Time to face the truth!

[G__Deane]

I had a dream that Lowry signed for a more realistic 20M per year and they took the difference, added a bit to it and Durant signed here to battle LeWhiner. Would he have made the difference? It says here we would be at least equal to the Cavs with that lineup but Kyle took the money and KD took the easy way out.

[DanH]

I had a dream that Lowry signed for a more realistic 20M per year and they took the difference, added a bit to it and Durant signed here to battle LeWhiner. Would he have made the difference? It says here we would be at least equal to the Cavs with that lineup but Kyle took the money and KD took the easy way out.

Kyle signing for less wouldn't give us cap space to sign Durant. It would save the owners money, and that's about it.

[3inthekeon]

I had a dream that Lowry signed for a more realistic 20M per year and they took the difference, added a bit to it and Durant signed here to battle LeWhiner. Would he have made the difference? It says here we would be at least equal to the Cavs with that lineup but Kyle took the money and KD took the easy way out.

Sounds like a made up dream to me. I think your real dream would be more along the lines of being at the mall and realizing you weren't wearing pants.

[Scraptor]

The truth is the Raptors have 10 guys on the team right now shooting over 30% from three. I'm not sure what your definition of "reliable" is, but the Raptors have gone through a couple of cold games. OKC has three legitimate all-stars on their team, and what did there first 20 games look like? Does that mean they have no "reliable" shooters on their roster? Just asking.

We are 25th in the NBA in 3pt %.

[Scraptor]

I had a dream that Lowry signed for a more realistic 20M per year and they took the difference, added a bit to it and Durant signed here to battle LeWhiner. Would he have made the difference? It says here we would be at least equal to the Cavs with that lineup but Kyle took the money and KD took the easy way out.

We didn't even get a meeting with KD. He would have put us near the top, but if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.

Anyways this thread is pointless. Even if the premise is true, what are you gonna do about it? We're capped out for three years. There's no point in being angry, because Masai isn't going anywhere. Just find your zen place.

[KeonClark]

I had a dream that Lowry signed for a more realistic 20M per year and they took the difference, added a bit to it and Durant signed here to battle LeWhiner. Would he have made the difference? It says here we would be at least equal to the Cavs with that lineup but Kyle took the money and KD took the easy way out.

Would it have made the difference? Umm..yes. if we added kevin durant to the current roster we're far and away the best team in the east, and I'm saying bring on golden state.

[TrueTorontoFan]

[S.R.]

Nothing had changed after going 12-1 in the previous 13 and nothing has changed going 0-2 in the last 2. This team's peak is the ECF, almost certainly a 2nd round team at the least, and they're not going any further than that without a top 10 player. Being considered top 5 in the league during the regular season is as good as it gets.

This is the landscape for the current core, it has been for quite some time and it will continue to be until they move on from these guys or luck into some mega deal. No point in eating your fingernails after 2 December losses.

[Mitch P]

Two of the guys shooting above 30% are JV and Poeltl. And Siakam takes more shots than both put together by a factor of 10. The shooting of Demar and Kyle is important but their inability to guard anyone will be fatal in the playoffs. Watch Bledsoe destroy the Raptors in these two games coming up against the Bucks. Any team with a guard who is a strong penetrator (and that's most playoff teams really) will be very hard for the Raptors to handle. They'd just have to try and outscore them and that would indeed require good 3 point shooting.

[GLF]

Two of the guys shooting above 30% are JV and Poeltl. And Siakam takes more shots than both put together by a factor of 10. The shooting of Demar and Kyle is important but their inability to guard anyone will be fatal in the playoffs. Watch Bledsoe destroy the Raptors in these two games coming up against the Bucks. Any team with a guard who is a strong penetrator (and that's most playoff teams really) will be very hard for the Raptors to handle. They'd just have to try and outscore them and that would indeed require good 3 point shooting.

That i will agree with. Our inability to guard penetration is bad

[JamesNaismith]

I have to disagree about ceiling. This is probably the best defensive team we've had, top 5-6 in the league. Our offensive style now is volatile. If the 3's are falling we've got a real shot to beat the Cavs, much better than in the past. If the 3's don't fall then yeah, we're dead in the water. We have to move the ball to get those looks from 3. Just have to get hot from downtown in the crucial games.

"Real chance to beat the Cavs" lmao

The denial is strong in this one.

[3inthekeon]

"Real chance to beat the Cavs" lmao

The denial is strong in this one.

10% is a real chance. Lot of things can change between now and playoffs.

[RaptorsVictim]

Two bad games can not be a solid reason to hit on the Raptors, but the truth is : We are not a team that can make noise in the playoff. We are not a team that can defeat L James. I see us defeating any team in the east and going to the final, but if we meet L James in the first or the second round, we will not advance to the next round.

Man, we should be realistic about this team, we are a team that tries to imitate Warriors and that takes alot from us. I would rather play a half court game and concentrate on using JV as a solid center than being a perimeter team. We are always criticizing JV although he is not a part of our offence. Every time KL performs a pick and roll with JV, it leads to a basket. This team should pay attention to the two big guys we have : JV and JP. This will not make us a contender in the short run, but it will make us a team with identity which we lack.

[LJ2]

Nothing had changed after going 12-1 in the previous 13 and nothing has changed going 0-2 in the last 2. This team's peak is the ECF, almost certainly a 2nd round team at the least, and they're not going any further than that without a top 10 player. Being considered top 5 in the league during the regular season is as good as it gets.

This is the landscape for the current core, it has been for quite some time and it will continue to be until they move on from these guys or luck into some mega deal. No point in eating your fingernails after 2 December losses.

Well said.

In another two or 3 seasons of 50 wins when the big contracts come off the books we will have a really solid core of young role players entering their prime, to add hopefully a couple of stars to. We're a good team with hopes of being great in a few years.

[G__Deane]

Kyle signing for less wouldn't give us cap space to sign Durant. It would save the owners money, and that's about it.

Screw the cap!