The 2015/16 Raptors Power Rankings Thread

[DanH]

"Casey is running Kyle and Demar into the ground"
"It took Casey forever to realize one of Kyle or Demar need to be playing at all times"

If Casey walked on water, RR would say it's probably because he's an idiot that can't swim

Those are not mutually exclusive ideas and you know that, so the condescension is completely unnecessary.

[Wild-ling#1]

Those are not mutually exclusive ideas and you know that, so the condescension is completely unnecessary.

Fair enough. But Blake Murphy did a nice piece (I thought) about the bench's (under-appreciated) contributions, that did connect the KL/DD minutes with the injuries, the lack of roster depth and so on.

http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2016/...erves-justice/

Not much discussion here, surprisingly. Be curious what you think, Dan (about the overall subject).

[Scraptor]

If Casey walked on water, RR would say it's probably because he's an idiot that can't swim

If Casey walked on water it would be because Kyle Lowry was in the water carrying him on his shoulders.

[SkywalkerAC]

we will likely resign Bennett for another min deal and open up some PT for him

It's nice that we're taking it slow with him - good chance he re-signs on a value contract IMO.

[DanH]

Fair enough. But Blake Murphy did a nice piece (I thought) about the bench's (under-appreciated) contributions, that did connect the KL/DD minutes with the injuries, the lack of roster depth and so on.

http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2016/...erves-justice/

Not much discussion here, surprisingly. Be curious what you think, Dan (about the overall subject).

Yeah, my opinion is those transition lineups, as I call them, with a mix of bench players with one or two starters, should be seeing a LOT more time, with a lot less time spent with BOTH DD and Lowry on the floor, besides the first few and last few minutes of each half. And of course no time at all spent without either on the floor (except of course garbage time). Doing that would both a) reduce Lowry AND DeMar's total minutes played and b) eliminate or reduce the struggles caused by lineups without either player. Not the least bit conflicting ideas.

It's not like the starting lineup has been playing particularly well anyway. But the thinking applies to each of the past three years, so that's just a bonus.

[rocwell]

Staying at No.3 (ESPN)

Heard a lot of vitriol coming out of Cleveland a week ago when the Raptors, riding an 11-game win streak to match an old Blue Jays 11-gamer for the longest in city history, placed one spot higher than the Cavs. Not so much after the Raps rebounded with a win three nights later on the hot Blazers' floor before the Cavs dropped two in a row for its first mini-crisis under Tyronn Lue.

http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings...r/2016/week/15

[planetmars]

NBA.com as them 5th:

The Raptors' winning streak came to an end in Denver on Monday and they lost another starter (James Johnson) to injury in the process. To keep his bench intact, Dwane Casey started rookie Norman Powell as the Raptors began another winning streak in Phoenix and Portland. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 107 points in the two wins and will certainly play some minutes together in Sunday's All-Star Game.

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/powerra.../02/08/week15/


CBS has them 4th:

They have one loss in the last month, and have played the most consistent basketball in the East. I'm still refusing to get behind the idea they can beat Cleveland, but I continue to be impressed. The Raptors are sixth in offense, ninth in defense per possession despite significant injuries to key players.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/2...ime-to-get-hot


SI has them 5th:

January/February’s very own have lost just thrice since 2016 began, and will have the luxury of an All-Star break spent at home after five games on the road. They’ve been the East’s best team, but a home date with the Cavs on Feb. 26 looms large right now given the 22-point blowout loss in Cleveland a month ago.

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/02/08/nba...l-star-weekend


Yahoo has them 4th:

Toronto Raptors (34-16, LW: 2): Warriors aside, no team has more reasons to be happy this week. The Raptors have won 13 of 14 to open up a 3 1/2-game lead for No. 2 in the East and now sit only two games behind the Cavs for the conference's best record. Topping Cleveland is perhaps too much to ask, but it's in the realm of discussion.

Oh, and Toronto hosts its first-ever NBA All-Star Weekend starting Friday. The game will feature meaningful contributions from both Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, which would be a source of pride in itself. But the Raptors also have the chance to present their team (and their city) as a legitimate destination for top-tier talent.

Plus, who isn't ready to rock out to "Fields of Gold" during the halftime show?

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nb...112214057.html

[S.R.]

Stein has always had a soft spot for the Raptors, love that he has them at #3. Some of the other rankings are so boring - they just follow W/L 90% of the time.

[Mess]

Yahoo has them 4th:

The Raptors have won 13 of 14 to open up a 3 1/2-game lead for No. 2 in the East and now sit only two games behind the Cavs for the conference's best record.

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nb...112214057.html

If they're going to simply follow the W/L records they should at least get the math right.

[KeonClark]

Stein has always had a soft spot for the Raptors, love that he has them at #3. Some of the other rankings are so boring - they just follow W/L 90% of the time.

Yeah but 3rd is ridiculous. No way are we better than okc today, yesterday or tomorrow

[S.R.]

Yeah but 3rd is ridiculous. No way are we better than okc today, yesterday or tomorrow

I don't think they're better either, but that's not really how Power Rankings work. It's just a list of who's hot right now, and the Raptors are 14-1 in their last 15 games. OKC is 13-2 so I guess Toronto gets the edge, lol.

I'd put the Raps somewhere in 4-6, personally. Boston, the Clippers, and Memphis are all also coming on strong.

[Superjudge]

Toronto beat OKC
Toronto is better.

[Jclaw]

Back at number three. Still weird to look at that list and see that the only two teams perceived to be on a better run than us are the Spurs and Warriors. I'm ok with that . And it's not like we've been on some crazy run. Enjoy the good times.

http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/week/21