PG: Nurse and Starters all star caliber choke job

[lobosloboslobos]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

i think basically Nurse tried some things that definitely worked and then intentionally stopped doing them because he'd seen them work and didn't want to show too much. In the first half we shot tons of 3s and surely could have kept doing so, but in the second half it seemed like we were constantly trying to go inside, even though it wasn't working. why? I think Nurse wanted to see what would happen if we did so he could study the Bucks' responses and we could have tape of our guys trying stuff. winning was not the goal for him. learning was.

[ontnut]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

When Matt was first inserted into the game, you could see us actively trying to get him 3's. He hit them all. Then he got pulled, didn't come back in for a while, and when he did, we didn't look for him in the same way. Boucher took a 3 or two before Thomas did iirc. When we have Thomas in, we need him to get more touches, even if it's just to open the floor. He made some good decisions with the ball too, assisting Boucher on the dunk. He's earning more PT and I hope we find a way to really integrate him into the offense.

[ATLTimekeeper]

No Norman&Marc. It was a very good night, all things considered.

It is becoming obvious that Siakam will have a tough time scoring on Giannis(with Marvin Williams), Bam Adebayo and Ben Simmons in the playoffs..those players are built to stop him. So I wasn't too surprised to see Pascal struggle.

I had almost forgot that Serge was pretty much a non-factor against the Bucks in the playoffs..Last night, I can only assume that the length of Brook Lopez contesting his shots bothered him.

Pascal was 3/6 on Giannis. I think the fact that they had to put Giannis on him for most of his possessions is more important than whether Siakam can score on him or not. They can't get away with Marvin Williams (horrible playoff performer on his way out of the league), and then there's no one else that can really match him on that team. The Lopez Bros and Ilyasova are lead footed. Middleton got worked by Siakam for an easy and1. Basically, I'll take that game from Siakam for an entire series against any team. It's the 3 other starters who need to cash in.

His worst series last year was against the Bucks by far

From what I have seen, he just cannot go off against those guys and it just happens that 2 of them (Giannis&Ben) have defensive player of the year potential and Bam Adebayo is not too far behind as a top defender.
Those are just very difficult matchups for him.

it would be interesting to see in the playoffs.

He couldn't shoot off the dribble last year, either. As I said, as long as Giannis is on him we're good. If they can get away with sticking Middleton on him than we're in trouble.

[SHFT]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

i think basically Nurse tried some things that definitely worked and then intentionally stopped doing them because he'd seen them work and didn't want to show too much. In the first half we shot tons of 3s and surely could have kept doing so, but in the second half it seemed like we were constantly trying to go inside, even though it wasn't working. why? I think Nurse wanted to see what would happen if we did so he could study the Bucks' responses and we could have tape of our guys trying stuff. winning was not the goal for him. learning was.

yup, we know Matt can run around the Bucks and score. Now we tuck it away for the playoffs.

[Red_Claw]

Our chances of winning go down SIGNIFICANTLY when our bigs don't play well. Its as simple as that. I saw good things by the Raptors but just couldn't keep it up.

82 games of practice.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

i think basically Nurse tried some things that definitely worked and then intentionally stopped doing them because he'd seen them work and didn't want to show too much. In the first half we shot tons of 3s and surely could have kept doing so, but in the second half it seemed like we were constantly trying to go inside, even though it wasn't working. why? I think Nurse wanted to see what would happen if we did so he could study the Bucks' responses and we could have tape of our guys trying stuff. winning was not the goal for him. learning was.

Nurse knows what is going to work. Bucks give up a ton of 3s and Matt Thomas is an elite 3 point shooter. I don't think Nurse cares about this win, considering Raps were in the game with basically their starting lineup playing like crap. Bucks fans seem arrogant and very high off this win, as they should, since this is the only thing they know - regular season wins. Bet you they were the same last year too when they defeated the Raps.


bud probably gave up his entire playbook to win this game. wait, he doesn't have one.

[True North]

Did the Raptors exert so much energy on defence that it affected their shooting?

[ash_k]

Pascal was 3/6 on Giannis. I think the fact that they had to put Giannis on him for most of his possessions is more important than whether Siakam can score on him or not. They can't get away with Marvin Williams (horrible playoff performer on his way out of the league), and then there's no one else that can really match him on that team. The Lopez Bros and Ilyasova are lead footed. Middleton got worked by Siakam for an easy and1. Basically, I'll take that game from Siakam for an entire series against any team. It's the 3 other starters who need to cash in.

His worst series last year was against the Bucks by far

From what I have seen, he just cannot go off against those guys and it just happens that 2 of them (Giannis&Ben) have defensive player of the year potential and Bam Adebayo is not too far behind as a top defender.
Those are just very difficult matchups for him.

it would be interesting to see in the playoffs.

He couldn't shoot off the dribble last year, either. As I said, as long as Giannis is on him we're good. If they can get away with sticking Middleton on him than we're in trouble.

interesting, so you think Middleton causes him more problems than Giannis?

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Our chances of winning go down SIGNIFICANTLY when our bigs don't play well. Its as simple as that. I saw good things by the Raptors but just couldn't keep it up.

82 games of practice.

Hope Raps make it to the ECF to get such matchups.

[baller16]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

i think basically Nurse tried some things that definitely worked and then intentionally stopped doing them because he'd seen them work and didn't want to show too much. In the first half we shot tons of 3s and surely could have kept doing so, but in the second half it seemed like we were constantly trying to go inside, even though it wasn't working. why? I think Nurse wanted to see what would happen if we did so he could study the Bucks' responses and we could have tape of our guys trying stuff. winning was not the goal for him. learning was.

yup, we know Matt can run around the Bucks and score. Now we tuck it away for the playoffs.

Matt Thomas is lowkey our x-factor

[LBJKB24MJ23]

His worst series last year was against the Bucks by far

From what I have seen, he just cannot go off against those guys and it just happens that 2 of them (Giannis&Ben) have defensive player of the year potential and Bam Adebayo is not too far behind as a top defender.
Those are just very difficult matchups for him.

it would be interesting to see in the playoffs.

He couldn't shoot off the dribble last year, either. As I said, as long as Giannis is on him we're good. If they can get away with sticking Middleton on him than we're in trouble.

interesting, so you think Middleton causes him more problems than Giannis?

i think Middleton could be a better on ball defender

[WaltFrazier]

Why are people so negative? We just lost to a team that might win 70 games. The Raps have won 17 of 19. It seems like some people expect them to never lose.

This. The Bucks are on an all time great pace, they have everything - a superstar, size and shot-blocking, and athletic 3 point shooting long guards and wings. We will play them tougher with Marc and Norm, but they are hard for anyone to beat.

[Jimmmycrackcorn]

Good point.

I think the amount of games missed to injury should be a positive in May. Players less worn down.

this could be a good point, IF the raptors top players (Siakam, Lowry, and FVV) didn't all play over 35 minutes a night

[720]

Good point.

I think the amount of games missed to injury should be a positive in May. Players less worn down.

this could be a good point, IF the raptors top players (Siakam, Lowry, and FVV) didn't all play over 35 minutes a night

Also Gasol’s injury was non contact so that’s worrying. It could be something that will always hinder him. This might be his last run tbh.

[Cobra Kawhi]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

i think basically Nurse tried some things that definitely worked and then intentionally stopped doing them because he'd seen them work and didn't want to show too much. In the first half we shot tons of 3s and surely could have kept doing so, but in the second half it seemed like we were constantly trying to go inside, even though it wasn't working. why? I think Nurse wanted to see what would happen if we did so he could study the Bucks' responses and we could have tape of our guys trying stuff. winning was not the goal for him. learning was.

Nurse knows what is going to work. Bucks give up a ton of 3s and Matt Thomas is an elite 3 point shooter. I don't think Nurse cares about this win, considering Raps were in the game with basically their starting lineup playing like crap. Bucks fans seem arrogant and very high off this win, as they should, since this is the only thing they know - regular season wins. Bet you they were the same last year too when they defeated the Raps.


bud probably gave up his entire playbook to win this game. wait, he doesn't have one.

So much truth to this

[Klayforspicy]

Did the Raptors exert so much energy on defence that it affected their shooting?

They were shooting bad from the get go, and the paint was completely shut off.
It was just one of the worst offensive displays ever from a starting lineup (minus OG) and they still were up double digits at one point.

After Nurse put away the stuff that was working (bench unit), Bucks took over. Its kind of a throwaway game.

[Red_Claw]

Our chances of winning go down SIGNIFICANTLY when our bigs don't play well. Its as simple as that. I saw good things by the Raptors but just couldn't keep it up.

82 games of practice.

Hope Raps make it to the ECF to get such matchups.

Well assuming playoffs start tomorrow and we have a full healthy roster, we'll plow through BKN then we play the celtics who don't have the depth to compete with us. Tatum will need to be Kawhi-esque to get to the finals which may happen in the future but doubt it happens this year. So i see us getting to the finals and thats when Nurse starts using strategy to beat a 1-player team with our bigs crowding the lane for Giannis.

i also don't wish injuries on any player but when a teams offence runs through 1 player, then if that player gets hurt, their title shot is quickly over. Thats our advantage as our method of winning is through team play and we've proven that all season with the amount of injuries we've had.

[Cobra Kawhi]

Did the Raptors exert so much energy on defence that it affected their shooting?

They were shooting bad from the get go, and the paint was completely shut off.
It was just one of the worst offensive displays ever and they still were up double digits at one point.

After Nurse put away the stuff that was working, Bucks took over. Its kind of a throwaway game.

Ibaka and Lowry don't suddenly have downright awful games. Like that was VERY uncharacteristic of them based on recent success. Thinking it was def some type of bug that Mccaw had. Dude still hurting us and he ain't even playin

[ATLTimekeeper]

interesting, so you think Middleton causes him more problems than Giannis?

No, I mean Giannis is more useful to the Bucks defense freelancing as a help defender. Do you want Giannis resting on D near the basket, or do you want him out on the perimeter forcing Siakam into tough shots? I can live with the pull up 3s from Siakam, because he can always defer to Kyle and Fred.

[StopitLeo]

Here's what left me scratching my head.

After Matt Thomas was hot as a firecracker in the first half,
it seemed like Nurse only played him for a minute or two in the second half.

I don't have exact amount, but not much.

The starters were generally poor throughout.. why not try the hot hands a bit more.

Just weird.

i think basically Nurse tried some things that definitely worked and then intentionally stopped doing them because he'd seen them work and didn't want to show too much. In the first half we shot tons of 3s and surely could have kept doing so, but in the second half it seemed like we were constantly trying to go inside, even though it wasn't working. why? I think Nurse wanted to see what would happen if we did so he could study the Bucks' responses and we could have tape of our guys trying stuff. winning was not the goal for him. learning was.

Thomas played 4:30 in the second half, all in the fourth quarter.

I agree that Nurse was probably trying things to see how the Bucks would respond. After Matt made his first few shots the Bucks were all over him, which shows what they are willing to do to defend a 3pt threat who is constantly moving. That tells us that OG needs to move more as well. We also need to maybe use less cross screens so that defenders are pulled away from the basket.

Scoring inside is the biggest problem for everyone against the Bucks. What we learned last night is that it is very hard to get to the rim off the dribble, especially with our small guards. Pascal won't be able to back guys down in the post and spin off them with Lopez lurking on the back side. We will have to rely on more ball and player movement. When we drive and kick guys need to bury their open 3s. We will also have to find some midrange scoring since those might be the best available shot. That means Serge hitting that foul line jumper, same with Gasol when he returns. Pascal might need to work in the high post more, also shoot some more of those floaters once he gets in the paint.

Defensively, we need to watch the guy going to the dunker's spot when we collapse on Giannis. Too many times he (and even other guys) just did a little wrap around pass to a wide open player underneath. We also can't give up as many corner 3s. I know we don't defend against them as strongly as the Bucks but that might need to change if they park someone like Marvin Williams there because he's shooting something like 45% from the corners. What a fortunate buyout pickup, damn.

I think the biggest factor is going to be 3s for both teams.