Welcome to “One Play!” Throughout the 2019-20 NBA season, our NBA.com Staff will break down certain possessions from certain games and peel back the curtains to reveal its bigger meaning.
Today, a certain Toronto Raptors lineup takes the spotlight.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse went to it more out of necessity than anything else – Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka both struggled in Game 2, forcing Nurse to go with Toronto’s “five best guys” to close the game – but we still caught a glimpse of why it can be effective in the right situations.
There was one particular play that stood out. Let’s take a closer look.
The play: Powell blows by Jarrett Allen for the dunk.
Breakdown: Lowry pushes the ball up the court following a missed shot from Garrett Temple.
The Nets get back in time to prevent the Raptors from scoring a quick basket, so Lowry passes the ball to VanVleet at the top of the 3-point line to reset.
Allen starts the possession on Siakam but switches assignments with Temple when Siakam makes his way towards VanVleet to set a screen. Why? So he’s in better position to protect the rim should someone drive to the basket.
Anunoby, meanwhile, balances the court by clearing out from the right side to the left side.
Rather than having Joe Harris fight through Siakam’s screen, Temple switches onto VanVleet while Harris switches onto Siakam, who pops to the 3-point line instead of rolling to the basket.
The floor is now clear for VanVleet to attack Temple one-on-one.
Temple does a decent job keeping VanVleet in front of him, but VanVleet is able to get deep enough to draw Allen away from Powell in the strongside corner. VanVleet makes the right read, kicking it out to Powell rather than continuing his drive.
Powell shot only 1-for-6 from 3-point range in Game 2, but he made 44.0 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts during the regular season. Allen closes out on him out of fear of him getting a clean look at a 3-pointer, paving the way for Powell to take him off the dribble.
Why it matters: The intrigue with playing Siakam at centre should be obvious – it gives the Raptors the luxury of putting five players on the court who can shoot, pass and dribble at a high level. Gasol and Ibaka are both capable of doing those things, but them trying to make a play off the dribble is a little different than VanVleet, Lowry, Powell or Anunoby doing it.
Offensively, there’s no reason why building lineups around Siakam at centre shouldn’t work. If teams don’t downsize themselves, it basically becomes a game of who has the biggest mismatch. Allen is guarding Powell on the 3-point line? OK, give him the ball and see what he can do against Allen on a closeout. Siakam is being defended by someone his size? Have him set a screen on VanVleet or Lowry to force a switch and let him feast in the post against a guard while everyone spaces the floor around him. VanVleet or Lowry are the ones who have the favourable mismatch? Clear out to let them go one-on-one.
Anunoby is the weakest link of those five offensively, but he’s shown some promising signs of growth as a scorer in the season restart. He’s been looking to attack smaller players in the post a little more and he’s improved tremendously as a driver. He might not quite be at a point where you’re confident that he can consistently create a solid look for himself against a mismatch, but he could get there eventually.
Besides, Anunoby is the key to the lineup working defensively. What lineups with Siakam at centre lack is size. It’s why it’s not an answer to every team in the league. (Can you imagine the Raptors going that small against Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo? It probably wouldn’t work). But against a team like the Nets who don’t have a centre who is going to overwhelm opponents with their back to the basket – no team averaged less points per game in the post than the Nets this season – the Raptors can get away with it.
It helps that Anunoby and Siakam have spent time matched up with fives this season. According to data collected by Krishna Narsu of The Bball Index, Anunoby spent 13.7 percent of his minutes in the regular season guarding centres compared to 15.3 percent for Siakam. Again, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Raptors want either one of them guarding Embiid in the post – although it is worth noting that Anunoby did a tremendous job against Nikola Jokic in one game this season – but they’re each capable of hanging with someone like Allen in spot minutes.
“It’s the versatility, knowing me and Pascal can both switch onto [Allen],” Anunoby said about Toronto’s small lineup after Game 2. “We can spread the floor, all shoot, drive and pass. Just play five out. Spreading the floor so the rim is open. Make them adjust to us.”
Another benefit of playing them all together: Toronto can switch more aggressively. The Raptors are home to some of the most versatile defenders in the league, with Anunoby and Siakam being able to defend all five positions and VanVleet, Lowry and Powell being able to guard three or four positions depending on the matchup. With all five of them on the court, the Raptors can switch almost across the board.
We even caught a glimpse of that in Game 2:
This doesn’t mean that playing Siakam at centre is suddenly going to become a staple in Toronto’s offence, but Game 2 of its first-round series with Brooklyn proved that it can be a game-changer in the right situation.
Hopefully the next time Nurse breaks it out won’t be because Gasol and Ibaka haven’t given him any other choice.
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The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
