Tweet
Hi all!
That time of year again. 82 games later, the Raptors are once again where they belong, in the playoffs and teams dreading having to deal with them. 48 wins is quite a season in a year where no one quite knew what to expect coming in. And we all know who gets credit for those wins. No, not Nick, and not the players. We do! Forum thread starters get all the glory (and none of the blame, thanks very much).
But with great power must also come great responsibility. So heading into the playoffs we need to choose our thread starters with care.
Quick background for those who maybe don't pay that much attention to who starts what thread, it is tradition in these parts for one poster to create a new thread to discuss each game in. If the team wins that game, the same poster starts the next game day thread. If they lose, someone else takes the next game. At the end of the regular season, it's a fun activity to look back and see who has had the most success, so we can superstitiously help the team as much as possible in the playoffs.
To that end, a summary of the season, from a game thread starter perspective.
First, final records of the game thread starters, ranked in terms of highest total wins.
Starter | Wins | Losses | Win%
JClaw: 18 W, 9 L, 67%
Saints91: 9 W, 4 L, 69% (nice)
planetmars: 6 W, 2 L, 75%
DanH: 6 W, 4 L, 60%
KeonClark: 3 W, 2 L, 60%
ClawReborn: 2 W, 1 L, 67%
MixxAOR: 1 W, 1 L, 50%
bertarapsfan: 1 W, 3 L, 25%
Goldblum: 1 W, 3 L, 25%
Scraptor: 1 W, 4 L, 20%
Big round of applause to everyone who got us a win this year. Worth noting every game thread starter had at least one win!
We've got two standout game thread starters in terms of total wins, who should be no-brainers to be part of our playoff rotation. JClaw and Saints91 managed to string together 27 of our 48 total wins all on their lonesome. Special mention to planetmars who tops the list in terms of wins per game thread started, and I think should also definitely be starting some playoff threads.
But we'll go through individual candidates below. First, some thoughts on the process.
In any playoff round we would have at most 3 losses after which we need to start another game thread with a new starter. So that means 4 game thread starters needed off the bat for our playoff rotation.
If we win a series, the question becomes, do we stick to our 4 man rotation, who after all won us a round? Or expand the rotation? I would lean the former, but am interested in what you think.
As for who starts the threads, all the thanks to the bottom 4 posters in that list above, all of whom incredible thread starters on merit and who have been playoff fixtures in the past, but this just wasn't your year. MixxAOR, bertarapsfan, Goldblum, Scraptor, we salute you.
Now, the contenders:
JClaw
JClaw started his year off rough. Lost to the Bulls his first game out, lost to the Nets the next time, then dropped a game to the Celts. End of November and not the start to the year you'd expect from a poster who'd end up at the top by the end. But just like Pascal coming back after a month, JClaw had their best basketball ahead of them.
JClaw started to round the corner against a softer schedule in December, taking two wins off of the Knicks and Kings before losing again to the Nets. But that set-back didn't stop them from throwing their hat back in the ring to ring in the new year. Dec 31st they took on the Clippers, and that game started a 6 game win streak including wins over the Bucks and Jazz. They got stopped by the Suns but that win streak got the team moving at a point in the year where they really needed it.
JClaw tried to get the team rolling again, taking a big win off the Bucks, but that one was short lived, losing to the Heat right after.
But vengeance drove them to try their luck the very next time the Heat showed up on the schedule, and thank goodness because that win kicked off an 8 game win streak with wins over the Heat twice, the Bulls, the Hawks twice and the Hornets, before coming to stop with a loss to the Nuggets.
JClaw had a few more games left in them, a win against the 76ers and losses to the Magic and Bulls, but their work was done at that point.
Have to consider JClaw the 1 seed in this particular bracket.
Saints91
Saints91 has a very different story. After the team got out to a 1-3 start, Saints immediately stepped in and gave us a 5 game win streak against some teams that looked pretty good early on (but would prove to be terrible eventually) in the Pacers, Magic, Knicks and Wizards. But at that point of the season, short Pascal, a win streak is a win streak. We'd lose to the Cavs to close that out.
Saints took another kick at the can late November, knocking off the Grizzlies but then falling to the Pacers. Saints was then quite for much of the season, with one more loss against the Pelicans in February.
Then down the stretch, as the Raptors were battling for 4th/5th/6th/7th, Saints stepped up to start the final 4 games of the season, winning against the Hawks, 76ers and Rockets before dropping the final meaningless game to the Knicks after the Raps had locked up the 5th seed.
That's some clutch performance. Knows how to start and end a season, that's for sure.
planetmars
planetmars only had two attempts at starting, as noted by their only two losses on the season. First they saved the team from a three game losing streak to the Cavs, Nets and Celts that threatened to tailspin, by beating the 76ers before dropping the mandatory loss to the Pistons.
Then, with the team struggling a bit out of the gate after the all star break, having lost 5 of 7 including a 3 game losing streak to the Pistons, Magic and Cavs, planetmars again stepped up to stop it, this time emphatically. They kicked off a 5 game win streak to put the team in the race to escape the play-in, with wins over the Spurs, Suns, Nuggets, Lakers and Clippers, all on the road, before dropping the first game home to the Lakers.
An incredibly impressive series of road wins, in a key stretch of the season, and saving the team from two separate 3 game losing streaks.
That's a thread starter you want on your side to bounce back from a playoff loss. Maybe better utilized for road games.
DanH
Hey it's me! I had a rough start to the season too, dropped my first game to the Blazers in November, then after licking my wounds for two months took the mandatory loss against the Pistons, before finally finding my footing a bit in February, beating the Wolves to break up a two game losing streak for the team before dropping the next one to the Hornets. Hardly a dazzling resume at this point.
But I was lucky enough to be able to ride the good vibes from planetmars and JClaw winning 6 of 8 and putting us into the race for 6th, and strung together a 5 game win streak of my own to span March and April including wins over the Celtics, Wolves and Cavs (who we needed the win against) and put the Raps essentially into a tie for 5th before losing the Heat game in Kyle Lowry's return (can hardly harbour ill will for that one).
Rough start to the year but got my feet under me late. Definitely more a back-of-the-rotation option.
KeonClark
Keon, just like planetmars, only took two cracks at it this year, and both times put wins to their name before registering a loss. In early December, with the team muddling through a three game losing streak, put together two wins against the Bucks and Wizards, but then dropped a game to the Thunder.
Then split a couple late January games against the Hornets and Bulls.
A win rate of 60% is nothing to sneeze at. Has to be a consideration.
TheClawReborn
ClawReborn took one shot, and had some success with it. Raps had lost their first two out of the break, including a wacky one where the site was down so no game thread was started. We needed some vibe correction immediately, and Claw stepped up.
Won two consecutive games against the Nets before again running into the wall that is Dwane Casey.
67% win rate has to have them in the discussion regardless of the total games played being low.
------------------------
So, I think that's the list. One last thing to go through, since we're lined up with Philly is our record against them.
vs Philly:
planetmars W
Scraptor L
JClaw W
Saints91 W
Personally, I think that locks our top three into their spots in the rotation. The poll I placed (I think I can only do one, at least as far as I can figure) is who gets the 4th spot in the rotation.
If people are vocal about wanting a different system, we can go that way for sure. For example, if we decide we want a bigger rotation rather than a rotating 4, we can just use the poll to determine who is 4th, 5th, 6th.
For the top three, I'd propose Saints91 as our first game starter, with their success early in the season, planetmars for our first road game after a loss, with their huge road wins and saving the team from multiple losing streaks, JClaw for basically anything else (do it all, Scottie Barnes), then the 4th starter for our last ditch attempt (game 7 baby!).
That time of year again. 82 games later, the Raptors are once again where they belong, in the playoffs and teams dreading having to deal with them. 48 wins is quite a season in a year where no one quite knew what to expect coming in. And we all know who gets credit for those wins. No, not Nick, and not the players. We do! Forum thread starters get all the glory (and none of the blame, thanks very much).
But with great power must also come great responsibility. So heading into the playoffs we need to choose our thread starters with care.
Quick background for those who maybe don't pay that much attention to who starts what thread, it is tradition in these parts for one poster to create a new thread to discuss each game in. If the team wins that game, the same poster starts the next game day thread. If they lose, someone else takes the next game. At the end of the regular season, it's a fun activity to look back and see who has had the most success, so we can superstitiously help the team as much as possible in the playoffs.
To that end, a summary of the season, from a game thread starter perspective.
First, final records of the game thread starters, ranked in terms of highest total wins.
Starter | Wins | Losses | Win%
JClaw: 18 W, 9 L, 67%
Saints91: 9 W, 4 L, 69% (nice)
planetmars: 6 W, 2 L, 75%
DanH: 6 W, 4 L, 60%
KeonClark: 3 W, 2 L, 60%
ClawReborn: 2 W, 1 L, 67%
MixxAOR: 1 W, 1 L, 50%
bertarapsfan: 1 W, 3 L, 25%
Goldblum: 1 W, 3 L, 25%
Scraptor: 1 W, 4 L, 20%
Big round of applause to everyone who got us a win this year. Worth noting every game thread starter had at least one win!
We've got two standout game thread starters in terms of total wins, who should be no-brainers to be part of our playoff rotation. JClaw and Saints91 managed to string together 27 of our 48 total wins all on their lonesome. Special mention to planetmars who tops the list in terms of wins per game thread started, and I think should also definitely be starting some playoff threads.
But we'll go through individual candidates below. First, some thoughts on the process.
In any playoff round we would have at most 3 losses after which we need to start another game thread with a new starter. So that means 4 game thread starters needed off the bat for our playoff rotation.
If we win a series, the question becomes, do we stick to our 4 man rotation, who after all won us a round? Or expand the rotation? I would lean the former, but am interested in what you think.
As for who starts the threads, all the thanks to the bottom 4 posters in that list above, all of whom incredible thread starters on merit and who have been playoff fixtures in the past, but this just wasn't your year. MixxAOR, bertarapsfan, Goldblum, Scraptor, we salute you.
Now, the contenders:
JClaw
JClaw started his year off rough. Lost to the Bulls his first game out, lost to the Nets the next time, then dropped a game to the Celts. End of November and not the start to the year you'd expect from a poster who'd end up at the top by the end. But just like Pascal coming back after a month, JClaw had their best basketball ahead of them.
JClaw started to round the corner against a softer schedule in December, taking two wins off of the Knicks and Kings before losing again to the Nets. But that set-back didn't stop them from throwing their hat back in the ring to ring in the new year. Dec 31st they took on the Clippers, and that game started a 6 game win streak including wins over the Bucks and Jazz. They got stopped by the Suns but that win streak got the team moving at a point in the year where they really needed it.
JClaw tried to get the team rolling again, taking a big win off the Bucks, but that one was short lived, losing to the Heat right after.
But vengeance drove them to try their luck the very next time the Heat showed up on the schedule, and thank goodness because that win kicked off an 8 game win streak with wins over the Heat twice, the Bulls, the Hawks twice and the Hornets, before coming to stop with a loss to the Nuggets.
JClaw had a few more games left in them, a win against the 76ers and losses to the Magic and Bulls, but their work was done at that point.
Have to consider JClaw the 1 seed in this particular bracket.
Saints91
Saints91 has a very different story. After the team got out to a 1-3 start, Saints immediately stepped in and gave us a 5 game win streak against some teams that looked pretty good early on (but would prove to be terrible eventually) in the Pacers, Magic, Knicks and Wizards. But at that point of the season, short Pascal, a win streak is a win streak. We'd lose to the Cavs to close that out.
Saints took another kick at the can late November, knocking off the Grizzlies but then falling to the Pacers. Saints was then quite for much of the season, with one more loss against the Pelicans in February.
Then down the stretch, as the Raptors were battling for 4th/5th/6th/7th, Saints stepped up to start the final 4 games of the season, winning against the Hawks, 76ers and Rockets before dropping the final meaningless game to the Knicks after the Raps had locked up the 5th seed.
That's some clutch performance. Knows how to start and end a season, that's for sure.
planetmars
planetmars only had two attempts at starting, as noted by their only two losses on the season. First they saved the team from a three game losing streak to the Cavs, Nets and Celts that threatened to tailspin, by beating the 76ers before dropping the mandatory loss to the Pistons.
Then, with the team struggling a bit out of the gate after the all star break, having lost 5 of 7 including a 3 game losing streak to the Pistons, Magic and Cavs, planetmars again stepped up to stop it, this time emphatically. They kicked off a 5 game win streak to put the team in the race to escape the play-in, with wins over the Spurs, Suns, Nuggets, Lakers and Clippers, all on the road, before dropping the first game home to the Lakers.
An incredibly impressive series of road wins, in a key stretch of the season, and saving the team from two separate 3 game losing streaks.
That's a thread starter you want on your side to bounce back from a playoff loss. Maybe better utilized for road games.
DanH
Hey it's me! I had a rough start to the season too, dropped my first game to the Blazers in November, then after licking my wounds for two months took the mandatory loss against the Pistons, before finally finding my footing a bit in February, beating the Wolves to break up a two game losing streak for the team before dropping the next one to the Hornets. Hardly a dazzling resume at this point.
But I was lucky enough to be able to ride the good vibes from planetmars and JClaw winning 6 of 8 and putting us into the race for 6th, and strung together a 5 game win streak of my own to span March and April including wins over the Celtics, Wolves and Cavs (who we needed the win against) and put the Raps essentially into a tie for 5th before losing the Heat game in Kyle Lowry's return (can hardly harbour ill will for that one).
Rough start to the year but got my feet under me late. Definitely more a back-of-the-rotation option.
KeonClark
Keon, just like planetmars, only took two cracks at it this year, and both times put wins to their name before registering a loss. In early December, with the team muddling through a three game losing streak, put together two wins against the Bucks and Wizards, but then dropped a game to the Thunder.
Then split a couple late January games against the Hornets and Bulls.
A win rate of 60% is nothing to sneeze at. Has to be a consideration.
TheClawReborn
ClawReborn took one shot, and had some success with it. Raps had lost their first two out of the break, including a wacky one where the site was down so no game thread was started. We needed some vibe correction immediately, and Claw stepped up.
Won two consecutive games against the Nets before again running into the wall that is Dwane Casey.
67% win rate has to have them in the discussion regardless of the total games played being low.
------------------------
So, I think that's the list. One last thing to go through, since we're lined up with Philly is our record against them.
vs Philly:
planetmars W
Scraptor L
JClaw W
Saints91 W
Personally, I think that locks our top three into their spots in the rotation. The poll I placed (I think I can only do one, at least as far as I can figure) is who gets the 4th spot in the rotation.
If people are vocal about wanting a different system, we can go that way for sure. For example, if we decide we want a bigger rotation rather than a rotating 4, we can just use the poll to determine who is 4th, 5th, 6th.
For the top three, I'd propose Saints91 as our first game starter, with their success early in the season, planetmars for our first road game after a loss, with their huge road wins and saving the team from multiple losing streaks, JClaw for basically anything else (do it all, Scottie Barnes), then the 4th starter for our last ditch attempt (game 7 baby!).
Comment