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Sources: Forward Christian Wood has agreed to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. Wood played for Bucks in Las Vegas summer league, where he was part of all-first team.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 15, 2018
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Ah well.Hotshot wrote: View Post
Still would like the Raps to add another big, and hopefully not Bebe. Not even a guaranteed deal necessarily, even just an intriguing camp invite who might be able to stick as the 3rd string (4th string if you count Ibaka) C.Comment
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How the hell does one post a tweet?
EDIT - there we go
Summer runs.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 13, 2018
(��: @HomeTeamHoops) pic.twitter.com/YBKIbuOQ8i
Last edited by SkywalkerAC; Wed Aug 15, 2018, 12:23 AM.Comment
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When you think you are good in basketball and an NBA player shows you otherwise...
Sauced.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 14, 2018
cc: @FredVanVleet
(��: vasilitheking/IG) pic.twitter.com/KIHl2eQkgSComment
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Man, I love that these guys are already playing together. Do you know where this was?SkywalkerAC wrote: View PostComment
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ESPN and their "forecast" panelists came up with their East and West standings predictions:
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...ummer-forecast
This is different from Pelton's list (who also works for ESPN) as that one uses analytics to crunch out expected win totals for each team. This is a subjective list and essentially looks at how certain media members view each team in the league.
East:
1. Boston (58 wins)
2. Toronto (55)
3. Philly (53)The Raptors added an MVP-caliber talent this summer and their win projection is ... lower? Toronto won 59 games last season, but the uncertainty surrounding Kawhi Leonard's health likely left our panel leery of pushing Toronto's win total too high. A new head coach adds a layer of unpredictability to the season.
4. Indiana (47)
5. Milwaukee (47)
6. Washington (44)
7. Miami (43)
8. Detroit (38)
9. Charlotte (35)
10. Brooklyn (32)
11. Cleveland (31)
12. Orlando (30)
13. Chicago (28)
14. NY (28)
15. Atlanta (22)
West:
1. Golden State (62)
2. Houston (57)
3. Utah (49)
4. OKC (49)
5. Denver (47)
6. LAL (46)
7. New Orleans (45)
8. Minny (45)
9. San Antonio (44)
10. Portland (43)
11. LAC (35)
12. Memphis (33)
13. Dallas (33)
14. Phoenix (27)
15. Sacramento (24)Comment
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Did the expert panel factor in the absolute certainty that Kyrie Irving gets injured every single year?planetmars wrote: View PostComment
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Speaking of health.. it's as important as ever to ensure Kyle is healthy again for the playoffs. Hoping for another year where we keep him on the bench as much as possible. Hopefully our bench can continue to rack up points while our starters sit.golden wrote: View PostComment
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ESPN's take before the season starts:golden wrote: View Post
-Number of key players coming off long-term injuries for the Raptors: 1
-Number of key players coming off long-term injuries for the Celtics: 2
-Injury as a factor for the Raptors: Yes
-Injury as a factor for the Celtics: NoComment
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The "Raptors have a transition to make this year, so don't expect them to roll like last year" angle is also overstated. In case anyone has forgotten:inthepaint wrote: View Post
- Last year the Raptors lost key contributors in Patterson and Tucker, had an entirely and untested new bench, and most forecasts figured those changes would drop them in the rankings from the previous year all the way down to the middle of the East playoff seeds. Needless to say, that didn't happen.
- Last year the Raptors were running an ENTIRELY new offence after several seasons of the Lowry/DD-focused offence. It took them some time to adjust. The pre-season wasn't always pretty and started the season 5-4, then really hit their stride through the middle of the season.
- The "new" coach this year is actually a coach who has been with the team for 5 years. He's worked with all of these guys save Kawhi. He created last year's offence.
- The new star player, Kawhi, is going to slot in on the wing quite nicely to replace the outgoing star player, DeRozan. It's not like they just got Anthony Davis and have to figure out how to reorient their entire team now. Kawhi will be able to do everything Demar did + 30% more. He's going to be easier to run a team around, not harder.
- Talent wins in the NBA, and this is the most talented roster Toronto has ever had. Talent gives you room to try things out, to play with lineups, to run new sets, and still win most of your games.
I think the real risks to hitting 60 wins are:
- Pretty well everything has to go right in a season to hit 60 wins, even for the best teams. Most importantly, that means good health all around. The Raptors had that last season. Depth helps maintain that, it was definitely key last year and they'll still have it this year. But the other side of everything has to go right is also the Kawhi question mark - he needs to play like 2 years ago rather than continue with any of last season's drama. I'm pretty sure he does return to form.
- Your team has to have the motivation to actually hit a high # of wins. It's pretty common now to see a contender pull the foot off the accelerator a bit during the regular season in order to make sure everything's lined up and everybody's health for the postseason. The Raptors may or may not face that decision during the year this year.
Agreed with previous comment, most of these factors (everything has to go right, no drama, good health) apply to a team like Boston just as much as Toronto. Hell, even Golden State "only" won 58 games last year due to health and not pushing as hard as during previous regular seasons.
BTW pinch me, we're trying to figure out if the Toronto Raptors can reasonably be expected to win more than 55 games.Last edited by S.R.; Wed Aug 15, 2018, 12:16 PM."We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi LeonardComment
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538 has their projections as well:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...t-next-season/
Have the Raptors 3rd with an ELO of 1645 (after GSW and Houston). Projecting 55 wins (second in league, first in East). 28% chance to make finals. 9% chance to win the title.Comment
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Nice find, PM. We need stuff like this to get us through these dog days. Money shot.....planetmars wrote: View Post
I'm not sold on Nick Nurse, but I really hope he can be "our genius" that can go toe-to-toe with Stevens in the playoffs.And contrary to what Jaylen Brown might think, the Leonard-led Raptors — and not the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers — look like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, with a 28 percent chance of making the NBA Finals. (Then again, our numbers were bearish on the Celtics last season as well, only to have Brad Stevens laugh in the face of the predictions like he usually does.)Comment
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Nurse will have something better a "genius" brain. He will have a top 5 player on the roster.golden wrote: View PostComment
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I'll be seeing those "drive and kick out for 3's" in my dreams tonightSkywalkerAC wrote: View PostComment
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