Farewell, Timofey Mozgov

[CardiacCavs]

I disagree with people saying that we should have been playing Mozgov last night in the 4th. Casey ran with a small ball 3 point shooting line up because he needed points quick. They weren't trying to drive the ball or score in the paint. Putting Mozgov out there and asking him to try and defend guards off of screens like Lou Williams, Ross, and DeRozan would be asking him to fail. With the way they were shooting, putting TT out there to help cover the guards coming off pick and rolls was the best call because he has the mobility to show on the screens and get back to his man in the paint. IIRC, only once or twice did the lack of inside defense really bite us, when they found Jonas cutting to the hoop after setting the screen cause TT doubled the ball handler.

It would be a different story if they had a game plan to attack inside in the final minutes, but it was the opposite. They wanted to stretch the floor and make 3's. Mozgov would have hurt our defense in this case.

I think it was a pretty smart play by Blatt to stick with TT in the final minutes. I just hope he can recognize that in this particular instance it worked, but it won't work in other situations. He needs to continue adapting to the opposing line up, rather than sticking to a rigid game plan like certain coaches have done in the past.

 

[priceFTW]

Blatt used TT over Moz for a reason and his plan worked. So really what's the rush to play Moz when our gameplan works? Is there some obligation to play certain players in the 4th?

No, and games evolve differently every night.

I think what posters are pondering is the fact that when Mozgov is on court, our defense is equivalent to the 2nd best defense in the NBA and opponents shoot the lowest eFG% in the league. When he's not on court, it's the 25th-26th best defense although that's skewed by our early season shittiness. He's been a giant plus , so it's natural to wonder where he is, but again, match-ups, etc.

 

[Pioneer10]

Blatt used TT over Moz for a reason and his plan worked. So really what's the rush to play Moz when our gameplan works? Is there some obligation to play certain players in the 4th?

Maybe it if's one game but the point is that it's been several now. Phrase it in reverse is Blatt not obligated at some point to see how our 7 foot center who is our best rim protector, mobile, and can hit shots will work in the 4th quarter of tight games?

I can't be the only one who thinks this is strange that he hasn't played in the 4th quarter in 6 our of the last 7 games. Particularly since the starting lineup has the best +/- in the entire league per NBA.com

 

[tocov]

It's all about matchups.
If Blatt thinks in the playoffs that TT is a better matchup in the fourth with what the other team brings out, then he will play him.
Blatt is by all means not obligated to play a player who doesn't match up and go against his gameplan.

It is sometimes curious why he doesn't play him at certain times, but he has a plan and he sticks to it, and we're winning.

 

[SteelSmack]

I disagree with people saying that we should have been playing Mozgov last night in the 4th. Casey ran with a small ball 3 point shooting line up because he needed points quick. They weren't trying to drive the ball or score in the paint.

I hear this but it doesn't make any sense. They put JV in with 4 minutes left and went inside 3 straight possessions (scored all 3, I might add).

With JV in there, he wouldn't have had to chase any shooters around, he would have guarded the other plodding center.

 

[kookoo]

I hear this but it doesn't make any sense. They put JV in with 4 minutes left and went inside 3 straight possessions (scored all 3, I might add).

With JV in there, he wouldn't have had to chase any shooters around, he would have guarded the other plodding center.

Yup. Because JV is about 3-4 inches taller than TT. And is stronger.

I'm honestly not sure why Mozgov didn't play every minute JV was in there. I really hope this isn't a trend against larger centers.

 

[abrahavt]

Yup. Because JV is about 3-4 inches taller than TT. And is stronger.

I'm honestly not sure why Mozgov didn't play every minute JV was in there. I really hope this isn't a trend against larger centers.

Actually JV is quicker and more athletic than Mosgov and he was struggling to defend against JV earlier in the game. That is why Blatt decided to try to see if TT could guard him. Didn't really work as JV was having a great game.

 

[Jscc]

Actually JV is quicker and more athletic than Mosgov and he was struggling to defend against JV earlier in the game.

Moz had a +7 +/- and JV had a -2 +/-.

Moz was also abusing JV with cuts to the basket.

 

[kookoo]

Actually JV is quicker and more athletic than Mosgov and he was struggling to defend against JV earlier in the game. That is why Blatt decided to try to see if TT could guard him. Didn't really work as JV was having a great game.

Extremely debatable. JV has pretty good footwork but I wouldn't say he's quicker and more athletic than Mozgov. I've watched a lot of Raptors games (living in Toronto). He has trouble with larger, more physical centers. TT got killed by JV. Additionally, Mozgov played pretty well on both ends last night. Yeah, he got scored on a few time, but when your job is to guard the paint, you sometimes lose sight of the guy you're supposed to be guarding man to man. It's like everyone is playing man to man and Mozgov has to play man to man and zone. What I wish Blatt would do is allow Mozgov to play m2m when opposing teams have stretch 5s instead of giving Tristan so much burn. He's still better on the offensive end. If you watch the shots scored on him by stretch 5s, he is basically trying to run at them from the paint. That's coaching, not Mozgov.

 

[TFIR]

Actually JV is quicker and more athletic than Mosgov and he was struggling to defend against JV earlier in the game.

JV is an excellent offensive center, but he was playing out of his mind during that game. I too would have preferred Mozgov keep working on JV. He is way more physical, and hopefully would use that to wear JV down.

 

[Cassity14]

Tristan is better at switching to guard perimeter players.

The Raptors got back into the game by way of the long ball.

 

[shawnkempjrjrjr]

Mozgov coctail:

1 shots vodka +
1 shots vodka +
1 shots vodka +
1 shots vodka +
1 shots vodka +
1 shots vodka +

then the bartender sticks a napkin in it, lights in on fire and throws it in your face

 

[Helium filament]

The concern isn't just that Moz didn't play in the fourth of the raptors game, it's the fact that he hasn't played the fourth quarter in 6 of the last 7 games (and the one game where he did play in the fourth was only for a minute and a half) despite the fact that our defense is (statistically) significantly stronger with him and our starting lineup on the floor.

 

[tocov]

Might be minutes management. He plays +- 20 minutes a night. Except the GSW game.

 

[VitiminJ]

The concern isn't just that Moz didn't play in the fourth of the raptors game, it's the fact that he hasn't played the fourth quarter in 6 of the last 7 games (and the one game where he did play in the fourth was only for a minute and a half) despite the fact that our defense is (statistically) significantly stronger with him and our starting lineup on the floor.

They pull him to clear the lane for LeIso mode.