Game #67: Toronto Raptors 116 - Brooklyn Nets 102

[The Great One]

GS lost 2 in a row now without Curry.

I'll say this again. Curry is what makes that team good - not Durant. Remember all the LeBron or Curry talk 2 years ago? now Durant for whatever reason is getting all the credit. Curry is the Warriors.

[The Great One]

I find this premise that the Raptors are playoff chokers a little frustrating. The first two years; absolutely. But that's getting to be a long time ago and our key players are either much more experienced or (Ibaka, FVV, Pascal etc, etc) different people. Losing to Cleveland in the eastern final two years ago was hardly an embarrassment. Losing to them again last year was disappointing but it was bad luck to hit them in the second round and they were playing very, very well at the time. Raptors would have beaten anyone else in the east. I'm trying to stay grounded here....and still worry about the whistle when the NBA knows a Raptors final would get bad tv ratings. But since the All Star break this team has been just unbelievable from Derozan to Miller. Casey has been pushing all of the right buttons. I hope Brooklyn isn't too feisty; I'd like to see our deep bench guys again for half of the 4rth quarter. This roster is looking so deep!

It's about HOW they lost. 8 losses against the Cavs in the playoffs the last 2 years were all blowout. People remember that.

[veda-parabolist]

Not to change the subject, but oh god the Cavs just lost to the Lakers by like 17 points.... are you serious? (edit: it was 14 points, but watching the highlights it looked like they were never really threatening the Lakers' lead).

I know we should all be just saying "Wait till Kevin Love gets back" (as per the dominant narrative), but.... it still strikes me that this team is wildly ineffective. Even when it seems they should be motivated and trying to win, they are losing to teams that are just bad.

Maybe when Kevin Love comes back they can dominate bad teams like the Lakers (one would think), but really.... will that (and more "time to gel" for their new players..) really make them competitive with the top teams? Really baffling and hard to see how it can.

[NoPropsneeded]

I'll say this again. Curry is what makes that team good - not Durant. Remember all the LeBron or Curry talk 2 years ago? now Durant for whatever reason is getting all the credit. Curry is the Warriors.

Agreed, Curry is the man

[sanyo]

Im hungry for curry chicken now.

[sanyo]

TOronto is not a metered market for the USA so they dont get talked about often. Americans are ignorant as F as well and if the city is not in the USA, they dont care.

It sucks but just the way it is.

[Scraptor]

I find this premise that the Raptors are playoff chokers a little frustrating.... Losing to them again last year was disappointing but it was bad luck to hit them in the second round and they were playing very, very well at the time.

You can't get swept by an average of 15 points and blame it on bad luck. (LeBron put up a 73%TS vs 51%TS for DeMar.) Not to mention we lost by 27 and 14 to a lower-seeded Bucks team in the first three games of the first round.

The premise exists for a valid reason. It's our job to destroy it this year.

[TheWaterboy]

Not to change the subject, but oh god the Cavs just lost to the Lakers by like 17 points.... are you serious? (edit: it was 14 points, but watching the highlights it looked like they were never really threatening the Lakers' lead).

I know we should all be just saying "Wait till Kevin Love gets back" (as per the dominant narrative), but.... it still strikes me that this team is wildly ineffective. Even when it seems they should be motivated and trying to win, they are losing to teams that are just bad.

Maybe when Kevin Love comes back they can dominate bad teams like the Lakers (one would think), but really.... will that (and more "time to gel" for their new players..) really make them competitive with the top teams? Really baffling and hard to see how it can.

I watched enough of that game to catch the clips of what Luke Walton told the Lakers to do: he told them to play at a high pace. Now, this was almost certainly due to the Cavs being very short-handed right now (meaning that the Cavs are ill-suited to play at at that pace for four quarters), but the Lakers still jumped out to an early lead. I think that right now, forcing the Cavs defense to make quick decisions makes them much easier to play against, because the new Cavs players are still learning to work as a cohesive unit, and doubly so with the Cavs dealing with injuries.

Having Thompson and Love and now Osman out at the same time is going to extend the period for which this remains a problem, too, because just as the current group's makeup may be starting to jell defensively, it's going to change again. As long as teams they play can continue to exploit the defensive woes of the Cavs, the Cavs are at risk of losing every night. It's not a given that the Cavs will still be in 4th or even in 5th when they get their frontcourt back.

[consmap]

Im hungry for curry chicken now.

So are the Warriors

[3inthekeon]

Duncan/Leroux have their East podcast up. Have a guest from Detroit, so it starts there, then Washington.

Toronto starts at the 26 minute mark. Quite a bit on the Rockets game. Also has a quiz. The best shooter in the NBA this year from floater range is a Raptor. Who?

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/duncdon...nference-31218

[KeonClark]

Duncan/Leroux have their East podcast up. Have a guest from Detroit, so it starts there, then Washington.

Toronto starts at the 26 minute mark. Quite a bit on the Rockets game. Also has a quiz. The best shooter in the NBA this year from floater range is a Raptor. Who?

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/duncdon...nference-31218

Valanciunas?

[3inthekeon]

Valanciunas?

He was the only name mentioned as a guess, but no.

[MixxAOR]

Duncan/Leroux have their East podcast up. Have a guest from Detroit, so it starts there, then Washington.

Toronto starts at the 26 minute mark. Quite a bit on the Rockets game. Also has a quiz. The best shooter in the NBA this year from floater range is a Raptor. Who?

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/duncdon...nference-31218

Derozan?

[3inthekeon]

Derozan?

Answer is Serge Ibaka.

[MixxAOR]

Answer is Serge Ibaka.

wtf