The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Toronto Raptors

Well, little did I know that league pass doesn’t kick in until the season begins, so while I was going to watch a bunch of preseason games instead I’m going to write some previews. With the help of various stat websites (82games.com basketball-reference.com and espn.com mostly) I’ve made a few interesting discoveries about the players I will soon immerse myself into. First up: The Toronto Raptors (We’ll pour one out for the actual Raptor Mascot in respect of Zach Lowe)

The Good:

Jonas. He’s probably the number 1 reason I’m going to follow the Raptors, which has a lot to do with wishful thinking that he’ll be the new great NBA big and I can watch it. A closer look at his stats help show the promise that Jonas has, but they also show a rookie 20 year old  in the NBA. For instance he has a .619 True shooting percent (basically a weighted field goal percentage), which is already the best on the team, and for a point of reference Kevin Durant (who I’ll be gushing about on a later date) has a .647 true shooting percentage.  On top of that he’s drawing fouls on 18.7 percent of his shots and shooting a legitimate 79% from the charity stripe.

Kyle Lowry. There’s a special place in my heart for Kyle Lowry, he went to Villanova and my love for the Big 5 pretty much is only second to my love of boobs and the women they’re attached to. He also has a game that I’ve always enjoyed watching. Constantly attacking, having a Napoleon complex, and setting up his teammates. The problem is that he is in this category mostly because of that. Kyle Lowry is the best returning Raptor from 3 point range (shooting 36 percent), but that’s only because the Raptors are abysmal from 3 point range finishing last year tied for 25th  while shooting an average of 20.3 threes per game. (12th most in the league). He also rebounds decently for a guy his size which is fun to watch.

Amir Johnson. This guy was the biggest surprise while digging deep into the stats of the upcoming Raptors roster.    Johnson had a pretty decent year last year finishing with a 17.3 PER (Player Efficiency Rating according to the Bible of Hollinger) which was just slightly lower than Kyle Lowry (17.5) and some one I have a lot to talk about later Rudy gay (17.6). He was a good offensive rebounder with a 10.2 %  offensive rebound percentage and seemed to be a decent rim protector (defense is not exactly metric friendly) with 74 close blocks (within 5 feet of the basket). It’s safe to say I’m excited to watch Amir Johnson

The Bad:

Steve Novak. True story: Right around Linsanity (Feb 2012) in suburban Philadelphia at a Goodwill I found a Steve Novak Marquette bobblehead, and did not buy it. I’ve regretted it ever since, just because of how random it seemed  that it would be there. I really like Steve Novak and his stats show exactly who he is, a knock down three point shooter and nothing else. He shot 42 percent from 3 last year  which attributed to his .602 true shooting percentage, but he doesn’t get fouled, doesn’t rebound, and doesn’t particularly pass well. And that’s only his offense, his defense is terrible. He’s slow, he may be made out of wood, and he pretty much can’t cover anyone who truly belongs on an NBA roster. But man is it fun to watch him shoot 3’s!

Tyler Hansbrough. Psycho T in the big T (do they call Toronto the Big T? maybe I’ll start that)! One of my friends from college looks exactly like Tyler Hansbrough so I always enjoy watching him play. 99 percent of the other people watching don’t have friends who look like Tyler Hansbrough so I totally understand how they don’t enjoy watching him play. Everything just seems un-dynamic (that’s not a real thing), in fast motion., and awkward. He couldn’t get off the bench for a good Pacers team who had no bench last year, but his stats weren’t terrible. He draws fouls at a 23.6 percent rate, and has a 11.1 offensive rebound percentage, those are two very viable attributes in the NBA. Other things aren’t so good such as  an effective field goal percentage ((FGs+.5%*3Ps)/FGA) of .319 on jumpers when 50 percent of his shots are jumpers, and a block rate (1.9 %) which barely surpasses Kyle Lowry’s (1.6%).

The Ugly:

Rudy Gay. I remember being really impressed when Rudy Gay was playing on a US National team before his injury in 2010, doing athletic things, and looking like a superstar. Boy! Do his stats not back that up. A pedestrian .51 percent true shooting percentage, he draws no fouls (8.9 percent) , isn’t a playmaker (38 bad pass turnovers vs. 40 combined 3pt and dunks assists while in Toronto), and gives up an 18.4 PER to opposing Small Forwards. He only shoots from close 18 % percent of the time! Honestly I don’t know what to expect from Rudy Gay this year.

Demar DeRozan. In the basic way of looking at offense DeRozan looked "ok" last year averaging 18.1 points per game, mostly though it was because some one has to score points on every team. His advanced stats are gross. The nominal shooting guard shot 28 percent from 3 while shooting 120 of them, he also shot with 21 or more seconds on the shot clock 17 percent of the time. What is to be seen his how he looks on defense, I literally haven’t watched a Raptors game since the AI used to take on Vince Carter, so maybe Demar DeRozan is a guy who shuts down opposite players like how his holding opposing shooting guards to a 10.8 PER suggests.

These are just some of the things I’ve been thinking about with the Raptors. Just know how excited I am for October 29th. Let the great experiment begin!!