Portland at Toronto

[Real Deal]

TIME: 7:00 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[Built Ford Tough]

Looked like I missed a very good first half with DeRozan, Ross and Davis all having great production.

 

Speaking of Davis, it is amazing the progress he has made from last year. He looks to much more comfortable with the ball in his hands on offense. I've always been a big Davis fan, but I figured offensively he would never be more than a garbage man, 2nd chance type of player but based on what I've seen from him since he's been starting, I think he'll be much more than that. If he ever develops his right hand, I can see him being a very difficult guard.

[Built Ford Tough]

Ross looks to have found the range on his 3 point shot. People were talking about his shooting struggles earlier in the season but if you looked a bit deeper into the numbers you would see that his jumper was actually fine. He was just struggling from the NBA 3 point line, but was shooting around 47% from the college 3. He looks a lot more comfortable launching from the NBA 3 now. Not counting this game, he is shooting 10-21 from deep in his last 6 games and that includes an 0-6 game against the Hornets.

 

I still would've prefered Andre Drummond instead of Ross, but from what I have seen of him over the past month, I'm quickly becoming a fan. His defense is going to be lockdown calibre when he adds some muscle and continues to gain experience.

 

You gotta love the Raptors' point guards statline. 0 points, 3 shots and 22 assists between Lowry and Calderon.

[Check my Stats]

Glad my parents picked the best game of the year to get me tickets to.

[DunkinDerozan]

Glad my parents picked the best game of the year to get me tickets to.

 

Your lucky to have been at that game. Really was a great all around game. TRoss is making me look like an idiot for doubting him early on. He is quickly becoming one of my favourite players.

[Check my Stats]

Lol, well if you take (took) him for what he is, he is a really solid player. I guess its kind of like, would you rather have a guy very good at a few things, or just solid at everything? The choice gets easier when the guy good at a few things is good at useful things like defense, 3 point shooting and you have point guards like Lowry and Calderon who can find him for open looks.

 

Ross would look incredibly out of place on a team where he was required to create his own offense. I think he has the capability to be a smarter player too, we see glimpses, but he is still jittery at times, and forces things. He is still clearly uncomfortable in any sort of position beyond a catch and shoot situation. That will come with time though.

 

I still don't see upside in the same way Drummond has, but he isn't some sort of talentless bum. The fact that I don't think he can dribble with his left hand sort of concerns me though, lol.

 

Also, lets take note of how awesome Lowry has been in the 3 games he has been back. Something like 11 points, 7.6 assists, 1 turnover and and over a steal in just 24 minutes a game! He's our best player, and if he continues to play like this, its going to make Casey have to make some difficult decisions.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Check my Stats

[DunkinDerozan]

Lol, well if you take (took) him for what he is, he is a really solid player. I guess its kind of like, would you rather have a guy very good at a few things, or just solid at everything? The choice gets easier when the guy good at a few things is good at useful things like defense, 3 point shooting and you have point guards like Lowry and Calderon who can find him for open looks.

 

Ross would look incredibly out of place on a team where he was required to create his own offense. I think he has the capability to be a smarter player too, we see glimpses, but he is still jittery at times, and forces things. He is still clearly uncomfortable in any sort of position beyond a catch and shoot situation. That will come with time though.

 

I still don't see upside in the same way Drummond has, but he isn't some sort of talentless bum. The fact that I don't think he can dribble with his left hand sort of concerns me though, lol.

 

Also, lets take note of how awesome Lowry has been in the 3 games he has been back. Something like 11 points, 7.6 assists, 1 turnover and and over a steal in just 24 minutes a game! He's our best player, and if he continues to play like this, its going to make Casey have to make some difficult decisions.

 

Very true about Lowry. He is passing the ball so much more now and it's helping the team so much. He only shoots when it's a wide open look which I love.

 

About Drummond, I haven't watched the Pistons other then when we've played them, but I don't really see what's so great. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but he isn't so good that I think we would really need him more then Ross considering we have Jonas for the future.

[Built Ford Tough]

About Drummond, I haven't watched the Pistons other then when we've played them, but I don't really see what's so great. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but he isn't so good that I think we would really need him more then Ross considering we have Jonas for the future.

 

What's so great about him? Well...

 

1. He is arguably the most freakish physical specimen in the NBA. His combination of size (shade under 7'0, 280 pounds), length (7'6.25 wingspan, 9'1.5 standing reach), explosivness (just watch him move laterally and see how much space he can cover, it is ridiculous) and athleticism (34" vert and awesome co-ordination for a big man) is almost unheard of. He is even more of an athletic freak than Dwight Howard was.

 

2. He has been damn productive so far this season. His 21.66 PER is a full 2 points higher than the 2nd best rookie (Anthony Davis' 19.05 PER) and is also top 20 in the entire NBA. His Rebound Rate (21.1) is 2.5 higher than any other rookie and is also the 6th best in the NBA (his Offensive Rebound Rate is even better, with the 4th best mark in the league). His TS% is 4th best among rookies who've played more than 25 games.

 

3. Detroit is bringing him along slowly only playing him 19.5 mpg, but he is still putting up 7/7/1.5 in those 19 minutes. His per 36 numbers are 13/13/2.7 and, perhaps most importantly, he is only averaging 3.7 fouls per 36 as well. He is unarguably the biggest difference maker on the Pistons roster. Just look at these numbers:

 

His personal ORTG is 116. The Pistons team ORTG is 104.2.

His personal DRTG is 97. The Pistons team DRTG is 105.7.

 

The Pistons have outscored their opponent by 56 points with Drummond on the floor and have been outscored by 106 with him on the bench.

 

Per 100 possessions, the Pistons are a net 10.8 points better with him on the floor than off it.

 

Every single one of the Pistons top 20 most productive lineups features Drummond on the floor.

 

Despite only playing 20 minutes a game, he still leads the Pistons (even more than Greg Monroe) in win shares with 2.7.

 

 

Keep in mind this is all done with him basically relying 100% on his physical gifts. He is still ridiculously raw yet is still managing to impact the game substantially every time he steps on the court despite just how raw he is.

 

Ross has elite role player potential. Drummond has elite player potential. That is basically the easiest way for me to put it.

 

 

Last thing I want to mention is that if the Raptors drafted Drummond, they probably have James Harden on their roster as well. According to almost everything I read, the first call that Presti made when it was clear that a Harden extension wasn't getting done was to Toronto and the asking price was Valanciunas and DeRozan (DeRozan's inclusion was speculated, Valanciunas' was confirmed). If Toronto had drafted Drummond, you can afford to take the risk of dealing Valanciunas (or even Drummond himself) because you have another young big to fall back on.

[DunkinDerozan]

What's so great about him? Well...

 

1. He is arguably the most freakish physical specimen in the NBA. His combination of size (shade under 7'0, 280 pounds), length (7'6.25 wingspan, 9'1.5 standing reach), explosivness (just watch him move laterally and see how much space he can cover, it is ridiculous) and athleticism (34" vert and awesome co-ordination for a big man) is almost unheard of. He is even more of an athletic freak than Dwight Howard was.

 

2. He has been damn productive so far this season. His 21.66 PER is a full 2 points higher than the 2nd best rookie (Anthony Davis' 19.05 PER) and is also top 20 in the entire NBA. His Rebound Rate (21.1) is 2.5 higher than any other rookie and is also the 6th best in the NBA (his Offensive Rebound Rate is even better, with the 4th best mark in the league). His TS% is 4th best among rookies who've played more than 25 games.

 

3. Detroit is bringing him along slowly only playing him 19.5 mpg, but he is still putting up 7/7/1.5 in those 19 minutes. His per 36 numbers are 13/13/2.7 and, perhaps most importantly, he is only averaging 3.7 fouls per 36 as well. He is unarguably the biggest difference maker on the Pistons roster. Just look at these numbers:

 

His personal ORTG is 116. The Pistons team ORTG is 104.2.

His personal DRTG is 97. The Pistons team DRTG is 105.7.

 

The Pistons have outscored their opponent by 56 points with Drummond on the floor and have been outscored by 106 with him on the bench.

 

Per 100 possessions, the Pistons are a net 10.8 points better with him on the floor than off it.

 

Every single one of the Pistons top 20 most productive lineups features Drummond on the floor.

 

Despite only playing 20 minutes a game, he still leads the Pistons (even more than Greg Monroe) in win shares with 2.7.

 

 

Keep in mind this is all done with him basically relying 100% on his physical gifts. He is still ridiculously raw yet is still managing to impact the game substantially every time he steps on the court despite just how raw he is.

 

Ross has elite role player potential. Drummond has elite player potential. That is basically the easiest way for me to put it.

 

 

Last thing I want to mention is that if the Raptors drafted Drummond, they probably have James Harden on their roster as well. According to almost everything I read, the first call that Presti made when it was clear that a Harden extension wasn't getting done was to Toronto and the asking price was Valanciunas and DeRozan (DeRozan's inclusion was speculated, Valanciunas' was confirmed). If Toronto had drafted Drummond, you can afford to take the risk of dealing Valanciunas (or even Drummond himself) because you have another young big to fall back on.

 

Well, I guess you told me. Kind of sucks to think we could have had Harden and Drummond instead of Derozan and Valanciunas.

 

Hopefully Drummond can improve on his FT's too. When the Raptors have played the Pistons, the biggest thing I noticed was how brutal of a FT shooter he is. I know some of the leagues top big men are awful FT shooters, but unless he becomes as good as Dwight, shooting under 50% from the line is going to be a major downfall for him. I'm sure he will improve though. Like you said, he's still very raw. Is he even 20 yet?