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  • #16
    big boi wrote: View Post
    That is such a lazy report. Helpful reminder to not give an actual fuck what SI have to say, and not to waste money buying their magazine. Nice insight.
    Lol well it is free content online and if the reports come from NBA scouts, doesn't that make them the lazy ones?

    Some of the points made I disagree with obviously, but some are bang on.
    Heir, Prince of Cambridge

    If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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    • #17
      Axel wrote: View Post
      Lol well it is free content online and if the reports come from NBA scouts, doesn't that make them the lazy ones?

      Some of the points made I disagree with obviously, but some are bang on.
      Yeah, perhaps you get what you pay for. But I could have got much of that 'insight' around the water cooler at work from the most casual of fan. Opinions are like * I used to expect more value from something SI would put their name on, even if it was free.

      Comment


      • #18
        From SI's Atlantic Preview

        "The Knicks and Nets tend to dominative the narrative in the Atlantic, but you have to look outside of New York to find the true power players in the division.

        The Raptors and Celtics are unlikely to become League Pass staples anytime soon, but they’ve turned into unlikely breadwinners in the division as the New York teams flounder in mediocrity. Toronto owns arguably the best backcourt in the league outside of Golden State and has the necessary veteran complements to make them the heavy favorites, while Boston’s mish-mash of talent and bright head coach make them the closest thing to a dark horse in this division.

        How do all five Atlantic teams look heading into 2015–16? Let’s dive into our season preview.


        1. Toronto Raptors

        2014-15 results: 49–33 | Lost in first round

        Outlook: The Raptors are unlikely to be challenged as they go for their third straight Atlantic Division crown—the question is what will they do after that? Toronto has set franchise records for wins in each of the past two seasons, but its playoff performance has been dismal, failing to advance out of the first round. Last season, the Raptors were embarrassingly swept by the Wizards despite holding home-court advantage. This year, there’s cause for optimism. The Raptors landed DeMarre Carroll this summer—the closest Toronto will come to reeling in a marquee free agent—and fortified its bench with the grab bag of Luis Scola, Bismack Biyombo and Anthony Bennett. Kyle Lowry is in the best shape of his career and DeMar DeRozan is in a contract year. Sometimes you need to suffer the lows in order to achieve the highs in the NBA. With All-Star Weekend also coming to Toronto this year, the table is set for the Raptors to steal the spotlight.

        Best case: Lowry’s new slender frame doesn’t diminish the size of the chip on his shoulder, fueling the Raptors to their first conference finals appearance in franchise history.

        Worst case: Injuries rear their ugly head and Toronto finds itself stuck in the mud, producing another good-but-not-great year with an all-too-familiar first-round exit."

        "Breakout player - for the whole division

        Jonas Valanciunas, Raptors. It’s time for Toronto’s fourth-year center to become a star after signing an off-season extension. Valanciunas averaged 12 points and 8.7 rebounds last season and played in 80 games, but sat out 23 fourth-quarters and played just 26.2 minutes. Toronto brought in Bismack Biyombo to help out with the departure of Amir Johnson, but Valanciunas can add to the solution if he can stay on the floor and become better defensively. The 23-year-old’s averaged 16.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per 36 minutes last season, numbers good enough to earn an All-Star bid, in his backyard nonetheless."


        http://www.si.com/nba/2015/10/18/atl...ony-kyle-lowry
        Heir, Prince of Cambridge

        If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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        • #19
          Of the 7 SI writers to predict the Finals & Conference Finals, 6 of them have Cavs over Bulls while 1 has Cavs over Raptors.

          The West is always a combo of Warriors, Spurs & Thunder.
          Heir, Prince of Cambridge

          If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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          • #20
            Two quick hits from Grantland.

            First, Zach Lowe's 35 crazy predictions for the upcoming season: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/35...16-nba-season/

            2. Good Coaches Get Fired — Again

            The firings of Lionel Hollins and George Karl after the 2012-13 season signaled that activist owners would be more aggressive dumping successful coaches. Those moves made the Warriors, Bulls, and Thunder more comfortable batting away Mark Jackson, Tom Thibodeau, and Scott Brooks, respectively, and I’d expect the trend to continue with teams that don’t make at least a mini-leap.

            As Ken Berger reported earlier this week, Dwane Casey could be in trouble if the Raptors stumble early. Casey has done good work, but Toronto embarrassed itself in the playoffs last season, and the team gutted Casey’s staff of assistants for the second time in only a few seasons. They brought in Andy Greer, a Thibodeau staffer in Chicago, to revamp the defense, and before landing Greer, they made a hard run at another defensive guru, per league sources: Darren Erman, Jackson’s former assistant in Golden State, and now the associate head coach in New Orleans...

            5. Toronto Finishes Closer to No. 8 Than No. 2

            All the projections say this is crazy, and if Skinny Kyle Lowry lights it up all season, this prediction will go down in flames. But something doesn’t smell right. This team feels rickety. Maybe it’s the continued rumblings about Casey’s job status and his relationship with Lowry — still a prickly sort. It could be the absence of Amir Johnson, who filled every gap and propped up an otherwise awful defense last season. The Drakes have remodeled that defense, but they allowed 106.6 points per 100 possessions last season, equivalent to a bottom-five mark, when Patrick Patterson and Jonas Valanciunas shared the floor.

            Maybe it’s DeMar DeRozan’s looming free agency, or that Masai Ujiri hasn’t put his imprint on the team beyond the DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph signings. If they hover around .500 too long, something might crack. In that scenario, almost no Toronto trade would surprise me.
            And second, Andrew Sharp's NBA stock watch: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/20...tan-van-gundy/

            SELL: The Toronto Raptors

            If we’re going strictly by the past 30 days, nobody in the NBA has a higher stock price than not-chubby-anymore Kyle Lowry. The Raptors also added DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, and Luis Scola over the summer. Those were solid moves, even if they don’t really change anything about this team’s ceiling. What’s tougher to understand is bringing back Dwane Casey.

            Didn’t this team quit on Casey last season? Did Masai Ujiri not see the Wizards series? Did he miss Lowry freaking out in huddles and saying the organization had a lot to fix “internally”? Lowry is awesome and the idea of a turbocharged version of him for this season is pretty fun to dream about, but he, DeMar DeRozan, and Carroll can only do so much.

            Anyway, there’s no team in the NBA that’s tougher to predict. They could finish top four in the East, or they could start slow, things could break bad internally, and it could cost them the season. For now, it’s probably safer to get out while everyone’s talking about Lowry not being fat.

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            • #21
              magoon wrote: View Post
              Two quick hits from Grantland.

              First, Zach Lowe's 35 crazy predictions for the upcoming season: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/35...16-nba-season/



              And second, Andrew Sharp's NBA stock watch: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/20...tan-van-gundy/
              Zach Lowe is the best Grantland writer, but Andrew Sharp is the worst, so it's hard to know what to make of this.
              "Stop eating your sushi."
              "I do actually have a pair of Uggs."
              "I've had three cups of green tea tonight. I'm wired. I'm absolutely wired."
              - Jack Armstrong

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              • #22
                In that Lowe piece, there is a section on extensions, and he says right now negotiations for a Ross extension are ongoing and 50/50 to get completed.
                twitter.com/dhackett1565

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                • #23
                  DanH wrote: View Post
                  In that Lowe piece, there is a section on extensions, and he says right now negotiations for a Ross extension are ongoing and 50/50 to get completed.
                  Hope it doesn't.. love the idea of max space in 2016 and Ross' extension would screw that up.

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                  • #24
                    planetmars wrote: View Post
                    Hope it doesn't.. love the idea of max space in 2016 and Ross' extension would screw that up.
                    Aren't all extensions 50/50. Either they do or they don't. Unless they cut him

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      magoon wrote: View Post
                      Two quick hits from Grantland.

                      First, Zach Lowe's 35 crazy predictions for the upcoming season: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/35...16-nba-season/

                      And second, Andrew Sharp's NBA stock watch: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/20...tan-van-gundy/
                      Andrew Sharp is a longtime Raptor basher .....He has his faves and we are not among them...If the raps got to the ECF he would angle his piece around how well the raps opponents played with only cursory mention to the Dino's. He is a Douchebag emeritus towards us.
                      There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                      - TGO

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                      • #26
                        From SIs 70 reasons to watch this NBA season,
                        http://www.si.com/nba/2015/10/26/nba...nt-kobe-bryant,

                        we have the Raps mentioned:

                        18. A longer leash for Jonas Valanciunas. Raptors coach Dwane Casey has never seemed all that comfortable playing Valanciunas down the stretch in competitive games. A new $64 million extension and the departure of long-time Raptor Amir Johnson should change that. It took three years and many conspicuous fourth-quarter absences to get to this point, but the 23-year-old Valanciunas should finally have more consistent opportunity to prove his on-court worth.

                        33. Toronto will host the NBA’s first international All-Star Game. The NBA has held an All-Star Game every year since 1951, with one exception, and while the event has blossomed into a full-fledged weekend it has never taken place outside the United States. That changes come February, when Toronto’s Air Canada Centre will play host to the 2016 All-Star Game. The timing is excellent: Canada produced the 2013 and 2014 No. 1 overall picks (Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins), the Raptors have made the playoffs in back-to-back years to the delight of their insatiable fan base, and Canadian rapper Drake was born to play host to an All-Star Weekend. Make sure your passports are updated and bring a coat.

                        37. A slimmer Kyle Lowry. Running longer and burning brighter.

                        63. Wild cards around the league. Toronto’s James Johnson, Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore, Houston’s K.J. McDaniels and Philadelphia’s Tony Wroten for the way they can turn a possession upside-down, for better or worse.
                        Heir, Prince of Cambridge

                        If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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                        • #27
                          Lol, "bring a coat". They just couldn't refrain from the predictable igloo jabs.

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                          • #28
                            Nilanka wrote: View Post
                            Lol, "bring a coat". They just couldn't refrain from the predictable igloo jabs.
                            To be fair, February in Toronto for All-Star will be a hell of a lot colder than New Orleans, Houston, etc.
                            Heir, Prince of Cambridge

                            If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Axel wrote: View Post
                              To be fair, February in Toronto for All-Star will be a hell of a lot colder than New Orleans, Houston, etc.
                              Point taken. But it was at MSG last year

                              I can't wait for TNT's segment on single-payer health care and maple syrup.

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                              • #30
                                Nilanka wrote: View Post
                                Point taken. But it was at MSG last year

                                I can't wait for TNT's segment on single-payer health care and maple syrup.
                                Some good prop bets to be had,

                                over/under on use of the word "Zamboni"?
                                Heir, Prince of Cambridge

                                If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

                                Comment

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