I will be breaking down the Raptors recent struggles and discuss some of the roster issues I believe the Raptors have. I will be doing a breakdown of the final play that lead to the Raptors loss and some of the blame that has been going around.
đź’Ż facts – I have to agree, our scouting stuff needs to step up , but Flynn needs to be waive or traded , our 905 team is struggling. Masai needs to adjust this team
Some thoughts: – the Fred favoritism from the front office, nick nurse, and media is ridiculous. Hes not good, and Gary got benched even tho he's playing better than Fred in a contract year because of "defense" but a team like this also needs to score some damn points – roster is severely lacking in talent, the gimmick of aquiring players who are extremely raw is not working, alot of the players on this roster are just what ifs – the bench is horrible – nick nurse is stuck in his ways – the front office is stuck in their ways and needs to make changes to aquire players who actually have talent and are not just projects – Scottie needs to be better – trade fred
Yes! They are wasting these players’ development. Idk if it’s on Mesai or NN, but they need to make a decision on what they want to do with these guys who don’t play much.
16-66 in 98 was the worst season we've ever had. Part of me wishes they were tanking like that this year to go after the lottery. We have a generational player coming in next draft and that could change the landscape of the NBA for the next decade or so…
At this point it is not only the shooting but their defense is very inconsistent. If they played like they did in the fourth quarter or like the entire Cleveland game, they would be sitting on top but the effort is not there. It is not the losing but how they lose that is the most frustrating.
Imho I think it's time to either bench or trade Fred. He's nowhere near as effective as he used to be and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of improvement. GTJ and Barnes should be splitting his minutes.
Mini crisis. Persistent injuries, determining who gets to play on line 1 and line 2, lineup chemistry, planA/B/C, shooting – 3's, FT's, shot conversions, passing and distribution, playing as a team vs individuals, movement in the opposition key, line 1 relief options, under utilized players. 1 to 2 months to sort out, by then half the season is over and trades become an issue. Siakam has been good lately. Ananouby has had more good days than bad, especially working both sides of court after marking some of the opposition's best. Trent has been very good with a few poor outings. Does he start or come off the bench? Scottie has had good defensive games but is struggling with scoring. Both Scottie and Ananouby falter in long periods played as point guards. At this time, it is asking a bit too much of them. Instead let them do what they do best. Point guard and backup point guard has to be resolved. Cannot play another season with one option and under utilize others. Make hard decisions on Freddie, Flynn and Delano. Another area to address is shooting guards and small forwards. Finally what are our best option for center? As a rookie he started well but has been fouling out too easy. Also not scoring enough. We have been getting into good shooting opportunities but shot conversion is unacceptable. 3 pt shooting is way off and current options have not worked out. So where do we go from there? We need players to intelligently attack the rim. Combined with 3 pt shooting to create open lanes. At times using the clock to get the best pass/shot. We are too stagnant in the attacking 1/3. NN and Masai need to clarify what the process will be for the immediate games and near future. We need healthy bodies. Cannot expect Birch, Young to play such heavy minutes. Contributions yes but time to explore other options. Same for Delano and Koloko – gain size and time in 905, temporary injury stop gap measure. Make a decision on Hernangomez.
Really bad take mate. You start by criticizing the team then end up more or less giving a pass to Fred and Nurse because it's just roster construction. It is roster construction but Nurse and Fred are a problem.
I don't know why but this team is playing far worse than it did in the last 30 games of the regular season last year when it had one of the best records in the league.
Pascal and OG are playing fairly well but that's about it.
My calculation indicated that since mid-November Fred has been shooting 22% from 3 point range and 31% on field goals overall. That's far from good enough for a team's main shooter from distance.
Also getting tired of Fred's constant habit of bringing the ball up the floor as slowly as possible always giving opponents lots of time to set up their defence. This is especially a problem when the Raptor's half court offense has struggled the last couple of years.
This contrasts to how Scottie often rushes up the floor with the ball while keeping a head up for any Raptors in the open ready to receive a pass.
But as you say, Fred's value on the trade market likely isn't that high right now……. and of course a year ago when he was playing at an all star level his trade value was high but we wouldn't have wanted to trade him because he was the most valuable member of the team.
I don't see any easy solutions to the funk the Raptors are in.
The Raptors still have as many wins as losses despite having a horrific problem with injuries this season so maybe I'm being too hard on them.
Their offensive rebounding and (sometimes) their defence still look good.
Hopefully when Achuiwa and Porter return they will improve but other teams are still winning while having players who are injured.
Should the Raptors have traded Anunoby, Trent, a third player and picks for Durant to have a guaranteed scorer? Given how well Anunoby has played this season and Durant's age, expensive contract and injury history I'm still not sure about that.
Raptors is a January team..we seems to play better after the Christmas but of this year we still don't get it together then I strongly suggest a change…but for now I continue to be patient…also scottie really disappointing so far I really didn't have much high expectations for Freddie so his disappointment is understandable..
The NBA runs off Superstars. if you don't have one, you don't have any chance of winning. id rather package half our team for a Superstar then remain a middle of the pack team indefinitely.
This was embarrassing. Can’t protect this coaching staff any longer. The coaches have to held accountable. This is a trend so far all year… giving up big leads, poor adjustments.
1. After the second Orlando 20 point lead the coaches should have benched Scottie and Fred…. Poor shooting, horrible defence.
2. NN has shown a inept ability make in-game adjustment this year. Lack of in game coaching. Late timeouts. Scared to bench SB, FFV. The massive leads we give up has been a trend all year. Maasai has to step up and put fire under this coaching staff to fix this.
3. Our offence is pathetic. Stagnant, slow no movement of cuts. Can’t deal with a zone. This is laughable. Poor coaching.
4. SB seems lost. He is not a NBA point guard yet. He can not beat other guards off the dribble. His 3 point shooting is not good enough for late shot clock. His footwork and shooting formis subpar. We need a real shooting coach for this team. Poor shooting shows across the Team.
NN has to use his bench players. Malachi is a better shooter against the zone., he is on the bench. Delano brings a change of pace. The coaching staff has to be held accountable.
This is what the team is. We have to decide now if we want to compete this year
'I tried to defend him (fred)…poor shot selection.' hahahaha! Damn you unloaded here! Scottie's just a young kid with money and some fame on the road having a bit too much fun. He'll figure it out cause he's a hard working guy at his core. I'm starting to think that the roster is built with tall long forwards and Trevor Gleeson was brought in to implement the 'Flex' offense to get 'non-iso' plays implemented for players that can all pass, shoot and move well…but it's not happening. This is why you see better play with Thad on because he understands that system better and the other guys are not use to it and how to use it to generate advantages. They are falling back into old habits to try and win games. So the offense isn't working because the system isn't fully implemented and guys are just trying to get buckets and win. It's my current theory.
It's abundantly clear and equivalently clear Fred vanvleet does not move the needle he's not a point guard doesn't make anybody better all he wants to please hero ball he thinks he's an All-Star very slow not quick cannot break down a defense and pass that's what point guards do he is one of the biggest problems on the Raptors right now so if Nick nurse for not seeing that Fred is ruining the team
25 Comments
What are some of your biggest concerns with the Raptors? Make sure to check out the trivia question at the end of the video!
đź’Ż facts – I have to agree, our scouting stuff needs to step up , but Flynn needs to be waive or traded , our 905 team is struggling. Masai needs to adjust this team
Some thoughts:
– the Fred favoritism from the front office, nick nurse, and media is ridiculous. Hes not good, and Gary got benched even tho he's playing better than Fred in a contract year because of "defense" but a team like this also needs to score some damn points
– roster is severely lacking in talent, the gimmick of aquiring players who are extremely raw is not working, alot of the players on this roster are just what ifs
– the bench is horrible
– nick nurse is stuck in his ways
– the front office is stuck in their ways and needs to make changes to aquire players who actually have talent and are not just projects
– Scottie needs to be better
– trade fred
Yes! They are wasting these players’ development. Idk if it’s on Mesai or NN, but they need to make a decision on what they want to do with these guys who don’t play much.
16-66 in 98 was the worst season we've ever had. Part of me wishes they were tanking like that this year to go after the lottery. We have a generational player coming in next draft and that could change the landscape of the NBA for the next decade or so…
At this point it is not only the shooting but their defense is very inconsistent. If they played like they did in the fourth quarter or like the entire Cleveland game, they would be sitting on top but the effort is not there. It is not the losing but how they lose that is the most frustrating.
Fred acting like carlton banks on that last shot
Fired NN he is trash and take maybe ime udoka or even a assistant
Imho I think it's time to either bench or trade Fred. He's nowhere near as effective as he used to be and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of improvement. GTJ and Barnes should be splitting his minutes.
Mini crisis. Persistent injuries, determining who gets to play on line 1 and line 2, lineup chemistry, planA/B/C, shooting – 3's, FT's, shot conversions, passing and distribution, playing as a team vs individuals, movement in the opposition key, line 1 relief options, under utilized players. 1 to 2 months to sort out, by then half the season is over and trades become an issue.
Siakam has been good lately. Ananouby has had more good days than bad, especially working both sides of court after marking some of the opposition's best. Trent has been very good with a few poor outings. Does he start or come off the bench? Scottie has had good defensive games but is struggling with scoring. Both Scottie and Ananouby falter in long periods played as point guards. At this time, it is asking a bit too much of them. Instead let them do what they do best.
Point guard and backup point guard has to be resolved. Cannot play another season with one option and under utilize others. Make hard decisions on Freddie, Flynn and Delano. Another area to address is shooting guards and small forwards. Finally what are our best option for center? As a rookie he started well but has been fouling out too easy. Also not scoring enough.
We have been getting into good shooting opportunities but shot conversion is unacceptable. 3 pt shooting is way off and current options have not worked out. So where do we go from there? We need players to intelligently attack the rim. Combined with 3 pt shooting to create open lanes. At times using the clock to get the best pass/shot. We are too stagnant in the attacking 1/3.
NN and Masai need to clarify what the process will be for the immediate games and near future. We need healthy bodies. Cannot expect Birch, Young to play such heavy minutes. Contributions yes but time to explore other options. Same for Delano and Koloko – gain size and time in 905, temporary injury stop gap measure. Make a decision on Hernangomez.
Really bad take mate. You start by criticizing the team then end up more or less giving a pass to Fred and Nurse because it's just roster construction. It is roster construction but Nurse and Fred are a problem.
I don't know why but this team is playing far worse than it did in the last 30 games of the regular season last year when it had one of the best records in the league.
Pascal and OG are playing fairly well but that's about it.
My calculation indicated that since mid-November Fred has been shooting 22% from 3 point range and 31% on field goals overall.
That's far from good enough for a team's main shooter from distance.
Also getting tired of Fred's constant habit of bringing the ball up the floor as slowly as possible always giving opponents lots of time to set up their defence.
This is especially a problem when the Raptor's half court offense has struggled the last couple of years.
This contrasts to how Scottie often rushes up the floor with the ball while keeping a head up for any Raptors in the open ready to receive a pass.
But as you say, Fred's value on the trade market likely isn't that high right now……. and of course a year ago when he was playing at an all star level his trade value was high but we wouldn't have wanted to trade him because he was the most valuable member of the team.
I don't see any easy solutions to the funk the Raptors are in.
The Raptors still have as many wins as losses despite having a horrific problem with injuries this season so maybe I'm being too hard on them.
Their offensive rebounding and (sometimes) their defence still look good.
Hopefully when Achuiwa and Porter return they will improve but other teams are still winning while having players who are injured.
Should the Raptors have traded Anunoby, Trent, a third player and picks for Durant to have a guaranteed scorer?
Given how well Anunoby has played this season and Durant's age, expensive contract and injury history I'm still not sure about that.
Why are you using Pensare Basketball’s clips and not even mentioning him or giving credit for the editing he did?
Raptors is a January team..we seems to play better after the Christmas but of this year we still don't get it together then I strongly suggest a change…but for now I continue to be patient…also scottie really disappointing so far I really didn't have much high expectations for Freddie so his disappointment is understandable..
The NBA runs off Superstars. if you don't have one, you don't have any chance of winning. id rather package half our team for a Superstar then remain a middle of the pack team indefinitely.
This was embarrassing. Can’t protect this coaching staff any longer. The coaches have to held accountable. This is a trend so far all year… giving up big leads, poor adjustments.
1. After the second Orlando 20 point lead the coaches should have benched Scottie and Fred…. Poor shooting, horrible defence.
2. NN has shown a inept ability make in-game adjustment this year. Lack of in game coaching. Late timeouts. Scared to bench SB, FFV. The massive leads we give up has been a trend all year. Maasai has to step up and put fire under this coaching staff to fix this.
3. Our offence is pathetic. Stagnant, slow no movement of cuts. Can’t deal with a zone. This is laughable. Poor coaching.
4. SB seems lost. He is not a NBA point guard yet. He can not beat other guards off the dribble. His 3 point shooting is not good enough for late shot clock. His footwork and shooting formis subpar. We need a real shooting coach for this team. Poor shooting shows across the Team.
NN has to use his bench players. Malachi is a better shooter against the zone., he is on the bench. Delano brings a change of pace. The coaching staff has to be held accountable.
This is what the team is. We have to decide now if we want to compete this year
Could replace nick with Adrian worst come to worst
Scottie looks more up beat when he takes over point when FVV goes to the bench
'I tried to defend him (fred)…poor shot selection.' hahahaha! Damn you unloaded here! Scottie's just a young kid with money and some fame on the road having a bit too much fun. He'll figure it out cause he's a hard working guy at his core. I'm starting to think that the roster is built with tall long forwards and Trevor Gleeson was brought in to implement the 'Flex' offense to get 'non-iso' plays implemented for players that can all pass, shoot and move well…but it's not happening. This is why you see better play with Thad on because he understands that system better and the other guys are not use to it and how to use it to generate advantages. They are falling back into old habits to try and win games. So the offense isn't working because the system isn't fully implemented and guys are just trying to get buckets and win. It's my current theory.
Fred needs to go. He's not the leader we need.
Let's give Jeff Dowtin a lonmger look. This guy is a true PG.
It's abundantly clear and equivalently clear Fred vanvleet does not move the needle he's not a point guard doesn't make anybody better all he wants to please hero ball he thinks he's an All-Star very slow not quick cannot break down a defense and pass that's what point guards do he is one of the biggest problems on the Raptors right now so if Nick nurse for not seeing that Fred is ruining the team
Earl Watson is who you should bring in
Trade Fred for a Cole Anthony Package or Jalen Suggs Package
Potential raptor trade targets: Immanuel Quickly, Tyrese Maxey, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Malcom Brogdon, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jakob Poetl