Game #8 Toronto Raptors vs Sacramento Kings - Jan 8th - 10pm Eastern

[Demographic Shift]

Took a head coach job at Vanderbilt

Those are great gigs...

Minimal pressure..
You can recruit top flight players every year.
Players still listen to you.
Stack got a 6 year deal for ~1.5M a year.
He will get his shot at an NBA gig when it fits for him.

[GOLDBLUM]

The tank got dented, but that was fun.

Basketball isn't about fun -- IT'S ABOUT THE TANK.

[Demographic Shift]

The Toronto Raptors should send Luke Walton a fruit basket for gifting them their confidence back for at least a while. .

[MixxAOR]

[Demographic Shift]

The tank got dented, but that was fun.

Think of it as a long slow glide to the runway after having to shut down an engine...

[LJ2]

Aaaaand the Clippers have blown a 20pt lead to Golden State. Down 9 with a minute thirty to go. All is right in the world once again.

[slaw]

Matt Thomas is a 3rd stringer now? That’s not good.

He’s solidly behind Davis and Flynn now.

[golden]

Norm. 2 starts = 2 wins. Move Kyle or Fred to the bench?

[golden]

Basketball isn't about fun -- IT'S ABOUT THE TANK.

The game IS played in tank tops, after all. Coincidence?

[saints91]

Fun game!!! I was very worried about that first quarter, they looked horrible, nice recovery by the guys tonight. Siakam has had theee hood games in a row, and Flynn finally put one down. The kid needs more time. Baynes and Len should be saved only for Embiid and Jokic

[inthepaint]

It will be very telling who starts at C next game. If Nick doesn't start boucher, he's either
(a) playing some silly politics/favourites
(b) decidedly trying to tank

boucher should start, and in the minutes he has to sit we should go small ball.

[GLF]

Norm. 2 starts = 2 wins. Move Kyle or Fred to the bench?

I think if they start Norm they're definitely playing the small lineup with OG and Pascal at the 4/5. Which I'm down with btw. No way they are benching our two best players this season for Norm. Yes Norm plays better as a starter but it's not worth benching Fred or Kyle. Especially when you think about how bad Norm is defensively compared to those two. Norm's defence against starting caliber players on good teams is disastrous. He's also inconsistent. Play your 5 best/most experienced players and figure out the rest after. Baynes hasn't worked, Len hasn't worked. And it's not like we rebound well with those guys either. Especially Baynes. You can try Boucher but he's weak and would get man handled. OG can guard 5s better than Boucher and OG is stronger than Boucher by a lot. Also OG is a smarter more disciplined defender. I truly think OG can handle most centres and even if he can't he for damn sure will do a better job than what Baynes or Len has done so far.

[GLF]

Also most teams centres aren't their best players other than Philly and Denver. So if teams want to focus on bullying OG (our best defender) in the paint with probably the other teams 4 or 5 option that only helps us. Anything that takes the ball out of their better players hands helps us in my opinion.

[inthepaint]

Norm. 2 starts = 2 wins. Move Kyle or Fred to the bench?

He's a completely different player when he starts. Plays with more rhythm, more control. On those 2 games he's shooting 53/40/100, averaging 19.5 points, combined for +32.

Unfortunately the only way Nick starts him is if one Fred/Lowry/Pascal/OG are off/injured. Or he decides to go small-ball out of the gates with Pascal at the 5. Pascal actually has had success vs actual C's. It's against lenghty/quicker wings (like himself) that he has trouble. Starting Norm with Pascal at the 5 would not only unlock Norm, but could also unleash Pascal. You'd be truly starting your 5 best players that way.

Too big of a dogma out there though. He'll probabaly dick around with baynes/Len for the first 5 minutes of each half cuz "that's what you're supposed to do" then actually play the best version of the team, which is fast and aggressive with Chris or Pascal at the 5.

[DogeLover1234]

Its a good day! Was worried when Sacto couldnt miss in the first but just kept up the intensity. As much as people have disagreed recently, this is a team thats going to get popped in the face and come back swinging.

Siakam played beautifully. Had flashes but nothing more than a quarter of good all around play until tonight. Even last game I thought he forced his game too much, tonight he was in the flow, creating in early offense, finding dump offs and shooters. He plays like this and all the “others” fall in line, gives everyone else more confidence, space, etc. Keep it coming.

Im ready to say 4 years of Fred on his contract is a great deal. Hes been a rock. Hes still getting better in a lot of ways I didnt expect a couple years ago, not just tonight but to start the season.

This team will go as far as Siakam and Boucher can take them. As sad as it is, I would say even Nurse has lost hope in Len and Baynes. I wouldnt even mind it if Boucher logs the most minutes at C, but we need another viable option.