Everything 2017/18 Pre-Season

[SkywalkerAC]

Boston started Horford at the 4, in their first preseason game at least.

[DanH]

Boston started Horford at the 4, in their first preseason game at least.

Horford suffers starting at the 5 all year like Ibaka would. Boston may be smart to start Baynes just to take the load off of Horford.

Cleveland thinks they are being smart starting Love at the 5, but over the course of a full season, it may come back to bite them, even if they do ravage teams offensively in the meantime.

[SkywalkerAC]

I've liked the look of McKinnie on the court - very bouncy and moves like a guard despite being 6'9. I don't remember him shooting much though.

[inthepaint]

I'm certainly as big a supporter as anybody is of JV remaining in the starting lineup and being fully utilized. I'm wondering though, should the news that Kevin Love will be playing center with TT coming off the bench change our thinking about that at all? If our two biggest competitors in BOS and CLE are rolling with small ball centers, Love/Horford, are we gonna get left in the same position we usually do in the playoffs, scrambling to make adjustments to match opponents, moves that could've been implemented during the regular season? I mean I'm really not convinced that we have the wing players at the 3-4 spots to even make the shift for Ibaka to better match Love and Hereford make sense for what we'd lose elsewhere. Just curious if our competition's composition should be changing our thinking about that at all? Thoughts?

I get that matchups are key, but sometimes I wonder why it seems like we're the ones always chasing/reacting to what the other teams are doing, rather then us setting the pace and have them try to matchup to us.

Like, how bad would it be to have JV dominate the glass at C against guys like Horford, with Ibaka at the 4 to stretch the floor? Now all of a sudden we're not only strong at the glass with an elite screener, but also a strong stretch PF, and depth at SF (of all places!), with Miles/Norm/OG.

I know the game is trending small-ball, especially at the end-game frame, but I think there's still value in having the tallest/most physical guy on the court sometimes.

[Rudy Bargnani]

Watching nets vs heat preseason right now..Demarre Carroll matched up against James Johnson.

[Maury]

Watching nets vs heat preseason right now..Demarre Carroll matched up against James Johnson.

Does demarre still suck?

[TrueTorontoFan]

http://thegruelingtruth.net/podcast/...rence-preview/

[Hotshot]

I get that matchups are key, but sometimes I wonder why it seems like we're the ones always chasing/reacting to what the other teams are doing, rather then us setting the pace and have them try to matchup to us.

Like, how bad would it be to have JV dominate the glass at C against guys like Horford, with Ibaka at the 4 to stretch the floor? Now all of a sudden we're not only strong at the glass with an elite screener, but also a strong stretch PF, and depth at SF (of all places!), with Miles/Norm/OG.

I know the game is trending small-ball, especially at the end-game frame, but I think there's still value in having the tallest/most physical guy on the court sometimes.

The Raptors are a winning team, yet we are usually playing with less confident then their opponent does. I hate this style, its like we are a paper tiger and in the playoffs it is proven right.

[Nilanka]

The Raptors are a winning team, yet we are usually playing with less confident then their opponent does. I hate this style, its like we are a paper tiger and in the playoffs it is proven right.

Agreed. We're not known to strike the first blow (slow 1st quarters, slow start to playoff series), and we certainly don't force other teams to matchup against us. It's always the other way around. I cringe at what would've happened last year vs. Bucks if Norm never got into the starting lineup.

[Mess]

This is a very reasonable preview of the Raptors this season.

Pay extra attention to the questions about early-season tests and the focus on playoff success. As much as some people are currently preaching it's only preseason (myself included), I'd also encourage people not to go overboard during the first 3-4 weeks of the season. The first 15 games or so, apart from the nemesis Bulls, will be a good test.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/r...sive-approach/

Also, this is..man...this is something.

Miles will be the Raptors' 14th opening-night starter at small forward in 15 years, following in the footsteps of Michael Curry, Jalen Rose, Joey Graham, Morris Peterson, Jason Kapono, Jamario Moon, Hedo Turkoglu, Linas Kleiza, Rasual Butler, Landry Fields, Rudy Gay, Terrence Ross and DeMarre Carroll.

Even if it's Norm instead of Miles, changes nothing. Extra something because Carroll was the one player who repeated as a starter.

[Nilanka]

This is a very reasonable preview of the Raptors this season.

Pay extra attention to the questions about early-season tests and the focus on playoff success. As much as some people are currently preaching it's only preseason (myself included), I'd also encourage people not to go overboard during the first 3-4 weeks of the season. The first 15 games or so, apart from the nemesis Bulls, will be a good test.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/r...sive-approach/

James Herbert, Raptors Republic alumni.

[GOLDBLUM]

Wiltjer, Rautins and Meeks have been cut according to the RR homepage.

I'd've liked to have given Wiltjer a little more of a look for his three-ball shot alone.
The other two make sense to cut bait with though.

Wonder if we'll see any of them with the 905?

[rocwell]

Wiltjer, Rautins and Meeks have been cut according to the RR homepage.

I'd've liked to have given Wiltjer a little more of a look for his three-ball shot alone.
The other two make sense to cut bait with though.

Wonder if we'll see any of them with the 905?

I think only one has a deal with 905.

[Hotshot]

As much as some people are currently preaching it's only preseason (myself included), I'd also encourage people not to go overboard during the first 3-4 weeks of the season. The first 15 games or so, apart from the nemesis Bulls, will be a good test.

That West coast trip early on will be brutal. The Raptors will get battered and bruised away from home as they try to incorporate a new style and a new bench while facing some of those monster teams. Let's not be surprised if the first 15 games, their record will be hovering around the .500 mark.

[Hotshot]

Agreed. We're not known to strike the first blow (slow 1st quarters, slow start to playoff series), and we certainly don't force other teams to matchup against us. It's always the other way around. I cringe at what would've happened last year vs. Bucks if Norm never got into the starting lineup.

Nobody is scared of the Raptors, that's the thing. Many bottom feeder teams come to Toronto with the attitude that they can beat them and why shouldn't they think this way?! They tend to hang around till the end of the game instead of being put away early and develop a comfortable cushion lead to coast through the majority of the 4th quarter.