As I was collating the material for this issue, I saw Boucher 29 years old. I remember him playing for the Warriors — or rather, being on the Warriors' roster to watch over the water dispenser — as if it were yesterday, and that was supposed to be the first season of Boucher's career. This explains why, with the physical conditions that match modern basketball, Boucher still failed to gain favor in the draft — he was too late to enter the industry, and he was 25 years old when he entered the industry. The Warriors gave him a two-way contract but only got 1 minute of playing time. Boucher is from Saint Lucia, and you probably haven't heard of this small Caribbean country. The NBA does not lack poor children, like Boucher, who did not receive systematic basketball training before the age of 16, dropped out of high school to go to a restaurant to brush dishes, I am afraid it is rare.
The Raptors are an incubator that houses talents whose origins have been suppressed. If you are a curious fan who is happy to discover "demons", you should focus on the Heat, Lone Rangers, Raptors, Heat are good at digging shooters, Lone Rangers are good at promoting honest people with mediocre talents, and the Raptors are a big stage that "turns for dreams", young and not too young young people with inspirational stories, take out your skills, Ugery and Nas will turn for you.
Here's the Raptors' talent list (age here refers to the first appearance in the NBA):
Boucher, 29 years old, lost the draft, entered the industry at the age of 25;
Birch, 29 years old, lost the draft, entered the industry at the age of 25;
VanVleet, 27 years old, lost the draft, entered the industry at the age of 22;
Siakam, 27, with 27 picks in the first round, 22 years old;
Yuta Watanabe, 27 years old, lost the draft, entered the industry at the age of 24;
OG Anunoby, 24 years old, 23rd overall pick in the first round, age of entry 20 years;
Mikhailuk, 24 years old, 17th pick in the second round, 21 years old;
Trent Jr., 23 years old, second round 7 pick, entry age 20 years old;
Flynn, 23, with 29 picks in the first round, age 22;
Achuva, 22 years old, 20th pick in the first round, age of entry 21 years;
Bunga, 22 years old, second round 19th pick, entry age 19 years old;
Banton, 22 years old, second round 16 pick, rookie;
Barnes, 20, 4th pick in the first round, rookie;
Champenni, 20 years old, lost draft, rookie;
David Johnson, 20, with 17th pick in the second round, is a rookie.
Let's take a look:
1 lotto show;
4 players in the first round of non-lotto shows;
5 people in the second round show;
5 people lost the draft;
There are 7 rookies who are 22 years old and older at the time of entry.
This list can help you understand the logic behind the Raptors' basketball philosophy.
The Raptors' inherent problems persist, with excessive attachment to the ball leading to too many opportunities given to opponents on the three-point line. In the absence of a card center, too much emphasis on fast play, defensive rebounding protection is poor. The Raptors have not become a defensive team that matches their level of effort, their current defensive efficiency ranks 15th in the league, and the sweat they put in on the defensive end is about the top 3 in the league, which is a rather embarrassing contrast.
But the Raptors' defense improved. The personnel are gradually stabilized, the two-guard three-forward game is becoming more and more skilled, and the defensive rotation rate continues to increase with the deepening of the season, and they are no longer the team that misses the three points. Tearing pressure on the ball, combined with irrepressible fast blood, these have become the boosters of the Raptors' offense. They and the Timberwolves are like replicas of each other in another division, relying on round-up and speed to form a two-hit combo of steals and counter-attack dunks, throwing the ball out with not flashy development techniques, and then launching a new round of charge to win the opportunity to make up for the dunk. The wolf pack and velociraptor's combat skills are not complicated, based on size and athleticism, guaranteed by the strict supervision of Finch and Nas, adding a loss of rationality and finishing touches from Russell and VanVleet.
Of course, the Raptors and the Timberwolves are different after all, the Raptors are close to the "all the people are soldiers", the Timberwolves + Yuanyuan + the "prototype of the big three", in terms of talent concentration, not the same day:
VanVleet is the Raptors' most threatening player, but In the past 8 games, Trent Jr. has scored 30+ in 5 games, hit 41 three-pointers, and can also hit difficult ball-holding shooting mid-range, becoming the Raptors' strongest growth point in recent times;
Siakam was scolded for a year and a half, and after people gradually accepted that he was not the successor of the small card, it was gradually discovered that his combination of dribbling and footing skills was still rare among players in this height band, and the value of breaking through and changing the formation was more than ever, and the duo with VanVleet also had more postures;
Expecting OG Anunoby to replicate the little card's growth history is as far away as hoping for Siakam, but the 4th and 5th seasons of OG's career have indeed moved a lot towards a bigger role. He can occasionally hold the ball to punish misplaced, and even make a small number of three-point attempts to shoot with the ball, although this is still not his strong point;
Barnes is the third version of the Raptors' "Small Card Ideal", having a higher starting point than Sika and OG, trying to turn over a jump shot at close mid-range earlier and showing a size advantage under the basket.
Raptors five tigers, everyone is good, but my description of them is also full of restraint. A team's most beautiful combined production stats are "25%+55.4%" or "23.5%+56.8%", and you can't say that they have a high enough level of main attackers. It can only be said that VanVleet + Siakam, the blocking and demolition combination can be interchanged, and there are misplaced attack capabilities up and down, which is rare in the league. Supplemented by the 3 deputy attackers who can play some ball holding and can also stand outside the three-point line, the Raptors have a lower-limit version of the "five outside" + "five ball holding" lineup. This lineup is not inexplicable, but it makes the opponent quite disgusting — the Miami Heat or the Atlanta Hawks, if they meet the Raptors in the playoffs, it will be a little annoying, in the recent encounter, the Raptors chased Tyler Hiro, the traits of all five can play, so that teams with obvious defensive weaknesses, not good Tibetans.
That's not the Raptors' core competency, at least not now.
In addition to these 5 people, the attack threat of the rest of the Raptors is far from enough, combined with defense, the level of reliable rotation is only 7 to 8 people. Their "all soldiers" are not complete, and Nas still relies on the way of fierce starting, and has played every regular season game into the finals.
In the end, the Raptors still rely on fighting, using mistakes, fighting for rebounds in the front court, and getting more shots than opponents. The Raptors have the most shots per 100 rounds, and their opponents have the 4th fewest shots per 100 rounds in the league, supplementing the quality with quantity. When you don't have the top developers, the space is flawed, and there is no reliable center, you don't work hard enough and you definitely don't have a chance.
How hard did the Raptors work?
They're probably the only team in the NBA that's going to play full-court tight in the first quarter. This is certainly not the norm, but Nas likes to fill up the aggressiveness and let opponents feel their attitude towards the game. The Raptors' game is very good, they play not delicately, but also not rough, because the game has a unified central idea, the whole team is working hard towards a goal, and the game pictures are proving that this team has their persistence and culture, no matter who is replaced, it will not violate this.
Let's go back to the Raptors' talent list:
The Raptors, a team dominated by low-ranking rookies, losing drafts, and older rookies, are said to be on the same side as "talented."
So, why is the temperament of the Raptors' game a talent competition?
You can't simply define talent as "size" and "vitality."
Indeed, the Raptors players are almost all long-legged Oba, can run and jump, which allows them to fill the fast attack, steals, blocks, frontcourt rebounds and other data related to physical talent. But those parts that show "delicacy" are rare, vanVleet's steady and unremarkable passing and projection are representative, and he is precisely the one with the most mediocre physical talent.
Most of the Raptors players lack the innate "main attacker temperament". OG Anunoby has such excellent physical condition that in the fifth season of his career, he cannot pull the ball outward after blocking the wall and pulling the ball out like Ingram, silky and silky. Both free throws and three-pointers can be practiced, but the reason why "developing offense" is the most expensive resource is, of course, there are reasons for it.
The Raptors' "talent" is certainly very limited. You can't forget the fact that the Raptors are a perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse, and since 13 years, they missed the playoffs for the only time last season. Barnes' stand-out presence is a reflection of the Raptors' steady performance over the years. The Raptors' market demand also makes them unwilling to waste too much time on the rot, and they need to develop the team's potential in other ways, focusing on the low-pick rookies and losing drafts. They don't care about age, they don't just care about the size and athleticism of the players, otherwise there wouldn't have been VanVleet.
In fact, what the Raptors care most about is the player's hard work and effort, and the hard work and effort often comes from hunger and thirst, which is what the Raptors squeeze from those low-ranking rookies, losing drafts, and older rookies who are eager to prove themselves.
The Raptors are a team with a high degree of logic, from the selection of materials to coaching has a clear purpose, they know the needs of the ball market, the position of the team in the market, the level of talent that may be obtained, so they gradually grope out a set of team building models, forming a "fight" word-in-chief game characteristics and team culture.
The Raptors came back, took just one year, got a young man worth cultivating for many years, and then laid out a core team around him that was enough to fight for another 5 years. With another center and bench depth, it's only a matter of time before this team returns to the top of the East, and what they rely on is only the word "pragmatic".
Want to "big legs", so do not care about "age";
People who want to "give their whole body" do not care about "origin".
When you know what you want, it's hard not to be on the road to success. After all, even in Los Angeles and New York, you can't stand the toss.