The Toronto Raptors faced the Chicago Bulls and lost 111-97 in a game that was over in the third quarter. Fred VanVleet’s big night and DeMar DeRozan’s 9 point night couldn’t offset Scotte Barnes’ lowest scoring output and a 30-point offensive explosion from Zach Lavine in 32 minutes.
CHAPTERS
0:00 – INTRO
0:55- STATS are Misleading
1:55- 3 KEY Moments of the Night
4:54 – 3 KEY Takeaways
8:15- A long rant on hero ball
#raptors #torontoraptors #scottiebarnes
25 Comments
Great elephant in the room comments. I've thought and said the same, but you've expressed it better. Only thing i disagree with is hero ball is worth then flopping. No way!
Our pace is slower, fg% lower, shot attempts lower, assist lower and rebounds lower. Everyone back to jacking up shots when they get a chance because Fred is not feeding people consistently. I know Fred is at home so he wants to impress but this was the type of ball we didn't see when he was out. People will say Fred had a good game but if you watch it you can feel teammates are more disengaged. They're not cutting as much because they probably feel they won't get the ball. OG plays 40 mins and only gets 12 shots. If Pascal is out OG should be shooting much more. You're the only one i've seen willing to call Fred out for his shortcomings as a PG. Scoring doesn't make you a pg. It's the style of play they generate. People comparing Fred to Lowry is ridiculous. Lowry ALWAYS got the team involved whether it was running pick and rolls (and actually effectively making the pass) or just deferring to scorers in general. Fred can never make the pick and roll passes that's why he never does it. That's where so many teams get mismatches and yet we never get them. That's why so many teams get corner 3s and why we rarely get them.
Great stuff as usual, love your honesty. NURSE does not seem to care too much about the offense. His focus is defense, he seems to give his players cart blanche on offense. Do what you like, just make sure you get back o defense. Their halfcour offense continues to be abysmal. As far as vanfleet he got away with the iso ball in game 1 but not game 2. Everytime he drives the lane i close my eyes. Scottie clearly not healthy people mentioning poor play but not that his ankle is clearly bothering him.
I know Fred has a 6'9" heart but he has to understand that he is NOT 6'9" tall. It is so very inefficient to be a short guard driving into the trees trying to force a shot…trying to will it in the basket. That is a selfish play… very low iq play. When I watch Shai finesse his way to the basket and score almost every time…I dream of a Fred and Gary trade… oh well I guess I'll just keep on dreaming. Great breakdown Rob as per usual. I too would like to see Scottie shut down for a week to heal his ankle. You're right, no champioships are won in November give Scottie a rest.
The team identity crisis became evident in the playoffs last year, ie FVV vs the rest of the team.
He shoots lights out 3, he disrupts on the defence and has fast strong hands, he has a burning will to win. Why can't this be enough? He will get his 30million if he stays in his lane. Why does he insist on carrying the ball & generating the offence?
just a loss. and let scottie play free and as for the mistakes? who cares. he is a beast and loves the game. anyone who expected a win… come on. the team is out of gas after starting the season vs good teams and playoff atmosphere.
What we lack the most is at the PG position
If they can't give Scottie 2-3 weeks off, at least give him 2 to 3 games. Ankle injuries can become a big problem if you keep getting sprains, tweaks, and retweaks.
I wonder if Fred felt the need to "show out" in front of an Illinois crowd.
Fred did not read the room. Did not share the ball at all. He has played off the ball multiple times and so should stick in that role. He is not able to consistently initiate the offence for multiple reasons. That includes his physical limitations, his desire to share the ball with teammates, and other decisions. It was a bad game by him. Siakam shared the ball .. yes he could have potentially shared the ball more but he DID share the ball and was not taking shots with 20 seconds on the damn clock. Nurse mentioned this apparently in his post game as well.
GTJ as well cannot initiate the offense. Just absolutely isn't something that will lead to winning. The ball movement slowed the _ down last game and no matter what Barnes SHOULD be the point guard that is it.
🙏 on the FVV is not a PG and the Hero ball. It’s killing me when he, Siakam and GTJ kill the offence. No fkn flow, no 1/2 court and poor shot selection.
raptors offense = dribble hand off… dribble hand off… iso ball
I think at this point it’s if Bobby and Masai to simply be more effective teambuilders, backing away from their emotional attachment to certain players. Siakam is not Paul Pierce and Vanvleet is not Rondo, we can find better fits. Out of the two, Siakam is the one that fits the least imo. But the bigger point of attention is Scottie’s health. Are we going to wait for his injuries to turn into full on imbalances in his physical comp?
We've seen flashes of great ball movement, advantage creation, cutting etc and just aesthetically it looks like much better basketball. I agree with you the ball is way too sticky as the norm of this offense. Too many people get the burden of decision making and part of that is developing players ie. Precious who either shoot or pump fake and drive…right now there is no next action. Fred wasn't great at creating advantage off his paint touches tonight but I like the acknowledgement that we really needed to get some early paint touches. it's tough because I believe all our players are willing to be unselfish, rather the issue is coaching clarifying expectations and finding the balance of allowing a player to freely explore and try things compared to learning a role in a greater flowing offense. Maybe, to some extent, the idea is that players have to develop their individual skills in order to be a threat to open up that greater flowing offense?
I really don't judge any team harshly on a back to back. Also we don't have a scheduled practice before the next game coz we seriously need rest.
NN is a jerk. He is going to ruin Scottie. FVV unlike Derozan played hero ball all night. Did not play team basketball. So many times he drove into a crowd and lost the ball, made no attempt to pass. Raptors offense is lacking creativity. Players just stood around. Fire NN.
Flynn playing the right way is a bad take 😂
Looks like the emphasis on transition can be a double-edged sword, offensive teamwork (decisions, timing, repositioning) harder when heartrate is up. Even more taxing if sprinting after recovering on defensive rotations.
Dallas looked ready with timely spacing and motions, often without rushing. Cooked us with passes as we sent doubles at Luka. Role players had lots of room to work and gain advantage. Raptors may need to find a similar balance, especially when tired and need momentum. Fatigue / injury is concerning given playstyle.
These reaction vids are more thought provoking than the label suggests. Well done highlighting the areas where Raptors need work.
Most insight on the Raptors I've heard in a while ✌
Fred is elite, he's carried us against the bulls just as he did last season when P was out. I agree we should absolutely be scheming better ball movement and off ball movement. Too much iso is just getting silly at this point but your take on Fred seems wack to me
No identity crisis Scotties just not ready to take that next step, fortunately VanVleets there to carry the load but we got a get him some help until the young guys develop some more.
Andre Drummond wasn't playing either. That guy is a beast
I am a Nurse fan; the Raptors are lucky to have him.. but I want to see more ideas on offence. This might not be the best bench in the NBA, but it’s not that bad.. and unless the Raptors really do think Scottie and the defense are going to bring back the ShowTime lakers and run and gun teams into the ground .. half court offence needs to show some sparks also
Easy Peasy, they are not consistent, no matter whom is in or out of the line up, and anyone with Grandeur in their eyes thinking this is an Eastern Conference Championship level team is deluding themselves. They are like the Jays, "Not Ready For Prime Time", yet. Moves need to come, anyone sane knows that too, IF you do not want to go through the "inconsistent learning curves", that is the only option. Or let them build internally and accept the inconsistencies of dynamite one game, lost the next.
the shotclock violation by demar was gangster – dalano was clown there – lance stephenson
Raptors are just terrible at finishing around the basket. I love Scottie but he doesn’t have that soft touch and I think it’s something you have or you don’t. I had high expectations for him this season but have been disappointed. While he’s become a better play maker is pretty clear he’s not going to be a 25 points a game guy. Precious is another guy that has no finesse with the ball. He plays hard but just can’t put the ball in the basket. Some of these guys need to spend at lot of time practicing there finishes in the paint.