GAME #35 Toronto Raptors @ Philadelphia 76ers - Saturday, December 22, 2018 7:30 PM ET on TSN

[GLF]

Also, no, we do not need to add a shooter, and no, drawing conclusions based on games where Kawhi and both centres are sitting out is not a smart thing to do.

I don't know if we necessarily need to trade for more shooting but don't you think our bad shooting may just be who we are at this point? I don't know I just find we've been saying "guys are missing open looks" quite often this season so far. And you can see teams daring our guys to shoot. Only Danny, Kawhi and Kyle seem to be reliable 3 point shooters on this team and even Kyle goes through long slumps at times. Everyone else seems to be very streaky and misses a lot of wide open looks. Oh Fred is good too. He's seems to be coming back around on his 3's.

[DanH]

I'd just as soon see what our record is against the Celtics, Bucks and 76ers is when both teams are relatively healthy to accept that broad statement as fact. I'd say we have as good a chance as any of them, even be the potential favourite (at this point) but I guess CAN in your statement is open ended enough lol

I still think there's a decent chance that the Celts or Bucks are the East favourites entering the post season. That doesn't mean we can't knock them off (or they, us if we end up in first).

I don't even remotely worry about the finals at this point.

Our in-season record against those teams is useless in projecting playoff success and that's true league wide for all teams.

This team has the talent and depth to be considered the favourites right now, and should be.

[DanH]

I don't know if we necessarily need to trade for more shooting but don't you think our bad shooting may just be who we are at this point? I don't know I just find we've been saying "guys are missing open looks" quite often this season so far. And you can see teams daring our guys to shoot. Only Danny, Kawhi and Kyle seem to be reliable 3 point shooters on this team and even Kyle goes through long slumps at times. Everyone else seems to be very streaky and misses a lot of wide open looks. Oh Fred is good too. He's seems to be coming back around on his 3's.

Everyone in the league is streaky and misses a lot of open looks. The reliable three point shooter is a myth.

CJ Miles may prove to just be cooked. There's no reason to believe anyone else on the roster has suddenly forgotten how to shoot. Early season role and rotation variability due to experimentation and injury has messed with a lot of guys (Fred and OG especially), and they will bounce back as that gets sorted out with time. Never mind guys like Brown playing minutes they'll never see in the playoffs (heck, CJ too) and laying absolute eggs from long range. Really the only concerning conversion rate right now is Lowry, and shouldn't we be done with worrying about Lowry by this point? Has he not made enough people look silly by now?

[Hotshot]

Vince... If you want to finish your legacy on a high note..please ask Atlanta to waive you before March.1 so you can join the Raptors for one last ride..

[TacoBreath]

Everyone in the league is streaky and misses a lot of open looks. The reliable three point shooter is a myth.
...

Davis Bertans.

[GLF]

Everyone in the league is streaky and misses a lot of open looks. The reliable three point shooter is a myth.

CJ Miles may prove to just be cooked. There's no reason to believe anyone else on the roster has suddenly forgotten how to shoot. Early season role and rotation variability due to experimentation and injury has messed with a lot of guys (Fred and OG especially), and they will bounce back as that gets sorted out with time. Never mind guys like Brown playing minutes they'll never see in the playoffs (heck, CJ too) and laying absolute eggs from long range. Really the only concerning conversion rate right now is Lowry, and shouldn't we be done with worrying about Lowry by this point? Has he not made enough people look silly by now?

Is that true? How come it always seems like the other teams "shooters" are able to hit open looks while ours consistently miss them. Minus Danny, Kawhi and Lowry. Like our offence generates sooooo many good looks from the perimeter and we just can't hit anything. I'm definitely not worried about Lowry and CJ won't be getting minutes in the playoffs and if he does it will be VERY few. I see Norm taking over his role very soon. Yea the experimentation probably has something to do with it. At least I hope that's it. I also hope the experimentation ends soon.

[G__Deane]

Vince... If you want to finish your legacy on a high note..please ask Atlanta to waive you before March.1 so you can join the Raptors for one last ride..

I'd sooner miss the playoffs entirely than bring quitter-carter back .... it would not be any sort of a hgh note imo

[Puffer]

...Yea the experimentation probably has something to do with it. At least I hope that's it. I also hope the experimentation ends soon.

With all of the experimentation the Raptors are on pace to win 59 games. Think about it. Intentionally resting their best player for 8(?) games. Injuries to Lowry, JV, Ibaka, Van Vleet, Powell that see them miss numerous games. Lowry and Leonard have only played in what, 16 games together? Nurse fielding 11, 12, different starting lineups? And they are on pace to win 59 games.

I wouldn't say that they are screwed just yet. I might say they have been forced to learn on the run and have succeeded well enough to maintain the number 1 position in the league against adverse circumstances. There is a lot of learning that goes along with that. A lot of confidence is being accumulated by these guys and growing trust in each other.

Dan has been singing the song all season so far. There's nobody in the east that has had to deal with the injuries, incorporating new players and new roles for previous players and strength of schedule in the East as the Raptors. And they remain #1.

Someone has to bet them to take the eastern finals from their grasp. To this point in the season, it's theirs to lose.

[Hotshot]

I'd sooner miss the playoffs entirely than bring quitter-carter back .... it would not be any sort of a hgh note imo

Let it go, its been almost 15 years. We are living in the present and we have a superstar by the name of Kawhi who also left his previous team under dubious circumstances. CJ Miles doesn't appear to be gaining his 3 pointer shot back and we need a cost effective option coming off the bench. Vince is one option that is worth considering given the Raps won't need to trade valuable assets in order to get him.

[TheWaterboy]

I'd sooner miss the playoffs entirely than bring quitter-carter back .... it would not be any sort of a hgh note imo

I don't think you have to worry about Atlanta waiving Vince (or trading Vince to us); he's there, and making the kind of coin he is, specifically to put butts in seats during an otherwise lost year for the Atlanta franchise. Even a trade which might make sense from a basketball perspective for Atlanta (Norm and a 2nd rounder for Carter, which I wouldn't do from our side) is in no danger of getting done because Atlanta definitely wants to suck and gather assets this year, and may be considering doing the same thing next year as well. And I think Carter has gotten used to and comfortable with watching the playoffs from the comfort of his own living room, and is not going to agitate to be waived.

Now that we're clear that it's absolutely not happening, let's discuss the merits of the move anyway.

I think that from a pure basketball perspective, Vince would definitely shore up our second unit's scoring, as someone who is a threat to drive and to shoot, someone with three-point range and a reasonably consistent three-point shot, someone who is active and decisive when he is off the ball, and someone who is capable of making good crisp decisions (and passes) in a ball movement offense.

I don't think Vince's anything special on defense for the most part at this point in his career, but I do think he's a step up from CJ there, and that he is generally capable of being in the right place at the right time most of the time. And let's remember that we would normally have him out there with at least two (and probably three) of OG, Norm, Delon, and Fred most of the time, so just being an upgrade from CJ would make a difference there as well.

There is a basketball downside here, and that is that if we're healthy and Vince is getting minutes, those minutes are almost certainly coming at the expense of OG, Norm, or Delon, potentially putting a crimp into their developmental progression. But Vince here would likely be one-and-done, so the resulting developmental setback would only be temporary.

Is there a non-basketball downside? I think there is, and it has to do with the lingering resentment out there. Not necessarily from a fan perspective - I think that for every ticket that G__Deane and those who feel like him don't buy there will be another fan who is happy that they can actually get a ticket to see this team play - but from an organizational perspective, there is.

I think that if there is lingering resentment and mistrust of Vince within the organization, that would add significant risk to the move. Even though I think coach Nurse and the players would have no problem bringing Vince in to raise the talent level on the floor and give Nurse even more match-up options, any organizational tension in regards to bringing in Vince would be in danger of spreading to the locker room. Given that we have so far been mostly doing everything right to make it appealing for Kawhi to stay so far, and given the recent Kawhi-Spurs situation, unnecessary management-player tension is something we absolutely want to avoid, especially if the player involved proves to be a valid contributor.

[KeonClark]

Well, family has reached the great City of Calgary, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and starting in about T Minus 4 hours I will commence drinking, eating and (lovingly) making fun of family members for a solid 4 days.

Oh, and Keons girlfriend bought him him the white OVO Leonard #2 jersey that he opened last night! He was like an excited kid!

Another successful calendar year at the Republic with everybody being rock solid contributors. Even the annoying guys May it continue, and hope you all enjoy the next couple days off before we get back to work on the 2nd half of this championship season.

Merry Christmas Republic!

[G__Deane]

Let it go, its been almost 15 years. We are living in the present and we have a superstar by the name of Kawhi who also left his previous team under dubious circumstances. CJ Miles doesn't appear to be gaining his 3 pointer shot back and we need a cost effective option coming off the bench. Vince is one option that is worth considering given the Raps won't need to trade valuable assets in order to get him.

Never
And I didn't bring it up lol
He'll forever be quitter-carter to me. ymmv

Your other point is valid though, we have a guy named Kawhi freakin' Leonard and don't need to reach back in time for some fake nostalgia name like a loser team trying to sell tickets to rubes for the memories. quitter-carter man be an upgrade over Miles but that's not saying much and he's 4th in 3pt% on a crappy Hawks team behind a younger but washed up Jeremy Lin lol. We can do far better; time to start thinking like a team with true finals aspirations.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Well, family has reached the great City of Calgary, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and starting in about T Minus 4 hours I will commence drinking, eating and (lovingly) making fun of family members for a solid 4 days.

Oh, and Keons girlfriend bought him him the white OVO Leonard #2 jersey that he opened last night! He was like an excited kid!

Another successful calendar year at the Republic with everybody being rock solid contributors. Even the annoying guys May it continue, and hope you all enjoy the next couple days off before we get back to work on the 2nd half of this championship season.

Merry Christmas Republic!

That's sick! Enjoy

[KeonClark]

That's sick! Enjoy

Thanks Shaolin! Have a fantastic Christmas. Look forward to arguing with you again! lol

[Puffer]

Another great Raptors Republic year and we have all now moved through the most exciting first three months of the franchise's history, leaving aside the first one. And we may be facing the most exciting season ever.

Merry Christmas to all. Be safe and stay frosty.