Summer Runs and Random Player Sightings

[Dalek]

I wonder if anybody’s in Toronto already. Usually the young players show up early for training camp.

This offseason has sucked as far as Raptor's news. The Raps social account is practically on auto-pilot posting last year's highlights. If guys are in camp early they should post some pictures. Loads of other teams are sharing content.

[HumbleRen]

Good chance you're wrong about the bolded. And OG only has to be a catch and shoot guy with this lineup. That's the advantage of having two point forwards that can bully their way into the paint - we created plenty of open 3s last season, just struggled to knock them down when we went to the bench especially.

Pascal can be a 3 level scorer, just needs that 3-ball uptick. And Gary can be an elite shooter (contract season, has been working like crazy).

I do hope I'm wrong but I think Dennis will get the PG position.

Siakam can get paint touches via a live dribble but we don't know that Scottie can do it. If he can magically double his drives then we might be cooking but once again, Yak clogging up the paint makes it more difficult.

Scottie doesn't need to be able to blow by defenders with complex dribble moves to get into the paint. Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson, Sam Cassell all did a lot of damage with the back-down because they weren't blow by guys and they usually had a size advantage (as Scottie will).

This isn't the 90's or early 2000's though lol.

No one is asking for Scottie to have complex dribble moves but he absolutely needs to be able to get past his initial defender with a live dribble. It's like the #1 requirement as a wing star player. Otherwise you're just a role player/starting caliber player.

[SkywalkerAC]

I do hope I'm wrong but I think Dennis will get the PG position.

Siakam can get paint touches via a live dribble but we don't know that Scottie can do it. If he can magically double his drives then we might be cooking but once again, Yak clogging up the paint makes it more difficult.

Scottie doesn't need to be able to blow by defenders with complex dribble moves to get into the paint. Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson, Sam Cassell all did a lot of damage with the back-down because they weren't blow by guys and they usually had a size advantage (as Scottie will).

This isn't the 90's or early 2000's though lol.

No one is asking for Scottie to have complex dribble moves but he absolutely needs to be able to get past his initial defender with a live dribble. It's like the #1 requirement as a wing star player. Otherwise you're just a role player/starting caliber player.

The point is that Scottie is a bull and he's going to get into the paint one way or another. And if he can get an opposing point guard posted up he's going to draw the double and kick out to wide open shooters or to the guy in the dunker spot. You think top wings with size - Lebron, Paul George, Kawhi, Giannis, Tatum, Doncic, KD etc - don't do a ton of damage scoring and kicking out from the post?

And part of the development process is to get those reps in the pick and roll, get reps shooting the ball so he can start attacking close outs, but also use his court vision to facilitate.

People didn't think much of DeMar's dribble-drive ability at 21 either, but he became a primary playmaker by being thrust into those challenging situations pretty early in his career.

[WaltFrazier]

I wonder if anybody’s in Toronto already. Usually the young players show up early for training camp.

This offseason has sucked as far as Raptor's news. The Raps social account is practically on auto-pilot posting last year's highlights. If guys are in camp early they should post some pictures. Loads of other teams are sharing content.

Even the peripheral parts of the organization are slipping

[Tha Cynic]

We're underestimating what ball movement does for guys who are limited offensively. If the core principles Darko is putting in focuses on team play and less of what you expect from FVV, Boucher Aichuwa type players, then expect improvement in team shooting.

Contrary to misrepresenting stats, the Raptors did not move the ball well, and they did not play good team ball in general. They also had a PG who didn't really establish any chemistry with players other than Siakam and later Poeltl. Those have huge impacts.

[Tha Cynic]

Yes it would be good if all three were better shooters. The hope is Scottie and Pascal become better. But the fact all three are great passers will hopefully be more valuable in Darko's offense, whereas Nick's offense and Fred's ball dominance didn't maximize the slick passing of these three.

I respect your optimism but we know what a team looks like without any shooting. You can't overcome it, you can only do bandaids for it.

It's why Nurse reverted to more gimmicky concepts as the team's shooting got worse over the years. I do think Darko will change alot of core principles but he won't find the solution for our offence unless everyone's shooting in the starting line up improves.

I think we will see ample minutes with both Gary and Gradey sharing the floor this year and I think Gradey’s height and general sniper tendencies will be a very great escape valve for this team.

A lot of worry from posters about our 3pt shooting...
Let's everyone please remember there are almost 9 threes per game to replace for Fred who shot them at nba worst levels on his volume, and last year Boucher and Achiuwa had variance swings that will undoubtably swing positive this year. OG is a sniper, and a big key of successful three point shooting is paint touch 3 passes, you shoot higher percentages receiving the pass from someone in the paint pitching it out. Higher usage of guys in the paint you are worried about vs an iso heavy offense featuring high usage fred and perimeter passes (and telegraphed handoffs 35 feet out ahem) will improve 3pt variance.



As for Scottie, year 8 Scottie is a superstar in this league. He's too good, too big, too long, sees the floor too well and has already shown 2 way takeover potential in many games/quarters.
I have no doubt his 3pt shooting will become serviceable, and I suggest you guys stop worrying about year 3 micro expectations and focus on opportunity/skill development/career trajectory. Giannis developed important playmaking and game management skills playing pg as a specific adjustment Jason Kidd added as coaches changed in his trajectory. Dwayne Wade played PG as a rookie for the Lamar odom/Caron butler heat and I maintain it was paramount for his future playmaking and dynamic star play later in his career. This is the way, embrace it.

Regarding OG is still young but a vet, has shown up big offensively and defensively in the past, is a miss match for anyone guarding him due to his strength and for anyone stronger than him he would be faster/more agile. Think of his iso woes last season as reps that will turn into future successful execution. Think about how many season demar at up inefficient offensive possessions and how much you loved him and that dude was a negative because of his putrid defense. You can't tell me Og is a negative player...

so just tuck in, embrace positivity and just vibe baby

Ah, the anti William Lou. Love it!

Players can grow. Role players do play better with better trust from their leaders. Combo guards really aren't as impactful as physically gifted forwards.

We are not looking to win a championship next season contrary to some idiots on our radio, so why are we acting like we need to? Craziest **** I heard was Lou and super friends wondering how we're going to win a championship with our current roster .

This is a year where we focus on development but have a team good enough to also have some team success and potentially make some noise in the playoffs. Our focus is young players getting better and the selfish brand we played last year being erased.

Let's go! Let's just play the right way.

[HumbleRen]

Scottie doesn't need to be able to blow by defenders with complex dribble moves to get into the paint. Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson, Sam Cassell all did a lot of damage with the back-down because they weren't blow by guys and they usually had a size advantage (as Scottie will).

This isn't the 90's or early 2000's though lol.

No one is asking for Scottie to have complex dribble moves but he absolutely needs to be able to get past his initial defender with a live dribble. It's like the #1 requirement as a wing star player. Otherwise you're just a role player/starting caliber player.

The point is that Scottie is a bull and he's going to get into the paint one way or another. And if he can get an opposing point guard posted up he's going to draw the double and kick out to wide open shooters or to the guy in the dunker spot. You think top wings with size - Lebron, Paul George, Kawhi, Giannis, Tatum, Doncic, KD etc - don't do a ton of damage scoring and kicking out from the post?

And part of the development process is to get those reps in the pick and roll, get reps shooting the ball so he can start attacking close outs, but also use his court vision to facilitate.

People didn't think much of DeMar's dribble-drive ability at 21 either, but he became a primary playmaker by being thrust into those challenging situations pretty early in his career.

They do but they also can get to the rim at literal will with a dribble lol. Scottie doesn't have the skills to do that yet. Key word being yet but it's also not a guarantee.

Scottie is way more of a dribble hand off hub then what those guys are. I personally think we should be leaning way more into that instead of making him a jumbo guard but we'll see how it shakes out during the season.

[dTox]

https://instagram.com/stories/ya.boy.scottie/3190577123725388205?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=YTUzYTFiZDMwYg==

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[niQ]

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[Mikistan]

This isn't the 90's or early 2000's though lol.

No one is asking for Scottie to have complex dribble moves but he absolutely needs to be able to get past his initial defender with a live dribble. It's like the #1 requirement as a wing star player. Otherwise you're just a role player/starting caliber player.

The point is that Scottie is a bull and he's going to get into the paint one way or another. And if he can get an opposing point guard posted up he's going to draw the double and kick out to wide open shooters or to the guy in the dunker spot. You think top wings with size - Lebron, Paul George, Kawhi, Giannis, Tatum, Doncic, KD etc - don't do a ton of damage scoring and kicking out from the post?

And part of the development process is to get those reps in the pick and roll, get reps shooting the ball so he can start attacking close outs, but also use his court vision to facilitate.

People didn't think much of DeMar's dribble-drive ability at 21 either, but he became a primary playmaker by being thrust into those challenging situations pretty early in his career.

They do but they also can get to the rim at literal will with a dribble lol. Scottie doesn't have the skills to do that yet. Key word being yet but it's also not a guarantee.

Scottie is way more of a dribble hand off hub then what those guys are. I personally think we should be leaning way more into that instead of making him a jumbo guard but we'll see how it shakes out during the season.

https://youtu.be/OnlN3lnCHu4?si=7M_r2iFonmmAIgeP


Literally zero hand off passes in this video


Blowby at 1:35 and another plus a dribble drive advantage in overtime

Have you considered that it's tougher to get the blow bys you want to see when defenders sag on your shot???

[HumbleRen]

The point is that Scottie is a bull and he's going to get into the paint one way or another. And if he can get an opposing point guard posted up he's going to draw the double and kick out to wide open shooters or to the guy in the dunker spot. You think top wings with size - Lebron, Paul George, Kawhi, Giannis, Tatum, Doncic, KD etc - don't do a ton of damage scoring and kicking out from the post?

And part of the development process is to get those reps in the pick and roll, get reps shooting the ball so he can start attacking close outs, but also use his court vision to facilitate.

People didn't think much of DeMar's dribble-drive ability at 21 either, but he became a primary playmaker by being thrust into those challenging situations pretty early in his career.

They do but they also can get to the rim at literal will with a dribble lol. Scottie doesn't have the skills to do that yet. Key word being yet but it's also not a guarantee.

Scottie is way more of a dribble hand off hub then what those guys are. I personally think we should be leaning way more into that instead of making him a jumbo guard but we'll see how it shakes out during the season.

https://youtu.be/OnlN3lnCHu4?si=7M_r2iFonmmAIgeP


Literally zero hand off passes in this video


Blowby at 1:35 and another plus a dribble drive advantage in overtime

Have you considered that it's tougher to get the blow bys you want to see when defenders sag on your shot???

Can you please rephrase your last sentence? I’m not totally sure on what you’re saying.

[Mikistan]

They do but they also can get to the rim at literal will with a dribble lol. Scottie doesn't have the skills to do that yet. Key word being yet but it's also not a guarantee.

Scottie is way more of a dribble hand off hub then what those guys are. I personally think we should be leaning way more into that instead of making him a jumbo guard but we'll see how it shakes out during the season.

https://youtu.be/OnlN3lnCHu4?si=7M_r2iFonmmAIgeP


Literally zero hand off passes in this video


Blowby at 1:35 and another plus a dribble drive advantage in overtime

Have you considered that it's tougher to get the blow bys you want to see when defenders sag on your shot???

Can you please rephrase your last sentence? I’m not totally sure on what you’re saying.

Lebron, Paul George, Kawhi, Giannis, Tatum, Doncic, KD

All of those guys have a more functional shot which forces defenders to guard closer and respect the pull up or triple threat shot. As a result they naturally have more blow bys because defenders play them closer allowing for the classic blow by dribble drive

Defenders play Scottie with more buffer room and as a result you do not see as many blow bys because a blow by requires the defender to be closer. When they sag back they naturally can hedge a side and have more reaction time buffer for Scottie's dribble moves.

So just trying to convey that the perceived fault of his dribbles not creating advantages has a causal relationship with the primary coverages he faces. It's not as big of a dribble deficit as you perceive because the outcome likelihood of Blowby is already lowered compared to the list of players above. (other than LBJ whos shot at times in his career and who's physical overwhelming dribble shoulder check drive was OP, defenders chose to live with making Lebron a scorer/shooter by design and live with it at times)
Even still scottie doesn't need Blowby to create dribble drive advantages dude is huge and strong and has an aptitude for bumping defenders to earn space and (with amazing high variance in his rookie season) can make janky close range shots in a variety of ways

[HumbleRen]

https://youtu.be/OnlN3lnCHu4?si=7M_r2iFonmmAIgeP


Literally zero hand off passes in this video


Blowby at 1:35 and another plus a dribble drive advantage in overtime

Have you considered that it's tougher to get the blow bys you want to see when defenders sag on your shot???

Can you please rephrase your last sentence? I’m not totally sure on what you’re saying.

Lebron, Paul George, Kawhi, Giannis, Tatum, Doncic, KD

All of those guys have a more functional shot which forces defenders to guard closer and respect the pull up or triple threat shot. As a result they naturally have more blow bys because defenders play them closer allowing for the classic blow by dribble drive

Defenders play Scottie with more buffer room and as a result you do not see as many blow bys because a blow by requires the defender to be closer. When they sag back they naturally can hedge a side and have more reaction time buffer for Scottie's dribble moves.

So just trying to convey that the perceived fault of his dribbles not creating advantages has a causal relationship with the primary coverages he faces. It's not as big of a dribble deficit as you perceive because the outcome likelihood of Blowby is already lowered compared to the list of players above. (other than LBJ whos shot at times in his career and who's physical overwhelming dribble shoulder check drive was OP, defenders chose to live with making Lebron a scorer/shooter by design and live with it at times)
Even still scottie doesn't need Blowby to create dribble drive advantages dude is huge and strong and has an aptitude for bumping defenders to earn space and (with amazing high variance in his rookie season) can make janky close range shots in a variety of ways

Oh I agree, that’s why I think the comparison for Scottie to those guys are useless.

It’s why I think he’s much better as a dribble hand off hub. Basically a more mobile version of Bam or Sabonis. If they’re going to sag that hard off of you, make them pay for it by getting your guys wide open or attacking the open space.

Easier said then done with Yak clogging the paint up though but we’ll see how Darko utilizes him.

[DreamTeam09]

OG was at the Steph Curry mini camp

[mtcan]

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Our boy OG putting in some work. I expect to see some logo 3s and ankle breaking crossovers this season...

[DemHeavyHands]

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Our boy OG putting in some work. I expect to see some logo 3s and ankle breaking crossovers this season...

Lolol the half second clip of OG doing the dribble drill made me laugh

You just know he was struggling with that one

[ATLTimekeeper]

OG was definitely a fish out of water with those guys, but any little bit of polish is going to go a long way for him.

[HumbleRen]

You can only get better when you’re in uncomfortable positions as an athlete.

Dope that he’s working with the best of the best in his field in something that he’s weak.

[WaltFrazier]

OG killing it. Looks like a much better use of court time than glorified pick-up games ie Rico runs

[niQ]

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