To Calderon: Defense please!

[Death Knight]

Agreed. But for me this seems like the same problem that you keep hammering Jose, poor defense off the ball. It is a teamwide issue that starts with poor coaching. Players don't seem to now when they are supposed to help and are they supposed to deny the middle or the baseline. Anyone know if Raptors have an assistant who is in charge of the defense?

I recognize that it is a team issue. Whenever someone mentions how the Raptors have improved on defense or say that they aren't as bad as people suggest they are, I usually beg to differ. I'm not going to let any stats or people's opinions affect the way I see the game. I watch the games and know what I see. This team sorely lacks focus and discipline for 48 minutes.

It also doesn't help when teams make a push and all of a sudden the Raptors get rattled so easily. Maybe that has to do with experience, but I need to see improvements along the way and I'm not seeing it. I find myself complaining about the same thing about this team for 3+ years now.

Yes, there are multiple ways to defend the screen, switch, belly up, help and recover , trapping (here you "ride") or going under. Key point is to now what you are doing and communicate with the big man. I know coaches want to throw different looks with p&r defense, but Raps seem often lost, Jose yes, but it's most evident with Bargs/Hump, sometimes they jump out agressively, and sometimes they just drift, not knowing who to defend.

Good observation. Those bigs for the Raptors are at fault in some cases. As you mentioned, communication is not up to par.

[rdtx2005]

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not all teams have dmart as a backup

dmart is inactive.. quit with the excuses

[rdtx2005]

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Stats, in all situations not just basketball, are there to supplement what you see; they will never tell you what is actually there. Stats can give you a good idea of trends, but it is the statistician's (or observer's) job to make sense of them by combining them with observations.

You can't just take a bunch of stats and look at them and make a conclusion based on just stats alone.

the point is not only the stats.. it's the visual "suckage" of Jose's defense that is riled a few people of this forum, myself included.

Jose sucks on defense.. the visual evidence is there.. the statistical evidence is there.

the stats were only brought up because Franchise_411 requested them.

[Death Knight]

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the point is not only the stats.. it's the visual "suckage" of Jose's defense that is riled a few people of this forum, myself included.

Jose sucks on defense.. the visual evidence is there.. the statistical evidence is there.

the stats were only brought up because Franchise_411 requested them.

[sarah42]

i wouldn't call a PG averaging 21/10/4 'weak'

have you seen chris paul? he's talented, but he's small as hell, and big pgs take every chance to back him down in the post. but he's smart about it too, and he doesn't hurt his team. that and he has tyson chandler to fix his mistakes. toronto doesn't have that luxury.

but again, cp3 is a smart defender, and knows where to be. i meant weak in terms of height/weight. if he's listed at 6 feet, its a lie. i think thats the reason why people would pick dereon over chris. now that chris is on a better team, who knows?

jose on the other hand looks lost. everytime the raptors score, he yells out something, but i always wonder, what the hell he is saying?!! it can be instructions to get a stop, can it?

does anyone else wonder what he says as he runs back to "play defense"

[ImissBobCostas]

People say the same things about Nash but the way they both run the offence makes up for it.

And Jose like Nash actually RUNS the offence.

You can compensate for weak perimeter defence but you can't compensate for a lack of offensive execution and that's what Jose brings to the table in spades.

[CPT]

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You can't take stats averaged over a bunch of games and say that it's true on every single occasion.

Maybe not, but it's a lot better than taking a single occasion and saying that it's true on average.

[rdtx2005]

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have you seen chris paul? he's talented, but he's small as hell, and big pgs take every chance to back him down in the post. but he's smart about it too, and he doesn't hurt his team. that and he has tyson chandler to fix his mistakes. toronto doesn't have that luxury.

but again, cp3 is a smart defender, and knows where to be. i meant weak in terms of height/weight. if he's listed at 6 feet, its a lie. i think thats the reason why people would pick dereon over chris. now that chris is on a better team, who knows?

jose on the other hand looks lost. everytime the raptors score, he yells out something, but i always wonder, what the hell he is saying?!! it can be instructions to get a stop, can it?

does anyone else wonder what he says as he runs back to "play defense"

he yells Toro!!

[rdtx2005]

People say the same things about Nash but the way they both run the offence makes up for it.

And Jose like Nash actually RUNS the offence.

You can compensate for weak perimeter defence but you can't compensate for a lack of offensive execution and that's what Jose brings to the table in spades.

Nash is still light years better than Jose on offense because Nash is actually willing to take it to the cup

[Reignman]

People say the same things about Nash but the way they both run the offence makes up for it.

And Jose like Nash actually RUNS the offence.

You can compensate for weak perimeter defence but you can't compensate for a lack of offensive execution and that's what Jose brings to the table in spades.

First off, can we please stop with the Nash comparisons. I hate to break it to you guys but there are NO similarities between Nash and Jose. They play completely different styles. Only thing similar is the high fg%, but Nash can be an all out scorer if his team needs it, whereas Jose cannot.
Come on people, there's a reason Nash is a 2xMVP and Jose is the backup to TJ Ford.

Second, if Jose is giving up approx. the same amounts of points / assists that he himself produces, that really hinders his overall impact in the game.

Third, how does this team compensate when our defence is getting broken down at the point of attack? That is the worst posible situation for a team that is not great defensively like the Raps. If we didn't have Moon coming in for those timely weakside blocks, I don't know where this team would be. Also, this puts that much more pressure on CB4 to be our defensive anchor, and with the amount of touches he gets on offence, I'd hate to see him get burnt out.

[deknow]

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First off, can we please stop with the Nash comparisons. I hate to break it to you guys but there are NO similarities between Nash and Jose. They play completely different styles. Only thing similar is the high fg%, but Nash can be an all out scorer if his team needs it, whereas Jose cannot.
Come on people, there's a reason Nash is a 2xMVP and Jose is the backup to TJ Ford.

Second, if Jose is giving up approx. the same amounts of points / assists that he himself produces, that really hinders his overall impact in the game.

Third, how does this team compensate when our defence is getting broken down at the point of attack? That is the worst posible situation for a team that is not great defensively like the Raps. If we didn't have Moon coming in for those timely weakside blocks, I don't know where this team would be. Also, this puts that much more pressure on CB4 to be our defensive anchor, and with the amount of touches he gets on offence, I'd hate to see him get burnt out.

I don't even respond to those posts anymore. You should just copy my SIG. whenever they write that rubbish I just say "Ahem.... read the sig."

That tends to shut them up quite a bit

[Shaazzam]

Third, how does this team compensate when our defence is getting broken down at the point of attack? That is the worst posible situation for a team that is not great defensively like the Raps. If we didn't have Moon coming in for those timely weakside blocks, I don't know where this team would be. Also, this puts that much more pressure on CB4 to be our defensive anchor, and with the amount of touches he gets on offence, I'd hate to see him get burnt out.

I would also say it may be a real strain on AB's development as well.

[Reignman]

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I would also say it may be a real strain on AB's development as well.

It hurts cuz it's true. Bargs' hasn't even developed enough to cover up his own mistakes, how the hell is he supposed to cover up other people's mistakes?

Bargs is not a good weakside shotblocker, doesn't know when to foul, doesn't know when to give up the basket. This is a huge issue considering our defence breaks down at the point of attack, it throws everything out of whack, and AB doesn't have the defensive i.q. to know how to recover.

[Shaazzam]

It hurts cuz it's true. Bargs' hasn't even developed enough to cover up his own mistakes, how the hell is he supposed to cover up other people's mistakes?

Bargs is not a good weakside shotblocker, doesn't know when to foul, doesn't know when to give up the basket. This is a huge issue considering our defence breaks down at the point of attack, it throws everything out of whack, and AB doesn't have the defensive i.q. to know how to recover.

One thing I have noticed with him is when he comes to cover the lane he does so by leading with a shoulder and trying to challenge with one hand, if that description makes sense.That's a guaranteed foul. He doesn't use footwork to get in front and be square in the lane. It's half assed. Offseason and even inseason I want him hitting the weights and working on footwork drills.

Dril, drill, drill. That seems to have been the tonic for CB4.

[Reignman]

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One thing I have noticed with him is when he comes to cover the lane he does so by leading with a shoulder and trying to challenge with one hand, if that description makes sense.That's a guaranteed foul. He doesn't use footwork to get in front and be square in the lane. It's half assed. Offseason and even inseason I want him hitting the weights and working on footwork drills.

Dril, drill, drill. That seems to have been the tonic for CB4.

I've noticed the awkward plant as well. His approach actually makes it look more like a foul than the actual act. Anyway, I've chalked this season up for AB as being a time for him to get a feel for the Center position. Hopefully the Raps send this guy to a big man camp (Pete Newell ) and around January 2009 we'll know if he has any substance or if he's all hype.

[18 Parkerville]

jose on the other hand looks lost. everytime the raptors score, he yells out something, but i always wonder, what the hell he is saying?!! it can be instructions to get a stop, can it?

[Northern_Raptor]

People say the same things about Nash but the way they both run the offence makes up for it.

And Jose like Nash actually RUNS the offence.

You can compensate for weak perimeter defence but you can't compensate for a lack of offensive execution and that's what Jose brings to the table in spades.

You are honestly comparing the way Nash runs an offence to Jose? That is unbelievable as they are almost exact opposites in their approach. Good post.

[Death Knight]

I don't even respond to those posts anymore. You should just copy my SIG. whenever they write that rubbish I just say "Ahem.... read the sig."

That tends to shut them up quite a bit

Your Sig...........

Keep drinking the coolaid. It's good for you.

[HiJiNX]

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the point is not only the stats.. it's the visual "suckage" of Jose's defense that is riled a few people of this forum, myself included.

Jose sucks on defense.. the visual evidence is there.. the statistical evidence is there.

the stats were only brought up because Franchise_411 requested them.

I've been talking about Jose's defense from last year, so on that front, you're not saying anything enlightening to me. You asked me what's the point of stats and I gave you the answer, which you reiterated (the bolded) to me as a rebuttal. So, I still don't really see where you were going with your initial comment.

My original statement was in reference to the fact that while overall Jose may have a negative point deferential in comparison to opposing PGs, but he may actually win more battles than he loses if perhaps his wins are marginal but his losses are large, which would skew the stats to show that he loses more often overall when in actuality he doesn't (I'm not saying this is true, I'm just saying that the stats should be looked at more carefully). You can't just look at averages, sometimes you need to look at the individual occasions.

[HiJiNX]

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Maybe not, but it's a lot better than taking a single occasion and saying that it's true on average.

True, but that was not what I was suggesting, and if it came across that way, perhaps I should have been more careful with my wording.