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| Photo by Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press |
October 15, 2017
With the Toronto Raptors 2017-2018 season fast approaching, there are still a shit ton of questions hovering over this team like flimsy drones.
Will the new pass-happy, 3-point launching offence actually work? Or will the team (i.e. Lowry and DeRozan) immediately revert back to hero ball at the first sign of trouble?
Will Dwane Casey be able to cut back Lowry’s minutes so he doesn’t wear down?
The more immediate question, however, is who will start at small forward – Norman Powell or C.J. Miles?
Knowing Casey, despite supposedly being a defensive-minded coach, he always opts for offence over defence in his starting lineups.
Just look at his starters for last year’s Milwaukee Bucks playoff series:
PG Kyle Lowry – an above average defender
SG DeMar DeRozan – a below average defender
SF DeMarre Carroll – a great defender made below average by his lack of knees
PF Serge Ibaka – an above average defender (he isn't called “Serge Protector” for nothing)
C Jonas Valanciunas – a slow, plodding well below average defender
It’s no wonder they got hammered by the Bucks to start the series. For the first 2 games, they got off to piss poor starts and had to play from behind. In fact, this is something they did all season long.
Thon Maker of all players, an inexperienced Bucks’ rookie who was playing at a prep school in Orangeville, Ontario just last year, not surprisingly ran circles around JV.
Once Casey finally decided to bench JV and insert Powell into the starting lineup, the series changed dramatically. Powell’s energy on defence, as well as his offence, turned things around. They no longer got off to slow starts.
This year, besides SF, it’s the same starting lineup. (I, for one, would rather see Jacob Poeltl instead of JV. But that’s a whole other kettle of piranha.)
So based on Casey’s past offensive-heavy lineups, my guess is he’ll start Miles over Powell. And that my friends would be a huge mistake.
Give me a D
Who should start at SF is about need and fit – not who's better.
With Lowry, DeRozan, Ibaka and (I suppose) JV, the Raps don’t need another offensive/shooting threat.
What they need is a lockdown defender.
What they need is a lockdown defender.
There’s no question, right now, Miles is the better shooter, especially from 3. He also occasionally drives to the net. And, at 6-6, is much more suited to being a SF than Powell.
But while Powell is only 6-4, he’s shown he can stay with taller wings and cause them trouble. He is no question the much better defender.
Plus, Powell is no slouch on offence. Sure, he can’t shoot like Miles. But his offensive game is still developing and shows much promise. He can get to the rim at will, though he often has trouble finishing.
And as we saw during last year’s playoffs, he can nail his share of 3s, which fits with their new Warrior 3-ball offence.
Stopping the ugly starts
Another thing D-ing up the starting lineup does is combat those pitiful slow starts that have plagued the Raps for the past couple seasons.
Imagine actually being ahead after the first quarter, instead of having to expend all that energy to constantly come from behind.
Playing from behind for the entire season and the playoffs is incredibly taxing for players. Plus, it’s not the greatest tactic for, you know, winning.
Under Casey, it’s been like watching the same horrific movie over and over again. Raps get off to a slow start. Lowry + bench gets them back in the game. Then the starters re-enter and the lead disappears.
By starting Powell and beefing up the D to begin games, we’ll hopefully see a better, less predictable movie this season.
The offensively-challenged bench
With Norm in the starting lineup, Casey can bring Miles’ sharp shooting off the pine – a unit that is severely lacking in anything resembling a shooter.
Just take a gander at the rotation players on the bench right now:
G Delon Wright
G Fred VanVleet
F Pascal Siakam
F OG Anunoby
C Lucas Nogueira
C Jacob Poeltl
Gulp! Aside from VanVleet, there’s zero distance shooting. It's a barren wasteland for outside offence. It's also devoid of any serious NBA experience.
For these reasons, Miles absolutely, positively, another similar word here, has to be on the second unit. The team needs his instant offence, outside shooting prowess and veteran leadership off the pine.
And by playing with the bench unit vs. the starters, he'll for sure see a lot more touches.
For these reasons, Miles absolutely, positively, another similar word here, has to be on the second unit. The team needs his instant offence, outside shooting prowess and veteran leadership off the pine.
And by playing with the bench unit vs. the starters, he'll for sure see a lot more touches.
In a sense, Miles would be filling the Terrance Ross role, but with much, much, much (much) more consistency. Because we all know Ross was as reliable as an apartment building on stilts.
But as always, the Raptors and their season are at the mercy
of the feeble mind of Dwane Casey.
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