Game #11 Charlotte Hornets @ Toronto Raptors 7:30 pm. TSN

[MixxAOR]

I don't think thats true. Baynes was actually decent just last season. Started and averaged 12 points, shot 47% and 36% from 3. He wasn't a bad free agent to get considering Raptors waited on Ibaka and Gasol, but his play has fallen off a cliff this season.

He only started 28 games

[A.I]

I think that has more to do with the willingness of free agents to sign with Toronto. Unless we overpay (Carroll), we are only getting consideration from bottom of the barrel guys with one foot out the NBA door.

I don't think thats true. Baynes was actually decent just last season. Started and averaged 12 points, shot 47% and 36% from 3. He wasn't a bad free agent to get considering Raptors waited on Ibaka and Gasol, but his play has fallen off a cliff this season.

[MixxAOR]

That's true.. but I'm not even talking about elite free agents.. even the mid-level/mediocre guys they bring in suck.. just flat out suck when they become Raptors. Baynes was good in Boston and Phoenix. He's unplayable in Toronto.

Was he good? Because Boston fans were saying how much he pissed them off

[planetmars]

I think that has more to do with the willingness of free agents to sign with Toronto. Unless we overpay (Carroll), we are only getting consideration from bottom of the barrel guys with one foot out the NBA door.

That's true.. but I'm not even talking about elite free agents.. even the mid-level/mediocre guys they bring in suck.. just flat out suck when they become Raptors. Baynes was good in Boston and Phoenix. He's unplayable in Toronto.

[The Great One]

Siakam with another atrocious game. A no-show again in the 4th. When you're an "all star" and the best scorer on the team you gotta go out there for the kill EVERYTIME you step on the floor. This dude just blends in. Like I always say, he has the mentality of a role player and he plays like a role player specially in the 4th.

And I don't know maybe I just have a high standard? I still don't remember a good Siakam game this year. The triple double game the other night? nah. He had a great 1st quarter: 12/7/5. He was invisible the rest of the game. The Celtics game? that was a blowout. He scored most of his points during garbage time. The Suns game I guess? yeah but they lost that game.

Ranking the Raptors best players this year, Lowry obviously is #1, FVV #2, Boucher number 3(where would they be without this guy?)

[LJ2]

Wish Masai was a better evaluator of external free agents.. I love the guy but he's had a pretty crappy record in that one area.

Who's the best free agent this team ever picked up? Cory Joseph? Tyler Hansborough? Bismack Biyombo?

Baynes, Len and Bembry are useless. Last year it was Stanimal and RHJ. He's also brought in Scola, Monroe, Lin, Carroll, Sullinger.

The front office are great evaluators of prospects. They've hit so many homeruns. And we know their track records for trades. But they suck so bad at bringing in free agents.


I'm kind of scared of having cap space next season.. Hope we can fill it up with a trade and just bypass free agency.

I think that has more to do with the willingness of free agents to sign with Toronto. Unless we overpay (Carroll), we are only getting consideration from bottom of the barrel guys with one foot out the NBA door.

[planetmars]

Wish Masai was a better evaluator of external free agents.. I love the guy but he's had a pretty crappy record in that one area.

Who's the best free agent this team ever picked up? Cory Joseph? Tyler Hansborough? Bismack Biyombo?

Baynes, Len and Bembry are useless. Last year it was Stanimal and RHJ. He's also brought in Scola, Monroe, Lin, Carroll, Sullinger.

The front office are great evaluators of prospects. They've hit so many homeruns. And we know their track records for trades. But they suck so bad at bringing in free agents.


I'm kind of scared of having cap space next season.. Hope we can fill it up with a trade and just bypass free agency.

[G__Deane]

Interesting game, so inconsistant.
Dominating at times, incredibly poor defense at other times, we could have easily lost this game.
That said we also could have easily won the prior 2 so.......maybe it evens out.

Pelicans made a few of highly contested difficult shots in this game.......

All I really ask from our team is that they compete, and they are in most games. They have done that the past 3 games. I actually don't mind losing if the games are close. (Still obviously prefer to win)

Who did the Pelicans play?

[DanH]

Yeah, this one was fun! Probably more interesting than it should have been, but that's been a trend this year.

Funny game. The teams were essentially tied in 2PT%, 3PT%, offensive rebounding, turnovers, free throws (slight edge to Raps), and the Raps won basically on the strength of more 3's taken and those free throws.

Still need to find a consistent solve for the non-Lowry minutes. They tried everything in this one - Norm in with the starters? Lost those minutes. Pascal, Fred, OG with Stan at C and Flynn? Lost those. They even tried a bench unit with no Pascal or Lowry which unsurprisingly bled points. Both starting groups also just broke even, though obviously really small sample and they should certainly give Boucher a longer look (and Baynes a look with the bench, he's basically only played with and against starters this year). Seems to be headed that way with him getting the 2nd half start of each of the last three games, as I recall.

For the non-Lowry minutes, seems like they should keep Pascal and Fred out there to give them the best shot (giving the Lowry bench OG). And if you have Pascal out there, you have to surround him with shooters, Baynes getting in his way has really mucked up the paint for him. In theory Stan should cause the same problem but they have succeeded in their minutes together, somehow, including (particularly) on offence. Norm in theory should help if he can ever get back to just not destroying the defence and spotting up for threes. Now, that makes it hard to find minutes for Baynes off the bench too... Still feels like their best shot is to hand minutes to Flynn and hope he gets better and better in the creator role for the bench, which he's only gotten occasional sniffs at (mostly playing off ball still)... If he develops, that could remove the need to have Pascal out for those minutes, let Flynn and Baynes run PnR with Fred and other shooters spotting up. Solves a lot of problems. But until then it feels like it will be patchwork stuff like the Stan at C lineups we got in this one, or going with OG and Pascal and Fred and backfilling with guards (throw Thomas and Flynn out there and just shoot your way out?).

[planetmars]

I don't see it as a good win but a lucky win. They had 12 points in the 4th after being up by 18 at a time in the third. It's the same old with this team. They can't keep a lead because they start doing stupid shit and stop playing defense when they do it.

Lowry found Boucher to get them back up 5. That was a key bucket I guess.. but it was such an awful display against a team playing on a second game of a back to back that was missing their best player.. that team looked dead in the water, but the Raptors gave them a huge life boat.

At the end there, Charlotte had two wide open looks from 3 to tie it and missed. We were so close in just giving it away again.

And it was our vets that were unable to score. I have no idea why Nurse kept putting Norm in the game. He was a disaster. Fred looked like he didn't want to be there. And Siakam was missing his shots short like he did early in the season. Kyle isn't blameless either.. he was doing stupid stuff too... complaining to the refs, killing most of the clock as he was dribbling it up.

I don't know about this team in this weird ass season.. that was a tough game to watch for me. I'm so against tanking but it seems like this team just won't have it this year.. and it's not because of Baynes or Len. The second half was disgusting, and he didn't play in that half.

Hopefully it's just the Tampa situation getting into their heads. Because that should correct itself automatically next season.

[saints91]

The Hornets look awful, but good win by the Raps. I certainly didn't see this coming from Boucher. Once again, just another fun game.

[Dvdvideo]

Interesting game, so inconsistant.
Dominating at times, incredibly poor defense at other times, we could have easily lost this game.
That said we also could have easily won the prior 2 so.......maybe it evens out.

Pelicans made a few of highly contested difficult shots in this game.......

All I really ask from our team is that they compete, and they are in most games. They have done that the past 3 games. I actually don't mind losing if the games are close. (Still obviously prefer to win)

[Demographic Shift]

Fake win.

Not since the days that Snooch ruled the repbulic as resident troll in chief have I heard "fake win"
Wicked funny stuff.

[slaw]

What’s the opposite of a moral victory?

Fake win.

[golden]

Thought he was a fun hustle guy last year but a bit of a gimmick at the NBA level. Seemed too skinny, shot too suspect.

The advanced stats all showed he did better with more minutes. He just needed the opportunity and trust from Nurse.... which is damn near impossible to earn. But the stats don’t show how much heart and fearlessness he plays with. I thought we’d lose him in free agency to a team like the Rockets and then he’d blow up. Glad it’s happening here.

Terence Davis is similar and he rides the pine tonight.