRtg). Powell's off-ball skillset alone makes him a near-perfect fit on offense next to those two - but on top of that, he can also make great things happen with the ball in his hands.