Raptors starting line up

[Shaolin Fantastic]

We can't just forego the regular season like a lot of you seem to think we can. We don't have LeBron and the margin between us and Boston is very thin. Thin enough that homecourt advantage could decide the series.

[Nilanka]

20-30 games is a huge chunk of the season to be tinkering with the starting lineup. Raptors are probably good enough to win most of them despite the constant changes but keep in mind there is a lot at stake this season for the franchise. Not the least of which will be securing home court through the playoffs.

We can't just forego the regular season like a lot of you seem to think we can. We don't have LeBron and the margin between us and Boston is very thin. Thin enough that homecourt advantage could decide the series.

Home court, although important, might be a tad overrated in Raptorland (as evidenced by #LeBronto).

It sounds like Nurse will do everything in his power to ensure his this team is a well-oiled machine heading into April. If that means sacrificing a few wins early to sort it all out, I'm fine with that.

[Nilanka]

The lastest RR pod was talking about 65 wins (lol). We have 2 new starters, and a brand new head coach. It will take some time to get everyone up to speed.

[inthepaint]

The lastest RR pod was talking about 65 wins (lol). We have 2 new starters, and a brand new head coach. It will take some time to get everyone up to speed.

Yeah, I don't see us getting 65 wins.

I'd like to get home court vs the Celtics though, I think that's important. Although, that will need to be balanced with players rest and the risk of injury late in the season, especially if we're in for a deep playoff run.

[planetmars]

65 wins is too lofty a goal. I mean on paper they are a 60-win team in my opinion. But Houston won over 60 games and still couldn't get to the finals.

Those Boston regular season games are going to be so much fun, yet also very nerve racking. Need to have some statement wins against those guys.

[ReubenJRD]

65 wins is too lofty a goal. I mean on paper they are a 60-win team in my opinion. But Houston won over 60 games and still couldn't get to the finals.

Those Boston regular season games are going to be so much fun, yet also very nerve racking. Need to have some statement wins against those guys.

I think that has something to do with that team in the Bay Area lol

[golden]

Thinking about lineups, I think the key is getting the trio of Kawhi-OG-Siakam as many reps together as possible during the regular season. It's really the only real advantage we would have over any team in the post-season - 3 long uber-athletic defensive studs that can guard 3, 4 even 5 positions.

So, I'd start: Lowry-Kawhi-OG-Siakam-JV as the starting lineup. I'm leaning towards JV over Ibaka because JV is always great in the playoffs and because so few NBA teams actually start a small ball C in the regular season.

The one thing that was disappointing in the Cavs sweep was that Casey never tried the OG-Siakam combination to try and slow down the Lebron-Love pick & roll. He chose Miles over Siakam, when we needed badly needed some defense in that series, more than we needed Miles' offense, which never materialized. OG-Siakam pairing could be devasting defensively, but they need reps together and with Kawhi.

[ReubenJRD]

Thinking about lineups, I think the key is getting the trio of Kawhi-OG-Siakam as many reps together as possible during the regular season. It's really the only real advantage we would have over any team in the post-season - 3 long uber-athletic defensive studs that can guard 3, 4 even 5 positions.

So, I'd start: Lowry-Kawhi-OG-Siakam-JV as the starting lineup. I'm leaning towards JV over Ibaka because JV is always great in the playoffs and because so few NBA teams actually start a small ball C in the regular season.

The one thing that was disappointing in the Cavs sweep was that Casey never tried the OG-Siakam combination to try and slow down the Lebron-Love pick & roll. He chose Miles over Siakam, when we needed badly needed some defense in that series, more than we needed Miles' offense, which never materialized. OG-Siakam pairing could be devasting defensively, but they need reps together and with Kawhi.

I'm in the same boat. I wondered why they rarely ever shared the court in general.

I assume Nurse will deploy a lineup that has OG/Kawhi/Siakam on the floor at the same time, but I don't think Kawhi will play much time at the 2, if ever.

You lose a lot of shooting with Siakam and JV on the floor together, depending on how they both progress as three-point shooters (yes, JV, cause he was 40% on 1 attempt per game [holy shit lol]).

I assume those three will play if the lineup goes: Lowry-(Green/VanVleet/Wright)-Kawhi-OG-Siakam, especially with how much Nurse liked OG at the 4.

[Puffer]

I'm assuming you guys have read Dan's article on the difference swapping Kawhi for DeMar made. Offensively a wash. Defensively, at least three - four wins. Green has a greater impact than Yak. Assuming he completely rehabs his undiagnosed until the end of season medical groin tear, that's another 1 - 2 wins. 65 wins is not some hallucinatory fantasy involving drugs. It is suggested by the numbers. And if Nurse doesn't cost the Raptors the 2-3 games that Casey always did in the regular season ( don't get me started on playoff Casey) then it is absolutely believable.

[DanH]

One note, I'd say offensively a wash is as nice a way to put it for DeMar. Purely on point production it is about a wash if you use DeMar's peak season, and DeMar has a slight edge in playmaking, but big picture even on offence Kawhi's ability to play off ball makes him a more lethal and dramatically more efficient offensive weapon.

[golden]

One note, I'd say offensively a wash is as nice a way to put it for DeMar. Purely on point production it is about a wash if you use DeMar's peak season, and DeMar has a slight edge in playmaking, but big picture even on offence Kawhi's ability to play off ball makes him a more lethal and dramatically more efficient offensive weapon.

I'd prefer to see a DeMar vs. Kawhi comparison based on playoff performance, because that's the whole reason for the trade, and also firing Casey.

[Yuri Gagarin]

2 reasons I dont think theyll get over 60 and may not be included in predictions based on numbers. Chemistry. The old team was one of the longest core rosters including the coach. Also this year there will be a big target on this teams back. We got Kawhi other teams are going to want wipe the smirk off our faces.

[Quirk]

If OG can play 4, I'd like to see Lowry-Wright-Kawhi-OG-JV. If not, Siakam instead of OG, I could live with Green instead of Wright, starting.

[Yuri Gagarin]

Wright is one of the best chips this team
has. Just get bebe back hes better back up C than ibaka. Next summer trade Lowry and extend wright if they can.
No one mentions the possibility but I think if theres a trade most likely guy will be green going.

[DanH]

I'd prefer to see a DeMar vs. Kawhi comparison based on playoff performance, because that's the whole reason for the trade, and also firing Casey.

If you scroll into the comments on my piece, I do indeed add some playoff comparisons, which were... not friendly to DeMar.