Zainab wrote:
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Game #40 Raptors @ Spurs
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Scraptor wrote: View PostAlso looks like Rudy is doubtful on their end. So matchups will look like:
White vs VanVleet
Forbes vs Green
DeMar vs Kawhi
Aldridge vs Pascal
Poeltl/Bertans vs Ibaka
Obviously the two key matchups are the ones with DeMar and LMA. Kawhi should smother DD but Aldridge will be tricky. Also Derrick White will have something of a size mismatch on FVV.
Bryn Forbes is a minus defender, but it's not for a lack of effort. I don’t see VanVleet scoring much on him either.
Truthfully, I want to see Powell start at point guard, if only because he matches up way better offensively against the Spurs’ backcourt. Watching Powell go against Forbes would be incredibly fun - his length and quickness will be too much for Forbes to handle. And it's not like they can slap White on him either, since that means Danny Green can happily post up Forbes (although that would mean keeping him away from the three-point line).
If VanVleet continues to start for whatever reason, then hopefully, VanVleet sticks to passing the ball and playing/moving off the ball, like he did against the Jazz, and not attempting so many goddamn shots and attacking the paint like he’s Russell Westbrook. (Seriously, watching VanVleet get deep into the paint with absolutely zero quickness or explosiveness whatsoever, while his defender catches up to him easily, is incredibly frustrating to watch. It’s rarely effective, but he does it so often.)
I just think Powell is better at being a score-first/drive-and-kick guard than VanVleet, and honestly he runs the pick and roll much better too (remember: Powell was in the 85th percentile as the pick and roll ball handler in 2016-17), because he's an actual and legitimate threat in the paint so he actually draws more defenders away from his teammates. It seems like VanVleet's inability to run the pick and roll and set up guys easily/run the offense has hurt Ibaka's production and caused Siakam to slump.
G__Deane wrote: View PostI'd actually like to see some OG on DeMar. OG needs to step up and start fulfilling just a bit more of the promise we all thought he had/has....he has just a bit too much of the Kawhi-chill side to him and not enough of the kawhi-assassin side.....does he ever get fired up and angry? I thinki I saw it once this season.
Scraptor wrote: View PostDeMar probably won't score much. What we really don't want to happen is for him to get 10 assists passing to open shooters like Forbes, White, Belinelli, and Bertans. Trust the man D and everyone stay home on shooters.
Put a lengthy defender on him that can't be posted up easily (ie. Siakam), play him for the drive, don't bite on his pump fakes (and send him to the line), and bait him into taking contested mid-range jumpers over and over. That's how teams defend him in the playoffs, and it always works (or at least, always seems to work).
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Zainab wrote: View Postlmao wtf
DeRozan said he wasn't gonna force an analogy. Moments later, he said leaving Raptors was like not marrying the woman you always thought you'd marry.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) January 2, 2019
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S.R. wrote: View PostSpends his whole time talking about playing AGAINST other great players. Crazy talk! Doesn't he know he's supposed to speculate about playing WITH Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, etc.? Hasn't anyone told him about superteams? (Edit: clearly not, look at the Hornets)
Even the earlier rendition of the Bulls had Pippen and Horace Grant. The year Jordan left they still won 50 games and were a game away from the ECF (and likely the finals since they lost in 7 to the best team in the east that year, the Knicks). Grant made the all-star team and Pippen finished 3rd in MVP voting.
So tired of people acting like Jordan played with a bunch of scrubs. Yeah he never joined a superteam, he didn't have to, he had one built around him. Not everyone has the luxury of their team drafting or trading well to put together a title contender.
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Shaolin Fantastic wrote: View PostHe was ON a fucking superteam. Pippen and Rodman were hall of fame level talents. Not to mention the 1996 team where they had those two and Kukoc coming off the bench along with a ton of excellent role players.
Even the earlier rendition of the Bulls had Pippen and Horace Grant. The year Jordan left they still won 50 games and were a game away from the ECF (and likely the finals since they lost in 7 to the best team in the east that year, the Knicks). Grant made the all-star team and Pippen finished 3rd in MVP voting.
So tired of people acting like Jordan played with a bunch of scrubs. Yeah he never joined a superteam, he didn't have to, he had one built around him. Not everyone has the luxury of their team drafting or trading well to put together a title contender.
And we do now live watching an NBA where MVP level players will leave Finals contending teams to join even better teams. Imagine MJ on the Penny/Shaq Magic, or Hakeem's Rockets, or David Robinson's Spurs, etc. etc."We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard
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S.R. wrote: View PostPreach. No one here said Jordan played with scrubs in Chicago, though. (But a bit of context: yes they won 55 games the first year of baseball and were a 2nd round out. The next season MJ only played 17 games, Bulls only won 47, and they were again a 2nd round out. They were a good team but definitely not a great team without MJ.)
And we do now live watching an NBA where MVP level players will leave Finals contending teams to join even better teams. Imagine MJ on the Penny/Shaq Magic, or Hakeem's Rockets, or David Robinson's Spurs, etc. etc.
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rocwell wrote: View PostDrop Drake
Started at the bottom, for real.
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golden wrote: View PostThe Raptors part is waaaay off. Drake was officially announced as Global Ambassador before the 2013-14 season, starting the greatest and most sustained run of winning in franchise history: 6 straight playoff appearances, 4 straight 50+ win seasons, a first ever ECF appearance and culminating in the 2019 NBA championship.
Started at the bottom, for real.9 time first team all-RR, First Ballot Hall of Forum
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The Raptors made a trade with the Spurs and got the player with the No. 1 plus-minus in the NBA. They also got Kawhi Leonard.
— Ben Cohen (@bzcohen) January 2, 2019
New story on Danny Green, the league's most valuable role player, and why good things happen when he's on the court: https://t.co/dtV4AiVkmT
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