Game 42 : Toronto Raptors (17-24) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (15-26) - 7:00 PM

[ducler]

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[Stillwater]

I might flip in on occasionally but my eyes will be glued to the big Dance esp with Oral Roberts v Florida & Houston v Rutgers on at the same time. The game of the day probably has to be the last one with Cade taking on one of the biggest sleepers in the tourney in Oregon State

[jbk1234]

All Raptors players do is argue about calls, even when it's not particularly close.

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[jbk1234]

Crazy thing happens when our guards shoot from three, I believe it's called winning.

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[JonFromVA]

Crazy thing happens when our guards shoot from three, I believe it's called winning.

Especially when they make the shots... it was an interesting win considering the current Raptors mirror us in ways, especially their short (but stout) backcourt. Our shorter/younger/thinner backcourt getting the better of them was a nice milestone.

The wins are important in that respect, it lets us see the team make progress against different challenges, and also allows players some moments to step-up and shine, and all the good little moments from various players in the game shine so much brighter in a win.

And I've got to add that while Isaac doesn't fill up the box score, he does still enjoy a number of moments of his own. While it didn't last past the first quarter, we even got a glimpse that one day we might run offense through him.

And maybe I'm just forgetting what Kevin Love is capable of, but what Dean Wade is doing on both ends of the floor providing spacing, scoring a little inside, moving well, and playing D is seeming pretty darn good. His shooting really got things going in the first half.

[jbk1234]

Crazy thing happens when our guards shoot from three, I believe it's called winning.

Especially when they make the shots... it was an interesting win considering the current Raptors mirror us in ways, especially their short (but stout) backcourt. Our shorter/younger/thinner backcourt getting the better of them was a nice milestone.

The wins are important in that respect, it lets us see the team make progress against different challenges, and also allows players some moments to step-up and shine, and all the good little moments from various players in the game shine so much brighter in a win.

And I've got to add that while Isaac doesn't fill up the box score, he does still enjoy a number of moments of his own. While it didn't last past the first quarter, we even got a glimpse that one day we might run offense through him.

And maybe I'm just forgetting what Kevin Love is capable of, but what Dean Wade is doing on both ends of the floor providing spacing, scoring a little inside, moving well, and playing D is seeming pretty darn good. His shooting really got things going in the first half.

If they take enough to be consistent threat from out there, they'll go down, and that will change how we're defended. If they pass up open looks from 3, it's going to be zone defense and crowded paints every night.

[JonFromVA]

Crazy thing happens when our guards shoot from three, I believe it's called winning.

Especially when they make the shots... it was an interesting win considering the current Raptors mirror us in ways, especially their short (but stout) backcourt. Our shorter/younger/thinner backcourt getting the better of them was a nice milestone.

The wins are important in that respect, it lets us see the team make progress against different challenges, and also allows players some moments to step-up and shine, and all the good little moments from various players in the game shine so much brighter in a win.

And I've got to add that while Isaac doesn't fill up the box score, he does still enjoy a number of moments of his own. While it didn't last past the first quarter, we even got a glimpse that one day we might run offense through him.

And maybe I'm just forgetting what Kevin Love is capable of, but what Dean Wade is doing on both ends of the floor providing spacing, scoring a little inside, moving well, and playing D is seeming pretty darn good. His shooting really got things going in the first half.

If they take enough to be consistent threat from out there, they'll go down, and that will change how we're defended. If they pass up open looks from 3, it's going to be zone defense and crowded paints every night.

Chicken & the egg ... if team's are playing zone and conceding open 3's or just hanging back on screens they should certainly take them; but our shooters aren't good enough/consistent enough to be taking a lot of contested or difficult 3's just to meet some quota.

One of the reasons we beat the Celtics and the Raptors is because both of those teams had a player who kept firing up 3's even though they weren't hitting many of them. We ended up with about the same number of made 3's but on far fewer shots. 3 is only greater than 2 when you're making ~ 35% of them.

There are 23 teams in the league averaging 35% or better from 3pt, but alas we're not one of them. The key to getting there is to find ways to create wide open looks for your best shooters and that's all about floor spacing and shot creation either by running an offense or having a player who demands double teams and understands how to pass out of it.

Speaking of the later, there's only two obstacles in Collin's way of taking a huge step in his evolution ... better floor spacing, and him continuing to improve at reading defenses, knowing where his teammates, are and finding them.

[jbk1234]

Especially when they make the shots... it was an interesting win considering the current Raptors mirror us in ways, especially their short (but stout) backcourt. Our shorter/younger/thinner backcourt getting the better of them was a nice milestone.

The wins are important in that respect, it lets us see the team make progress against different challenges, and also allows players some moments to step-up and shine, and all the good little moments from various players in the game shine so much brighter in a win.

And I've got to add that while Isaac doesn't fill up the box score, he does still enjoy a number of moments of his own. While it didn't last past the first quarter, we even got a glimpse that one day we might run offense through him.

And maybe I'm just forgetting what Kevin Love is capable of, but what Dean Wade is doing on both ends of the floor providing spacing, scoring a little inside, moving well, and playing D is seeming pretty darn good. His shooting really got things going in the first half.

If they take enough to be consistent threat from out there, they'll go down, and that will change how we're defended. If they pass up open looks from 3, it's going to be zone defense and crowded paints every night.

Chicken & the egg ... if team's are playing zone and conceding open 3's or just hanging back on screens they should certainly take them; but our shooters aren't good enough/consistent enough to be taking a lot of contested or difficult 3's just to meet some quota.

One of the reasons we beat the Celtics and the Raptors is because both of those teams had a player who kept firing up 3's even though they weren't hitting many of them. We ended up with about the same number of made 3's but on far fewer shots. 3 is only greater than 2 when you're making ~ 35% of them.

There are 23 teams in the league averaging 35% or better from 3pt, but alas we're not one of them. The key to getting there is to find ways to create wide open looks for your best shooters and that's all about floor spacing and shot creation either by running an offense or having a player who demands double teams and understands how to pass out of it.

Speaking of the later, there's only two obstacles in Collin's way of taking a huge step in his evolution ... better floor spacing, and him continuing to improve at reading defenses, knowing where his teammates, are and finding them.

Watch how the Lakers defended us in the first versus second half last night. Teams defend the three point line because other teams can shoot from 3, but when they do it against the Cavs, they get beat. Conversely, when teams figure out that the Cavs are a reluctant, or just a bad 3 point shooting team, and you really don't have to defend our guys out there, they pack the paint and our offense grinds to halt.

[JonFromVA]

If they take enough to be consistent threat from out there, they'll go down, and that will change how we're defended. If they pass up open looks from 3, it's going to be zone defense and crowded paints every night.

Chicken & the egg ... if team's are playing zone and conceding open 3's or just hanging back on screens they should certainly take them; but our shooters aren't good enough/consistent enough to be taking a lot of contested or difficult 3's just to meet some quota.

One of the reasons we beat the Celtics and the Raptors is because both of those teams had a player who kept firing up 3's even though they weren't hitting many of them. We ended up with about the same number of made 3's but on far fewer shots. 3 is only greater than 2 when you're making ~ 35% of them.

There are 23 teams in the league averaging 35% or better from 3pt, but alas we're not one of them. The key to getting there is to find ways to create wide open looks for your best shooters and that's all about floor spacing and shot creation either by running an offense or having a player who demands double teams and understands how to pass out of it.

Speaking of the later, there's only two obstacles in Collin's way of taking a huge step in his evolution ... better floor spacing, and him continuing to improve at reading defenses, knowing where his teammates, are and finding them.

Watch how the Lakers defended us in the first versus second half last night. Teams defend the three point line because other teams can shoot from 3, but when they do it against the Cavs, they get beat. Conversely, when teams figure out that the Cavs are a reluctant, or just a bad 3 point shooting team, and you really don't have to defend our guys out there, they pack the paint and our offense grinds to halt.

Look at the lineup they're playing, look at the G-leaguers they're bringing off the bench, look at how Cedi and Dylan have been shooting the ball lately.

We've been getting a boost from Lamar Stevens lately because at least he sinks 2's.

I mean, at least Isaac is doing the right thing not consuming a lot of offense. He actually has a higher TS% than Osman, Drummond, Prince, Cook, Dotson, Thomas, Ferrell, etc. The problem is that TS% is 50.2.

Windler unfortunately looks like he's lost confidence. If the Gleague was still playing, I'd send him down to Canton for a couple of weeks and see if he can find it.

When Allen and Hartenstein are good to go, we should at least have some more options with Wade, but JBB doesn't have a lot to work with.