2016-17 Toronto Raptors and General NBA Thread

[Strange Brew]

Rockets are absolutely dismantling the Spurs on their home court. Up by 35 points in Q3

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

Wasn't Ibaka brought here to toughen us up and improve our glass and play? He's been very diapppointing since he came Over in my mind, but He looks like he's scared out there to work but

Ibaka was never brought in as an above-average rebounder, that was always a weakness in his game. He brings rim-protection, the ability to guard out to the 3 point line, and a floor-stretching offensive game. But lineups with him as the C on this team are always going to be vulnerable to giving up rebounds. So the tradeoff with him at C is you tell the whole team to focus on defensive rebounds and lose your transition game, or you risk second-chance points. With that pick-your-poison, I think you need to keep trying to push the tempo and risk giving up some offensive rebounds.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I wonder if JV having 19 points in 14 minutes will remind Casey that the Cavs have no interior defense and are there to be dominated inside. Probably not. And as bad the Raps have been, kinda hard to win when you have two FT attempts the entire half outside the technical FT. Refs don't need to be in the tank for Cleveland.

[dino7c]

Raps are never gonna have the star power to compete with top teams. The whole franchise seems futile

[TheAlpineOracle]

You know, I don't expect the Raptors to beat the Cavs, but this is ####ing pathetic. They can't even get within ten feet of the basket in the offensive zone. Derozan and Lowry will not under any circumstance get it done. Time to rebuild. Unfortunately for Toronto, the East is a garbage conference, so they look much better than they actually are so a rebuild doesn't look at necessary as it actually is.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Nm

[Senator Clay Davis]

The Cavs have outscored the Raps by 42 from three so far. Pretty much says it all.

[Jason14h]

As bad as we look these are the NBA champs. When they decide to actually try and play they are pretty damn good.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The Cavs have outscored the Raps by 42 from three so far. Pretty much says it all.

I was trying to think of what to say but it's pretty pointless. It's like an NBA team vrs the local YMCA club.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

I was trying to think of what to say but it's pretty pointless. It's like an NBA team vrs the local YMCA club.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

I was trying to think of what to say but it's pretty pointless. It's like an NBA team vrs the local YMCA club.

It's more that the Cavs have enough good three point shooters to jack it up 30-40 times a game, which is sadly the future of the NBA. Lowry is the only guy who shoots it very well from deep, so when they fall into a hole they don't really have the horses to rally without turning the defense up to 11. Assuming they don't blow it up (and they won't), they really need to be adding guys who can shoot from deep.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Van Vleet and Siakim just killed it for the 905 in the last two games of the D League championship.

I still think FVV is going to be a player in the Association for a long time.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I wonder if JV having 19 points in 14 minutes will remind Casey that the Cavs have no interior defense and are there to be dominated inside. Probably not. And as bad the Raps have been, kinda hard to win when you have two FT attempts the entire half outside the technical FT. Refs don't need to be in the tank for Cleveland.

Casey is oblivious to anything but a guard dominated offence.

He needs to be replaced if the Raptors want to take the next step.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Casey is oblivious to anything but a guard dominated offence.

He needs to be replaced if the Raptors want to take the next step.

I don't think he's a bad coach but I think it's obvious the offense as currently designed has hit a wall, and the defense is nothing special. The team needs not only new ideas but also a new attitude that takes the players out of their comfort element. Hiring new coaches is always risky; they have greater odds of failing than succeeding, and there isn't anyone currently looking for work who's an obvious fit for this team. After his success with the 905, I honestly wouldn't mind seeing what Stackhouse can do, although he might be more appropriate as a 'rebuild' coach than a getting to the next level coach.

With Orlando getting a new GM, perhaps their new GM decides to move on from Vogel, in which case he would be the top candidate. But he also wasn't the problem in Orlando (a lot of bad trades and mediocre drafting were) so maybe the new GM keeps him.

My dream will always be the Raptors bringing over the Euroleague's Popovich, Zeljko Obradovic as coach, but I know that's not realistic.

[Da_Chief]

Not a Casey fan and the offence sucks but there were plenty of open looks that players just didn't hit.

DeRozen talking about giving someone $100 if they can guard LeBron, how about you shut up and make some shots?

The amount of times the raptors had the chance to push and run the ball, only to see them stop at the top of the key and set up isolation was do damn frustrating.

Only chance they have is if they can score, they won't stop their offence, it has too many guys who can hit shots. At this point I think the Bucks would've matched much better vs the Cavs then these Raptors. Guys either pass on open looks or just miss. Masai has to clean house. Multiple years in a row now DeRozen has shown he just can't get it done in the playoffs.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I don't think he's a bad coach but I think it's obvious the offense as currently designed has hit a wall, and the defense is nothing special. The team needs not only new ideas but also a new attitude that takes the players out of their comfort element. Hiring new coaches is always risky; they have greater odds of failing than succeeding, and there isn't anyone currently looking for work who's an obvious fit for this team. After his success with the 905, I honestly wouldn't mind seeing what Stackhouse can do, although he might be more appropriate as a 'rebuild' coach than a getting to the next level coach.

With Orlando getting a new GM, perhaps their new GM decides to move on from Vogel, in which case he would be the top candidate. But he also wasn't the problem in Orlando (a lot of bad trades and mediocre drafting were) so maybe the new GM keeps him.

My dream will always be the Raptors bringing over the Euroleague's Popovich, Zeljko Obradovic as coach, but I know that's not realistic.

I'm curious if you think this team as constructed has the ability to 'get to the next level'? Personally I think they are what they are, and are soon to be on the down swing with teams like Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Miami quickly closing the gap.

Re-signing Lowry/Ibaka only delays the inevitable, and you're looking at 2-3 years more of playoff basketball before they plummet down the Eastern standings IMO. Playoff basketball, what you see is what you get. They'd be competitive with most teams besides Cleveland, though I fear Boston may soon be in that unbeatable category after they add to their team with the upcoming lottery pick.

The Raps days of being an upper echelon team in the East may be done as of next year...so I guess I'm saying, I think a 'rebuild' coach like Stackhouse wouldn't be such a bad thing, since the organization should consider going that route IMO in the near future.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Best part of the game so far tonight? Gord Downie.

https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/860643006239690752

[St. Pats]

The crossroads they reached when MU didn't gut the team like he wanted to has finally reached its climax. This is as far as a stupid excuse for a coach takes you. This is as far as a wannabe all star who can't play defence and can't shoot the most important shot in today's game takes you. I swear Ibaka is like 45 / dropped right off the cliff the last couple of years. Lowry always hauling around twenty pounds of fat has caught up to him injury wise as well.

Nothing less that a complete demolishing of this pretender team is needed. Do what you wanted to do in the first place MU. Send them all packing and look for some actual talent!

[Senator Clay Davis]

I hate to blame Bruno for their current predicament, but Bruno going at #20 and Nikola Jokic going at #41 hurts a lot. If the Raps had Jokic instead they'd be well on their way for the future. But even if they don't re-sign Ibaka or Lowry, without trading DeMar they are still a playoff team in the weak East. But DeMar isn't a Taylor Hall in Edmonton situation where simply getting rid of the guy makes you a better team, they need to try and maximize the return since he is in his prime and one of the top 20 players in the league, but there aren't many teams that make sense. I don't like just trading him to trade him. As for Casey I'm kind of indifferent, he's not the best coach, but there probably aren't many better options out there. Giving Stackhouse a run is fine too.

[Hockey_Ninja]

The NBA is so predictable it's ridiculous. Another Cavs-Warriors finals incoming.