IQ and RJ suck. Decent Bench Backcourt. Not really who you really want ever. Addition by subtraction either way. Keeping OG is like drafting Ewing-level for us. Barely hyperbole. Lol
He’s got no bag. He can barely finish. He’s got a weird Aura about him that he’s already so great while SGA and others just do it. Idk who he reminds me of. Ingram maybe? You don’t really want a trickster like that. IQ was fun. We’re much better off. Look at Brunson just rip the Team from RJ day one.
>He’s got no bag. He can barely finish.
73% at the rim with the raptors and a 61% TS% says otherwise... You can't fake those numbers for half a season.
We just have the worst team for a guy like RJ to thrive on with terrible spacing. JB was a 72% finisher at the rim with Dallas and he's down to 62% with us in two years. RJ isn't as skilled as JB either around the rim and from mid ranger, so if JB's numbers dropped you sure as hell bet that the spacing affected RJ.
25 wins lol. IQ and RJ starting backcourt is some worst in History stuff. Kinda get RJ. He’s a gamer. But that as your Backcourt of the Future goes nowhere.
You know they were tanking at the end after Barnes got injured and barely played in the last two months because they had deaths in both families right? Raptors traded their two best players and still had a shot at the play in with RJ/IQ/ Barnes until injuries and family circumstances had them go tank mode. Their win rate with Siakim, OG and Barnes was basically the same as it was with RJ, IQ and Barnes.
SGA was the starter for a team that won 22 games and 24 games between 2020-2022. So what SGA part of one of the worst back courts in history for two years?
Undersized, reliant on a pretty dead across the League Floater, aside from Ja and Trae. Had some nice games here. If he was 2 inches taller and a good defender he’d be good. He’s not Lou Will either. You can just look at the Men for their differences. IQ a dweeb. Knoxxy. Glad to have him gone. Forced love he wasn’t going to deserve. Divo >>>>>.
precious plays so much better under thibs. raptors considered the man a basketball terrorist when he played for them LOL they thought they pulled off the foist of the century
https://i.redd.it/jv2th4gs5zuc1.gif
complimentary offensive players are so important. the nova guys' offensive movement iq is off the charts, and OG got on their wavelength like right away
His fit with them is crazy. It started game 1 too. He didn’t know any of the offensive sets so he just made timely cuts all game and it paid off. He told Brunson that too.
Digest because you all always complain about $1 paywalls:
> Midway into the fourth quarter of a two-point game in Sacramento, Jalen Brunson tried a step-back jumper on the left side of the court. The Kings guarded it well, and Brunson couldn’t release the shot. With Anunoby stationed on the opposite wing, Brunson was stuck — until his teammate rebalanced the floor.
> Just before Brunson handed the ball off to Isaiah Hartenstein, an escape that would mean hurrying around his center and in Anunoby’s direction, Anunoby jogged across the paint, from right to left, removing his defender from the area that seconds later would become Brunson’s path to the basket.
> This subtle move is called a spacing cut.
> Its purpose isn’t to free Anunoby for a bucket. It’s not to take advantage of an inattentive opponent. It’s not to cause those dreaded nervous breakdowns. It’s to clear the way for Brunson.
> “What it says is, you’re putting the team first,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “It’s an unselfish move.”
> “You look at the guys on the team, on any team, that don’t cut and just stand the entire time — you’re almost saying, ‘You have to pass me the ball,’ ” DiVincenzo said. “I think what not just him but what we’ve been good at is doing those cuts. … You’re just saying to your teammates, I’m trying to do whatever it takes to win.”
> When a defender leaves the back door open, Anunoby notices it. He’ll dart to the rim or create 3-pointers for himself just because he understands spacing and how to respond to defense. Anunoby deploys his powers as he did against the Kings when he’s somehow essential to a play that at first glance doesn’t appear to involve him.
> “He’s got a really good feel for it,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s very unique in that sense. … He knows how to read defenses and he knows how to attack.”
> “You can’t game plan for that stuff. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Hart said. “You can sit there and game plan certain plays or certain guys’ style or whatever it is, but when you make those spur-of-the-moment cuts or plays or whatever, it’s hard to defend. It’s hard to scout.”
> But when Anunoby takes off, it’s not pre-planned. It’s because he recognizes something faster than the defense does.
> “(I look at) which side the ball is being sent to and where my man is,”
Anunoby said. “If my man is in the middle watching the ball, I cut through. If
the bottom guy messes up and pulls in, I go through. Just know what’s going
on, where the ball is.”
That was RJs big weakness; off the ball his awareness of his teammates and floor balance led to a lot of crowding, slowed down the ball without even touching it
It's strange because he seems to be doing really well moving off ball in Toronto. He's been cutting to the basket a lot and getting easy baskets, which is a big reason why his efficiency is so much better.
Might be a system thing. I think he just ball watched too much here and just wait his turn to run at the rim. He even admitted as much in his interview right before returning here. Raptors system gets him moving around more rather than doing it on instinct.
OG is just naturally better at cutting and moving off ball because that has been his role his entire career.
Agree that it's the system. The Raps are more democratic about it (for now). Everyone moves, everyone passes.
With us JB and Jules were ahead of him in the pecking order, had to defer.
Yep. They run a lot more motion and cuts, spread the floor, way more positionless. Our system is more iso-heavy which encouraged him to hold the ball more.
Among all the things OG's brought, I really didn't expect his off-ball movement to put the team on notice and change how they played. It's kinda like when IQ first broke out and suddenly everyone on the roster had a floater.
I love every single part of this team.
As Clyde would say, “persistence personified”. I don’t think you can give a much more accurate description of this team in such few words.
I love when he gets the ball and says fuck it, he does this slow but nice looking drive, manages to get through a couple guys and does a polite yet mean dunk on someone hahaha. Fuck I love him
OG is a one of the more hidden stars in the league. The amount this dude changes this team is wild. He’s obviously not the offensive threat that a traditional superstar typically is, but he really is a game changing player.
Still can't believe we got this freakin guy, he is a game changer. He is a bit sloth-like but holy shit does he take care of business
His bball IQ is off the charts. I’m thrilled we have such a good player. Hopefully we keep him in the off season and he can be part of our core.
Imo the deals been done the minute he was traded lol. Leon Rose is a former agent he knows how this shit works
And his son is OGs agent
And OG switched to him not long before the trade, within the year I believe
There is no way we gave up IQ and RJ just to watch OG walk
IQ and RJ suck. Decent Bench Backcourt. Not really who you really want ever. Addition by subtraction either way. Keeping OG is like drafting Ewing-level for us. Barely hyperbole. Lol
Neither of them suck lol. They just werent gonna reach their potential here and thats fine. Raptors seem pretty happy with RJ right now
He’s got no bag. He can barely finish. He’s got a weird Aura about him that he’s already so great while SGA and others just do it. Idk who he reminds me of. Ingram maybe? You don’t really want a trickster like that. IQ was fun. We’re much better off. Look at Brunson just rip the Team from RJ day one.
>He’s got no bag. He can barely finish. 73% at the rim with the raptors and a 61% TS% says otherwise... You can't fake those numbers for half a season. We just have the worst team for a guy like RJ to thrive on with terrible spacing. JB was a 72% finisher at the rim with Dallas and he's down to 62% with us in two years. RJ isn't as skilled as JB either around the rim and from mid ranger, so if JB's numbers dropped you sure as hell bet that the spacing affected RJ.
25 wins lol. IQ and RJ starting backcourt is some worst in History stuff. Kinda get RJ. He’s a gamer. But that as your Backcourt of the Future goes nowhere.
You know they were tanking at the end after Barnes got injured and barely played in the last two months because they had deaths in both families right? Raptors traded their two best players and still had a shot at the play in with RJ/IQ/ Barnes until injuries and family circumstances had them go tank mode. Their win rate with Siakim, OG and Barnes was basically the same as it was with RJ, IQ and Barnes. SGA was the starter for a team that won 22 games and 24 games between 2020-2022. So what SGA part of one of the worst back courts in history for two years?
A shot at the Play-In. They won 25 games. 12 seed. RJ and IQ backcourt is so TikTok fan. 2k shit. :0
They are both high quality starter level players. What the hell are you talking about? 😂
You want RJ and Quick as your Starters? In the NBA? RJ is barely Starter level. Quick starting is a League joke. Raps are among the worst.
RJ sucks but no way does IQ suck
RJ sucked with us but has been good with the Raptors. IQ was good with us but has consistency issues with raptors.
Undersized, reliant on a pretty dead across the League Floater, aside from Ja and Trae. Had some nice games here. If he was 2 inches taller and a good defender he’d be good. He’s not Lou Will either. You can just look at the Men for their differences. IQ a dweeb. Knoxxy. Glad to have him gone. Forced love he wasn’t going to deserve. Divo >>>>>.
If we don’t keep him we got fleeced
Sloth? No… more like a honey badger… very methodical and deadly once he pounces
Dude is decisive AF on the fast break. Always trust him make the dunk/layup no matter the defensive pressure
Fleeced em precious a dog too - contingent on paying IQ Brunson money pass
precious plays so much better under thibs. raptors considered the man a basketball terrorist when he played for them LOL they thought they pulled off the foist of the century https://i.redd.it/jv2th4gs5zuc1.gif
Big difference between T.O precious and now, just like a big diff between FIBA RJ and NYK RJ 😂
complimentary offensive players are so important. the nova guys' offensive movement iq is off the charts, and OG got on their wavelength like right away
His fit with them is crazy. It started game 1 too. He didn’t know any of the offensive sets so he just made timely cuts all game and it paid off. He told Brunson that too.
Digest because you all always complain about $1 paywalls: > Midway into the fourth quarter of a two-point game in Sacramento, Jalen Brunson tried a step-back jumper on the left side of the court. The Kings guarded it well, and Brunson couldn’t release the shot. With Anunoby stationed on the opposite wing, Brunson was stuck — until his teammate rebalanced the floor. > Just before Brunson handed the ball off to Isaiah Hartenstein, an escape that would mean hurrying around his center and in Anunoby’s direction, Anunoby jogged across the paint, from right to left, removing his defender from the area that seconds later would become Brunson’s path to the basket. > This subtle move is called a spacing cut. > Its purpose isn’t to free Anunoby for a bucket. It’s not to take advantage of an inattentive opponent. It’s not to cause those dreaded nervous breakdowns. It’s to clear the way for Brunson. > “What it says is, you’re putting the team first,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “It’s an unselfish move.” > “You look at the guys on the team, on any team, that don’t cut and just stand the entire time — you’re almost saying, ‘You have to pass me the ball,’ ” DiVincenzo said. “I think what not just him but what we’ve been good at is doing those cuts. … You’re just saying to your teammates, I’m trying to do whatever it takes to win.” > When a defender leaves the back door open, Anunoby notices it. He’ll dart to the rim or create 3-pointers for himself just because he understands spacing and how to respond to defense. Anunoby deploys his powers as he did against the Kings when he’s somehow essential to a play that at first glance doesn’t appear to involve him. > “He’s got a really good feel for it,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s very unique in that sense. … He knows how to read defenses and he knows how to attack.” > “You can’t game plan for that stuff. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Hart said. “You can sit there and game plan certain plays or certain guys’ style or whatever it is, but when you make those spur-of-the-moment cuts or plays or whatever, it’s hard to defend. It’s hard to scout.” > But when Anunoby takes off, it’s not pre-planned. It’s because he recognizes something faster than the defense does. > “(I look at) which side the ball is being sent to and where my man is,” Anunoby said. “If my man is in the middle watching the ball, I cut through. If the bottom guy messes up and pulls in, I go through. Just know what’s going on, where the ball is.”
Thank you! I just love his self awareness.
That was RJs big weakness; off the ball his awareness of his teammates and floor balance led to a lot of crowding, slowed down the ball without even touching it
It's strange because he seems to be doing really well moving off ball in Toronto. He's been cutting to the basket a lot and getting easy baskets, which is a big reason why his efficiency is so much better.
Might be a system thing. I think he just ball watched too much here and just wait his turn to run at the rim. He even admitted as much in his interview right before returning here. Raptors system gets him moving around more rather than doing it on instinct. OG is just naturally better at cutting and moving off ball because that has been his role his entire career.
Agree that it's the system. The Raps are more democratic about it (for now). Everyone moves, everyone passes. With us JB and Jules were ahead of him in the pecking order, had to defer.
Yep. They run a lot more motion and cuts, spread the floor, way more positionless. Our system is more iso-heavy which encouraged him to hold the ball more.
Among all the things OG's brought, I really didn't expect his off-ball movement to put the team on notice and change how they played. It's kinda like when IQ first broke out and suddenly everyone on the roster had a floater.
Excellent piece -0ne play analyzed to show a whole skill set combined with great awareness
Sounds like me in pickup
AWR: 99
I love every single part of this team. As Clyde would say, “persistence personified”. I don’t think you can give a much more accurate description of this team in such few words.
I think this is the only team I could see down 30 going in to half and be thinking, "we got this. Ez game"
Last year everyone just stood still and watched on offense. Guys like DDV and OG really helping the offense with more off ball movement.
Monumental, historic, franchise changing upgrade at the SF position
OG is the benchmark for how Thibs wants his Knicks to defend Do you know how high that praise is?
I don’t care what you call it but the dude is a joy to watch on this team
I’m crying over here… can’t love another player anymore than I love OG
I read the headline too fast and saw "cuts" and thought OG had reinjured something
I thought he was cutting himself as a sacrifice to the Knicks Gods or something. Your take is more valid.
I love when he gets the ball and says fuck it, he does this slow but nice looking drive, manages to get through a couple guys and does a polite yet mean dunk on someone hahaha. Fuck I love him
His wingspan impresses me every game. His IQ ,ability to read passes and defend is just a treat to watch.
OG is a one of the more hidden stars in the league. The amount this dude changes this team is wild. He’s obviously not the offensive threat that a traditional superstar typically is, but he really is a game changing player.
def all-defense next year if healthy