Where Do The Raptors Rank In The East?

[slaw]

Man, that Griffin trade really ended up worst case scenario for Detroit.

[MixxAOR]

Yikes City

[G__Deane]

Just like Kyrie, it's easy to schedule returns from injuries a little further out, fake them or accept season ending surgery that might be put off a bit longer if you were on a decent team

[KeonClark]

Must be so irritating to be a 76ers fan though. Years of really terrible play to end up with two guys that don't really fit next to each other. And then to build a team around them with guys that also don't fit. The cherry on top of course is losing in a game 7 to a 4 bounce game winner.

Trust the process....

7 or 8 years ago, they were spinning their wheels as a treadmill 7 or 8th seed with Jrue Holiday, Iguodala, Elton Brand....decided to commit to the biggest tear down in sports history, to do it right, and not stop until you're a championship core. BUTTTT they didn't have the gumption to see it through...fired Hinkie...made those years of utter pain a waste as they settled for a half measure...now? They've peaked, as a 3rd or 4th seed...wait for it...treadmill team, with Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and.....Elton Brand!

It's the ciiiiircle, the ciiiirccclee ooof liiiiife

[DanH]

Trust the process....

7 or 8 years ago, they were spinning their wheels as a treadmill 7 or 8th seed with Jrue Holiday, Iguodala, Elton Brand....decided to commit to the biggest tear down in sports history, to do it right, and not stop until you're a championship core. BUTTTT they didn't have the gumption to see it through...fired Hinkie...made those years of utter pain a waste as they settled for a half measure...now? They've peaked, as a 3rd or 4th seed...wait for it...treadmill team, with Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and.....Elton Brand!

It's the ciiiiircle, the ciiiirccclee ooof liiiiife

The decision to hire Colangelo was the ultimate betrayal of the concept of trusting the process. Went entirely off the rails right then.

[KeonClark]

The decision to hire Colangelo was the ultimate betrayal of the concept of trusting the process. Went entirely off the rails right then.

The polar opposite of process trusting

[SkywalkerAC]

Just realized we only have the same number of losses as the Clips. Noice.

[bertarapsfan]

Just realized we only have the same number of losses as the Clips. Noice.

Frustration is setting in the locker room in clippers land too. Look up what montrezz had to say after there last loss. Lou was talking last week too how there too late into the season to be "figuring it out". Remember after the finals Kawhi said alot went on in the locker room that no one will ever know about? Feel like the raptors did a good job keeping frustrations in house. Clips not so much

[MixxAOR]

Frustration is setting in the locker room in clippers land too. Look up what montrezz had to say after there last loss. Lou was talking last week too how there too late into the season to be "figuring it out". Remember after the finals Kawhi said alot went on in the locker room that no one will ever know about? Feel like the raptors did a good job keeping frustrations in house. Clips not so much

Clippers fans are polar opposite of Raps fans though. Don't see much concern from them. I guess because Kawhi signed long term

[Demographic Shift]

Must be so irritating to be a 76ers fan though. Years of really terrible play to end up with two guys that don't really fit next to each other. And then to build a team around them with guys that also don't fit. The cherry on top of course is losing in a game 7 to a 4 bounce game winner.

There is a degree of irony in this story that’s just an epic Greek tragedy.
You knowingly suck for almost a decade to get in position to be relevant ...and then after having achieved a degree of relevance...you could be in teardown mode at years end if the Philly jaugernaut flames out again this year only to start over.

[Demographic Shift]

The decision to hire Colangelo was the ultimate betrayal of the concept of trusting the process. Went entirely off the rails right then.

The whacking of Sam Hinkie should not be mourned. Not even a little bit.
His business practices alienated players, their agents and the other owners that form the business that is the NBA. The league, at the behest of the 31 other owners moved in to save credibility. The league has since taken steps in how the draft process works to deter future Hinkies.

Sam has yet to work since his 16 page retirement manifesto describing how and why he was smarter than the average bear and how everyone else was just so wrong. That’s telling. Even Dave Fizdale got a second chance.

[slaw]

There is a degree of irony in this story that’s just an epic Greek tragedy.
You knowingly suck for almost a decade to get in position to be relevant ...and then after having achieved a degree of relevance...you could be in teardown mode at years end if the Philly jaugernaut flames out again this year only to start over.

The best part is that Hinkie's garbage plan was abandoned thereby shutting out the management consultants for a little longer so they can't start ruining the NBA like they are ruining MLB.

There are a lot of reasons to try to be competitive and entertaining no matter where the team sits in a cycle and one of them is that tanking for years guarantees you nothing, loses you a lot, and risks gaining nothing in the process, which could last 7-8 years and then you're back in another 7-8 process. Waiting 15 years to possible be good if everything falls your way is not a plan. Thank god actual basketball people run the Raptors and want to win.

[Demographic Shift]

Clippers fans are polar opposite of Raps fans though. Don't see much concern from them. I guess because Kawhi signed long term

Two years then a player option. If the Clips don’t win the Larry OB this year...the NBA media drums will begin to beat on what’s Kawhi going to do in 2021-22 season. It’s the NBA baby...Part WWE, part soap opera, part daily hot takes. No league like it for player mobility.

[G__Deane]

Clippers fans are polar opposite of Raps fans though. Don't see much concern from them. I guess because Kawhi signed long term

And they know Kawhi said last season that the regular season doesn't matter and that worked out OK

[SkywalkerAC]

Clippers definitely don't have fans like us. But they still cared enough to boo when they got demolished by the Griz.