Siakam did tonight what Capela failed to do - take advantage of his size and score repeatedly over Draymond. Siakam was the difference maker.
i actually love our system even our ISO ball. i honestly believe morey ball type of basketball can win a championship. it just that we cant seem to find the perfect fit for this kind of system. its either they are already TOO OLD like MELO and now maybe CP3. too small like tucker and gordon though they are more like playing out of position because we cant seem to find a power forward to fill that missing gap. ARIZA was also old. but atleast we were balanced then. all positions are filled out. and all are capable defensively.
Youth, Atleticism, Length, Height, Lateral defense, Wingspan of the Raptors is something the Rockets don't have. Even if the Rockets go to the Finals, the Raptors have a stronger bench PG Kyle Lowry SG Danny Green SF Kawhi Leonard PF Serge Ibaka C Marc Gasol PF Paskal Siakam PG Fred VanVleet
I dun think it is a great concept to be honest with you. It is decent and can get close to winning a ship but it is going to take a lot, the perfect players....... GSW is the closest to being perfect and they are vulnerable at times. They are not doing ISO mostly. Nope, Harden is the perfect ISO player but this was not the perfect ISO team, that I can agree with.
Wish Harden had a supporting cast like kawhi. Centres and PFs with length and shooting. So sad our only player over 6’6 has a unique ability to catch a lob. And that’s where his skills end :/
That, but also raptors trusted their players. They allowed Kawhi to get double teamed and were better off from it. Our guys for some reason get the rock stunned as to why they got it
That's part of why our team was so great last year. Ariza/Luc both had length, 3D ability, and a little playmaking. If everyone was healthy, no doubt in my mind we would've won last year. We weren't able to find suitable replacement for them this year and we ended up with guys out of position. It was mostly Capela as the roll man making some terrible terrible decisions.... I don't get it, he should be better, it's the plays we run over and over again the last few years with him and Harden, he's had plenty of practice. Draymond was filling that role perfectly for Steph.
Siakam is light years better than Capella. They are the same size yet Siakam can shoot, rebound, dribble, pass and has heart...something we all found out Clint does NOT have. In fact I think Draymond still has it and has yet to give it back.
We collect too many midgets... I wonder if Morey has a formula that midgets could rule basketball world...??!
Raptors showing Harden wasn’t the problem. The problem was CP3 and Capela. Gasol (a center with skill) with more points in game 1 than Capela had in any 1 game. They trapped Kawhi just like they did harden, kawhi made the right pass out the double team just like harden, the raptors “others” made shots, the rockets “others” didn’t. That was it. Harden didn’t have help. But people here were mad at him because he didn’t shoot over 2 defenders while getting trapped and average 40 ppg. Harden’s individual greatest mask a lot of deficiencies of this organization from the roster to the coaching.
I will also add: the Raptors also demonstrate how a team can be improved by trading it's best player away. Trading DeRozan was a HUGE risk, and they caught a lot of flak for letting go of him given his loyalty to the team, city, etc. For a player who hasn't committed beyond this city (and will likely be gone after it). But they pulled the trigger, going all-in this season with success. Yet another reason why our trade possibilities should not be "anyone but James" - yes, it's less likely we'll find a Kawhi like player for him, but you never know who is disgruntled out there and what teams are willing to part with.