Misc Playoff Notes

I can't find any site that does rotation minutes immediately, and if I'm working on an analysis about a game, I'd like to see the progression and how certain rotations were played out. If it's a playoff series, I wanted to see any rotation adjustments as well. Starting game 2, I've been doing my own manual rotation spreadsheet, and I also started adding the score at certain key points (i.e. Gasol goes out because of foul trouble, etc.). It's not 100% accurate, as I've been rounding them up/down to the nearest quarter of the minute, but it's close enough.

I'll be posting the new ones as soon as I'm done.

My Thoughts on Kyle Lowry's Game 1

I'm a big Kyle Lowry fan. In fact, I'm a Kyle Lowry Over Everything kind of guy. When DeMar DeRozan got traded, I was sad - heartbroken, but the fact that we still have Lowry makes things easier to accept.

I too, get disappointed with Lowry's past playoff struggles offensively. Scratch that, not offensively, just the scoring part. He would have that bad scoring game that would dictate the perception of Lowry for the entire series, if not the entire post-season.

This reputation would stick regardless of how he would carry the team as the only person keeping all the parts together. How bad the team looked when he's on the floor. Whenever he doesn't score more than 15 points or if he doesn't shoot at a high percentage to compound a low scoring game, everyone was quick to throw Lowry under the bus.

I'm disappointed too. I too think that Lowry could have done better scoring wise. After re-watching the game, it sucks to see the Magic leaving Lowry wide open, pretty much daring him to hit that shot.

I guess -- and maybe this is how much of the Raptors fanbase felt --- it's disappointing because we've seen how good Kyle Lowry is. From 2014-2016, he was our Kyrie Irving or Dame Lillard. Even in 2017, he was the guy that would try to bail us out of a rut.

Unfortunately, that "peak Lowry" or "MVP Lowry" is long gone. I accept that, given his age and mileage. Right now, I see him as a Dallas Mavericks-era Jason Kidd. However, even Kidd scored well enough (he developed his 3pt shot), but not enough to get to his peak scoring average.

I don't know what to expect from Lowry heading into game 2. The Raptors played mostly 5-out offence, and the way the Magic packed the paint, there's very little opportunity for him to drive for a layup. So yeah, it's gonna come down to him hitting his open 3s.

If anything, Lowry might lose his scoring ability, but there's one thing that I don't expect him to lose anytime soon: Impose his will and determination. We've seen that a lot this season, especially in the latter half where Lowry went into this mode where he stepped up his intensity, the teammates followed suit, and that was the game.

I hope to see that version of Lowry tonight.

Overreaction: Game 18/82 - That Play Looks Familiar

A win is a win, eh? Tonight was probably the ugliest 2nd half I've ever seen the Raptors play - and still win. A few rants and notes below:

• Kawhi, Kawhi, Kawhi. As much as the Raptors kept missing open looks in the 2nd half, it's actually Kawhi's momentum killing ball pounding iso that got the Magic started. The Raps were up 18 in the first half, the pace and the ball movement was good, and here comes Kawhi and his ISOs that went nowhere.
• I think Kyle Lowry is banged up, but it's starting to look more and more that Lowry's best days as an offensive threat are long gone.
• Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright combined to be a mediocre option as Lowry's backups. Except for a couple of a high-degree of difficulty layups, these two didn't bring much to the table.
• At some point, I was wondering how come Nurse didn't utilize any of their 3 G-League assignees? Malachi Richardson, Jordan Loyd, and Chris Boucher are 3 of the 5 best Raptors perimeter shooter and they did not get a single minute.
• Lorenzo Brown really pulled his sock up and played excellent D the entire time that he was there. I doubt the Raps get the dub if he wasn't there.
• The Raptors' perimeter shooting once again got exposed. The opposing teams have more than enough sample for their scouting, and we'll probably see more and more teams clog up the paint and let the Raptors try to win the game from outside.

Overreaction: Raps 117, Magic 104

• We won the game when: Pascal Siakam pressed the R2 button the entire 4th quarter
• A good sign: OG's 2nd straight game where he was not invisible on offence
• Should we be concerned: OG went down with a mild ankle sprain

OG Anunoby sustained a sprained right ankle and will not return tonight at Orlando. @Raptors

— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) March 1, 2018

• Partners in crime: Pascal and Poeltl provided excellent 2 way play the entire game and shut down the Magic in the 4th
• Should we be concerned 2: When CJ Miles is not hitting his shots, he looks like a liability out there
• Powell with a dozen of donuts: Powell played 10 uneventful minutes with zeroes across the board
• Misleading stat line: The Raptors only committed 12 turnovers, but it felt like they committed way more than that
• An Exercise of patience: excellent job by DeMar DeRozan not forcing the issue and trusting his teammates
• An exercise of patience 2: Kudos to coach Casey for letting the bench mob work through their struggles in the 2nd half and not putting Lowry/DeRozan til halfway through the 4th. Great learning moment and more tight game reps under their belt.
• Friends forever: It's very touching to see the Raptors holdovers go meet TRoss and our father Bismack Biyombo after the game