Ideal Playoff Matchups

[S.R.]

i think related to this topic is looking at what are the ideal playoff matchups for giving the other teams trouble.

Everyone is overlooking the Pacers, 3-1 vs Cleveland, 2-1 vs Bucks, wins vs Toronto and Boston.

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[Shaolin Fantastic]

As long as Boston gets Philly or Milwaukee idc.

They really don't match up well with those two teams, especially not Philly.

[slaw]

Everyone is overlooking the Pacers, 3-1 vs Cleveland, 2-1 vs Bucks, wins vs Toronto and Boston.

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They can't rebound and the defense is mediocre. Raps fans know what that looks like in the playoffs (see, Sweep, Wizards).

[slaw]

As long as Boston gets Philly or Milwaukee idc.

They really don't match up well with those two teams, especially not Philly.

Do the Celts match up well against anyone given their lack of firepower?

[Demographic Shift]

I would like the Raps to play Eastern Tennessee Baptist College who play in the Cupcake Athletic Conference. They apparently matchup well against the Raps but we have more playoff experience. Smart ass stuff aside.....The playoffs by design have the better teams in the league lined up and ready to see what they got in the post season.The tankers and young teams on the rise are gone. Whoever you get is going to be good.

The road to the NBA finals has detours on Interstates 90 and 71 now. You have to go through Toronto.

Bring it on.

[golden]

We got a team pushing for 60 wins and their fans are worried about first round matchups against .500 clubs, then in the next thread we complain ESPN is too pessimistic about Toronto's chances to go 3 or 4 rounds deep in the playoffs...

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It’s not unreasonable. Much of the angst is related to not knowing if Lowry, and to a lesser extent, Demar, are going to show up in the playoffs. As long as Lowry hits his normal 3pt%, then we’ll sail through 2 rounds, otherwise, we’re into tight games and questionable decision making. Pierce called it right this time, Kyle is the wildcard.


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[S.R.]

It’s not unreasonable. Much of the angst is related to not knowing if Lowry, and to a lesser extent, Demar, are going to show up in the playoffs. As long as Lowry hits his normal 3pt%, then we’ll sail through 2 rounds, otherwise, we’re into tight games and questionable decision making. Pierce called it right this time, Kyle is the wildcard.


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I think the bench is the wildcard this time around. Those other years the Raptors were depending on 50-70 points from Lowry + DD out of isolation ball. They don't need that anymore, they can win games on 10 points from Lowry if positions 5-10 give them 50 points like they can (and bring the D).

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[planetmars]

Here's my personal ranking of teams.. and which ones I'd like to face first.

1) Detroit: Don't see them making the playoffs now, but they would be the ideal match up. Road games would be like home games. They have no bench. No shooters. JV seems to get up for AD. They have no guys that can stop either DD or Lowry from getting hot. Just a great match up over all. Too bad we won't get to see it.

2) Indiana: Dipo is great, and they've been pretty good all year, but I don't really see how they win 4 games out of 7 against anyone.. especially not the Raptors. Lance is a dick and might steal a game. But we can get toe to toe with them and beat them most every time.

3) Milwaukee: They essentially have no front court. Giannis is great but Raps have their number (despite losing in OT last time around) and the two games last playoffs. Kidd is gone which sucks for us.. but I still don't like them defensively.

4) Miami: Spo really knows how to get the best out of his guys. Dragic can go on fire. Wade is old but sneaky good. They can control the paint with Whiteside. But, Miami are over achievers. They had a better team 2 years ago and we beat them then. They are worse off this year, plus we have a way better team.

5) Philly: Just from the fact that they have no playoff experience is why they rank here. But they can be really dangerous. Embiid will get all the star calls. Simmons can't shoot but he's smart. They have a a lot of shooters now (Covington, Ilyasova, Beli). They don't seem to be scared of anyone. But the Raptors also know how to beat them as they've done so quite handily the past few years. Plus Lowry may get up for it even more since he'll be playing in Philly at least 3 times.

6) Celtics: They have the media on their side.. but other than Kyrie, I don't see how they beat guys offensively. I love Horford, but we can game plan for him. They have a lot of tenacious defenders, but so do we. I really think we can go toe to toe with these guys and come out. Don't even see it going 7 games. Would be a really fun series either way.

7) Wizards: They just seem to have our number. We won yesterday but in the playoffs Beal and Wall are just so good. Gortat is still a tough match up for JV. They have guys like Porter and Oubre that would make it tough on DeMar. They can shoot. They love to pass the ball. Scott Brooks has a tonne of playoff experience as well.

8) Lebrons: They are definitely vulnerable this year. Most of the new guys have no playoff experience. Hill is really good and could shut down Lowry as he mostly did when he was with the Pacers a few years back. But Lebron is Lebron. We have nobody that can slow him down. And it's not about his scoring either (which he'll do).. its about his play making. He makes everyone around him so much better. Guys like Love, Smith, Clarkson, Nance JR, Korver, etc will all just be better because they play with him. He's getting all the calls. The NBA/league would want a finals rematch (again) so they'll do everything in their power to help them win. If the Raps do have to go through him and beat him.. then that would mean more to me than a 60 win season. That would be a true defining moment for this franchise. That would make them legit contenders for the throne.

[golden]

I think the bench is the wildcard this time around. Those other years the Raptors were depending on 50-70 points from Lowry + DD out of isolation ball. They don't need that anymore, they can win games on 10 points from Lowry if positions 5-10 give them 50 points like they can (and bring the D).

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And that’s yet another reason why the skepticism is justified. I don’t know of any other example of an NBA team going to the finals, based on an unheralded bench. If we’re successful and the bench can maintain their effectiveness, then we’ve broken new ground. If we’re not, then this will look like our biggest fools gold season yet (same old Raptors) and Kyle and Demar will be ridiculed once again.

[tDotted]

And that’s yet another reason why the skepticism is justified. I don’t know of any other example of an NBA team going to the finals, based on an unheralded bench.

2014 Spurs. Only 3 players above 30 MPG during their playoff run and Duncan had the highest with just 32.7 a game.

[S.R.]

And that’s yet another reason why the skepticism is justified. I don’t know of any other example of an NBA team going to the finals, based on an unheralded bench. If we’re successful and the bench can maintain their effectiveness, then we’ve broken new ground. If we’re not, then this will look like our biggest fools gold season yet (same old Raptors) and Kyle and Demar will be ridiculed once again.

Yeah, the two things I'm most interested in:
- Can the bench guys contribute like in the reg season? May be mixed lineups with DD/Lowry a bit more and 5 man bench a bit less. I think they can. They aren't just bench players, they're good players. This is the most talented Raptors team yet, better than the teams that went 2 and 3 rounds.
- Can DD take a step in his postseason production the way he did in the reg season again? That's the next step for a guy who has become a next step guru. I think we see the best playoff DeRozan yet.

Give us that + health and this team can go to the Finals.

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[slaw]

And that’s yet another reason why the skepticism is justified. I don’t know of any other example of an NBA team going to the finals, based on an unheralded bench. If we’re successful and the bench can maintain their effectiveness, then we’ve broken new ground. If we’re not, then this will look like our biggest fools gold season yet (same old Raptors) and Kyle and Demar will be ridiculed once again.

They won't be going to the Finals on the back of an unheralded bench. If they go to the Finals, it will be because Lowry and Derozan play great and the supporting cast wins a game for them here and there. There are plenty examples of that. Like every year.

And whether or not they go to the Finals, it's not "fool's gold". They are one of the top teams in the NBA. By virtually every important statistical measurement. If they lose in the playoffs it won't be because they aren't a good team.

[Raptor Jesus]

The thing bugging me most is the real possibility CLE gets taken out before us.

LeCrab has been the troll running the east bridge to the promise land for 15 years.

Getting there around him after he's waxed us and the east for so long would be a let down.

I want our boys to be the ones that cause the decision 3.0. That ends Dan Gilbert's relevancy.

[Mitch P]

I agree it would be disappointing to not be the team to take out Cleveland. I don't fear them at all and do think someone else might beat them. Lebron has been having game after game with 30/10/10 but even so the "eyeball test" suggests to me that he is more guardable than before. I don't feel that he intimidates defenders as much as he used to. He doesn't seem to be getting doubled as much. I think OG or Pascal could do a very reasonable job on him and now we have more mobile bigs (including the "new" JV) who can do a much better job on Love. The rest are all mediocrity. I see Philly, Boston and maybe the Bucks taking them down.

[Jclaw]

The most Raptors thing in the world will be for them to have finally won the Eastern title and then face Milwaukee (or to a lesser extent, Philly) in the first round and then get Lebron in the second round before having to face Boston in the conference finals.