The NBA Finals has showcased the Toronto Raptors’ biggest flaw
The NBA Finals has showcased two teams with a completely different playing style than the Toronto Raptors, which makes us ask the question: has Masai been building this roster the wrong way?
The NBA Finals serves as a measuring stick for which the rest of the league can evaluate their own talent. A fun exercise when watching any finals game is asking “How would player X fare if thrown into this situation?”
So what happens when an entire roster doesn’t feel like it belongs on the game’s biggest stage?
This is the exact predicament the Toronto Raptors find themselves in. Despite a Golden State win in convincing fashion, both teams have exhibited one key strength during the Finals that the Raptors do not have: like sized, multi-faceted players who can defend multiple positions.
The Golden State Warriors have the notorious “death lineup” (I’m not calling it the Hamptons five ever I am sorry), while even the Cleveland Cavaliers have a bevy of wings in J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Rodney Hood, and Jeff Green, who can all defend multiple positions.
The Finals, as well as the Conference Finals, have favored one defensive strategy above all else, switching. Of course, like any defensive strategy, in order to implement a switch happy scheme, you must have the proper personal.
More from Raptors Rapture
- Scottie Barnes talks Raptors expectations after bumpy 2022-23
- Raptors’ Dennis Schroder completes Cinderella story, wins FIBA World Cup with Germany
- 3 players Raptors could replace OG Anunoby with at trade deadline
- NBA insider praises Raptors’ hiring of “star” Darko Rajakovic
- Raptors fans will love Markquis Nowell’s insane confidence on Instagram
This was showcased at the games highest level of basketball, the Western Conference Finals, when both teams switching style effectively forced an isolation contest between James Harden and Kevin Durant.
Even the Cleveland Cavaliers for all of their defensive flaws, are built in the vein of a modern NBA defense. Their point guard, George Hill, has a ludicrous 7’0″ wingspan that allows him to switch across multiple positions, and for all of the slack Kevin Love is given, he is certainly a better switch defender than Jonas Valanciunas.
The origins of this switch-happy trend are easy to spot. Teams with elite playmakers (such as the Steph Curry or LeBron James) require extra attention in the pick-and-roll. To contain an elite ball handler your options are to hard-hedge or blitz. Often times, both these strategies require you to bring a “tagger” (third defender) to defend the action.
Previously this wasn’t a problem. Rotate defenders and your defense can recover to all their assignments. However when the court is shared by four or more shooters, the ground to cover becomes too large and this sequence becomes exponentially harder.
Switching helps that problem, defending the pick-and-roll only requires two defenders, allowing the others to stay glued to their man.
How this relates to the Raptors
Unfortunately for the Raptors, they don’t have the option to invoke this strategy. Toronto’s starting big-men Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas are both suited to play a more traditional style of hedging or dropping.
Checkout this clip of JV dropping DEEP on the pick-and-roll.
JV excels at this type of coverage. At 7’0″ with solid interior awareness he is a sound deterrent around the rim. Unfortunately, against elite competition, it becomes difficult to play this style. Imagine Kevin Love in place of John Collins, popping at the three-point line.
Instead of a stop at the rim, the play becomes an easy basket or at minimum a flurry of defensive rotations.
More from Raptors Rapture
- Scottie Barnes talks Raptors expectations after bumpy 2022-23
- Raptors’ Dennis Schroder completes Cinderella story, wins FIBA World Cup with Germany
- 3 players Raptors could replace OG Anunoby with at trade deadline
- NBA insider praises Raptors’ hiring of “star” Darko Rajakovic
- Raptors fans will love Markquis Nowell’s insane confidence on Instagram
So instead, Valanciunas is forced to hard hedge or blitz the pick-and-roll, a style he is clearly not as comfortable with and a style that often requires a third defender.
For Ibaka the problem is not quite as severe, but troublesome nonetheless. Ibaka is an okay switch option, but for him the problem exists not within the action, but away from it. Due to self-imposed mismatches, a switching style requires more weak side help in isolations and post-ups. When teams shift down a position and play without a traditional power forward Ibaka struggles to provide the necessary help, while also being able to close out on his man.
Ideally, in any switch-heavy scheme Ibaka would play the majority of his minutes at center. However, with Jonas Valanciunas and Jakob Poeltl still on the roster, there appears to be a log-jam Ibaka is not capable of surpassing.
Without the proper personal, Toronto is forced to play a more “Traditional” style of defense. A style that equates to running the I-Formation in the NFL. Yes, it can still be successful, but there are reasons teams are using it less often.
The good news for Toronto
The bad news for the Raptors is the team’s inability to play a switching style with Valanciunas and Ibaka; the good news is, Toronto’s younger core does not have this same problem. OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and even Jakob Poeltl all display a better ability to switch onto smaller defenders than their veteran counterparts.
Next: Individual grades for each Raptor this season
If Toronto is able to keep these young pieces, eventually they will be able to modernize their defense. But for now, Toronto is stuck playing a defense of yesteryear in a modern NBA.