Toronto Raptors Fresh 24: Raptors Weave
By Demar Grant
Welcome to Fresh 24, where we’ll look at the more creative, deceptive and interesting plays that the Toronto Raptors execute throughout the season.
The weave is a play in every coaches playbook, just some coaches prefer to use it more than others. Usually the weave is used to create dysfunction before resolving into a pick and roll leaving the defense off kilter before the scoring action even takes place.
That pick and roll can be the spearhead to the entire offence flattening out, or the screen can ultimately be slipped to get a jump on the defense among a plethora of other options. The Toronto Raptors use the weave to do what they do best, set up a 1-5 pick and roll, but this time with an empty strong side of the court.
When the Warriors run a weave, they sprinkle their shooters around the perimeter to make the defense choose when and who to help. Since DeMar DeRozan isn’t a three point shooter the play starts with him handing the ball off to Terrence Ross.
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Instead of running to the corner to await a pass, DeRozan keeps running into the opposite corner creating the space needed to run the play. DeMarre Carroll isn’t part of the play other than faking to set a screen for T-Ross and then making a mad dash for the corner. Emptying the strong side of court all starts with the initial hand-off from DeRozan to Ross. Then when Ross makes that second hand-off to Kyle Lowry the real play is set.
With Ross at the top of the key it prevents Rodney Hood from bumping down, and, let’s face it, Joe Johnson isn’t the defensive type. A borderline illegal screen gets Dante Exum chasing the play and with Rudy Gobert already dropping back into the paint, space to make a pass is exorbitant.
By the time Lucas Nogueira receives the pass, Gobert has shifted to Lowry to contain the drive and Gordon Hayward contemplates mortality before challenging BeBe’s dunk. Opting for continued existence, BeBe’s dunk goes uncontested, but if Hayward were to tempt the gods he could stop this play.
BeBe isn’t deft and his foot work consists of straight lines only. If Hayward put his body on the line to draw a charge it could cause a turnover. However, do you really want to put your body in front of a 7-foot-2 Sideshow Bob as he’s barreling down the lane?
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Dwane Casey and the Raptors have earned a reputation for running nothing down the stretch, even through the Raptors have some cute one’s like this. If the Toronto Raptors run more fun little plays like this they may be able to turn that reputation around.