Built Ford Tough Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 I came across these stats on another message board and found them pretty surprising. Since the Raptors 7-13 start they have the NBA's best 3PT defense at 31.1%, the 7th best opponent FG% at 44.6% and the 5th best record in the NBA at 17-9. The record doesn't surprise me as I knew that they have been one of the better teams in the league from mid December until now, but the defensive stats are a very pleasent surprise, I just found these numbers interesting and quite a surprise. I haven't actually checked up on them to prove their accuracy, so don't blame me if they are wrong. The poster who originally posted them is a very good poster, so I trust that they are right. I can't be the only one surprised about this, though, can I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 I think the overall defensive intensity has gone up, we are actually closing out on shooters. I remember before the season didn't Triano say the Raptors were going to let teams beat us from 3 if they were going to beat us? Or something like that, well obviously that wasn't working.... idk I could be remembering completely wrong lol. Anyways I think I remember also hearing that at the meeting or around that time in Washington Triano asked Colangelo to take over the defensive aspects of the team for Iavoroni, so that could possibly explain it as well. Overall I was wrong about Triano earlier in the year, I thought we needed a real NBA coach, Triano seems like a really solid coach so far. He might not be a great motivator but he seems like he knows his [expletive] and the players seem to trust his system now, if only we could find some way to utilize Turkeyglue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Built Ford Tough Posted January 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 I think the overall defensive intensity has gone up, we are actually closing out on shooters. I remember before the season didn't Triano say the Raptors were going to let teams beat us from 3 if they were going to beat us? Or something like that, well obviously that wasn't working.... idk I could be remembering completely wrong lol. Anyways I think I remember also hearing that at the meeting or around that time in Washington Triano asked Colangelo to take over the defensive aspects of the team for Iavoroni, so that could possibly explain it as well. Yeah that was the plan early on in the season. The Raptors defensive motto was to "protect the house" and they were determined to make teams beat them from the outside while shutting down the interior. The problem with that, though, was the Raptors don't really have the personel to actually protect the paint like that. The best attribute that they have defensively is quickness on the perimeter with guys like DeRozan, Weems, Belinelli and, to a lesser extent, Jack and Wright. After that spanking by the Hawks they have thrown that philosophy out of the door. In regards to Iavaroni, I never really understood why he was the one in charge of the defensive schemes and what not, when he has been apart of some terrible defensive teams. When he was an assistant under D'Antoni in Phoenix, its not like they did anything to preach defense. Then when he became the head coach in Memphis, they were absolutely awful defensively. In his only full season as the coach in Memphis the Grizzlies gave up 106.9 ppg, which was 28th in the NBA, and they had the 28th worst defensive rating as well. I know that he and Colangelo are close and all, and I don't mind having him as an assistant coach because he does bring some good things to the table, but I never understood why he was their "defensive guru", considering the fact that he hasn't been a coach on a good defensive team for the majority of the decade. Oh yeah, here is the link where the numbers came from, if anybody is interested in seeing that I wasn't just talking out of my [expletive]. http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2010/01/28/jones_tenacious_d/ The question surrounding the Raptors at the beginning of the season was not their offence but could they stop their opponents. It didn't happen over the first 20 games but since then, Toronto has improved its defence while continuing to display its offensive firepower. Since the rough start defensively when the team was 7-13, Toronto has the fifth-best record at 17-9 with the best three-point defence holding the opposition to a meager 31.6 per cent. The 44.6 per cent from the floor that the Raptors are holding opponents to is the seventh-best defensive field goal percentage in the entire NBA since that fateful night in Atlanta on Dec. 2nd. Triano has made the necessary changes in his defensive system and the team has simply worked harder to execute the game plan. With the schedule quite manageable from here to the all-star break and the team's play on the rise, there's a chance to hit the break on a high note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasX Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 I came across these stats on another message board and found them pretty surprising. Since the Raptors 7-13 start they have the NBA's best 3PT defense at 31.1%, the 7th best opponent FG% at 44.6% and the 5th best record in the NBA at 17-9. Sorry for my language, but that is [expletive]in awesome. Being able to say anything positive about the Raptor D is awesome, but that stat is so sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurbyFX Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 Jose not in the lineup did wonders for the Raptors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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