Quote:
Originally Posted by St. Pats
They made the decision this year to move back to being a top 10 defensive team. They brought in a guy like BB who is hopeless on offense but a defensive stalwart and good rebounder. Joseph too is a good defensive player.
So if Ross and Patterson aren't hitting which they aren't so far they have no scoring off the bench.
I can see them needing to pick up some O at the deadline.
But they got nowhere being better offensively and being creampuffs. They are tougher now and way better defensively. Their offense will improve and they can add a one dimensional player later on in the season.
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Yeah, and I think their playbook is still pretty limited compared to where it could go. After a year of playing largely iso, they're getting a bit more movement but it's a slow process. You could see it against Miami, they were rarely thinking about second or third options.
I have a theory that 3-point shooting heavy offenses are not good playoff offenses unless you have absolutely elite shooters (like GSW); because while it produces great results over an entire season, it's a lot swingier over smaller sample sizes, like a playoff series. And with a lot of the league seeming eager to get on the GSW smallball bandwagon, I think it may pay off for the Raptors to zag while much of the league zigs.
But even with a more paint-oriented team like the Raptors are becoming, they need guys to step up and hit open 3s. I place a lot of blame so far on Patterson and Ross, both of whom are getting a load of open 3pt attempts and missing most. The Raptors bench is among the bottom of the league in almost every offensive category (defensive numbers are okay). And you naturally expect Biyombo to be awful offensively, but that makes it all the more important that other guys don't go into prolonged slumps.