Game #66: Toronto Raptors 132 - New York Knicks 106

[007]

In an ideal world, LeBron plays 40+ a night, neither Indiana or Washington closes the season well and the Cavs are able to scrape out an unconvincing 3rd place finish, setting us up to play an up-and-down Pacers or Wizards squad in the second round while the Cavs are in tough on the other side of the bracket.

In other news, we're now only 1.5 games back of Golden State, and if Curry continues to deal with ankle issues and/or the Warriors are extra cautious with him, there might be a chance we could pass them in the overall standings

[G__Deane]

Jonas Valanciunas led seven Raptors in double figures with 17 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes = under rated.
Would have been another dbl dbl in a closer game where he played a few more minutes.....

[slaw]

There's actually a chance (though it's probably unlikely) that they could fall to 6th. They're only 2 games up on Philly

Look at Sixers schedule. Look at Cavs schedule. Very realistic that Sixers catch them. Cavs are terrible.

[GLF]

Look at Sixers schedule. Look at Cavs schedule. Very realistic that Sixers catch them. Cavs are terrible.

Aren't the Cavs really injured right now though? I know they aren't great but when their 100% healthy they're still better than this I would believe

[slaw]

Aren't the Cavs really injured right now though? I know they aren't great but when their 100% healthy they're still better than this I would believe

Kevin love. Rest of the team is healthy.

[007]

Kevin love. Rest of the team is healthy.

No, Hood, Thompson and Osman are all injured right now as well. According to the CBS injury tracker the three of them and Love should all be back within in the next couple weeks

[GLF]

Kevin love. Rest of the team is healthy.

No hood is injured I believe and that rookie that was playing well for them. Also Kevin Love makes a big difference. Oh and Tristan is injured too who also makes a difference.

[GOLDBLUM]

yeahhhhh....... that's a lot of guys out.

While I'd love nothing more than to beat these guys in a series and believe we absolutely have the potential/ability to do so, now more than ever, I'm a bit of a believer in karma and the danger of hubris. I'm not gonna be tossing my confidence around lightly.

Head down. Do the work. ... I trust that's gonna be the Raps approach.

[Mitch P]

do you have twitter? or is this a jab? lmao

I do not have twitter. I'm basically a social media hater except for RR! So I enjoy the good ones you come up with

[slaw]

No, Hood, Thompson and Osman are all injured right now as well. According to the CBS injury tracker the three of them and Love should all be back within in the next couple weeks

My bad. Well, maybe there is hope for them then.

[sanyo]

Do we want the cavs to fall to 4/5 though?

I dont but at the same time I fully expect the Raps can beat the Cavs this year. Lebron doesnt have a #2 to back him up this year like a D Wade or Irving of years past... if you can double up on Lebron, Im confident we can take them.

[Truth Teller]

I'm more scared of the Wizards than I am of the Cavs. Ideally we play the Pacers in the first round (doubt they will fall that far), then the Cavs and then the Celtics. Hopefully meet a Rockets team in the finals and Harden gets lost in a stripclub at Niagara Falls.

[sanyo]

I'm more scared of the Wizards than I am of the Cavs. Ideally we play the Pacers in the first round (doubt they will fall that far), then the Cavs and then the Celtics. Hopefully meet a Rockets team in the finals and Harden gets lost in a stripclub at Niagara Falls.

Washington, Miami and Milwaukee all pose problems for the Raps and one of those will play the Raps likely in the 1st round.

To be frank I like the matchup with CLE and BOS more than I do with MIL or especially Miami with their gritty D that always throws the Raps off..

[GOLDBLUM]

I dont but at the same time I fully expect the Raps can beat the Cavs this year. Lebron doesnt have a #2 to back him up this year like a D Wade or Irving of years past... if you can double up on Lebron, Im confident we can take them.

Kevin Love has had times in his career where he's been a pretty good #1. I'm not about to discount the possibility that while he hasn't played his best ball for a while, he can't find his way back to being a stronger second man.

I imagine if we do face them in the playoffs, one of the biggest talking points will be Demar and Love's mutual respect in discovering they both deal with depression. Look at the developments in Derozan's game this year. How much of that can be attributed to growing as a human being and wrestling with his demons? ...Don't know. But ya never know ...maybe Love digs deep and finds the inner-barbarian he's been missing, thanks to Demar's heroic gesture of opening up the door to talk about and face mental health head on.

Hear me when I say that I truly do not mean to make light, but if Love taps into some new self and brings it in the playoffs and they make their way by us... I'm gonna be feeling mighty depressed.

With that possibility, along with one of the greatest players to ever play the game and even a crew of outcasts, while I'm confident about our chances, too, I'm not about to get cocky.

(apologies, over the coming weeks and months there'll be a push/pull between excitement and anxiousness on this board, I have no doubt. I'll probably keep expressing my cautious approach, whether out of fear or superstition. GO RAPS.)

[sanyo]

Kevin Love has had times in his career where he's been a pretty good #1. I'm not about to discount the possibility that while he hasn't played his best ball for a while, he can't find his way back to being a stronger second man.

I imagine if we do face them in the playoffs, one of the biggest talking points will be Demar and Love's mutual respect in discovering they both deal with depression. Look at the developments in Derozan's game this year. How much of that can be attributed to growing as a human being and wrestling with his demons? ...Don't know. But ya never know ...maybe Love digs deep and finds the inner-barbarian he's been missing, thanks to Demar's heroic gesture of opening up the door to talk about and face mental health head on.

Hear me when I say that I truly do not mean to make light, but if Love taps into some new self and brings it in the playoffs and they make their way by us... I'm gonna be feeling mighty depressed.

With that possibility, along with one of the greatest players to ever play the game and even a crew of outcasts, while I'm confident about our chances, too, I'm not about to get cocky.

(apologies, over the coming weeks and months there'll be a push/pull between excitement and anxiousness on this board, I have no doubt. I'll probably keep expressing my cautious approach, whether out of fear or superstition. GO RAPS.)

Love is good but he's not the guy he once was -- I think Ibaka can naturalize him and play him tight. OG on Lebron would be fun... if Demar to double team him at times, Im confident one of George Hill or JR Smith will have stinker of games and can let them be a little more loose...

Again not worried.. also bench mob.. granted in the playoffs Lebron will probably play 41-42 mins a game, but I think bench mob can take on their starters sans Lebron..

You gotta naturalize Leborn... if you can, I think the rest of the team is average at best and the Raps can easily smoke them.. it's all Lebron or nothing...he's ratings and probably will be NBA directed for him to get calls and Raps to not... so thats the main danger, to be honest, in playing the Cavs... this year's Cavs are definitely not the same as years past. No Irving for Lebron to lean back on.