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octothorp · 05-04-2014, 05:45 PM

Thoughts on the playoff performances:

Lowry: Sucks that he couldn't manufacture that last bucket (although I think that was more on coaching than Lowry), but he looked like a seasoned veteran all series long. I'd be happy with a 4-year contract for him in the offseason for $12 million or less.

DeRozan: Proved me wrong in that I thought his offence wouldn't translate to the playoffs, but whenever he was aggressive, he got what he wanted. Defence needs work though. And he seriously needs to figure out his blind-spot regarding JV. He can somehow make decent passes to every other big, but never tries the pass to JV. The biggest improvement I can imagine the offense having is DeRozan finding JV after the high screen and double-team.

Amir: really up-and-down series from him. Honestly I'm a bit disappointed, they need consistency from him and he hasn't provided that. Of course, he's playing through ankle injury, but it seems like he's spent most of the last couple seasons playing through ankle injuries. I could see him losing the starter position to Patterson next season.

Ross: Obviously had a bad series, although showed some flashes on defence at times, and you can't ask for better experience than defending on Pierce in the last seconds of game 7. I thought game 7 was actually his best of the series, and I don't think you could say that about any other Raptor.

JV: Had a few great games, but also struggled at times to hang onto the ball. Really weak rebounding performance in game 7, constantly being outworked by Blatche.

Patterson: Really impressive playoffs. His ability to hit a pull-up jumper or floater is very good for a PF. I'd love to see the Raptors retain him.

Vasquez: Had a big impact at times and was invisible at others. But actually, he showed more defence in this series than he did during a lot of the regular season. He was one of the guys that the Raptors needed a lot more from in game 7. Still, I'd welcome him back as backup PG.

Hayes: Some veteran leadership and useful minutes, but still, the fact that he got so many minutes says a lot about the team.

Salmons: Like most Raptors fans, I'm just at a loss to see what Casey sees in him.

Casey: Seriously disappointed in him. I thought he got outcoached, and given his experience vs. Kidd's, that's inexcusable. He needed to win the coaching matchup. Not knowing where the ball's being in-bounded on the biggest play of the season? That alone is a monumental error. But bigger problems were an inability to find any answers for Brooklyn's relatively predictable offence, and an inability to exploit the offensive advantages that his team had. Patterson, JV, and Amir had exceptional shooting averages for the whole series (except for JV's 1-5 today), and yet they were getting only about 20-24 shot attempts per game.

If they retain most of the team, a serviceable SF stopper and a backup C are the two big needs... and, IMO, a new head coach.

05-04-2014, 05:45 PM	#707
octothorp Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: not lurking Exp:	Thoughts on the playoff performances: Lowry: Sucks that he couldn't manufacture that last bucket (although I think that was more on coaching than Lowry), but he looked like a seasoned veteran all series long. I'd be happy with a 4-year contract for him in the offseason for $12 million or less. DeRozan: Proved me wrong in that I thought his offence wouldn't translate to the playoffs, but whenever he was aggressive, he got what he wanted. Defence needs work though. And he seriously needs to figure out his blind-spot regarding JV. He can somehow make decent passes to every other big, but never tries the pass to JV. The biggest improvement I can imagine the offense having is DeRozan finding JV after the high screen and double-team. Amir: really up-and-down series from him. Honestly I'm a bit disappointed, they need consistency from him and he hasn't provided that. Of course, he's playing through ankle injury, but it seems like he's spent most of the last couple seasons playing through ankle injuries. I could see him losing the starter position to Patterson next season. Ross: Obviously had a bad series, although showed some flashes on defence at times, and you can't ask for better experience than defending on Pierce in the last seconds of game 7. I thought game 7 was actually his best of the series, and I don't think you could say that about any other Raptor. JV: Had a few great games, but also struggled at times to hang onto the ball. Really weak rebounding performance in game 7, constantly being outworked by Blatche. Patterson: Really impressive playoffs. His ability to hit a pull-up jumper or floater is very good for a PF. I'd love to see the Raptors retain him. Vasquez: Had a big impact at times and was invisible at others. But actually, he showed more defence in this series than he did during a lot of the regular season. He was one of the guys that the Raptors needed a lot more from in game 7. Still, I'd welcome him back as backup PG. Hayes: Some veteran leadership and useful minutes, but still, the fact that he got so many minutes says a lot about the team. Salmons: Like most Raptors fans, I'm just at a loss to see what Casey sees in him. Casey: Seriously disappointed in him. I thought he got outcoached, and given his experience vs. Kidd's, that's inexcusable. He needed to win the coaching matchup. Not knowing where the ball's being in-bounded on the biggest play of the season? That alone is a monumental error. But bigger problems were an inability to find any answers for Brooklyn's relatively predictable offence, and an inability to exploit the offensive advantages that his team had. Patterson, JV, and Amir had exceptional shooting averages for the whole series (except for JV's 1-5 today), and yet they were getting only about 20-24 shot attempts per game. If they retain most of the team, a serviceable SF stopper and a backup C are the two big needs... and, IMO, a new head coach.