2016-17 Toronto Raptors and General NBA Thread - Page 24 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Senator Clay Davis · 03-21-2017, 09:11 PM

So Masai's mission this summer is to find a way to shed Carroll's contract so they can give his salary to Tucker. Tough ask though.

octothorp · 03-22-2017, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So Masai's mission this summer is to find a way to shed Carroll's contract so they can give his salary to Tucker. Tough ask though.

They've got options though. They've got bird rights on all of Lowry, Patterson, Tucker, and Ibaka. With the salary cap and payrolls going up, Carroll's contract is more-or-less fair value, and some teams will have massive cap space and will end up missing out on their free agent targets, at which point taking Carroll for nothing becomes a reasonable acquisition.

They're going to be a luxury team anyway, so the degree to which they're into the tax matters only for the owners; they could sign the guys they want to keep, and then Masai works in-season to strip salary.

octothorp · 03-22-2017, 05:09 PM

Only 1 game suspension, no injured hand for Ibaka. Only one game for Lopez too, which surprises me a little... I thought being the instigator (at least in terms of taking it from typical basketball stuff and escalating it), he would get at least an extra game.

St. Pats · 03-22-2017, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by octothorp

Only 1 game suspension, no injured hand for Ibaka. Only one game for Lopez too, which surprises me a little... I thought being the instigator (at least in terms of taking it from typical basketball stuff and escalating it), he would get at least an extra game.

I thought I would care but I really don't. About the suspension thing. That he is not injured is great and now we just wait for Lowry. Haven't heard hardly anything about him which is annoying. Even when they do say something what does is mean / ie had a positive checkup. That's nice but it don't tell me when he will be back in the lineup.

TheAlpineOracle · 03-23-2017, 01:44 PM

http://www.tsn.ca/ncaa/video/stephen...mments~1084959

This guy is straight crazy. Look at his facial expressions when he's spewing this garbage. He might be a psychopath. His poor kids.......

St. Pats · 03-23-2017, 08:30 PM

No Lowry, No Ibaka and they still beat the Heat. The defensive effort has changed drastically since Tucker and Ibaka arrived and with Wright getting playing time.

EricCartman · 03-24-2017, 08:25 AM

My new favourite big on the Raps is now Jakob Poetl, he was a +30 against the Heat. He moves really well and always seems to help his team grab a rebound, whether he's grabbing it or tipping it to someone. Just for reference Jonas was -8 against the Heat/

Senator Clay Davis · 03-24-2017, 08:40 AM

DeMar now has the franchise record with six 40 point games in a season, after only doing it twice in his career before this year. Raps are 8-0 in those games. You can make a pretty compelling argument he's having the best individual season a Raptor has ever had.

bluejays · 03-24-2017, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricCartman

My new favourite big on the Raps is now Jakob Poetl, he was a +30 against the Heat. He moves really well and always seems to help his team grab a rebound, whether he's grabbing it or tipping it to someone. Just for reference Jonas was -8 against the Heat/

Yeah, I'm curious what Poetl's upside is. When things are going well, they're going great for him. Enough that I do think the Raps should devote time to develop him.

Senator Clay Davis · 03-24-2017, 08:35 PM

Devin Booker is 20 years old...he just scored 70 (in a loss no less).

kmart · 03-25-2017, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleury

Yeah, I'm curious what Poetl's upside is. When things are going well, they're going great for him. Enough that I do think the Raps should devote time to develop him.

I don't see an imposing offensive threat, but I see a pretty good defensive center who can really move his feet. As far as his rebound goes, he does a good job of making sure his teammates get the ball and the opposing team doesn't get the ball.

octothorp · 03-25-2017, 09:12 PM

Five in a row!

Really tough to figure out how the top 4 in the east are going to shake out, especially with Washington beating Cleveland today. Boston would be such a weak EC champion... I think any of the other top 4 could beat them in a series even without homecourt. I like how the Raptors are playing right now, regardless, and don't really care that much about the seeding.

d_phaneuf · 03-26-2017, 08:04 AM

It's nice having 4 good teams in the east again at least

Last few years it's been nothing there until the conference finals

From an entertainment standpoint I think raps/Cavs and Celtics/wiz would be most exciting, they are better rivalries

Senator Clay Davis · 03-26-2017, 11:43 AM

I still think the Cavs are the big favorites. Remember the Heat were the #1 seed in the East only once in LeBron's four years there. Postseason is a different animal than the regular season, less use of bench and officiating is tighter. I do think the Raps are definitely the best bet to beat them though, assuming Lowry is healthy enough come playoff time.

kmart · 03-26-2017, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I still think the Cavs are the big favorites. Remember the Heat were the #1 seed in the East only once in LeBron's four years there. Postseason is a different animal than the regular season, less use of bench and officiating is tighter. I do think the Raps are definitely the best bet to beat them though, assuming Lowry is healthy enough come playoff time.

It's not as much of a cakewalk for Lebron this year, even though he is most likely the favourite to make it out of the East.

In the first round he has to deal with Miami. The Heat are good enough to win a game and make Lebron work harder. The first round is where Lebron usually only plays 5 games.

In the second round he is either playing Toronto or Washington, both of which provide tough challenges. Washington is a thorn to the Cavs as they have absolutely no perimeter defenders that can control Wall and Beal together. This is a tough second round matchup for Lebron, on an annual basis this is usually a cakewalk for him. Last year he swept the Hawks in this round, this year there is the potential for him to go 6-7 games in round 2.

In round 3, there is a tough Boston team that could take him more than 5 games as well.

IMO before he reaches the finals he is likely playing at least 4 more games than he usually does, this is with the added minutes in the regular season as well. He'll likely be playing a motivated and better GSW. If he wins it all, IMO he sits next to MJ as number 2 all time.

bluejays · 03-27-2017, 07:36 PM

Yeah, I'm with you on the Lebron analysis. I don't think he has it against the tougher competition though. Question, because this is debatable, but would you take Lebron over Kobe?

killer_carlson · 03-27-2017, 10:39 PM

yes. I take Lebron over Kobe.

Senator Clay Davis · 03-29-2017, 08:41 PM

Would you take Russ over both of them? Of course not lol, but he is pretty much a lock to average a triple double now. With eight games left needs 52 rebound and 62 assists to do it, so 6.5 rebounds and just under 8 assists a game should be easily doable, especially when you can drop 57, 13 and 13 like he did tonight. Not bad.

octothorp · 03-30-2017, 10:45 AM

Disappointed that the Raptors squandered one of the best games JV has played this season. The scoring and rebounding was all fine, but his defense was as good as it's ever been. Despite the loss I don't have a big problem with how they played, except that they could have run the game at a quicker tempo and maybe worn Charlotte down more before the fourth, but a quick pace isn't the Raptors' preferred style either.

Big news last night is Lowry taking shots with his injured hand. Still no timetable, but it certainly looks like steady progress.

St. Pats · 03-30-2017, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by octothorp

Disappointed that the Raptors squandered one of the best games JV has played this season. The scoring and rebounding was all fine, but his defense was as good as it's ever been. Despite the loss I don't have a big problem with how they played, except that they could have run the game at a quicker tempo and maybe worn Charlotte down more before the fourth, but a quick pace isn't the Raptors' preferred style either.

Big news last night is Lowry taking shots with his injured hand. Still no timetable, but it certainly looks like steady progress.

Yep the BIG news is indeed Lowry taking shots. That they are having to go toe to toe with clubs like Charlotte just shows they aren't good enough. They have managed to scrape by without Lowry but clearly aren't going anywhere without him in the lineup. I'm hoping for 3 or 4 games before the playoffs.

They gel quickly enough and with their much improved defenses they have a legit shot. Especially with the Cavs stumbling down the final stretch. Yeah no doubt they turn it on for the playoffs but they don't look near as strong as last year.

Funny isn't though how as a Raps fan you can't go into a playoffs with confidence. Despite winning seasons and player improvement and good additions. You still don't know what you will get from them. Can only hope for the best!