Toronto Raptors 2013/14 Season

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by octothorp

DeRozan really needs to step up. I've been saying all season, I didn't think his game would translate to the playoffs, but I was happy he'd get the opportunity to prove me wrong. So far, I'm still waiting him to show anything that looks like a playoff performer.

Very nice, young man. Hitting all those shots down the stretch is tough, and even a few smart passing plays. And a good job of Casey to get a matchup to protect him on defense. Fields might never score again in his NBA career (or even take another shot for that matter), but he does enough other things that it's okay.

[jayswin]

I personally really don't trust the way these games are officiated, especially with the series moving to Brooklyn. I know I'm in the minority, but it really is amazing how game changing the refs can be in this sport with "blown" or "missed" calls.

Probably nothing, but still, something just doesn't seem right about it.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by flameswin

I personally really don't trust the way these games are officiated, especially with the series moving to Brooklyn. I know I'm in the minority, but it really is amazing how game changing the refs can be in this sport with "blown" or "missed" calls.

Probably nothing, but still, something just doesn't seem right about it.

Well its just the NBA system of refereeing. It's the star system where the teams/players who are stars get many calls that others do not. Ironically the Raptors now have a player who apparently qualifies in DeRozan. Amazingly he averaged more free throw attempts this year than LeBron.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Well its just the NBA system of refereeing. It's the star system where the teams/players who are stars get many calls that others do not. Ironically the Raptors now have a player who apparently qualifies in DeRozan. Amazingly he averaged more free throw attempts this year than LeBron.

I'm kind of new to the sport. So it's honestly just common knowledge that the game isn't called fair?

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by flameswin

I'm kind of new to the sport. So it's honestly just common knowledge that the game isn't called fair?

Yup. It goes back pretty far. There has been legit rigging that has happened (Look up the 2002 series between the Lakers and Kings)

[Senator Clay Davis]

It's the NBA. It's entertaining but the league emphasizes stars more than any other league by far. Without their stars the TV ratings tend to go in the tank. The Raptors are an interesting case because of course Toronto is a huge market, but it doesn't drive the numbers in America.

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

Looks like they won the NBA Championship... relax Toronto.. still have a long way to go.

It is not illegal to celebrate a playoff win even though they only won one game. They are hungry for a win. I can't even remember when was the last time they played in the playoff.

[jayswin]

Haha, wait, so this isn't even really a legitimate sport?

I mean, I guess if most teams had star players it should in theory even out, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Senator Clay Davis]

It's legitimate-ish, but its the league with the most questionable history for sure. I mean the shots still have to be made, the NBA would just prefer for it to be big markets or teams that draw. The league wishes it could have Lakers-Knicks/Celtics every single year, but the Knicks suck and the Celtics only recent title was a one shot deal. The Lakers on the other hand have played in half the NBA Finals since they were bought by Jerry Buss (1979). The NBA doesn't have parity at all.

[DiracSpike]

I honestly don't think the reffing is any worse in the NBA, calls in hockey seem way more subjective to me but maybe that's just because I know less about the sport. Anyway I thought the calls were even tonight, both teams got some bogus calls. It bodes pretty well for the raps that they've played two mediocre games and are tied. They're KILLING the Nets on the glass and that's an inherent advantage to how they stack up against Brooklyn, should work in their favor for the remainder of the series.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by DiracSpike

I honestly don't think the reffing is any worse in the NBA, calls in hockey seem way more subjective to me but maybe that's just because I know less about the sport. Anyway I thought the calls were even tonight, both teams got some bogus calls. It bodes pretty well for the raps that they've played two mediocre games and are tied. They're KILLING the Nets on the glass and that's an inherent advantage to how they stack up against Brooklyn, should work in their favor for the remainder of the series.

Yeah, the only sequence where I had a problem with the refs tonight was where Amir got called for a block at one end, then at the other end there was a charge on a Raptors (I think DeRozan) on an almost identical play. Other than that, I thought it was called roughly evenly both ways, a few missed or blown calls either way, but nothing outlandish.

[kobasew19]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Yeah, the only sequence where I had a problem with the refs tonight was where Amir got called for a block at one end, then at the other end there was a charge on a Raptors (I think DeRozan) on an almost identical play. Other than that, I thought it was called roughly evenly both ways, a few missed or blown calls either way, but nothing outlandish.

I dunno about that, how about the Valanciunas block where the Nets player was behind the backboard and really had no shot. Valanciunas gets all ball but somehow gets called for the foul. Reffing is so horsepoo sometime.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by kobasew19

I dunno about that, how about the Valanciunas block where the Nets player was behind the backboard and really had no shot. Valanciunas gets all ball but somehow gets called for the foul. Reffing is so horsepoo sometime.

Watch it get seriously bad when they are in Brooklyn. They are going to have to up their game considerably to offset that and home court advantage for the Nets. Winning one there will be a whole lot tougher.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

Watch it get seriously bad when they are in Brooklyn. They are going to have to up their game considerably to offset that and home court advantage for the Nets. Winning one there will be a whole lot tougher.

A young Canadian team will get no respect from the refs. On the whole I think these two teams are evenly matched but I think the refs will hand the Nets the series.

[OzSome]

Ref favouring Brooklyn or not, Raptors needs to eliminate the turnovers. I know a lot of people loves Vasquez around here but everytime I see him play, he tends to make a lot of turnovers. Not saying he is a bad player but he tries to force the play a lot of times and when there is no play, he tends to throw the ball. When he is not forcing, the guy can play. I was glad that Casey took him off the last 4 minutes of the game.

I was very impressed with Landry's play. I am not a huge fan of him but he did a great job defending against Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce. He didn't contribute offensively but they have Derozan, JV, Ross, Lowry and others for that. Patterson is another guy I thought did well especially when he was playing alongside Amir. Derozan and Lowry I think are playing well since Rudy Gay got traded. I noticed Lowry decision-making are a lot better than before. I was not impressed with him earlier on. I thought he was just an average PG in the NBA and not the difference maker but he gets better. I definitely think that if the Raptors needed to win late in the game, i would be happy to see that ball being handle by Lowry or Derozan.
Game 3 in Brooklyn. I hope the Raptors wins on the road. I just can't stand Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by OzSome

Ref favouring Brooklyn or not, Raptors needs to eliminate the turnovers. I know a lot of people loves Vasquez around here but everytime I see him play, he tends to make a lot of turnovers. Not saying he is a bad player but he tries to force the play a lot of times and when there is no play, he tends to throw the ball. When he is not forcing, the guy can play. I was glad that Casey took him off the last 4 minutes of the game.

I was very impressed with Landry's play. I am not a huge fan of him but he did a great job defending against Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce. He didn't contribute offensively but they have Derozan, JV, Ross, Lowry and others for that. Patterson is another guy I thought did well especially when he was playing alongside Amir. Derozan and Lowry I think are playing well since Rudy Gay got traded. I noticed Lowry decision-making are a lot better than before. I was not impressed with him earlier on. I thought he was just an average PG in the NBA and not the difference maker but he gets better. I definitely think that if the Raptors needed to win late in the game, i would be happy to see that ball being handle by Lowry or Derozan.
Game 3 in Brooklyn. I hope the Raptors wins on the road. I just can't stand Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

I would think the turnovers will come down if they can stretch the series out. They are a young inexperienced team. That they wouldn't cope well with the change from the half pace regular season to the frenetic pace of the playoffs was to be expected. What really needs to happen is they start with what got them here in the first place and that is defense. Fields coming into the lineup helped a lot but they where is that scrambling D they showed in a lot of their best wins.

They have the rebounding advantage and if they can match them for defensive intensity then the games are up for grabs.

Will be very revealing for MU as their character will be exposed the next two games. We will see if Casey can get them back to playing solid defensively because he will be under the microscope as well.

[octothorp]

The problem on offence is that Brooklyn's willingness to switch on screens all the time is taking away the best part of the Raptors high-screen, P&R offence, while not producing a matchup that the Raptors can really take advantage of; it also changes the timing of all of those screen plays, which I think is part of the reason for a lot of turnovers. If the perimeter players were making 3s, that would be one way of punishing them, but so far this series, that's not happening for either team.

They've also been swarming anyone in the paint, which I think the Raptors can exploit. So far, when the Raptors pass into the post player who hasn't established deep position, he either goes to the basket (and risks getting stripped) or takes too long to pass out and has lost any advantage.
Run some plays that are based around touch-passes into and out of the paint, so that you can catch the defenders in no-man's-land before they converge on the post player but after they've left their perimeter player. I'm not sure I trust JV's passing yet, but Amir and Patterson both should be able to run that. Maybe even Fields, though Brooklyn may not swarm him in the paint the same way.

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Nets have no answer for JV. Great way to establish the tone for the series.

I saw this on RealGM earlier today:

Stefan Bondy ‏@NYDNInterNets 2h Thing bout KG people don't see. Before/after games/practices, he's limping, he's deliberately slow, he has kiniseo tape all over his back

I could see Jonas taking it to an even higher level if he notices KG wilting as the series rolls on. He's getting his numbers right now on raw talent and athleticism, if he gains that killer instinct, look out!

[Tyler]

The reffing in this sport is so rigged. What a joke.

(I've been a Raptors fan for a week)

[Hockey_Ninja]

I seriously can't stand KG.