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2016/17 Raptors Power Rankings Thread

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  • 2016/17 Raptors Power Rankings Thread

    A lot of love from SI today, at #3 - http://www.si.com/nba/2016/12/19/nba...three-pointers

    #5 on CBS - http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nb...take-a-tumble/

    #5 on ESPN - http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...eek-9-rankings

    If November belonged to DeMar DeRozan, December has been Kyle Lowry's time. DeRozan's backcourt buddy is not just averaging 23.6 points per game this month -- he's shooting a crazy 55.8 percent from the field ... along with 58.7 percent from deep. The Raptors, meanwhile, find themselves at 0-6 against Cleveland, Golden State and (curiously) Sacramento, but a robust 19-2 against the rest of the league, despite Friday night's home loss to the Hawks. A big test is coming, though, with Toronto soon to begin a six-game road trip against Western Conference teams, starting with a rough opener at Utah. The Raptors are a very passable 11-9 on the road against the West since the start of the 2015-16 season to go with a 22-11 road mark against the East in that same span.

    I think Utah is getting a bit too much love, they're overachieving atm.
    Last edited by S.R.; Mon Dec 19, 2016, 03:04 PM.
    "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

  • #2
    5th seems about right. I'd rank the top as:
    Warriors
    Rockets
    Spurs
    Cavs
    Raptors
    Clippers
    Jazz
    Thunder

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    • #3
      octothorp wrote: View Post
      5th seems about right. I'd rank the top as:
      Warriors
      Rockets
      Spurs
      Cavs
      Raptors
      Clippers
      Jazz
      Thunder
      ESPN thinks more like you. That loss to the Hawks dropped us to 5. Still an amazing time to live when "dropping to 5" seems like a let down.

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      • #4
        the rockets are the most overrated team in the league. I think the jazz or grizz would take them in a 7 game series, maybe even okc. warriors, spurs and cavs are top 3. raps I'd put 4th or 5th, right there with the clips. Still not feeling the clips either but they did beat us.

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        • #5
          #tbt to "better days"

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          • #6
            JawsGT wrote: View Post
            the rockets are the most overrated team in the league. I think the jazz or grizz would take them in a 7 game series, maybe even okc. warriors, spurs and cavs are top 3. raps I'd put 4th or 5th, right there with the clips. Still not feeling the clips either but they did beat us.
            Ya, there's something about a high-powered D'Antoni-coached team, that probably doesn't scare anyone come playoff time.

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            • #7
              Nilanka wrote: View Post
              Ya, there's something about a high-powered D'Antoni-coached team, that probably doesn't scare anyone come playoff time.
              harden is amazing and all, but any sort of decent PnR D and they can be beat. Eric Gordon ain't gonna win you a playoff series unless harden is free to pass to him for open 3's.

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              • #8
                JawsGT wrote: View Post
                harden is amazing and all, but any sort of decent PnR D and they can be beat. Eric Gordon ain't gonna win you a playoff series unless harden is free to pass to him for open 3's.
                Especially since Gordon is due to miss the 2nd half of the season (and playoffs) due to injury. It's all but guaranteed.

                Yes, I've wasted waaaaay too many years drafting that POS in my fantasy leagues. He hasn't reached the 65 games played mark since his rookie season 9 yrs ago.

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                • #9
                  I'm actually hoping for a OKC/Houston 1st round matchup. The battle of the one-man shows. It would be fun to watch that's for sure.

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                  • #10
                    Nilanka wrote: View Post
                    Ya, there's something about a high-powered D'Antoni-coached team, that probably doesn't scare anyone come playoff time.
                    They're a middle of the pack defense and have quality road wins over SAS, POR, UTAH, GSW, DEN and OKC. It's early but if they keep going like this, they'll be scary. Remember, D'Antoni was a stupid rule away from at least one Finals and a raft of injuries away from another. Those Suns teams were victims of circumstance in a lot of ways, they are completely undersold now.

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                    • #11
                      slaw wrote: View Post
                      Remember, D'Antoni was a stupid rule away from at least one Finals
                      What rule? I'm curious about it and can't google it, didn't follow NBA back then, but I would love to know what happened.

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                      • #12
                        Majesiu wrote: View Post
                        What rule? I'm curious about it and can't google it, didn't follow NBA back then, but I would love to know what happened.
                        He's probably referring to this incident here:
                        http://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs2007...ory?id=2871615

                        Here's a blurry video of the hip check:

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                        • #13
                          1. Warriors - They look pretty damn good right now.. Thompson,Curry,Durant and in the spirit of Christmas, the Nutcracker..... They can be had ... but not in a 7 game series in the West Conf.... where then ? Perhaps in the finals they have to take on....

                          2. Cavs - Lebron is idling and Love has figured out how he fits in.... Irving is doing his thing. What stops them in a 7 gamer ? Injury.

                          3. Spurs - Incredibly consistent. They win on the road.. They win at home. If there was someplace else to play they would win there too. The Spurs top 3 not as talented as the Clips 3 but they go deeper.

                          4. Raptors - Another consistent team that wins on the road as well as at home. Have them ahead of the Rockets because the Raps beat the Rockets. On the road. By double digits. Raps have 5 months to try to figure out how they are going to beat the Lebrons.

                          5. Rockets - Not sure how they are doing it.. but they are ...game in and game out. Its not just Harden.. Its Ariza and Ryan and Beverly and a resuscitated Eric Gordon... they won't disappear in the reg season but when the playoffs start and the whistles get swallowed the Rockets will have ingnition problems in round 2 in the West.

                          6. Clippers .. Started out HOT and have come back to earth. Coach Rivers is far better than GM Rivers. Clips in the mix out west but that inconsistency ranks them below the Rockets.

                          7. Memphis ... Guys in the Grindhouse keep grinding it out. Gasol and Randolp and Conley are going to be tough come playoff time. Parsons maybe ready to play by then. These are the guys that take out Houston in round 2.
                          Last edited by Demographic Shift; Mon Dec 19, 2016, 08:46 PM.
                          There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                          - TGO

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                          • #14
                            Did anyone see this juicy nugget in Marc Stein's power rankings this week?



                            http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...ek-13-rankings

                            Dubs vs. Raps in the finals? Me likey.

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                            • #15
                              Last week of the regular season.

                              Finishing #3 on CBS behind only Warriors and Spurs (nice!):

                              "Dwane Casey deserves more recognition for keeping this team together, down the stretch, when the schedule got tough, without their best player. DeMar DeRozan carried the load, but Casey made sure the cargo was packed right. Toronto secures another 50-win season and will have every opportunity to return to the conference finals for a second straight year. This franchise is no longer a sidenote or an afterthought, they are a powerhouse, and GM Masai Ujiri, Casey, DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have made them such." http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nb...epic-playoffs/

                              #4 on NBA.com after Warriors/Spurs/Rockets:

                              "Kyle Lowry isn't quite all the way back, but it's a good sign that he shot 4-for-10 on pull-up threes in his first three games coming off his wrist injury. DeMar DeRozan has carried a big load with or without Lowry, but a big reason that the Raptors had the No. 1 offense through mid-January was the point guard's improvement in shooting off the dribble. Dwane Casey used a starting big (Serge Ibaka or Jonas Valanciunas) with his Lowry-plus-bench lineup to start the second quarter last week, maybe looking to shorten his rotation in the playoffs. The Raptors will probably be the No. 3 seed, but they're the only East team in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, having been able to sustain their defensive improvement longer than the Celtics did." http://www.nba.com/2016-17-power-rankings-week-25

                              #5 on SI after Warriors/Spurs/Rockets/Cavs:

                              "They’re locked into a top-three seed, Kyle Lowry’s back, the Raptors look great right now and the past couple years of playoff disappointments have to count for something. This is a tough, experienced group on both sides of the floor that begs to be taken seriously. I’m on board." https://www.si.com/nba/2017/04/10/nb...liers-playoffs


                              Can we take a minute and appreciate how $#$#% fantastic it is for the Toronto Raptors to be generally recognized as a top 5 team in the league? How many of the past years would we be looking at a team ranked in the bottom third and already be mired in weeks of debate about the upcoming draft? Damn.

                              Edit: Also in 3rd on Stein's ESPN rankings (my personal favourite) behind Warriors/Spurs:

                              "DeMar DeRozan would have to score 51 points in the Raptors' final regular-season game to hike his scoring average (currently 27.3 PPG) past Vince Carter's single-season club record of 27.6 PPG. Since that's realistically too much to ask, Toronto can console itself with the knowledge that it has clinched the East's No. 3 seed and has Kyle Lowry safely back in the lineup after posting an impressive 14-7 record without him. How concerned should the Raps be that Lowry has barely played with trade-deadline acquisitions Serge Ibaka and PJ Tucker? Not nearly as concerned, one would figure, as if Lowry were still out." http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...ek-25-rankings
                              Last edited by S.R.; Mon Apr 10, 2017, 02:10 PM.
                              "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

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