Where Do The Raptors Rank In The East?

[Puffer]

i dunno about espn projections specifically, but if the preseason vegas odds are a reflection of the collective hivemind informed largely by mainstream media "experts" then the raptors have hit the over on win totals for 8 straight seasons according to basketball reference.

(Frantically looking for mad money to gamble with)

[Demographic Shift]

So who makes the biggest splash in the coming season... There are degrees of splash and start points for the Raps ...Heres a look at guys who can win the BIG SPLASH vote.

Norm Powell. How can Norm who has been with the team for years be a candidate for the Big Splash ? Norm can become whats eluded him so far in his carrer. Consistency. He saw what an impact Danny Green made .. Can Norm find that intangible that will cement him into the Raps roster for years to come. To bring what he showed vs the Bucks in the ECF. He does that and he is a candidate for the BS award.

Stanley Johnson . Like Aaron Gordon Stan came from Arizona more athlete than ball player. Gordon has found it in Orlando. Stan is now on his 3rd team in 5 years. He has the NBA body. He has the athletiscm... Can Stan find a role where he can excel and salvage is career. He has a chance in Toronto.

Chris Boucher .Chris has never seen a shot from the arc he didn't think he had a better chance of making than passing the ball off to someone else who might have a better one. Thing is he makes a lot of them. Chris has done all he can do in the D League. He owns it... If he puts up a bazillion shots over the summer and shows he can do it on a 36-38% basis.. Chris will be a rotation player and a candidate for the BS award.

OG Anunoby OG's third year. The year most players show they belong in the league or should make sure their passports and travel documents are in order. OG can win the Big Splash award if he can develop better handles. than he has shown so far in order to get the threat of a drive or iso game off the bounce. He has a 3 point shot. He has more honing work to do rather than development on that aspect. If OG can make the 3 at 35% and show he can get to the rim on his own he too can win the BS award.

So the voting is open and so is the floor for other candidates.

My vote goes to Chris Boucher.... Anyone who can make his way to the NBA from washing dishes in Cote St Luc has got drive and determination..

So while I couldn't drag my sorry ass out of bed at 6AM to watch the whole thing....I did see the 4th Q comeback before trudging off to the office.
So in the first glimpse of actual PT it would appear that I missed out on one Terrance Davis as a contendah for the BS award.
Tip of the hat to LJ2 who called him out months ago as a bona fide candidate for the BS Award.

Norm .. stat line analysis only ... had a game.14 points in 17 minutes ..5 for 9 overall but 2 of 3 from the arc. Couple of boards. 1 TO. Yeah Norm !!!
CBoucher looked good as well albeit against the Rockets bench. He can rebound and he can block shots.. .but what keeps him around and possibly a rotation player is his ability to hit FTs.
OG showing the ability to get to the rim against the Rockets starters keeps him in the running. Hit his one bomb from the arc ... Handles still need work as he turned it over 3 times. Still... its only game 1.
The Stanimal .. has some yardage to make up.

Looks like we got some depth yet again..... For the 5th year in a row Ujiri got lucky as he just lucks out finding and developing talent.
He is the EOY any year he works.

[Maury]

So while I couldn't drag my sorry ass out of bed at 6AM to watch the whole thing....I did see the 4th Q comeback before trudging off to the office.
So in the first glimpse of actual PT it would appear that I missed out on one Terrance Davis as a contendah for the BS award.
Tip of the hat to LJ2 who called him out months ago as a bona fide candidate for the BS Award.

Norm .. stat line analysis only ... had a game.14 points in 17 minutes ..5 for 9 overall but 2 of 3 from the arc. Couple of boards. 1 TO. Yeah Norm !!!
CBoucher looked good as well albeit against the Rockets bench. He can rebound and he can block shots.. .but what keeps him around and possibly a rotation player is his ability to hit FTs.
OG showing the ability to get to the rim against the Rockets starters keeps him in the running. Hit his one bomb from the arc ... Handles still need work as he turned it over 3 times. Still... its only game 1.
The Stanimal .. has some yardage to make up.

Looks like we got some depth yet again..... For the 5th year in a row Ujiri got lucky as he just lucks out finding and developing talent.
He is the EOY any year he works.

I wouldn't trade Masai for any GM in the league, and right now, I don't think I'd trade Nurse for any coach in the league (yes, even Pop. Maybe Carlisle, but I still don't think so).

Our infrastructure and culture are legitimately as good as it gets in sports. 8 years ago, I would have told you this would never happen. It's all thanks to Masai and Leiweke.

[The Great One]

Jalen Rose just said that if the Pelicans were in the East, they'd be a top 4 team lol. Who are they better than in the East? they're not better than the 76ers, they're not better than the Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Pacers or Nets. Best case scenario is 7th seed.

These guys keeps hyping Zion like he's the second coming of LeBron. They got it all wrong. If they want to hype up a young player, the guy that they should hype up is Luka Doncic. Doncic skillset is insane. He is going to be 10x better player than Zion.

[Scraptor]

Feels good to be legitimately disrepected again, doesn't it? We're baaack.

I don't feel right as a Raptors fan without something to complain about lol

[golden]

I don't feel right as a Raptors fan without something to complain about lol

#WeTheNorth is the greatest sports brand identity of all time.

[KeonClark]

Feels good to be legitimately disrepected again, doesn't it? We're baaack.

The era of raptors respect was memorable, started ag "won championship" and ended at "Kawhi left"

it was a hell of a 2 and a half weeks

[golden]

The era of raptors respect was memorable, started ag "won championship" and ended at "Kawhi left"

it was a hell of a 2 and a half weeks

Honestly, even winning the championship got us no respect. The majority dismissed it as 'Lucky Bounce' + 'KD & Klay got hurt'. The only evidence I can find from the 'Raptors Repspect Era' is this obscure tweet...

[MixxAOR]

Honestly, even winning the championship got us no respect. The majority dismissed it as 'Lucky Bounce' + 'KD & Klay got hurt'. The only evidence I can find from the 'Raptors Repspect Era' is this obscure tweet...

total interactions in june? Of course it'll be Raptors and Warriors. Who else would people talk about.

[golden]

total interactions in june? Of course it'll be Raptors and Warriors. Who else would people talk about.

So even the 'Raptors Respect Era' never actually happened. lol. #WeTheNorth

[Demographic Shift]

So even the 'Raptors Respect Era' never actually happened. lol. #WeTheNorth

The Raps are getting the same treatment that the Houston Rockets got after their back to back wins in the 90s. .
The Rockets sin was to beat the Knicks in 94 and crush Shaqs Magic in 95. They werent supposed to win. The media didn't like them for that and kind of shat and minimized the feat.

The Raps sin was to crumple the warriors and the warriors dynasty.
THe sour grapes bullshit from Thompson and Curry is just that sour grapes. We killed them. One bad timeout and a lucky Igudoual shot got them both wins. The rest of the NBA types are already on to the next great thing... what ever that is.

We are the Kings from the North... The rest of whiny losers can suck our dicks.

[slaw]

Jalen Rose just said that if the Pelicans were in the East, they'd be a top 4 team lol. Who are they better than in the East? they're not better than the 76ers, they're not better than the Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Pacers or Nets. Best case scenario is 7th seed.

These guys keeps hyping Zion like he's the second coming of LeBron. They got it all wrong. If they want to hype up a young player, the guy that they should hype up is Luka Doncic. Doncic skillset is insane. He is going to be 10x better player than Zion.

I am very skeptical about Williamson.

[bertarapsfan]

I am very skeptical about Williamson.

Williamson will be a all-star caliber player no doubt. But he's going to go down 1 of 2 paths. 1st one is a charles barkley like career, where he is a top 5 player in the league and able to make up for his lack of size with extreme athletisim. Or 2 blake griffin like where he wows the league with amazing dunks and highlight reel plays for his first 3-4 years before his body isn't able to take the beating of 82 games a year playing such a high paced high flying style. Still both good careers but one is obviously better then the other. I think he's too talented to be a complete bust i would have gramma Johnson or Blake griffin as his floor for the type of player he will be.

[golden]

Jalen Rose just said that if the Pelicans were in the East, they'd be a top 4 team lol. Who are they better than in the East? they're not better than the 76ers, they're not better than the Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Pacers or Nets. Best case scenario is 7th seed.

These guys keeps hyping Zion like he's the second coming of LeBron. They got it all wrong. If they want to hype up a young player, the guy that they should hype up is Luka Doncic. Doncic skillset is insane. He is going to be 10x better player than Zion.

True. Most people don't even realize that Doncic had a better rookie season than Lebron, in almost every statistical category at the same age (19).

http://bkref.com/tiny/nbuwk

Doncic' assists should go up and his overall efficiency should improve playing with Porzingis. His USG might go down a bit, but how many 19 year olds can enter the league and immediately carry a usage rate over 30%. Basically, none. The skill is real.

[The Great One]

Williamson will be a all-star caliber player no doubt. But he's going to go down 1 of 2 paths. 1st one is a charles barkley like career, where he is a top 5 player in the league and able to make up for his lack of size with extreme athletisim. Or 2 blake griffin like where he wows the league with amazing dunks and highlight reel plays for his first 3-4 years before his body isn't able to take the beating of 82 games a year playing such a high paced high flying style. Still both good careers but one is obviously better then the other. I think he's too talented to be a complete bust i would have gramma Johnson or Blake griffin as his floor for the type of player he will be.

Blake Griffin is a pretty good comparison. But from what I remember, rookie Blake Griffin could post up a little bit. He didn't have a jump shot when he was young but he's got a pretty good shooting stroke. Now he's developed into a pretty good jump shooter.

Zion has no post up game. His offense is basically dunks and bully ball. He's a mediocre ball handler. He can't shoot. And unlike Blake, Zion's shot looks ugly. It's like a set shot. So i'm not sure if he can ever create a shot off the dribble.