Raptors plot strategy for dealing with Drummond

DETROIT CENTRE

Andre Drummond, left, presents a defensive challenge for the Toronto Raptors when the NBA regular season opens next week. self thanks to good screens.

“(For most players) this league is not what 10 (or) 20 things (you can do well), it’s what three or four good things (you excel at) and I think one of the great things I can do is set a great screen, so I try to focus my game on this every night, to leave my teammates open, or to have a chance to finish around the basket,” Nogueira said.

“I think screens are six or seven per cent of the game of basketball, because what happens is if you set a good screen, if you don’t get open,

“It’s going to help him a lot because guys like myself and Pat, we can shoot the ball, so guys are going to run us off the three-point line, so we’ve got to have another move,” DeMarre Carroll said.

“He’s really been working on the float game he does. He’s been making it. Hopefully he stays confident in it and can keep doing it.”

Patterson got all the way to the hoop after one such move on Wednesday, but couldn’t bank in a layup. He has also been making good decisions with the ball, as his 6:1 assist-to-turnover ratio attests. Only five players have posted a better ratio during the exhibition campaign and the next-best mark on the team is Carroll’s 2.5:1 (DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have struggled in this department, but their track records indicate they will clean it up).