Nick nurse gave some interesting insight about what the starting line up may look like and his thoughts on the starters from last season. In This video I will be breaking down statistics related to starting line-ups the Raptors used last season and discuss some options the Raptors will have for who should be starting!
@Toronto Raptors
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which player makes the most sense to move to the bench and which player would you insert into the starting line up?
Honestly I’m trading Precious and first for Poetl.
Then I’m sending Vanvleet to the bench.
My lineup is
PG Barnes
SG Trent Jr
SF OG
PF Siakiam
C Poetl
Trivia question answer is D: Dalano Banton.
keep Trent starting but put precious/birch starts vs embiid, jokic, JV, Nuric, all the traditional bigs
Great Video – Banton is going to be good this year — there will be no trades I believe
Banton
I think Gary is the most likely to be moved to the bench. I believe that the token starters will be Otto and Precious depending on situation – Otto traditionally and Precious for the bigger teams such as Minnesota and Philadelphia. Otto will give up touches, which will benefit the starting lineup by giving the lineup a dirty-work player – similar to Danny Green in 2019. Precious is obvious for the bigger lineups. I would say they are token starters because they would be quickly switched out for Gary if the offense is showing to be stagnant – very much like a Manu Ginobili role, which I think he would excel in. It allows everyone to have the touches they want in perfectly placed parts of the game, in a very Spurs-and-Popovich type of way.
Pre season revealed the good, bad and ugly about lineup options. Match-ups and game point management are crucial for a winning season. Team building and chemistry still a work in progress.
But the best results in pre-season were with the usual 5 – Fred, Scotty, Siakam, Ananouby, Trent. The longer they were used, the closer the score. When they were out the results dipped.
Nurse tried different line-ups with mixed results. Especially when used in the last 2 periods. Lessons learned: who can safely carry the ball, both defensive and offensive rebounding, physical court presence, fast breaks, dribbling, cutting to the rim to score, 3 point shooting, turnovers- both offensive and defensive, all need to get better.
So which existing and new players will step up to create defensive or offensive options. Who can help spread the court to create scoring opportunities. Injuries barred several players from key evaluation time – Flynn, Porter Jr, Champagnie. Higher expectations for Boucher & Precious. Does Delano graduate to the first team? Can Juan be the next TraceyM? Will Koloko be used at centre? More minutes for TYoung/KBirch. Who are the final picks: Jackson/Dowtin/Brown/Wilson/Harper Jr and what roles do they play?
Final team selection and future development are cruical to a playoff run. The group has more depth, experience and line options compared to last season. This should help reduce end of season burnout.
Swapping Gary for Otto doesn't help because the main problem in the starting group is defending talented big centers. Otto can't play big starting mins either. If Nurse doesn't want O.G. defending big centers then there really is only 2 other options…Khem or Precious. Nobody else can do it on this team. Koloko is a rookie and feeding him to MVP level Embiid's isn't a good idea. He could do some mins here or there but not starting duties. I wouldn't sit Gary thou because the group needs his deep shooting. I'd sit Scottie and swap Fred off and bring Scottie on I guess. The rotation isn't fully functional to be honest and Masai refuses to make a move to fix this issue so it happens everyyear.
gtj just needs more touches
OG has not impressed. Something afoot in his head. I believe he was to be moved for KD. Now he is pissed and not motivated.
I think Nick Nurse should start with Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Precious Achiewa but, he can feel free to adjust this anyway he wants
As long as 6 foot Fred is the starting PG on this team. the whole "6'9 long athletic switchable" thing will never work. they say they're committed to the plan, but refuse to get rid of our midget guards like FVV and Flynn… makes zero sense.
I would start Siakim, VanVleet, OG, GT jr and Barnes.
Achiuawa, Banton, Otto Porter Jr, Birch and Koloko off the bench. Mix Dowtin in for VanVleet with the starters. Switch up Thad Young for Birch every now and then.