Raptors starting line up

[ReubenJRD]

Just thinking about the overall depth chart:

PG: Kyle Lowry/Fred VanVleet/Lorenzo Brown
SG: Danny Green/Delon Wright/Norman Powell
SF: Kawhi Leonard/OG Anunoby/C.J. Miles
PF: Serge Ibaka/Pascal Siakam
C: Jonas Valanciunas/Greg Monroe

This isn't the preferred starting lineup, but looking at it from a depth standpoint, it's quite the goddamn luxury that Miles/Powell/Monroe are the 10th/11th/12th men on the roster.

I know that Nurse will be quite experimental with the rotation, but I expect the nine man rotation that plays on a game-by-game basis to be:

PG: Lowry/VanVleet
SG: Green/Wright
SF: Kawhi
PF: OG/Siakam
C: JV/Ibaka

I'm singing to the choir here, guys, but, they just added a top-3 (when healthy) player, one of the best 3-&-D players over the last five years, to a team with a top-10 point guard and the best bench in the league.

There are so many options for this team to be really good, and it's scary how much they're being underrated ON PAPER.

[Scraptor]

There are so many options for this team to be really good, and it's scary how much they're being underrated ON PAPER.

Who is underrating us? ESPN has us at number 1 in the east, NBA.com number 2, that guy who does PIPM has at #1 in the east and #2 in the NBA.

We're finally a legit contender. No need to play the victim card anymore.

[white men can't jump]

Thought I'd throw this one out here. Below is a list of Raptor players who can guard each position, in order of size of the opponent. The combinations are staggering, as most of our roster can legitimately guard multiple positions, except for FVV, JV, Monroe & Miles. We can basically matchup with ANY lineup in the NBA: big, small and everything in between.

Center: JV, Monroe, Ibaka, Siakam
PF: Ibaka, Siakam, OG, Kawhi
SF: Siakam, OG, Kawhi, Miles, Powell, Wright, Green
SG: OG, Kawhi, Green, Powell, Wright, Lowry,
PG: OG, Kawhi, Green, Powell, Wright, Lowry, FVV

Yup, it's actually insane.

Except I wouldn't put Wright on any actual SF. I mean he's long and can switch on guards/wings, but anybody with muscle can bully him easily.

Also I'm rewatching the Washington series from last season. With Casey gone and basically Miles being the only weak defender from the perimeter guys, it's scary to think how good we can be.

A couple other random thoughts from rewatching it:
-OG is a legit budding stopper. His D is ridiculous. To think that now we have an even better defender in Kawhi and we can put them on the court together...Teams should be afraid.
-I think Ibaka will have another up and down regular season, but I just hope he's better come the playoffs than last season. He also has just horrid IQ and hands out there. Can't afford to have him lack energy, because without it he's just brutal.

[SkywalkerAC]

https://www.raptorshq.com/2018/8/10/...-kawhi-leonard

Wrote a whole pile of words on potential rotations.

Just great work there Dan. I gotta think that Nurse at least experiments with all of those starting lineups. There's a lot there to be excited about. I'd imagine he starts old-school with Green or Leonard at the 2 (I love that you started out with a reminder that Leonard can easily play shooting guard, that lineup is fecking massive), then Ibaka gets some nights off to rest and OG starts, then Jonas gets big minutes with the bench and we see if Ibaka can be a starting centre in some facsimile of a 'death' lineup, and Siakam gets his chance sooner or later.

I tend to think Pascal will be a better fit as our true 'death' lineup centre than Serge - working mismatches, playmaking, positionless defense, attacking in transition. I don't think he's as bad as Serge at screening. And I'm hopeful his 3-ball moves up to the low 30s this season. Of course there's no reason this Siakam lineup won't be happening all the time anway, with him coming off the bench.

Finally, the VanVleet-Lowry backcourt is so much more sustainable with Leonard at the 3 instead of DeMar. Your top closing-lineup looks right on the money.

Exciting times. Keep up the good work.

[ReubenJRD]

Who is underrating us? ESPN has us at number 1 in the east, NBA.com number 2, that guy who does PIPM has at #1 in the east and #2 in the NBA.

We're finally a legit contender. No need to play the victim card anymore.

Sorry, to be specific, from the First Takes, to the NBA TVs, to The Jumps, etc. a number of analysts continue to place BOS/PHI as this season's "Eastern Conference Finals" preview.

Was not playing the victim card, but the Raptors are still being spoken of as the third best team despite everything you've mentioned.

[Hotshot]

Sorry, to be specific, from the First Takes, to the NBA TVs, to The Jumps, etc. a number of analysts continue to place BOS/PHI as this season's "Eastern Conference Finals" preview.

Was not playing the victim card, but the Raptors are still being spoken of as the third best team despite everything you've mentioned.

Writers who don't appear on television tend to be more objective than the talking heads on tv looking for a soundbite, I wonder why.

[ReubenJRD]

Writers who don't appear on television tend to be more objective than the talking heads on tv looking for a soundbite, I wonder why.

Obviously. But, let's be honest, from an American's standpoint, no one is really looking at Toronto as a serious threat now or in the future because of all the Tatum/Brown and Simmons/Embiid talk.

edit: I'm talking from an average fan's perspective. I'm not surprised that everyone is still talking about BOS/PHI despite having Kawhi.

[Hotshot]

Obviously. But, let's be honest, from an American's standpoint, no one is really looking at Toronto as a serious threat now or in the future because of all the Tatum/Brown and Simmons/Embiid talk.

edit: I'm talking from an average fan's perspective. I'm not surprised that everyone is still talking about BOS/PHI despite having Kawhi.

Americans have superiority complex (just look at their president ) so if they feel that a franchise in Canada might be doing better than a whole bunch of other teams, they will get crabby and try to discredit it. I fully expect the shit talking to increase throughout the year if the Raptors do look like legit contenders. It now comes with the territory, embrace it "We The North".

[Jclaw]

Zach Lowe keeps the preseason going with his list of his six most intriguing players this year. He prefaces that superstars, rookies and second year players are off the list but still finds time for this 5 man boston lineup (which is not a player, has a superstar and a second year player but who's counting...it's preseason).

"This quintet is the most exciting group since Golden State stumbled into the Death Lineup: Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. The level of shooting, playmaking, and switchability on defense (minus Irving) is outrageous."

Just wondering...how would a group of Lowry/Green/Leonard/Anunoby&Siakim fare against that lineup. Maybe a touch less shooting but a larger touch more defence? Can't wait for these Boston games.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...iguing-players

[Machine]

Zach Lowe keeps the preseason going with his list of his six most intriguing players this year. He prefaces that superstars, rookies and second year players are off the list but still finds time for this 5 man boston lineup (which is not a player, has a superstar and a second year player but who's counting...it's preseason).

"This quintet is the most exciting group since Golden State stumbled into the Death Lineup: Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. The level of shooting, playmaking, and switchability on defense (minus Irving) is outrageous."

Just wondering...how would a group of Lowry/Green/Leonard/Anunoby&Siakim fare against that lineup. Maybe a touch less shooting but a larger touch more defence? Can't wait for these Boston games.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...iguing-players

Already got my tickets for October 19th, 8PM. Ready to kill all this Celtics hype.

Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

[LJ2]

Zach Lowe keeps the preseason going with his list of his six most intriguing players this year. He prefaces that superstars, rookies and second year players are off the list but still finds time for this 5 man boston lineup (which is not a player, has a superstar and a second year player but who's counting...it's preseason).

"This quintet is the most exciting group since Golden State stumbled into the Death Lineup: Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. The level of shooting, playmaking, and switchability on defense (minus Irving) is outrageous."

Just wondering...how would a group of Lowry/Green/Leonard/Anunoby&Siakim fare against that lineup. Maybe a touch less shooting but a larger touch more defence? Can't wait for these Boston games.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...iguing-players

I think I would rather have Serge in and Green out in that particular match-up against Boston.

[S.R.]

Zach Lowe keeps the preseason going with his list of his six most intriguing players this year. He prefaces that superstars, rookies and second year players are off the list but still finds time for this 5 man boston lineup (which is not a player, has a superstar and a second year player but who's counting...it's preseason).

"This quintet is the most exciting group since Golden State stumbled into the Death Lineup: Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. The level of shooting, playmaking, and switchability on defense (minus Irving) is outrageous."

Just wondering...how would a group of Lowry/Green/Leonard/Anunoby&Siakim fare against that lineup. Maybe a touch less shooting but a larger touch more defence? Can't wait for these Boston games.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...iguing-players

I think you play JV instead of Siakam and you hammer them on the boards + grind Al "Top 20" Horford into dust.

[DogeLover1234]

Zach Lowe keeps the preseason going with his list of his six most intriguing players this year. He prefaces that superstars, rookies and second year players are off the list but still finds time for this 5 man boston lineup (which is not a player, has a superstar and a second year player but who's counting...it's preseason).

"This quintet is the most exciting group since Golden State stumbled into the Death Lineup: Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. The level of shooting, playmaking, and switchability on defense (minus Irving) is outrageous."

Just wondering...how would a group of Lowry/Green/Leonard/Anunoby&Siakim fare against that lineup. Maybe a touch less shooting but a larger touch more defence? Can't wait for these Boston games.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...iguing-players

I get why Lowe and others are really excited by that Celtics lineup, but compare that to the lineup you mentioned, or any similar lineup, and I think Raps have the two best players in Lowry and Leonard. I don't think Lowe is saying this lineup is the best since the Warriors death lineup, just incredibly fun to watch. I personally think the best Raptors lineup will be at least as effective as that one.