2020 End of Season / Playoffs

[Apollo]

Like I said, to everyone not a Raptors fan.

Siakam doesn't have the name recognition with US media which DeRozan has even through he is a vastly more impactful player. Raptors just have to keep making the "experts" look stupid.

It's funny because he was posting around 20, 7 & 3 while playing excellent defense throughout the playoffs last year. He posted 26 & 10 in the deciding game six of the NBA Finals. He should have little to prove.

[Demographic Shift]

Last thing, people likes to make fun of Kendrick Perkins because of all his LeBron takes but you can tell he watches the games. Can't say the same thing about some of the other "analysts" today like Pierce and Rose and Shaq and others.

Its a herd mentality. A self confirming circle jerk.
Not one of the guys bolded in your post dares go outside the conventional groupthink norms for fear of taking flack from the herd.
Think of the movie The Big Short for a groupthink compare to the NBA MSM.

Can the Raps repeat ? I hope so but thats why we play the games. Even Lebron doesn't get a guaranteed ticket to the Finals despite Screamin A crowd saying its a done deal. .

This version of the Raps have good coaching, a shit tonne of playoff experience and good depth to handle player injury. The starting 5 are above average at every position save for the 2 where Fred is average.

Going with a Raps vs Lakers Finals.
.

[S.R.]

The Raps have an uphill battle without an established superstar on the roster, but to a degree so do the other EC contenders. The only current, proven championship alpha guys on contenders are Lebron and Kawhi, two more in Durant and Curry are not in the running this year. So important that the Raps don't have to deal with any of these guys in the East right now.

The playoffs will still often come down to those moments where you need that superstar to win you the game. That couldn't be more obvious than last year with Kawhi. As good and deep and talented as the rest of the roster is, there's a huge difference between Kawhi winning you a game 7 (or turning a series in your favour) and Lowry driving into the trees on the final possession of game 7 and getting stuffed (Washington). You run into that difference in the playoffs.

That said:
- Boston doesn't have that guy. Tatum's nice but he's nowhere near the level of Lebron/Kawhi/Durant/Curry at this point.
- Giannis is trying to be that guy, but his shot is still highly questionable which makes his ability to play that role pretty questionable imho. He's up a level from last year, but at this point Milwaukee still looks like a team you can game plan in the playoffs. I'm not convinced they've got the right coach, roster versatility, superstar, or 2nd and 3rd best players to counter-punch playoff game plans.

So in the West, Toronto's lack of a top 5 guy would be a bigger issue when you have to go through Kawhi and Lebron. But in the East? Easy to make the case the East is pretty open.

The talking head hot take guys don't watch enough games and mostly follow the superstar narratives and legacy franchises. So yeah, they aren't paying much attention to the Raps in general.

[LJ2]

Its a herd mentality. A self confirming circle jerk.
Not one of the guys bolded in your post dares go outside the conventional groupthink norms for fear of taking flack from the herd.
Think of the movie The Big Short for a groupthink compare to the NBA MSM.

Can the Raps repeat ? I hope so but thats why we play the games. Even Lebron doesn't get a guaranteed ticket to the Finals despite Screamin A crowd saying its a done deal. .

This version of the Raps have good coaching, a shit tonne of playoff experience and good depth to handle player injury. The starting 5 are above average at every position save for the 2 where Fred is average.

Going with a Raps vs Lakers Finals.
.

I'd say 2 & 3 with OG being reliable on defense mostly.

Oddly enough it's Fred that I think our playoff hopes rest upon the most as a difference maker. Who else other than the obvious Lowry is able and willing to create, take and make big shots? This is assuming Siakam will be the main player defenses will focus in on? Serge is never scared to take those shots either, but that isn't always a good thing.

[G__Deane]

The Raps have an uphill battle without an established superstar on the roster, but to a degree so do the other EC contenders. The only current, proven championship alpha guys on contenders are Lebron and Kawhi, two more in Durant and Curry are not in the running this year. So important that the Raps don't have to deal with any of these guys in the East right now.

The playoffs will still often come down to those moments where you need that superstar to win you the game. That couldn't be more obvious than last year with Kawhi. As good and deep and talented as the rest of the roster is, there's a huge difference between Kawhi winning you a game 7 (or turning a series in your favour) and Lowry driving into the trees on the final possession of game 7 and getting stuffed (Washington). You run into that difference in the playoffs.

That said:
- Boston doesn't have that guy. Tatum's nice but he's nowhere near the level of Lebron/Kawhi/Durant/Curry at this point.
- Giannis is trying to be that guy, but his shot is still highly questionable which makes his ability to play that role pretty questionable imho. He's up a level from last year, but at this point Milwaukee still looks like a team you can game plan in the playoffs. I'm not convinced they've got the right coach, roster versatility, superstar, or 2nd and 3rd best players to counter-punch playoff game plans.

So in the West, Toronto's lack of a top 5 guy would be a bigger issue when you have to go through Kawhi and Lebron. But in the East? Easy to make the case the East is pretty open.

The talking head hot take guys don't watch enough games and mostly follow the superstar narratives and legacy franchises. So yeah, they aren't paying much attention to the Raps in general.

The only thing I would say is that Giannis really hasn't had that much opportunity to show he's the guy in clutch last minute situations mainly because I've lost track of the number of games where he sat out the last 10 minutes or Q with 30 points because the Bucks were up 20 and coasting home.

Sports is full of superstars who took a few years and heartbreaks before winning multiple chips. Giannis looks like that kind of player to me.....hopefully he wins his first in Toronto and not this year in Milwaukee.

Go Raps. Go anyone but an LA team ....

[slaw]

Going with a Raps vs Lakers Finals.
.

I am just not sold on the Clippers. They have a lot of ball stoppers and most of them are not going to want to defer to Kawhi. That dynamic is going to be interesting as the playoffs move on. Hard to see any of the other teams beating the Lakers in a 7 game series, though, that Rockets team is not a bad dark horse pick.

The Raps are going to be in tough to get back. Boston is going to be a difficult match-up and Milwaukee is much better than last season. The only concern with the Bucks is whether they have a Plan B if Plan A doesn't work against someone. Budenholzer has done a fantastic job maximizing his roster and that system but can it hold up over 7 games against Toronto or Boston and, if it doesn't, is he willing to change tactics or does he double down like last year..

[Demographic Shift]

I'd say 2 & 3 with OG being reliable on defense mostly.

Oddly enough it's Fred that I think our playoff hopes rest upon the most as a difference maker. Who else other than the obvious Lowry is able and willing to create, take and make big shots? This is assuming Siakam will be the main player defenses will focus in on? Serge is never scared to take those shots either, but that isn't always a good thing.

Fair criticism...... I put OG as above average because to me he is the stopper on this team and he is in the top quartile of stoppers across the league.
Fred does things for this team at the 2 that Nurse wants and values otherwise Fred wouldn't be there. But he is not in the same class as the McCollums , Beals, Olidipos.

[planetmars]

The biggest weakness the Raptors have going into the playoffs is their half court offense. We relied so heavily on Kawhi to bail us out. Those heat check 3's. The rebound in traffic that would get us another opportunity. The drives to the rim for free throws.

We have an excellent defensive team with a pretty good system. We have character guys that want to play hard. We have a lot of speed and are one of the best in transition (if not the best). We have a coach that doesn't panic and usually makes the right call (other than giving McCaw a tone of minutes). But when the game slows down, and the transition game is taken away.. who's going to step up?

The East has a lot of question marks.. and that's what creates a bit of parity (although the Bucks seem like they are a step ahead of everyone else). But I really think we have a chance.. I feel more confident than any other year we had DeMar and Casey on the team.

But taking my Homer glasses off for a moment.. I really can't see us beating LAC. I think LAL will be a dog fight but are beatable. And the Bucks I think are just better this year (sorry). I think we match up well with every other team including Boston, Denver, Houston, Miami and Philly.

[Demographic Shift]

I am just not sold on the Clippers. They have a lot of ball stoppers and most of them are not going to want to defer to Kawhi. That dynamic is going to be interesting as the playoffs move on. Hard to see any of the other teams beating the Lakers in a 7 game series, though, that Rockets team is not a bad dark horse pick.

The Raps are going to be in tough to get back. Boston is going to be a difficult match-up and Milwaukee is much better than last season. The only concern with the Bucks is whether they have a Plan B if Plan A doesn't work against someone. Budenholzer has done a fantastic job maximizing his roster and that system but can it hold up over 7 games against Toronto or Boston and, if it doesn't, is he willing to change tactics or does he double down like last year..

Yeah the Clippers....
So its a pick between Lebron+Davis vs Leonard+George...
The supporting cast goes to the Clips.. but with Lou Williams perhaps upsetting a few guys for his Michelin 5 Star restaurant tour of Atlantas strip clubs he might have brought that down a peg...
Its a tough pick... but for all the deification of Paul George... I still give the nod to the Lakers dynamic duo.

[Demographic Shift]

The biggest weakness the Raptors have going into the playoffs is their half court offense. We relied so heavily on Kawhi to bail us out. Those heat check 3's. The rebound in traffic that would get us another opportunity. The drives to the rim for free throws.

We have an excellent defensive team with a pretty good system. We have character guys that want to play hard. We have a lot of speed and are one of the best in transition (if not the best). We have a coach that doesn't panic and usually makes the right call (other than giving McCaw a tone of minutes). But when the game slows down, and the transition game is taken away.. who's going to step up?

The East has a lot of question marks.. and that's what creates a bit of parity (although the Bucks seem like they are a step ahead of everyone else). But I really think we have a chance.. I feel more confident than any other year we had DeMar and Casey on the team.

But taking my Homer glasses off for a moment.. I really can't see us beating LAC. I think LAL will be a dog fight but are beatable. And the Bucks I think are just better this year (sorry). I think we match up well with every other team including Boston, Denver, Houston, Miami and Philly.

The Clips are poor matchup for the Raps.... If they are the guys standing there for the Finals its not the team you want to see.
I think you can exploit the lack of ball handling and guard play on the Lakers. Agree they can be had.
Until they prove otherwise Boston is nothing but East Coast Media Hype.
The Bucks are better. But.. and there is always a but till they win it....As good as The Alphabet is if Middleton and Bledsoe turn to slush again they can be had.

FWIW...
ESPN has a piece up...On who comes out of the East .. The West.. and who wins the finals...

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...nce-nba-finals

[LJ2]

I've got the Clippers coming out of the West. My memory may prove it false but I believe they had more wins against elite competition where as the Lakers seemed to lose a lot of those games.

[DogeLover1234]

I'd say 2 & 3 with OG being reliable on defense mostly.

Oddly enough it's Fred that I think our playoff hopes rest upon the most as a difference maker. Who else other than the obvious Lowry is able and willing to create, take and make big shots? This is assuming Siakam will be the main player defenses will focus in on? Serge is never scared to take those shots either, but that isn't always a good thing.

I have a suspicion this playoffs our offense looks a lot like Moreyball in being super 3 pt heavy. Just dont see a lot of action at the rim in the halfcourt. Teams are going to give us all the Pick n pop threes we want. If we can make enough of those and Fred and Kyle cook a bit on those off the dribble three point bombs we can beat anyone. Nobody can shoot the midrange like Kawhi could last year and I just think teams will be able to make it really tough for Pascal around the basket. You look at our shot profile and we are the Rockets east - I think that only amplifies in the playoffs.

[S.R.]

The only thing I would say is that Giannis really hasn't had that much opportunity to show he's the guy in clutch last minute situations mainly because I've lost track of the number of games where he sat out the last 10 minutes or Q with 30 points because the Bucks were up 20 and coasting home.

Sports is full of superstars who took a few years and heartbreaks before winning multiple chips. Giannis looks like that kind of player to me.....hopefully he wins his first in Toronto and not this year in Milwaukee.

Go Raps. Go anyone but an LA team ....

For sure. At any point here, it could be the year Giannis takes The Step. But he's still got the big BUT - without an outside shot, and with the one-dimensional approach Bud tends to take (Giannis attacks the rim, 4 shooters spread the floor), I still see a path for other top teams to stop the Bucks. Until Giannis & the Bucks prove otherwise.

The Bucks defence will give them chances. They're good.

And the Bucks other problem is the lack of a real second banana. Championship superstars almost always have a Robin, a release valve for when defences key in on them. The Bucks don't have that, which again looks to make them more prone to good game planning.

[A.I]

I think Gasol will be a pretty big X factor in the Playoffs. He slimmed down and had a lot of rest. If he can provide some reliable scoring in the post, our half court offense will look a lot better. Defenses will have to keep an eye on Gasol and it will open up a lot of ball movement opportunities.

[S.R.]

The Clippers are favourites but it would be truly unique for them to win. They had their whole roster together 12 times this season and may only have the whole roster a few games before the playoffs. I'm guessing we've never had a championship team with anywhere near that little time on the floor together. Their two best & highest usage guys are new to the team, and you'll be able to count how many times they've played actual games altogether just on your hands. That never happens. Even the Heatles needed one full season + playoff run to really figure out the dynamics and reach their potential. Can the Clippers actually just Avengers Assemble on demand? Or will we see cracks in the 3rd and 4th rounds?