Game # 10 Raps at Blazers Monday January 11th 10pm on Sportsnet

[MixxAOR]

The NBA has a lot of luck.. The Raptors almost showed they couldn't compete with Kawhi either. If they lost that game 7 against Philly they'd have the same outcome as last season.

and if my grandma had wheels she would be a bike.

We know Raptors had mediocre offense and historic defense. The signs were all there when in half-court they struggled to score and that's what happened.

[A.I]

I dunno why people refer to it as tanking. We are not getting rid of our young core and starting from ground zero. We're simply looking to add a good draft pick in a down year and potentially trading Lowry for some sort of asset (hopefully another pick). And no it doesn't have to be a top 3 or top 5 pick. If this organization can draft and develop guys worth max contracts using picks in the 20's or from the undrafted pool then we can certainly do the same with a pick from the mid to late lottery.

Tanking to me means trading away your valuable assets to get a high draft pick and it usually means you're going to be bad for multiple seasons. Raptors have some issues on the court, but they're not as bad as their record shows. They led by double digits in 6 out of 8 losses, their point differential is -1.4, they lost many close games which were winnable.

I guess if there is any season to be unlucky, this would be the one. Not in Toronto, shortened season, a potentially very good draft class.

[big boi]

I'm optimistic because our core are all playing well. We add a good piece through the draft and maybe another through free agency and we are right back there.

Agreed. And trading Lowry would provide the opportunity to draft higher and get value back in that trade. And as you say if we can add another piece through free agency in the offseason we could have a better outlook in just one year.

[A.I]

They are not beating Bucks, Miami, Boston, Philly. If anything bubble helped them. In normal circumstances that series is not going 7 games.

I'd say Raptors would have beat the Celtics if they weren't in the bubble. Home court advantage and I doubt Pascal would have played that badly.

[Jclaw]

Sure the loss stung but it hurts a lot less than it would have years ago. It's now about the process, make it through the regular season and see what we can do in the playoffs. That's the privilege of having won a championship. The only game that really stings this year is the Boston game because we looked bad against a good team. I'd be interested to see our next similar matchup

[MixxAOR]

I'd say Raptors would have beat the Celtics if they weren't in the bubble. Home court advantage and I doubt Pascal would have played that badly.

Raptors couldn't score in half court and that issue would've continued. Siakam was trending downwards before the bubble. I don't think his issues were psychological. It was just limitations in his game. Jaylen Brown played good defense on him. And we had no asnwer for Tatum.

[golden]

and if my grandma had wheels she would be a bike.

We know Raptors had mediocre offense and historic defense. The signs were all there when in half-court they struggled to score and that's what happened.

It's possible that the historic defense could have been a one-off, because the guys were galvanized with a clear mission to defend the championship, and also to prove that it wasn't all just because of Kawhi. They played high-energy defense, together and unselfishly, which also took away from the offense. It's hard to keep that energy and focus for a full season. Offense is more fun and gets paid.

[golden]

The fact that it took the Celtics 7 games to beat them with Siakam a no-show in ALL 7 games showed me that they were good enough to compete against the best teams in the East. And if that series wasn't in a bubble, if Game 7 was at the Air Canada Centre, Raptors would've won that series.

We were 0.5 seconds away from going down 3-0. That series never should have went 7 games. That was pure luck.

[big boi]

I just don't understand why people treat this like end of the world. You guys say oh you are pro-tank you are so bad. But all I'm seeing is people losing their minds on twitter over losing and blaming Masai, Bobby, Nurse, Siakam, Lowry. Like come on...You guys should've known this was going to happen after Kawhi left.

Paul Pierce said this is where he thought the Raptors would be (a few games back) after losing all of the players we've lost. Recommended trading Lowry who he said had a lot of value.

Btw like the terminology of 'Reload / Retool' vs. Rebuild / Tank - more optimistic, and probably more accurate really given we're talking about building around FVV, Siakam, OG, Boucher, not tearing down the whole thing down, but ideally adding a quality piece in the draft, a piece in a trade and a piece in free agency

[A.I]

Raptors couldn't score in half court and that issue would've continued. Siakam was trending downwards before the bubble. I don't think his issues were psychological. It was just limitations in his game. Jaylen Brown played good defense on him. And we had no asnwer for Tatum.

It was trending downwards, but he still averaged 21 points on decent efficiency post All-star game. In the Playoffs it dipped to 17 points and 18% from 3. Pascal struggles started when the bubble started. Playing in a neutral setting helped the teams that didn't have homecourt advantage. Thats why I think Heat got to the Finals.

[MixxAOR]

It's possible that the historic defense could have been a one-off, because the guys were galvanized with a clear mission to defend the championship, and also to prove that it wasn't all just because of Kawhi. They played high-energy defense, together and unselfishly, which also took away from the offense. It's hard to keep that energy and focus for a full season. Offense is more fun and gets paid.

It is possible. They were giving up a ton of corner threes but opponents shot low percentage on it. It was concerning because sign of good three point defense is attempts not %. But le'ts be honest. Gasol was washed. And Boucher practically replaced Ibaka's production. So I feel like people are attributing these losses to loss of Gasol and Ibaka because that's the only thing that changed about roster.

[The Great One]

We were 0.5 seconds away from going down 3-0. That series never should have went 7 games. That was pure luck.

That shot was pure luck for sure but so was the shots that Marcus Smart hit in Gane 2. Smart did his best Steph Curry impression in that game where hit crazy 3's after crazy 3's the last 5 mins of the game. I think the Raptors were up 10 or something the last 5 mins of that gsme. Raptors should've won Game 2; Celtics should've won Game 3.

That series was meant to go 7.

[planetmars]

It is possible. They were giving up a ton of corner threes but opponents shot low percentage on it. It was concerning because sign of good three point defense is attempts not %. But le'ts be honest. Gasol was washed. And Boucher practically replaced Ibaka's production. So I feel like people are attributing these losses to loss of Gasol and Ibaka because that's the only thing that changed about roster.

There is a psychological issue with this team though. They never game up leads.. and were fire in crunch last season. It's tampa + bubble. You never want to use an excuse for poor play but this to me is pretty evident. Drastic difference between guys like Norm/OG/Pascal this season compared to last. Even Kyle seems off at times.

[MixxAOR]

Paul Pierce said this is where he thought the Raptors would be (a few games back) after losing all of the players we've lost. Recommended trading Lowry who he said had a lot of value.

Btw like the terminology of 'Reload / Retool' vs. Rebuild / Tank - more optimistic, and probably more accurate really given we're talking about building around FVV, Siakam, OG, Boucher, not tearing down the whole thing down, but ideally adding a quality piece in the draft, a piece in a trade and a piece in free agency

yeah I think reload is more accurate of a term. Tank applies to old teams that make playoffs but reached their ceiling. For us we're still building new core.

[planetmars]

That shot was pure luck for sure but so was the shots that Marcus Smart hit in Gane 2. Smart did his best Steph Curry impression in that game where hit crazy 3's after crazy 3's the last 5 mins of the game. I think the Raptors were up 10 or something the last 5 mins of that gsme. Raptors should've won Game 2; Celtics should've won Game 3.

That series was meant to go 7.

No way does Smart do that if the game was in Toronto. Even Wannamaker was getting 3's.. and that guy sucks.