blueprint to beat the Raps (shocking spoiler: it’s Casey’s fault)

For most of the game, James Johnson was the difference maker. He was terrific defending Harden, but then Harden drew some fouls in the 3rd quarter that made Johnson looks stupid. (That’s harden’s superpower)

Casey should have brought Johnson back in the game. Ross and DeRozan were destroyed by Harden.

Scola had some good offensive moments, but his defense is beyond terrible. Sometimes you don’t even realize it until you rewind the play and identify where things went wrong. often you’ll see that Scola was supposed to show on a screen, or when he switched onto the player he quickly bit on a fake and was left in the players dust.

Valanciunas still hasn’t learned how to position himself. He either jumps out at the driving player (which leads to an easy pass + dunk for the big man) or he stays at home on the big man.

In this particular game Corey Brewer went bonkers and hit a ton of shots.. including a banked three. It was a lucky game for him.

Casey is awful. One of the worst coaches in the league. (Similar to Scott Brooks, one of the worst coaches, but hidden behind a very talented team)

DeRozan and Scola are both weak links on defence, and JV is mediocre. You can’t expect the defence to be good enough with those players on the court together.

For most of the game, James Johnson was the difference maker. He was terrific defending Harden, but then Harden drew some fouls in the 3rd quarter that made Johnson looks stupid. (That’s harden’s superpower)

Casey should have brought Johnson back in the game. Ross and DeRozan were destroyed by Harden.

Scola had some good offensive moments, but his defense is beyond terrible. Sometimes you don’t even realize it until you rewind the play and identify where things went wrong. often you’ll see that Scola was supposed to show on a screen, or when he switched onto the player he quickly bit on a fake and was left in the players dust.

Valanciunas still hasn’t learned how to position himself. He either jumps out at the driving player (which leads to an easy pass + dunk for the big man) or he stays at home on the big man.

In this particular game Corey Brewer went bonkers and hit a ton of shots.. including a banked three. It was a lucky game for him.

Casey is awful. One of the worst coaches in the league. (Similar to Scott Brooks, one of the worst coaches, but hidden behind a very talented team)

DeRozan and Scola are both weak links on defence, and JV is mediocre. You can’t expect the defence to be good enough with those players on the court together.

 Ross and Derozan actually played good defense on Harden its just that Johnson got him uncomfortable early then Harden got a few Harden calls… Harden was draining contested shots all night he’s one of the greatest scorers ever and he is one of the most hated athletes but the guys a legend in my books. The Raptors team defense was atrocious Brewer and Ariza must have hit 10 3’s alone, bad coaching and a very savvy and experienced Rockets team in the Playoff hunt will take you down everytime you ease up. You could sort of feel it when the Rockets got that killer instinct.

 Ross and Johnson aren’t new bodies that dont know the offense they would have been fine at PF. I’ve been very supportive of Casey in the past but this year is make or break for him. He’s done an amazing up to this point to get the Raptors to be yearly Division Champs but if he can’t get us past that he’s gotta go.

 Ross and Derozan actually played good defense on Harden its just that Johnson got him uncomfortable early then Harden got a few Harden calls… Harden was draining contested shots all night he’s one of the greatest scorers ever and he is one of the most hated athletes but the guys a legend in my books. The Raptors team defense was atrocious Brewer and Ariza must have hit 10 3’s alone, bad coaching and a very savvy and experienced Rockets team in the Playoff hunt will take you down everytime you ease up. You could sort of feel it when the Rockets got that killer instinct.

 Ross and Johnson aren’t new bodies that dont know the offense they would have been fine at PF. I’ve been very supportive of Casey in the past but this year is make or break for him. He’s done an amazing up to this point to get the Raptors to be yearly Division Champs but if he can’t get us past that he’s gotta go.

 Thought he was a good hire when they first got as he was a proposed defensive coach, but I haven’t liked his coaching style since the beginning. My main beef with him is that he doesn’t adapt, he just sticks to his game plan win or lose. If things work in the first half, he rarely does them in the second and the Raptors blow leads. They go from running plays and passing to ISO plays in the 4th quarter. He rests Jonas, puts him in, and then gives him no touches. He doesn’t notice that Johnson is his best wing defender and makes him ride the bench for most of the game. A quality coach would have Toronto 1st in the east.

 Thought he was a good hire when they first got as he was a proposed defensive coach, but I haven’t liked his coaching style since the beginning. My main beef with him is that he doesn’t adapt, he just sticks to his game plan win or lose. If things work in the first half, he rarely does them in the second and the Raptors blow leads. They go from running plays and passing to ISO plays in the 4th quarter. He rests Jonas, puts him in, and then gives him no touches. He doesn’t notice that Johnson is his best wing defender and makes him ride the bench for most of the game. A quality coach would have Toronto 1st in the east.

The thing with Casey is he doesnt have the trust in certain players on the team such as Johnson. Harden was killing the raps in the iso game but give cerdit to Houston they utilized Ariza very well and made him spread the court for Harden to get those calls. Bad loss for sure but Houston just wanted it more and you can tell by how they played down the stretch especially beverley, with a key steal from Derozan off the offensive rebound. Honestly as bad of second half the Raptors had, this is a good lesson they can learn from. You cant give up possession to teams when you have leads like that. Lillards play kinda of exposed some of the holes the raptors have, they play terrible pick and roll defense thats definetly a weakness. I would take this game with a grain of salt. A loss like this could help the Raptors figure out some of these issues they have on defense before the playoffs come around, but they definetly need Carrol back to play small ball effectively with other teams like Boston, Cavs, Pacers, etc.  Props to Harden though boy came to play when Houston needed him the most.

The thing with Casey is he doesnt have the trust in certain players on the team such as Johnson. Harden was killing the raps in the iso game but give cerdit to Houston they utilized Ariza very well and made him spread the court for Harden to get those calls. Bad loss for sure but Houston just wanted it more and you can tell by how they played down the stretch especially beverley, with a key steal from Derozan off the offensive rebound. Honestly as bad of second half the Raptors had, this is a good lesson they can learn from. You cant give up possession to teams when you have leads like that. Lillards play kinda of exposed some of the holes the raptors have, they play terrible pick and roll defense thats definetly a weakness. I would take this game with a grain of salt. A loss like this could help the Raptors figure out some of these issues they have on defense before the playoffs come around, but they definetly need Carrol back to play small ball effectively with other teams like Boston, Cavs, Pacers, etc.  Props to Harden though boy came to play when Houston needed him the most.

The Raptors fanbase is one of the smartest NBA. That said, the criticism this year has become a bit erratic. People complain that JV doesn’t get enough minutes. Then it’s James Johnson doesn’t get enough minutes. Then it’s why doesn’t Luis Scola start, it should be Patrick Patterson. 

The problem with all of these compliants is that they ignore that all of Toronto bigs have glaring weaknesses that prevent them from being on the floor for extended play. I love what James Johnson can do, especially on defense, and agree that he should play more. But you can’t expect him to be effective with Dwight Howard, or Capela that matter, on the court. His defensive ability on Dwight is just not enough to discount for his lack of offensive skills. Johnson has defensive versatility, but does he have the jump shot and playing making skills to punish the Rockets’ bigs? People want their teams to recreate the Warriors without realizing that Draymond Green is a one of a kind player. 

I’m not saying the OP is wrong. There are indeed times to play JV and times to go with Johnson. Where I disagree is that these choices are obvious, especially when the other team has a talented center. 

Also, Raptor fans need to admit that Terrance Ross is not the player we thought he was. Once the Ross thing is embraced, fans will realize that Casey ain’t that bad. 

The Raptors fanbase is one of the smartest NBA. That said, the criticism this year has become a bit erratic. People complain that JV doesn’t get enough minutes. Then it’s James Johnson doesn’t get enough minutes. Then it’s why doesn’t Luis Scola start, it should be Patrick Patterson. 

The problem with all of these compliants is that they ignore that all of Toronto bigs have glaring weaknesses that prevent them from being on the floor for extended play. I love what James Johnson can do, especially on defense, and agree that he should play more. But you can’t expect him to be effective with Dwight Howard, or Capela that matter, on the court. His defensive ability on Dwight is just not enough to discount for his lack of offensive skills. Johnson has defensive versatility, but does he have the jump shot and playing making skills to punish the Rockets’ bigs? People want their teams to recreate the Warriors without realizing that Draymond Green is a one of a kind player. 

I’m not saying the OP is wrong. There are indeed times to play JV and times to go with Johnson. Where I disagree is that these choices are obvious, especially when the other team has a talented center. 

Also, Raptor fans need to admit that Terrance Ross is not the player we thought he was. Once the Ross thing is embraced, fans will realize that Casey ain’t that bad. 

 Casey is done in late april, can you feel it raps nation ?

 Casey is done in late april, can you feel it raps nation ?