Many years ago, Riley predicted that the future of basketball would be the sport of five swingers about 2 meters tall on the court. Today, Toronto Raptors head coach Nas has turned this concept into the ultimate weapon against the 76ers in the playoffs.
In this year's on-court game, the Raptors have repeatedly put up a lineup of 1 guard + 4 forwards, and the defender is generally played by VanVleet, a small guard. Although it is very close to Riley's prediction, it is still somewhat different. But since the last VanVleet injury, the Raptors have really put up a lineup of five swingers. Trent 1m 96, Anunoby 2m 01, Siakam 2m 06m, Achuva 2m 03, Barnes 2m 01, Thaddeus Young 2m 03, Boucher 2m 06, Birch 2m 06. These eight players are the main rotation of the Raptors today, in today's game, except for the last garbage time, the Raptors team basically has a lineup of five forwards on the court, most of the players are swing people, and both offensive and defensive ends can be switched at will. Moreover, most of these players have excellent athleticism and extraordinary impact. Although the Raptors only shot eight three-pointers today, they won the game by constantly storming the 76ers' interior line.
In addition, in the Raptors lineup, although the tallest is only 2 meters 06, it is a group of "arm span monsters". Barnes arm span 2 m2, Boucher arm span 2 m 25, Siakam arm span 2 m 22, Anunoby arm span 2 m 19, Achuva arm span 2 m 16, Birch arm span 2 m 16, Thaddeus Young also reached 2 m 12 m. As many as 7 of the 8 rotating players are above 2 meters 1, and 6 of them have an arm span of 2 meters 15 or more, which is extremely amazing. The shortest remaining arm span is Trent, which also has 2 meters 05. Such a group of "arm span monsters" allows the Raptors to have a great deal of interference with opponents' shots and passes on the defensive end, and has excellent rebounding protection. In today's game, the Raptors limited the 76ers' shooting percentage to just 38.3 percent. The Raptors' unlimited changes of defense gave Rivers a headache, and Maxie, Harden, and Harris failed to play their previous offensive power in the face of such defenses. The 76ers, on the other hand, could not take much responsibility against embiid, the most powerful weapon in the lineup, because of the torn thumb in his hand.
Looking back now, VanVleet's injury made Nas make up his mind, and also made Riley's basketball philosophy shine proudly in the playoffs. Trailing 3-0, the Toronto Raptors have gone in two straight sets. If the next game returns home and the Raptors chase another inning, the two teams will be back on the starting line. Although no team in the history of the NBA has been able to turn the tables in the 0-3 situation, it is now 2-3, and miracles are always created by people. Hopefully, in the next series, the lineup of five strikers can give us more surprises.