NBA Playoffs! Round 1, Game 6: Toronto Raptors 102 - Washington Wizards 92 (TOR WINS 4-2)

[A.I]

Persoanlly I don't care what the US media thinks of the Raptors unless it's balanced reporting. And I Couldn't care less what Paul Pirce or Shaq thinks but this is a decent article

sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/rival-watch-u-s-media-thinks-raptors-first-round-victory/

"If 59 wins weren’t enough, finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference still leads to distrust, and if a convincing defeat of a talented but fickle Wizards team on the road doesn’t change perceptions, all Toronto can do is keep playing — and winning — until skepticism drifts into silence."

No one cares what Pierce thinks, he is as biased as it gets.

[planetmars]

Didn't get a chance to comment on the game last night. Thought the Raptors were excellent last night. Early on there were some signs of troubles but the Raptors hung in there. Closing the gap and making it a game.

JV bailed them out again. Poeltl had no lucks with the refs, and instead of seeing Bebe, we got JV.. and he was good. Snatched 12 boards (and some tough ones in traffic). Was efficient as usual and was actually pretty good on defense for the most part.

Fred however changed everything. This was basically his first playoff game (not counting game 2 where he only got 2 mins), but I saw no evidence of any type of the playoff blips. He was calm, cool, collected. Knew where to be on defense.. ran the offense smoothly. He missed some shots he would normally make but that was a rhythm issue more than anything. I mean Siakam was a +18 and that's no coincidence.

Lowry was great as well. You could see him being in that zone in the 4th quarter. Grabbed tough rebounds. Knew when to take a heat check 3. Helped get the ball moving on offense. Set some nice picks as well. He ended up with 24 points.. and to me it felt like he only had 10 or 12. Really great work from our captain.

Serge was awful. Poeltl couldn't get any court time due to his fouling and when. DeMar was inefficient and was trying too hard. But that's what makes this a great team and a great season. You can have 2/3 guys not showing up and we can still win handily.

Can't wait for round 2.

[white men can't jump]

Didn't get a chance to comment on the game last night. Thought the Raptors were excellent last night. Early on there were some signs of troubles but the Raptors hung in there. Closing the gap and making it a game.

JV bailed them out again. Poeltl had no lucks with the refs, and instead of seeing Bebe, we got JV.. and he was good. Snatched 12 boards (and some tough ones in traffic). Was efficient as usual and was actually pretty good on defense for the most part.

Fred however changed everything. This was basically his first playoff game (not counting game 2 where he only got 2 mins), but I saw no evidence of any type of the playoff blips. He was calm, cool, collected. Knew where to be on defense.. ran the offense smoothly. He missed some shots he would normally make but that was a rhythm issue more than anything. I mean Siakam was a +18 and that's no coincidence.

Lowry was great as well. You could see him being in that zone in the 4th quarter. Grabbed tough rebounds. Knew when to take a heat check 3. Helped get the ball moving on offense. Set some nice picks as well. He ended up with 24 points.. and to me it felt like he only had 10 or 12. Really great work from our captain.

Serge was awful. Poeltl couldn't get any court time due to his fouling and when. DeMar was inefficient and was trying too hard. But that's what makes this a great team and a great season. You can have 2/3 guys not showing up and we can still win handily.

Can't wait for round 2.

JV's defence was better than just "pretty good for the most part". His D was excellent last night.

And he wasn't hugely efficient on O, but he made a much bigger difference than his numbers suggest (which has been true most of the series). Washington was scared of him. Lowry was getting to the basket at will with the Wiz afraid to help off JV too much. No other big we have commands that much respect on O. Of all the non-Demar/Lowry players, maybe only Miles commands a similar kind of attention.

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[Hotshot]

And forget Stevenson! We have OG who apparently enrages opponents from the bench. Who knew he had that talent? I can't imagine what he might have said or how Morris could possibly have heard it. Though Morris should obviously had both a flagrant and a tech it was still a great moment.

OG probably told him he is going after his brother next. Both of the twins are clowns.

[Mitch P]

Who is historically fragile? Sure Embiid has had his woes, but whom else? Fultz and Simmons seemed to deal with one problem a piece... hardly "historically fragile".

Yeah I guess you're right; wishful thinking. JJ Redick has been hurt a lot over the years but Embiid, Simmons and Fultz have had one major thing each which haven't so far recurred.

[G__Deane]

OG probably told him he is going after his brother next. Both of the twins are clowns.

Clear gun signal. Suspend him for game 7....oh wait, they're out already

[JawsGT]

I guess if they work out a sign and trade.

Still not sure how much sense that actually makes for New Orleans. They've looked good with a Rondo-Holiday backcourt. They need a SF and frontcourt depth. Yes they could use more shooting, but they son't have ti make a play for a guy like Beal. Porter + Gortat + picks might be something they prefer. A two way SF (yes Porter is massively overpaid, but few guys aren't these days) and a physical goon in Gortat who can play more of a situational role in NOP where he only starts against phsyical Cs, and otherwise comes off the bench.

If they can find the cap space, they might want to try a serious run at George instead.

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earlier this season I suggested wall for cousins, that was before the Pels caught fire and when the wiz were on a run without Wall. From the Pels perspective, I guess it would come down to whether they thought they'd be better with Beal over Cousins. Personally, I think they would, though it might be tough satisfying Beal with touches given how well Holiday and Rondo have been playing the past couple months or so. I also tend to view Rondo as more of a bench player at this point, so in theory there could be plenty of room for Beal, but if they are planning on continuing with the Rondo/Holiday backcourt then a SF certainly makes more sense. PG there would be interesting.

[JawsGT]

JV's defence was better than just "pretty good for the most part". His D was excellent last night.

And he wasn't hugely efficient on O, but he made a much bigger difference than his numbers suggest (which has been true most of the series). Washington was scared of him. Lowry was getting to the basket at will with the Wiz afraid to help off JV too much. No other big we have commands that much respect on O. Of all the non-Demar/Lowry players, maybe only Miles commands a similar kind of attention.

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Lowry had such an easy time getting into the paint it was almost laughable. The Wiz clearly feared him shooting pull up 3's, and combine that with JV's screens and finishing ability on the roll, they really had no idea how to defend that PnR. And I agree, JV's D was excellent last night, and has been solid most of the series. He's come along way in that regard even from the beginning of the season.

[rapfan10]

Lowry had such an easy time getting into the paint it was almost laughable. The Wiz clearly feared him shooting pull up 3's, and combine that with JV's screens and finishing ability on the roll, they really had no idea how to defend that PnR. And I agree, JV's D was excellent last night, and has been solid most of the series. He's come along way in that regard even from the beginning of the season.

Imagine how easy it's going to be against the Cavs and their defence [emoji6]

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[Tmac2darak]

Is that like a violin?

[Superjudge]

Delon got oubre near the end, I literally spit out my beer laughing.

[Hotshot]

Clear gun signal. Suspend him for game 7....oh wait, they're out already

Just suspend his twin brother, they both seem to be sharing one brain.

[Tmac2darak]

Fuck I love the lance stephenson that plays against lebron

Get ready for him against DD

[G__Deane]

Get ready for him against DD

That's OK. Somebody needs to get DD mad and snarling again ....

[veda-parabolist]

Clear gun signal. Suspend him for game 7....oh wait, they're out already

Obviously it doesn't (and didn't) matter, but the fact that he didn't even get assessed a technical for doing that (or a flagrant for the whack to the head of Siakam; contrast it with JV getting a flagrant 2 games ago when Wall jumped into him and elbowed him (JV) in the face), just speaks to how much the Refs were making "home team" calls/non-calls all series.

Like seriously, guys have been getting technicals for speaking in balanced tones to each other, and flagrants for far less than we see on that play. That he didn't called for either was pretty absurd.