The Raptors may surprise a lot of doubters but you can not blame the press outside of Toronto for their more realistic expectations based upon the abysmal track record. The roster is quite similar to last years' that would not have finished ninth in the East if not for winning down the stretch against tankers and playoff teams resting their vets.
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ESPN 2013-14 East Standings [update: Post #86]
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Pretty much were we should be. No point in over hyping a team that did add anything of significance to their roster. Other teams around us did and that's why ESPN expects us to finish 11th. Please don't use the last 2 weeks of last season to say that this team is a playoff team. We faced teams that already had a playoff spot and rested their guys while we went all out. This team didn't improve with Rudy on the team since before the trade we were playing .500 basketball.
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Milwaukee hasn't gotten any better though. Raptors are one of the more athletic teams in the east with a well balanced roster. Detroit has no decent wing players, Milwaukee is just plain mediocre, Atlanta is kind of a weird team (i have no idea what they're doing), Cleveland is just a mish mash of random pieces that don't fit. Washington seems like the only team to me that will actually be a threat outside of the top 4 - 5 teams that will be a lock.
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DG88 wrote: View PostPretty much were we should be. No point in over hyping a team that did add anything of significance to their roster. Other teams around us did and that's why ESPN expects us to finish 11th. Please don't use the last 2 weeks of last season to say that this team is a playoff team. We faced teams that already had a playoff spot and rested their guys while we went all out. This team didn't improve with Rudy on the team since before the trade we were playing .500 basketball.
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p00ka wrote: View PostThe fallacies that people spout on here, which then get accepted as "fact". Ugh. That is true of only the last 2 games. Immediately prior to those 2 games, they beat Brooklyn who rested nobody (eg. d-Will played 38 minutes), and beat Chicago back-to-back, while they rested nobody. These teams were playing for playoff seeding.
They won 7 of their last 8 games.
Two wins came against Boston and Atlanta when they were resting their best players.
Two wins came against the Bulls when they were sitting Deng/Noah/Gibson (and Rose obviously) in the first game and Gibson/Noah in the second. Malcolm Thomas played 25 minutes in one of the games (averaged 5 for the season) and Nazi Mohammed logged 43 minutes at centre in the other (after averaging 11 for the rest of the regular season). Of course the Bulls weren't explicitly trying to lose but I wouldn't be using those games as a true gauge for the Raptors potential either. Some of their top players were out of the lineup and they used inferior players for many more minutes than they normally would.
Two more of the wins came against the Wizards and Wolves respectively, two lottery bound teams who had it in their best interest to actually lose at this point. The Raptors, coincidentally enough, were on the complete opposite end of this spectrum as they were motivated to win meaningless games so they wouldn't have to give up a higher draft pick to OKC. Wizards played with no Beal. Wolves started Rubio-Ridnour in the backcourt. Raptors should be beating these teams under these circumstances.
The one legit win was against Brooklyn.
Oh, and the team went 5-15 in the 20 games prior to that.
I really don't think you can use those last 2 weeks as an accurate predictor of what's to come.
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How does everyone assume the "top 5 is a lock"? I mean, not that I would wish this on anybody, but a long term injury Lebron, Carmelo, D Williams, or even D Rose again and these teams are down on a tier with Atlanta, Washington and yes Toronto imo. Indiana is the one team that I see being quite balanced, and to a lesser extent Chi and Brooklyn, where they could withstand an injury to there top player. Miami, while still the best team, is more top heavy then ever with the continued decline of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Remember, New York was a BIG surprise last year, and now they've added Bargnani, which many would say is subtraction by addition, and J Kidd was believe it or not a real glue guy. If Carmelo goes down for more than 20 games, or even without, they could be back to being a fringe playoff team again this year.
Point being, if EVERYTHING went right for the Raptors, we could be top 2 in Atlantic, top 4 or 5 in the East and hey, maybe win a round.
Wow...I must be in a good mood today.9 time first team all-RR, First Ballot Hall of Forum
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flamingtimbits wrote: View Post6. Atlanta
7. Cleveland
8. Toronto
9. Milwaukee
10. Washington
11. Detroit
12. Orlando
13. Boston
14. Charlotte
15. Philly
At least thru my rose-tinted glasses, that's about right.What they got to say now? Nothing they can say now. Mobbin' on the low. Winnin' on the lowThe city embraced me, made me feel at home. The only difference [between Compton and Toronto] for me is the cold. -DeMarNo Where Near the South Side #WeTheNorth
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Xixak wrote: View PostAssuming Bynum is healthy, they have two all-stars, potentially 2 superstars on their team. That's how...What they got to say now? Nothing they can say now. Mobbin' on the low. Winnin' on the lowThe city embraced me, made me feel at home. The only difference [between Compton and Toronto] for me is the cold. -DeMarNo Where Near the South Side #WeTheNorth
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I don't believe in Atlanta or Milwaukee due to player and coaching changes losing stars and replacing with bootlegs (milsap/mayo). Most of the fringe teams really just need to stay healthy. If wall,Irving/Bynum,Gay/JV,Jennings,jsmooth,al horford go down for significant time so do there teams chancesNo Dissrespect...
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.. You hear me BC?
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