Season is over, forget the negatives, what were the POSITIVES?

[mcHAPPY]

No Negative Nelly or Debbie Downer around these parts!





In another season that has become, "Well, there is always next year...." for many of the RR faithful, what have been some positives?

The idea from the thread comes from a Zach Lowe tweet:

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_SI
The Raptors ranked 25th in defensive rebounding rate last season. They are 3rd, on the verge of 1st, right now.

[ceez]

Mine are, in order:

Casey!
Barg's resurgance at the beginning of the year (here's hoping its the nagging injury thats slowing him down...)
JJ
Ed
Gray
Forbes

[mcHAPPY]

My contribution.

All season the Raptors have been in the top 10 in opponent field goal percentage. I think this is a very important stat given the company they are keeping:

1 Philadelphia 76ers .418
2 Miami Heat .424
3 Los Angeles Lakers .424
4 Boston Celtics .426
5 Chicago Bulls .426
6 Dallas Mavericks .427
7 Oklahoma City Thunder .429
8 Indiana Pacers .430
9 Toronto Raptors .436
10 Orlando Magic .436

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_2012.html

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just don't belong. Hmmmmm. They are all playoff teams except you know who.

[ceez]

The Celtics?

[mcHAPPY]

The Celtics?

The Raptors.

The rest of the teams are playoff bound.

And Toronto's opponents % has actually increased of late. A couple of weeks ago they were around 4-6.

[Red and White]

Hmm there are 4 that are the big positives...

The D has been amazing

Dwane has been our saviour

JJ has been a pleasent suprise (JAMESANITY)


But for me atleast, the biggest positive is that it looks like BC has committed to a plan and we are seeing it go along. There is nothing more reassuring then that.

Who knows with him though...

he can just make such horrible decisions sometimes...i am hoping he is committed to the JV draft pick fa plan...

[mcHAPPY]

Hmm there are 4 that are the big positives...

The D has been amazing

Dwane has been our saviour

JJ has been a pleasent suprise (JAMESANITY)


But for me atleast, the biggest positive is that it looks like BC has committed to a plan and we are seeing it go along. There is nothing more reassuring then that.

Took Five Years. Finally Gets It.

[Jclaw]

Never knew defense could be as fun to watch. And, to borrow my thought from today's knicks thread...we seem to be in most games but do enough to lose. You could say that's the sign of a bad team but the bad teams are getting blown out. We get just as many ping pong losses but we're close. This year always reminds me of the year before we won the Titanic division when the team played great but lost a number of one possession or overtime games (just enough losses to win the draft lottery that summer). The calm before the peaceful Canadian storm.

[Jclaw]

Took Five Years. Finally Gets It.

could someone pass this along to Mr Burke?

[mcHAPPY]

Who knows with him though...

he can just make such horrible decisions sometimes...i am hoping he is committed to the JV draft pick fa plan...

I think a lot of his decisions are deemed horrible with the benefit of hindsight. Most of his horrible decisions have been free agency related. I actually don't mind the trades he has made because they were swinging for the fences type moves (JO and Turk trade).

[Apollo]

No Negative Nelly or Debbie Downer around these parts!

Not even a Buzz Killington?



Well, if that's the case I'll have to go with a visable improvement in Bargnani in some weak areas... Even if he's missed like half the season.

[Red and White]

I think a lot of his decisions are deemed horrible with the benefit of hindsight. Most of his horrible decisions have been free agency related. I actually don't mind the trades he has made because they were swinging for the fences type moves (JO and Turk trade).

You are exactly right. What I mean by "horrible decisions" is that he got away from what made him successful in the first place. This is why I am sort of relieved that this plan is not so much "swing for the fences" but more "build from the ground up". I mean if you look at his track record his most successful and beneficial deals for the team are the small deals. The "charlie v for tj ford" trades or the "rasho for bonner and a second round pick" trades are the type of deals that got this team going again and made him Executive of the Year. Once he started trying to make these huge plays it felt as if he was out of his comfort zone. I feel that BC is getting back to all of that in a way.

You can tell how well he is doing by how many people are hating on him on this site, and from what I can tell there have not been too many BC bashers this year (and with a 15-30 record he has to be doing something right).

[enlightenment]

Positives =
instant and impressive defensive improvement WITHOUT a training camp;
Casey has squeezed everything out of a talent deficient team;
We've been competitive in almost every game (somehow!) and still lose (perfect for draft pick);

Cant complain, this year has been successful in my eyes.

[Bendit]

I'll take (already been mentioned) the macro view and it starts at the top:

1) BC's realization that Phoenix North cannot be duplicated easily and turned to defensive thinking
2) Hired the right coach for the time (rebuild)...Casey
3) There is another player in Bargnani
4) Hope based on real possibilities

[slaw]

1. Drafting Valanciunas (I'm counting it as a part of the season)
2. Much improved coaching
3. Defensive improvement. Forget the numbers altogether, it's just nice to see them try and play defense....