Raptors 2021-2022 Preseason + Training Camp

[TrueTorontoFan]

Practise Interviews


Dalano

Nurse

[golden]

Scottie had a much better pre-season debut than: Suggs, Mobley and Green. Cade next.

[LJ2]

Scottie had a much better pre-season debut than: Suggs, Mobley and Green. Cade next.

I believe Cade will be out due to a sore ankle.

Notable rookies with good first games not named Scottie Barnes are Giddey, Primo, and my guy Bouknight. I don't think I've been this interested in a rookie class before.

[planetmars]

Either the Bulls are really, really good. Or the Cavs are really, really bad. I was box score watching last night and I saw the Bulls up by 50 at one point. But looking at the stats, a majority of the Bulls players were pretty inefficient.

[GLF]

Either the Bulls are really, really good. Or the Cavs are really, really bad. I was box score watching last night and I saw the Bulls up by 50 at one point. But looking at the stats, a majority of the Bulls players were pretty inefficient.

I watched the game, Cleveland is horrible. Like really bad lol. But Chicago is also going to be pretty good and definitely exciting and fun to watch. So it’s a mix of both for sure but mostly Cleveland being bad

[LJ2]

Either the Bulls are really, really good. Or the Cavs are really, really bad. I was box score watching last night and I saw the Bulls up by 50 at one point. But looking at the stats, a majority of the Bulls players were pretty inefficient.

Thinking Bulls will look good against crappy teams, and awful against teams that play defense.

[Primer]

Cleveland is my pick for last place this season. Although that is a safe bet every season. I wouldn't put any stock in wins over Cleveland. Losing to them on the other hand is a huge cause for concern.

[KeonClark]

Scottie had a much better pre-season debut than: Suggs, Mobley and Green. Cade next.

The only thing holding Scottie back is his situation. Scottie will often be the 4th or 5th option on the floor, part of an already established system of veterans. The other 3 guys will be the main focal point of their team, with the green light to shoot and miss as often as they like. There's pros and cons to both when it comes to the ROY race. I also think this is the system Scottie needs, he wouldn't be as suited as a Green to just fire away on some shit team, he's better as a key glue guy.

[golden]

The only thing holding Scottie back is his situation. Scottie will often be the 4th or 5th option on the floor, part of an already established system of veterans. The other 3 guys will be the main focal point of their team, with the green light to shoot and miss as often as they like. There's pros and cons to both when it comes to the ROY race. I also think this is the system Scottie needs, he wouldn't be as suited as a Green to just fire away on some shit team, he's better as a key glue guy.

Yeah, FVV went out of his way to defiantly point that out in the pre-season opener post-game; i.e., that Scottie looked a lot better with the bench, but he's got to "learn how to play with better players."

Translation: "Me, Pascal and OG will be taking all the shots, rook".

Like FVV also said: this whole "pecking order" and "who is The Man" stuff has a lot more nuance than we might think from the outside. It's the reason why Lowry & Kawhi really didn't mesh until the playoffs. Even going back further to Rudy Gay, Lowry & DD.

Basketball is unique... only 1 guy gets credited with the shot attempt and that can end the possession for the whole team. Player's livelihoods depend on putting up numbers, but teams need unselfish players to win. That's why you need a mix of high-usage and low-usage guys, well balanced transition lineups and guys who will play defense.

[S.R.]

Thinking Bulls will look good against crappy teams, and awful against teams that play defense.

Really interesting team. Loaded up on B level NBA stars who don't fit the current ideal mould in various ways. But all very talented basketball players, no doubt. How will that work out for them?

I do think there's this dynamic of some of the normal rules don't apply if you just stockpile enough basketball talent. E.g. you don't need to maximize efficiency in the same way, you need to do that when you're more on par with your opponent and trying to find every last advantage to help you win. But if you just have a bunch of very talented basketball players? They can make things happen.

Brooklyn and Lebron's Lakers have been a bit like that. Pieces don't all fit per the current analytics-drive ideals, but you have enough talent on the roster and you just beat teams anyway.

[LJ2]

The only thing holding Scottie back is his situation. Scottie will often be the 4th or 5th option on the floor, part of an already established system of veterans. The other 3 guys will be the main focal point of their team, with the green light to shoot and miss as often as they like. There's pros and cons to both when it comes to the ROY race. I also think this is the system Scottie needs, he wouldn't be as suited as a Green to just fire away on some shit team, he's better as a key glue guy.

It was night and day for Scottie playing with FVV/OG and with then with the bench. Maybe it fixes itself when Siakam comes back and Scottie likely is moved to the bench, but he's going to need to know how to play with the starters and still be impactful. Right now the only way I can see it is if he is the primary PG and FVV moves to SG.

[LJ2]

Really interesting team. Loaded up on B level NBA stars who don't fit the current ideal mould in various ways. But all very talented basketball players, no doubt. How will that work out for them?

I do think there's this dynamic of some of the normal rules don't apply if you just stockpile enough basketball talent. E.g. you don't need to maximize efficiency in the same way, you need to do that when you're more on par with your opponent and trying to find every last advantage to help you win. But if you just have a bunch of very talented basketball players? They can make things happen.

Brooklyn and Lebron's Lakers have been a bit like that. Pieces don't all fit per the current analytics-drive ideals, but you have enough talent on the roster and you just beat teams anyway.

Yeah, I totally forgot that Lonzo signed with them. Between Lonzo and LaVine, they have a couple of budding all star types and Demar can still get buckets against weak defenses. Vuc is always a pretty consistent guy as well. It's going to come down to whether they can defend or not.

[S.R.]

It was night and day for Scottie playing with FVV/OG and with then with the bench. Maybe it fixes itself when Siakam comes back and Scottie likely is moved to the bench, but he's going to need to know how to play with the starters and still be impactful. Right now the only way I can see it is if he is the primary PG and FVV moves to SG.

I think there'll be enough ball to go around. We don't have a guy who needs 28 ppg on this roster. Some of the young guys will progress gradually and won't be jumping into massive usage immediately anyway. It'll all take a bit of time.

This whole idea that multiple guys can have the ball in their hands and initiate offence (including bigs off of defensive rebounds) - I really like it given the personnel. We know Fred is great off the ball and doesn't need to dominate the ball like a Chris Paul. We know Siakam got stretched last year and can initiate offence and be a primary ball handler - but also that he doesn't need to be and he can be great as a 2nd banana. There's no Westbrook or Beal or Harden on this team who needs to be fed at a super high rate.

There's room to work with here.

[TrueTorontoFan]

I think there'll be enough ball to go around. We don't have a guy who needs 28 ppg on this roster. Some of the young guys will progress gradually and won't be jumping into massive usage immediately anyway. It'll all take a bit of time.

This whole idea that multiple guys can have the ball in their hands and initiate offence (including bigs off of defensive rebounds) - I really like it given the personnel. We know Fred is great off the ball and doesn't need to dominate the ball like a Chris Paul. We know Siakam got stretched last year and can initiate offence and be a primary ball handler - but also that he doesn't need to be and he can be great as a 2nd banana. There's no Westbrook or Beal or Harden on this team who needs to be fed at a super high rate.

There's room to work with here.

We don't have the type of offense that relies on one person so its really more egalitarian. We have plenty of shots to go around. There are some people that shouldn't be taking a ton of shots in the mid range but if they are open go for it. I don't EVER want to see gary shooting above 10 shots a game unless he is HOT. That is a good example.

[TrueTorontoFan]

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