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  • Respect in the association

    It's always been said that winning is the key to getting respect as a franchise.

    Coming off 56 wins, Eastern Conference Finals game 6 loss, and another division title - the Raptors still seem to fall short in the respect category.

    The Boston Celtics landed Al Horford in free agency, leading to a lot of high projections for our divisional opponents. Bleacher Report is projecting 59 wins. When Celtics forward Jae Crowder was asked about this, he responded "That's a lot of wins, but I want to get past the first round of the playoffs. That's my goal...I think our ceiling is the Eastern Conference Finals. Toronto is not a team we're worried about . I think Cleveland is the top team. That's what it comes down to."

    So, non-story or bulletin board materials to add to the list of players/media disrespecting the Raptors?

    Another aspect of this to consider, when Kevin Durant went shopping for a new home that would give him "best chance to win", he gave Boston a meeting but not Toronto. Despite finishing behind us in the standings and our trip to the ECF, we were considered a worse opportunity to win.

    So are the Raps forever to be overlooked until we win a title? Or can the Raptors change their perception within the association?
    Heir, Prince of Cambridge

    If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

  • #2
    I think Crowder's comments are about on par for what you would expect from a divisional rival. Who knows if some of that is driven through any bad blood between him and Sully, who chose Toronto over a number of other teams.

    With regards to Durrant granting Boston a meeting...I'm not even clear if Toronto made a meeting request to Durrant or not. From rumours I heard, San Antonio was also interested in Durrant and I don't know if he met with them either. Didn't meet with CLE either. I don't look at that as disrespect towards Toronto unless they did request a meeting and he said no.

    Looking forward to those match ups against Boston this season though

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    • #3
      I'm not worried about Boston bc I think we are more or less equal but I'm worried about cavs bc they have the best player. I still respect Boston.
      In general, we've won a shitty Atlantic title and been first rd disappointments. We barely beat pacers. Heat didn't have bosh.
      Also I think everyone likes demar but no one fears him. Poor defender and relies on refs for half his points. They underestimate Jonas tho.

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      • #4
        On the other hand, Sullinger choosing Toronto and supposedly for less money ( and maybe quite a bit less money) than other teams offered is something I don't think I've heard in the past.

        I'm sure there is still disrespect out there, there always will be in some quarters for a "foreign country" team. And we're not exactly a storied franchise. But as long as we can maintain a winning tradition, most, even if not all, disrespect will dissipate.
        If we knew half as much about coaching an NBA team as we think, we"d know twice as much as we do.

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        • #5
          lewro wrote: View Post
          I'm not worried about Boston bc I think we are more or less equal but I'm worried about cavs bc they have the best player. I still respect Boston.
          In general, we've won a shitty Atlantic title and been first rd disappointments. We barely beat pacers. Heat didn't have bosh.
          Also I think everyone likes demar but no one fears him. Poor defender and relies on refs for half his points. They underestimate Jonas tho.
          We've really only had three consecutive years of playoff appearances -- only one of which we didn't get bounced in the first round. I think respect in any league is earned by consistent success. I think one or two more years of deep playoff runs and we will start getting the respect we deserve.

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          • #6
            Just because Durant settled for winability (?) it doesn't mean it was all he was looking at when he went to Boston. Also, once again never underestimate the effect taxes have on high income individuals when it comes to location decision making. Speak to your Doctor if you want further indication of this.

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            • #7
              Crowder's comment was along the same line as Paul Pierce, i.e., Toronto doesn't have anybody with the "IT" factor to be worried about. That wasn't really disrespect, just the truth. Kyle and Demar getting the yips in the playoffs only reinforced that impression.

              These statements aren't coming from Stephen A Smith or Steve Simmons, they're coming from your peers around the league, so I'd imagine more NBA players feel this way. Again, it's simply reality that we don't have that truly elite NBA alpha dog. Even though DeMar just signed the 3rd highest contract in NBA history, he isn't exactly feared around the league.

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              • #8
                meductic wrote: View Post
                Just because Durant settled for winability (?) it doesn't mean it was all he was looking at when he went to Boston. Also, once again never underestimate the effect taxes have on high income individuals when it comes to location decision making. Speak to your Doctor if you want further indication of this.
                Players on the 4 California teams actually pay more taxes than Raptor players.

                This came out around the time of Kyle's free agency 2 years ago, written by a sports tax accountant who is also a Raptor fan.

                http://crowesoberman.com/quarterly-i...much-in-taxes/
                If we knew half as much about coaching an NBA team as we think, we"d know twice as much as we do.

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                • #9
                  Crowder is butt-hurt:
                  SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder isn't thrilled with Kevin Durant's decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors.

                  During an appearance at the Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday, Crowder repeatedly expressed dismay that Durant elected to join a super team rather than continue to fight against the one that won an NBA-record 73 games last season.

                  The Celtics were one of six teams that made a sales pitch to Durant at the start of free agency earlier this month.

                  "We were the only team in the NBA to beat [Cleveland and Golden State] on their home court. The only team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics," Crowder told MassLive.com. "We told him that. We played him clips from both games and told him basically the scouting report of how we guarded Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] -- our entire game plan, basically. That's what made me mad. We f---ing told him everything we do to beat these guys, and we beat them, and he went and joined them. ...


                  Crowder, who was part of the Celtics contingent that traveled to the Hamptons to pitch Durant over the Fourth of July weekend, echoed what many in the traveling party already have said: Boston emerged from its meeting feeling as if it had made a real strong pitch. Crowder felt that if Durant decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Celtics had to be considered a front-runner to pry him away.

                  Crowder remains incredulous that Durant chose Golden State instead.

                  Toward the end of a question-and-answer session during the Hall's "60 Days of Summer" program, a young fan asked Crowder to name the toughest NBA player to defend. Crowder picked Durant, which elicited loud boos from a crowd filled largely with fans in Celtics green.

                  Crowder smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm with you guys."
                  http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17...t-kevin-durant

                  I'm still not convinced Al Horford makes that team that much better. Atlanta had similar talent and never did much. Definitely NOT a 59 win team... I peg them for around the same as last year, maybe 50 wins.

                  As far as the Raps and respect goes, I agree with 92Till's statement. A couple more playoff runs will go a long way, just need some more exposure while playing at a high level.

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                  • #10
                    "Respect" can only happen overnight and it can't be a gradual thing. Even the Clippers got respect when Blake won the dunk contest and CP3 came over in a trade... but they haven't done much. Have they gotten passed the 2nd round since CP3 joined? Atlanta has been consistent with their winning, but never gained respect.. even as a 60 win team.

                    From a player perspective.. its probably as simple as that too. Crowder is eating up with the US Sports media is feeding. I don't remember who it was (think it was Wilbon) who said that Boston was who he thought was Cleveland's biggest competition. It has everything to do with how Ainge is pretty vocal about what he wants (unlike Masai), his armory of picks (most have gone to waste now I guess) and his cap space (which will go away once his young kids need extensions) and their rich history.

                    Personally I think Boston is a good team. I love the Horford pick. They needed someone in their front court badly. Horford is a good system player too (which Stevens would love to have).. can also easily get you 20/10. I don't know if they are better than Toronto but it's probably closer then it was last year.

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                    • #11
                      More fuel to the We The North fire lol

                      #ProveEm amirite?
                      The name's Bond, James Bond.

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                      • #12
                        Who gives a shit about Jae Crowder? He shot under 30% from the field in the playoffs
                        "Both teams played hard my man" - Sheed

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                        • #13
                          Raptors and Celtics are the top 2 teams competing for the #1 contender spot to the Cavs in the east. Crowder disrespecting us to me shows that he recognizes Toronto is current #1 contender that they need overtake to get to Clev.

                          We've gained a lot of respect over the last few years and its started with Lowry resigning in Toronto to break the trend of players leaving, the Toronto fans giving Vince a standing ovation during his tribute showing we don't hold grudges over every franchise player. Jurassic park catching the attention of the entire league showing we are one the most passionate fanbases, #wethenorth that captured a nation and gave us a symbol for the NBA to know what we represent, DeRozan not seeing another team and resigning in Toronto, Sully taking half of the $ that was available to him to play for a winner. The consistent amount of lottery picks coming out of the GTA. These are all some of the events i've noticed along with 3 winning seasons that have us getting more respect that we ever had in our history. Respect is earned and last season was the first time we made it out of the 1st round...I think the respect is gonna show this season as long as we don't regress.

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                          • #14
                            Generally I think continued success in the playoffs is what is needed to gain respect along to a lesser degree the regular season. I think as the playoffs were underway and we failed to put team's away quickly there was a lot of publicity on our all star back court's shooting percentage which was terrible. Crowder statements seem to be a little contradictory as his goal is to get out of the first round yet he still has to respond to the high expectations people are forecasting for the celt's. As far as media coverage goes one comment that I heard on NBA tv from Isiah Thomas was that the team with emphasis on Lowry felt the pressure of whole country. Isiah probably has more insight than most of the media through his role with the team in the past and I think it is one of the more valid comments I heard during the media coverage of the playoffs. Predictions are just people's opinions. Barkley picked Chicago to be the cav's main competition in the east at the beginning of the season and they certainly were not.

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                            • #15
                              Does anyone fear Boston? I sure don't.
                              @Chr1st1anL

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