David Aldridge, NBA.com: Probably most balanced write up on Raps renaissance yet

[white men can't jump]

He forgot about the Oilers....

And Senators...but that won't bug anyone.

Senators fans are dicks. The only 2 bar fights I've been in proximity of were started by Sens fans. Douches.

[mcHAPPY]

He forgot about the Oilers....

....and Senators.

[Raptorsnz]

Wait, Ross eats way too much candy? Never knew that about him.

Crazy to think JV hasn't even played 100 NBA games yet either.

Also interesting to actually hear Casey is being evaluated on the development of players, as well as the coaching staff. Developing good assistants is often overlooked but they can be very vital to a team's success.

[OldSkoolCool]

And Senators...but that won't bug anyone.

Senators fans are dicks. The only 2 bar fights I've been in proximity of were started by Sens fans. Douches.

....and Senators.

#Backfire

My bad...

[golden]

The article is somewhat disjointed and rambling. It starts off with the 'Fools Gold' analogy, but in reference to an obscure single player vs. team performance?? Not feeling that one. Seems like he's just trying to look smart on that one. However, the most salient point (for me anyway) comes with the observation of Toronto potentially following the path of Golden State, i.e., addition by subtraction of a ball-stopping chucker (Ellis), allowing the young core to develop to their full potential, beyond what anybody expected and veterans (like David Lee) finally performing to expectations. Never heard anybody here or blog-wise mention the GSW comparison before, but it's actually potentially a good one, i.e., perceived small market 'treadmill' team with no super high draft picks, just jelling and getting over the hump. The rest of the article is kind of all over the map, but nice pub for the Raps nonetheless.

[Miekenstien]

And Senators...but that won't bug anyone.

Senators fans are dicks. The only 2 bar fights I've been in proximity of were started by Sens fans. Douches.

sens fans are the best fans in the world. other than cheer for the sens there is nothing to do in ottawa. do you know what we went through the year we only won 10 games. we had to live with daigle and yashin. there was some dark times for us sens fans. i would go so far as to say the worst fans are leafs fans or canadians fans. filling up our arena and cheering for the other team.

[white men can't jump]

sens fans are the best fans in the world. other than cheer for the sens there is nothing to do in ottawa. do you know what we went through the year we only won 10 games. we had to live with daigle and yashin. there was some dark times for us sens fans. i would go so far as to say the worst fans are leafs fans or canadians fans. filling up our arena and cheering for the other team.

Cry me a river...

That gives you the right to throw a beer bottle in someone's face? Or for 3 of you to jump a lone guy from behind while he's sitting down?

[Miekenstien]

Cry me a river...

That gives you the right to throw a beer bottle in someone's face? Or for 3 of you to jump a lone guy from behind while he's sitting down?

lol. how many other sens fans there weren't doing those things. is every raptor fan the assholes that boo everyone? i saw a guy with a maple leafs shirt slap a lady once, god damn bunch of wife beaters

[white men can't jump]

lol. how many other sens fans there weren't doing those things. is every raptor fan the assholes that boo everyone? i saw a guy with a maple leafs shirt slap a lady once, god damn bunch of wife beaters

Well I've never seen a fight at a bar started by anyone else. I've been the lone Leafs fan in a Montreal bar screaming, pointing and laughing in Habs fans' faces, and we never had to resort to douchey, cowardly violence. You cheer. You can even be obnoxious. But there's no reason to be violent over a game, no matter how much you care about the team.

I don't expect all fans for every team will be civil. I'm sure Leafs and Habs fans have started fights and been violent. But in my experience it has only occured near, and was instigated by, Sens fans.

*The fact that it was a lady aside....slapping someone in the face, and trying to break their face with a bottle, or trying to gangbeat someone jumping him from behind....well it's hard for me to say they're on the same level from a pure violence perspective.

sens fans are the best fans in the world. other than cheer for the sens there is nothing to do in ottawa. do you know what we went through the year we only won 10 games. we had to live with daigle and yashin. there was some dark times for us sens fans. i would go so far as to say the worst fans are leafs fans or canadians fans. filling up our arena and cheering for the other team.

And here you go, blaming fans of other teams because your own fanbase isn't passionate enough, or is to cheap to actually fill your own arena and dominate the crowd.

[Miekenstien]

I've been the lone Leafs fan in a Montreal bar screaming, pointing and laughing in Habs fans' faces,

I don't expect all fans for every team will be civil. I'm sure Leafs and Habs fans have started fights and been violent. But in my experience it has only occured near, and was instigated by, Sens fans.

*The fact that it was a lady aside....slapping someone in the face, and trying to break their face with a bottle, or trying to gangbeat someone jumping him from behind....well it's hard for me to say they're on the same level from a pure violence perspective.



And here you go, blaming fans of other teams because your own fanbase isn't passionate enough, or is to cheap to actually fill your own arena and dominate the crowd.

this is where you started lying, no leafs fan has had a chance to cheer in like 20 years. hahaha.

i have never seen a fight started over a hockey game so i assume the people you saw fight are morons anyway. but your sweeping generality arguments are as senseless as the violence you condemn.

those fans pour into our arena because ottawa is split into three fan bases because before the sens they either went toronto or montreal. those fans have seen their comrade in arms shrink year after year to sens fans.

[Miekenstien]

i also don't much agree with the article and aldridges' avoidance of saying what side of the fence he is on with the raptors. an opinion piece without any opinions?

[white men can't jump]

this is where you started lying, no leafs fan has had a chance to cheer in like 20 years. hahaha.

i have never seen a fight started over a hockey game so i assume the people you saw fight are morons anyway. but your sweeping generality arguments are as senseless as the violence you condemn.

those fans pour into our arena because ottawa is split into three fan bases because before the sens they either went toronto or montreal. those fans have seen their comrade in arms shrink year after year to sens fans.

sigh...whatever dude....it's just observations. Dismiss them if you want. There is some truth to "shitty" fans like waht I'm talking about, whether you accept it or not. Red Sox are a good example too. I had a buddy working Rogers Centre security for a couple of seasons a few years ago, and in-crowd incidents and fan ejections were at their highest for Red sox games because Red Sox fans would be bullheaded morons who didn't know how to act with any restraint/respect.

[ezz_bee]

There are tons of forums where hockey can be discussed. This is not one them.

[bryan colangelo]

This quote from the article raises a good argument for not encouraging the coach to tank.

"As a coach, I understand Masai," Casey said. "We're all on the same page. We know the clamoring for all the other stuff. But as a coach, I have to coach to win, and that's all Masai has told me to do. They're learning how to win and are putting themselves in a position to win."

Even if, as a GM, you want to tank, it's impossible to evaluate your player's and their potential properly if you 'coach to lose'. Without pushing players to earn their minutes, or putting them in situations where they play hard with/against other good players, how do you ever know what you truly have?

There was a period this season where most people felt that Amir and Ross, while likeable, where expendable. But because they're part of a winning, team-first culture, they've had a chance to prove and increase their value to the team and the league. At best, they're critical building blocks for the future, at worse, they're more valuable trading assets.

TLDR, As a GM — even you want to tank, you want the team to play to win in order to accurately evaluate the assets you have.

[ezz_bee]

I was also a little confused by the "The team us already made its decision" line, but I interpret it as the players have made up their mind not to tank. Doesn't mean Ujiri won't dismantle the whole thing (although I think that's unlikely at this point).