This topic contains 2 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by AvatarAvatar TallmanNYC 9 years, 11 months ago.

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  • #54952
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    OhCanada-
    Participant

    The Raptors tip off against Brooklyn at 12:30 PM Eastern. Following a successful season with the emergence of Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan heres some things to look out for.

    Demar Derozan Showing He is Elite.

    Demar is going to show out in the Playoffs. For Americans that havent quite followed his game he is going to show how tough of a competitor he really is by running laps around these Brooklyn vets. Neither Pierce or Johnson have the footspeed or stamina to contain him, Nets will eventually double and try to bruise him. Demar will make plays out of the double for his teammates and rack up assists but the key is to play through physicallity.

    During an interview with Demar he stated he understands refs will likely swallow their whistles in the postseason and he expects "play ons" during "50/50" calls. How he responds to this will likely determine each game for the Raptors and if the Nets take him out of the game by doubling and bruising him he has to effect the game in otger ways and continue being aggressive and productive.

    The Emergence of Jonas Valanciunas

    Jonas has come on strong towards the end of the season averaging 16-ppg 12-rpg. If Jonas can emerge as a constant threat in the post on both ends of the floor and can hit his jumpshot as well it will be a tough series for Brooklyn. If Toronto advances to play Miami he will have to be a dominant force for Toronto to be relevant.

    Bench Play

    Toronto had had great contributions from the bench albeit somewhat inconsistant. Guys like Patterson, Vasquez, Salmons and Hayes need to bring it. It will be interested to see the rotation Casey puts out there. All year I thought he should be playing Fields instead of Novak, everytime Fields plays he plays well.

    Kyle Lowrys Contract

    Kyle Lowry is playing for a Masai Ujiri longterm contract and he will be paid correctly. He will be paid according to the teams success and has alot of pressure from Raptors Management to perform well. From what Ive seen from Kyle he thrives underpressure and loves being depended on. Should get a nice payday.

    I see Toronto advancing past the 1st round. 2nd round I see them being competitive.

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  • #891176
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    TallmanNYC
    Participant

    Well Derozan laid an egg there. The Nets D was good, which has been the case for awhile. Jonas got a lot of offensive rebounds for tip ins. But I doubt he can keep that up. KG has been a very good defensive rebounder this season. I expected him to control Jonas, but sometimes the ball just bounces to the right spot. I don’t think he can consistantly create his own shot against KG.

    That was a fun first game that came down to the wire. Pierce was awesome. Though he did travel on that three step Eurostep. It was funny to watch Jonas make the right rotation to cut Pierce off and then Pierce just takes another huge step and is by him. Terrible missed call by the Refs. But the Raps got plenty of calls during that game (including two technicals that turned into points), so they can’t really complain.  

    Raps fans have to be nervous though. Sure Derozan will play better next game. But Lowry and Jonas really can’t give you any more than they did. They were both great. The Nets, however, are not going to miss 19 threes in a row. That just will not happen again. They will especially not miss like that once back at home in the Barclay center. If the Nets go 5 for 19 during that stretch, they have a 15+ point lead in the fourth and the game turns into something of a blow out. Also if Plumlee can avoid 5 fouls and stay on the court, the game also goes more in Nets favor. 

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  • #891287
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    TallmanNYC
    Participant

    Well Derozan laid an egg there. The Nets D was good, which has been the case for awhile. Jonas got a lot of offensive rebounds for tip ins. But I doubt he can keep that up. KG has been a very good defensive rebounder this season. I expected him to control Jonas, but sometimes the ball just bounces to the right spot. I don’t think he can consistantly create his own shot against KG.

    That was a fun first game that came down to the wire. Pierce was awesome. Though he did travel on that three step Eurostep. It was funny to watch Jonas make the right rotation to cut Pierce off and then Pierce just takes another huge step and is by him. Terrible missed call by the Refs. But the Raps got plenty of calls during that game (including two technicals that turned into points), so they can’t really complain.  

    Raps fans have to be nervous though. Sure Derozan will play better next game. But Lowry and Jonas really can’t give you any more than they did. They were both great. The Nets, however, are not going to miss 19 threes in a row. That just will not happen again. They will especially not miss like that once back at home in the Barclay center. If the Nets go 5 for 19 during that stretch, they have a 15+ point lead in the fourth and the game turns into something of a blow out. Also if Plumlee can avoid 5 fouls and stay on the court, the game also goes more in Nets favor. 

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