November Player Report CardBy: Cathal Kelly Basketball, Published on Dec 1 2013The month of November was capped off on a surprising note for the Toronto Raptors, as they reeled off three straight wins against powerhouse teams Brooklyn, Miami and Denver. While Brooklyn and Miami were without key starters such as Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it was the fact that they managed to dispatch these weakened teams with surprisingly large margins of victory. To top it all off, the Raptors were losers of two straight before hand, dipping to below .500 which indicates a certain resiliency and confidence that was not seen in previous Raptor teams.
That is not to say that the Raptors have been playing perfect basketball. A lot of costly mistakes on the defensive end, particularly in the fourth quarter have been the Achilles heel of the Raptors. An over reliance on the starting lineup for an offensive punch has spelled trouble for the Raptors in the month of November, but many of these weaknesses have been minimal to non-existent during the mini three game winning streak. Hopefully the Raptors can maintain their above .500 play in December as they face off against western conference powerhouse teams in a brutal road trip to San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Dallas.
The Grading SystemA - Above expectations. This player has gone above and beyond what has been expected of him and has performed at a high level consistently.
B - Hit expectations. This player has met or has gone slightly above what has been expected of him, but still needs to fine tune a few things.
C - Below expectations. This player has produced slightly below what has been expected of him. Can be sporadically effective at times, but is still a net positive.
D - Well below expectations. This player is severely lacking in several key areas and has performed poorly as a result. Overall he does more harm than good for the team.
F - Probably shouldn't be an NBA player.
GuardsK. Lowry: AThis is the Kyle Lowry that the Raptors were expecting when they traded away their draft pick to Houston. Lowry has had some quiet games early on in the season, but has roared to life after an
article was published criticizing his consistency. Simply put, the Raptors are an up-tempo, competitive team that's fun to watch when Lowry is running the offence. You can tell that coach Dwane Casey has given Lowry a lot more of a green light to control the offence this season compared to last year. The Philadelphia native has been looking incredibly comfortable and confident, and it's not surprise that the Raptors beat elite teams when Lowry brings his A game. Lowry's ability to be a triple double threat and seemingly contribute in every area on the stat sheet easily make him the most valuable player on the team. Gay and DeRozan might be the engine that make the Raptors go on offence, but it's Lowry who is in the driver's seat orchestrating it all.
Statline: 16.3 ppg, 5 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 48.4% FG, 38.6% 3PT, 82.1% FTDeMar DeRozan: A-DeRozan is currently averaging career highs across the board despite having his playing time cut by a few minutes. The USC product has shown tiny improvements in his point, rebound and assist averages, but the one area that has taken a gigantic step forward is his shooting efficiency. DeRozan's shooting has cooled off a bit by the end of the month, but he is now considered one of the Raptors' threats to score from beyond the arc. As a result, DeRozan is now respected as an all around scorer and opposing defenders cannot sag off of him anymore. His defense still leaves a lot to be desired for a player that athletic, but DeRozan has come a long way to become a much more polished player overall.
Statline: 18.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.8 spg, 49.6% FG, 40% 3PT, 77% FTTerrence Ross: B+Many people expected Ross to flounder after a mediocre showing at the Raptors' summer league, but Ross has been a bright spot off the Raptors bench. He might struggle with consistency, but Ross has been given the green light to score for the Raptors' second unit. Ross' streaky playstyle tends to dictate how many minutes Landry Fields and DeMar DeRozan get throughout the game as he can single handedly carry or lose games for the Raptors. When he's in the groove, Ross is easily one of the most exciting players to watch on the Raptors. Aside from his feast or famine play style, another problem exists in his free throw shooting. At 61%, it is simply unacceptable for a shooter of his caliber to shoot that low of a percentage.
Statline: 11.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1. spg, 46.6% FG, 40.8% 3PT, 61.3% FTDJ Augustin: DIt's no surprise that the Raptors' offence bogs down significantly when Kyle Lowry has to rest. The diminutive point guard has had trouble running the offence as the back-up off the bench. Outside of a few sporadic offensive nights, Augustin has been awful at creating his own offence as well, hitting only 35% of his shots. This shouldn't come as too big of a surprise though, as Augustin has struggled in a similar situation with Indiana last season.
Statline: 5.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 0.2 spg, 35.2% FG, 42.4% 3PT, 80% FTDwight Buycks: N/ABuycks has been toiling away in the D-League this month, but with Augustin's poor performance at running the offence thus far it wouldn't surprise me if he received a call up in the near future.
Statline: NoneForwardsRudy Gay: B+If you quickly glance at his stats, Gay's numbers aren't exactly eye popping. They are numbers that we've come to normally expect out of him. The one thing that he has made remarkable strides in however, is his efficiency. Gay has been lights out from the perimeter and has carried many games for the Raptors with his scoring prowess from beyond the arc. While this improvement has been spectacular, Gay has fallen in love with the jump shot quite a bit this month and is his free throw shooting percentages have taken a hit as a result. He hasn't gotten to the line much at all, and when he does get there he only converts at a 69% clip. We expect that percentage to rise as the season progresses, but Rudy needs to make a better effort in going to the rim.
Statline: 20.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 48.3% FG, 46.8% 3PT, 69% FTAmir Johnson: B-The beloved Amir Johnson has had his minutes cut a bit from last season, but is still maintaining close to the same level of productivity as last year. Johnson's shot blocking is probably the one thing that has been below par this season. Other than that, it's been the same old Amir Johnson that has endeared himself as a Raptor fan favourite.
Statline: 8.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.5 bpg, 52.8% FG,, 73.5% FTTyler Hansbrough: C+Psycho T was signed this off-season to add some intensity and a little a bit of crazy off the bench; and he's been pretty much just as advertised. Hansbrough has received ample minutes off the bench but in terms of statistical productivity he's a bit shy of his career levels. He is however, shooting a career high 48% from the field and is still a key factor in the Raptors' success.
Statline: 5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.5 spg, 48.4% FG, 66.6% FTLandry Fields: D+Fields has shown some decent hustle and defence when he has been put into games, but that's about it. Aside from his one game in Brooklyn where he came up big in crunch time, Fields has been struggling mightily with his shot from everywhere on the court; especially at the free throw line. His current 12 million salary over two years makes for a truly disappointing combination to behold.
Statline: 3.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.7 spg, 40.4% FG, 20% 3PT, 57.1% FTQuincy Acy: N/AAcy was expected to play some more minutes this season but the addition of Tyler Hansbrough has soaked up the majority of his minutes off the bench. From the scarce minutes that he has been given this season, he does look like the same player he was last season, bringing energy and some toughness in an undersized 6'7 package.
Statline: 0.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.1 spg, 40% FG, 66.6% FTSteve Novak: N/ANovak was brought in from the Bargnani trade, but his main asset (shooting), seems to already have been covered with the improved perimeter games of Gay, Ross and DeRozan. As a result, Novak has yet to see any playing time in a Raptors uniform, and rightfully so. If a one dimensional player is bringing in a redundant skill to the team then he's not going to be able to find minutes in the rotation.
Statline: NoneAustin Daye: N/ALike Novak, Daye has yet to play a single game this season. It isn't likely for him to see any minutes on the floor.
Statline: NoneCentersJonas Valanciunas: CWhat was expected to be a big year for the Lithuanian centre has turned out to be a bit of a sophomore slump. JV is the clear cut starting center on the team and looked poised to break out after adding a ton of muscle to his wiry frame, but the big man just hasn't put it together like most would have expected him to. His field goal percentage (44%) has been a significant drop off compared to his rookie season and has tended to be unassertive in the block. This is a sharp contrast to his summer league play, where he looked to dominate and get in the face of his opponents.
Statline: 10.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2 apg, 1.1 bpg, 44.1% FG, 81.8% FTCole Aldrich: CAcquired mid way through the month, it is not really fair to assess what Aldrich is capable of. His offensive numbers are awful to say the least, but from day one he has added some needed presence on the inside. He is also is a bit more nimble on the floor than you would expect as he solid at rotating as a help defender.
Statline: 1.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.6 bpg, 28.6% FG, 50% FTAaron Gray: N/AWith the addition of Cole Aldrich, it looks like Aaron Gray has become a redundant piece for the Raptors. Aldrich is a big body like Gray but is younger. Barring extensive injuries to the Raptors' roster, Gray's minutes are and will continue to be close to zero in the rotation.
Statline: None