Where Do The Raptors Rank In The East?

[G__Deane]

David Stern, RIP, was the driver behind this mentality. I think there was that draft where he got openly upset that a draftee didn't go to a big market. And he also loved the rotisserie player movement & free agency because it kept the NBA "in the headlines" during the off-season. For all the incredibly great things he did, I feel like Stern over-prioritized marketing, big markets and the star system at the expense of customer (fan) loyalty. Fans don't have the attachment to their teams like they used to, because the player don't care about the teams & cities they play for anymore.... now the players only care about their "brand" and "the NBA brotherhood". Stern encouraged what's happening today.

And that player movement seems to happen at virtually every free agency. Few are re-signing with the same team at all.
lebron
Davis
Kawhi
Durant
PG
Harden
Westbrook
Beal
Butler
Irving
etc
all move and often on a regular basis. Hard for kids to have their favourite jersey for long....and "small" market teams have no chance to get or keep superstars.

Curry is a rarity, will Giannis be also?

[golden]

Somebody better tell the Dallas guys......

Something, something..... Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler..... All-NBA defenders. Dirk wasn't trying to be the greatest foul baiter of all time, either.

Uh, what was your point again?

[slaw]

Something, something..... Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler..... All-NBA defenders. Dirk wasn't trying to be the greatest foul baiter of all time, either.

Uh, what was your point again?

Watch the Dallas Mavericks circa 2020....

[golden]

Watch the Dallas Mavericks circa 2020....

You think the 2020 Mavericks are a championship contender?

[slaw]

You think the 2020 Mavericks are a championship contender?

If you can't figure out what my point was in referencing Dallas then I can't help you but I suspect you're just being intentionally obtuse.....

[golden]

If you can't figure out what my point was in referencing Dallas then I can't help you but I suspect you're just being intentionally obtuse.....

Unintentionally obtuse.

[The Great One]

This is what I'm sayin about the Heat. They've become the Lakers of the East. The media loves to hype them up. These guys now think they can win the championship this year lmao.

I say this about the Heat, if they don't finish 2nd in the East this year, they're going to lose in the 1st round. The Raptors, Celtics, 76ers adn Pacers are WAY better than the Heat. If they play one of those teams in the 1st round, they're going to lose.

[SkywalkerAC]

The vaunted depth of the Clippers isn't exactly holding fort when Kawhi (and PG) is out. We'll see if we can surpass their win-rate tomorrow (we've got Knicks, they've got Heat).

[golden]

This is what I'm sayin about the Heat. They've become the Lakers of the East. The media loves to hype them up. These guys now think they can win the championship this year lmao.

I say this about the Heat, if they don't finish 2nd in the East this year, they're going to lose in the 1st round. The Raptors, Celtics, 76ers adn Pacers are WAY better than the Heat. If they play one of those teams in the 1st round, they're going to lose.

Media guys priorities are: (a) big markets that help ESPN get paid & (b) cities they like to visit.

With that lens, it's easy to see why Toronto is last and LA is first. Miami qualifies with criteria (b).

Sure, Stephen A has said some nice things about "White Vegas", but he complains more about having to go through customs.

[S.R.]

The vaunted depth of the Clippers isn't exactly holding fort when Kawhi (and PG) is out. We'll see if we can surpass their win-rate tomorrow (we've got Knicks, they've got Heat).

"The Clippers are deep" is one of this season's inexplicable narratives. They have 6 good players. Then they've got Harkless/Zubac/Green who are fine but also nothing really special. Then they've got filler. I don't see great depth there, I see adequate depth.

I think the idea comes from Lou + Harrel coming off the bench, but they end up playing starter minutes. They've got a quirky rotation more than they've got depth.

[slaw]

This is what I'm sayin about the Heat. They've become the Lakers of the East. The media loves to hype them up. These guys now think they can win the championship this year lmao.

I say this about the Heat, if they don't finish 2nd in the East this year, they're going to lose in the 1st round. The Raptors, Celtics, 76ers adn Pacers are WAY better than the Heat. If they play one of those teams in the 1st round, they're going to lose.

It's all just superficial analysis. Anyone on this board could give the exact same assessment of the Heat doing 5 minutes of internet research. Max Kellerman knows less about basketball than most of the people who post on this board. These people are not "experts" in any meaningful sense of the word. Everything they say can be discounted on its face.

[bertarapsfan]

Little early to start thinking about playoff matchups but i think best bracket for us is to get the 2 seed with miami and indy in the 3,6 spot. Milwuakke, Boston and Sixers all on the same side well mean tough, hard fough matchups for a potential ECF. I see the pacers beating the heat so if we have to go through the magic and pacers to reach the ECF finals we would be laughing. Also Brooklyn staying in the 8 hole would be great. Maybe kyrie can get hot enough to win at least 1 game and extend that series.

[G__Deane]

The vaunted depth of the Clippers isn't exactly holding fort when Kawhi (and PG) is out. We'll see if we can surpass their win-rate tomorrow (we've got Knicks, they've got Heat).

I think there's a pretty good chance that if the Clippers enter the playoffs with Kawhi and PG healthy, they don't make it all the way through the grind. Same to a lesser degree for the lakers. Still think the odds are greater but there's no guarantee the chip ends of in the west.

[nba_4_life]

This is what I'm sayin about the Heat. They've become the Lakers of the East. The media loves to hype them up. These guys now think they can win the championship this year lmao.

I say this about the Heat, if they don't finish 2nd in the East this year, they're going to lose in the 1st round. The Raptors, Celtics, 76ers adn Pacers are WAY better than the Heat. If they play one of those teams in the 1st round, they're going to lose.

You could apply their reasoning on why they think the Heat are ECF/Finals bound with all teams 2-6. What was annoying was they were making it sound that there is a big difference between the Heat and the next teams.... Heat are a game ahead of the Raptors and 1.5 ahead the Celtics. They also said the Heat are like one piece away... I mean, again that could be said about teams 2-6. This Heat team reminds me of the Raptors 2 years ago, the one that went 59-23 and was first, struggled in the first round against the bucks and got swept by the weakest version of a Lebron led Cavs. Media was talking how that year Lebron run in the finals was done.

[DanH]

You could apply their reasoning on why they think the Heat are ECF/Finals bound with all teams 2-6. What was annoying was they were making it sound that there is a big difference between the Heat and the next teams.... Heat are a game ahead of the Raptors and 1.5 ahead the Celtics. They also said the Heat are like one piece away... I mean, again that could be said about teams 2-6. This Heat team reminds me of the Raptors 2 years ago, the one that went 59-23 and was first, struggled in the first round against the bucks and got swept by the weakest version of a Lebron led Cavs. Media was talking how that year Lebron run in the finals was done.

With the 1 piece away talk, the Heat are also short on picks and in a tough cap situation, which makes it harder for them than for any other team to add that 1 piece.