Toronto Raptors 2013/14 Season

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I assume you're talking about the decision not to foul? Good grief, I couldn't believe that. The decision to foul seemed so obvious for so many different reasons, but not to Casey.

Ya that's what I was referring to. With a 2 second differential on the game clock and shot clock, what could Casey have possibly thought would happen? Any shot pretty much ends the game. He didn't give his team a chance to win.

[kmart]

Dwayne Casey has got to be the dumbest coach in the NBA. First he doesn't play Val after he gets a double double before the fourth quarter started and then he goes and doesn't foul at the end of the game.

Him and his stupid small ball too, makes no sense.

[killer_carlson]

Rudy and DD struggle again. Lowry not great either.

When your main ball handlers refuse to pass the ball and continue to force up shots in games they dont have "it", the coach has to intervene and call some offensive sets.

[killer_carlson]

Interesting comments by Jack Armstrong on the Gay and Derozan ball hogging.

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=436397

Especially the part where opposing scouts and coaches have said the Raptors are an easy team to guard because of these two hogging the ball.

I'm surprised he wrote the article, but I think he is a big JV fan and wants to see JV get more looks in the post.

However, because it is the Raptors and I have zero confidence in Casey being able to coach an offensive scheme, we will continue with the Derozan and Gay isolation offence, with zero accountability demanded of either.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Great game right now. Rudy sends it to double OT.

[killer_carlson]

Raptors D has been great. Ross was outstanding before fouling out. Tough night for stats for him. He tipped or knocked the ball loose or steals that other guys got credit for.

Offence stunk until they started passing the ball half way though the 4th. Now in double OT it is back to standing around. Too bad because defensively they were great.

[killer_carlson]

Wow, i just checked the stats.

Derozan is 6 for 25 and 52 minutes played.
Rudy is 11 for 37
Lowry is 6 for 16

JV leads team in rebounds (13) and ASSISTS with a whopping 3!!!!!

That Derozan stays on the floor with that kind of ridiculous lack of production is embarassing.

[kmart]

@bruce_arthur: But volume RT @tomhaberstroh Most shots Kevin Love has taken in a game this season: 25. Durant: 24. LeBron: 20. Rudy Gay MISSED 26 tonight

Toronto registered just 10 assists on 114 FGA in 110-104 loss to Houston. Unprecedented back to 1985-86

Rudy Gay has 29 points on 36 shots, the 2nd fewest points since 1986 for a player with that many shots

So Kobe points up 81 on 46 shots and Gay puts up 29 on 36 shots.

[Hockey_Ninja]

I knew they didn't shoot well but I didn't think it was that bad. Makes Kobe & Carmelo's shooting percentages look good.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Colangelo did so very much wrong on his time with Toronto, but the Gay trade may be the worst of the worst. The Raptors took 30(!!!) more shots than the Rockets and lost. I'm not even sure how thats possible without extreme suckage.

[octothorp]

I missed the first 3 1/2 quarters of this one, but it sounds like just a bizarre game. The most worrying thing is that nobody from the coaching staff to the players see that shot selection is a problem.

[St. Pats]

They shot better against Memphis (not that they could have shot worse). They played some defense and Memphis looked uninterested. Just the kind of win they usually get / a meaningless one that does not help the tank. Of course the night before Wiggins just lit it up. The Raptors just don't get it. One of those sport franchises that just stays bad for decades and still has no clue how to change.

[Senator Clay Davis]

So...can the Raptors win the Atlantic? I know its still early, but goodness that division is a piece of crap. The Knicks are just awful, the Nets are totally lost at this point and the Celtics and Sixers are playing decent but shouldn't really be a threat. The window is wide open for the Raptors, they just need to dump Rudy (or DeMar, or both) for whatever they can get and make a run.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

So...can the Raptors win the Atlantic? I know its still early, but goodness that division is a piece of crap. The Knicks are just awful, the Nets are totally lost at this point and the Celtics and Sixers are playing decent but shouldn't really be a threat. The window is wide open for the Raptors, they just need to dump Rudy (or DeMar, or both) for whatever they can get and make a run.

Of course they could. In a year where there will be so many teams tanking for the likes of Wiggins and Parker the Raps could stupidly win some games. Not because they have any semblance of talent or coaching or a bench or anything else you care to name. But just because other teams will out think them yet again.

Toronto is NOT a destination for NBA elite players. Therefore they have only trades and the draft to get those top players. They have crappy assets to trade so that ain't an option. Leaving the draft where they at least managed to grab JV who fell to them.

They should have Gay, Derozan and Lowry heading out the door as soon as possible. But they likely will just continue to be the dumbo franchise they have been for decades.

So yeah this would be the year they would win the Atlantic.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Demar has been great so far. He's really put in the work. I wonder how high his value is right now.

[octothorp]

I think Ujiri's in about as good a position here as he could hope for: both options - building now, blowing it up - are still very much available to him, and he's had a good window to evaluate what he's got. He could make a couple moves and make this a division-winning team, or make a couple moves and make this a top lottery pick team. Tough thing is that they guys I'd like them to keep are the guys that probably have the best trade value (Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Hansborough), and in the case of Lowry and DeRozan, those are also the guys you need to move to get a high draft pick. Hopefully Gay is gone either way, but it's really hard to imagine what his value is... it would probably be okay if it wasn't for the $19 million player option for next year, but as it is, some team would need to be in a very desperate situation to take him. Amir is really struggling... I had hoped that the move to the bench today might have sparked him, but he still looks like he's going about half-speed from last year.

I loved the way Denver had 10 players today with 17 minutes or more. That's the sort of depth that I hope Ujiri can bring to the Raptors over time.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I went to bed and the Raptors were up by 27 points. I wake up and they lost by 9. Outscored 42-15 in the 4th quarter. With that it should officially be time to fire Casey and begin the tanking for that top 3 pick. Mediocrity is pointless so tank away because this roster isn't built to do anything at all and Casey is a career assistant. Masai has some mess to clean up.

[moon]

Might as well keep Casey there until the end of the year.

Hard to see them tanking with Gay still in the line-up. As much as he (and Derozan) kills them with terrible shots, hogging the ball and no defense he can score enough to win them a few extra games.

If Ujiri can dump those 2 boneheads (and if he does he should be GM of the Year) then they are able to go into full tank mode with Valcunias and Lowry as the focus of the offense. That should get them bottom 5 easily.

[St. Pats]

Actually just getting rid of Lowry should drop them to the bottom. Though he is pathetic at running the PnR he does play some defense and scores pts. The dropoff to the backup point guard is enormous. He could also trade Amir and then there goes defense big man wise. Leaving just the boneheads(with DD's horrific defense). JV don't matter as Casey is too stupid to make use of him.

Would take very little and then they wouldn't even be able to pull off wins against the lesser lights.

[Cheese]

Gay is traded to Sacramento
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=438544

Acy and Gray go,with him

Salmons, Vasquez, Patterson and Hayes come back