I was shocked to see Casey go BACK to JV with 5 minutes left and the clean up crew let Cleveland get a little too close for comfort.
JV gets a bogus offensive foul call then drills someone seconds later on the defensive end and has a staredown with the ref. Casey rightfully pulls him out.
It was good to see that they put him back in though. Shocking actually.
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"OOOOOOHHHHHHH those Russians" - Boney M
I didn't like today's game. JV was great but watching the 3's not go down was tough. I did like the adversity at the end as they need to experience those clutch situations as time goes on. They handled it well not getting wrapped up and instead dribbled it until the foul came. Well done.
Hated that Lowry/Williams/Vasquez/Patterson/Hayes lineup that started the fourth. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was going to be trouble for us, but I didn't know it was going to be that bad. Although credit to Phoenix for hitting a lot of threes, including a couple very tough ones (but too many wide-open corner or straight-away ones). Fantastic to see JV have a huge game like that; the Raptors have played a lot of teams that have the sorts of bigs who give him trouble (Grizzlies, Bulls, Magic), so it was great to see him just dominate an undersized team. His post moves looked fantastic today.
Need to take care of business against Atlanta now before that big measuring-stick game against Dallas on Friday.
Hated that Lowry/Williams/Vasquez/Patterson/Hayes lineup that started the fourth. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was going to be trouble for us, but I didn't know it was going to be that bad. Although credit to Phoenix for hitting a lot of threes, including a couple very tough ones (but too many wide-open corner or straight-away ones). Fantastic to see JV have a huge game like that; the Raptors have played a lot of teams that have the sorts of bigs who give him trouble (Grizzlies, Bulls, Magic), so it was great to see him just dominate an undersized team. His post moves looked fantastic today.
Need to take care of business against Atlanta now before that big measuring-stick game against Dallas on Friday.
Williams has been a fantastic addition because the players who came over in the Gay trade have faded. Patterson is OK but Vasquez has been awful. But that trade continues to propel them with Lou just filling the net. Hayes gives them some effective minutes against particular types of players but him getting a lot of playing time is not good.
I hope they didn't bring back JJ too soon. Was absolutely no need for him to play if he isn't 100%. That's a real blunder if they did so.
Raptors fans who are trying to temper their excitement for the season based on the current start, would be well-advised not to look at Hollinger's Playoff Odds.
Raptors fans who are trying to temper their excitement for the season based on the current start, would be well-advised not to look at Hollinger's Playoff Odds.
Depends on the category. Anybody who thought they weren't going to make the playoffs needs some mental help. The East sucks is a very true saying. Division repeat made total sense. 1st in the conference? Would have tempered that with the three clubs right below them. Washington, Cleveland and Chicago. Still would as it's too early.
My expectations for the year were win a round. Maybe win the 2nd round. They keep this up and I'm upping it to win two rounds and it's all gravy after that.
Williams has been a fantastic addition because the players who came over in the Gay trade have faded. Patterson is OK but Vasquez has been awful. But that trade continues to propel them with Lou just filling the net. Hayes gives them some effective minutes against particular types of players but him getting a lot of playing time is not good.
I hope they didn't bring back JJ too soon. Was absolutely no need for him to play if he isn't 100%. That's a real blunder if they did so.
Vasquez has been awful?
I disagree. It would be nice if he could be more efficient, but I think he has generally played quite well. He brings a lot of energy and aggressiveness from the bench and can also play the shooting guard spot with the starting unit. Not much more you can ask for from your backup PG.
Depends on the category. Anybody who thought they weren't going to make the playoffs needs some mental help. The East sucks is a very true saying. Division repeat made total sense. 1st in the conference? Would have tempered that with the three clubs right below them. Washington, Cleveland and Chicago. Still would as it's too early.
My expectations for the year were win a round. Maybe win the 2nd round. They keep this up and I'm upping it to win two rounds and it's all gravy after that.
I was meaning the 37% chance of winning a championship this year, specifically. And I totally understand why a prediction engine would give them that sort of forecast; thus far they're by far the most statistically superior team in the east, and which will give them better odds of a championship than any team in the hyper-competitive west. I'm just saying it would be absurd for any Raptors fan to start thinking that we've got a 1/3 chance of a championship this year.
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I was meaning the 37% chance of winning a championship this year, specifically. And I totally understand why a prediction engine would give them that sort of forecast; thus far they're by far the most statistically superior team in the east, and which will give them better odds of a championship than any team in the hyper-competitive west. I'm just saying it would be absurd for any Raptors fan to start thinking that we've got a 1/3 chance of a championship this year.
Yep I was taking the long way around of agreeing with you. I up them a round based on the end of last year continuing on this early season but championship --not a chance. Unless MU has something up his sleeve.
Man. What a team. No selfish players on this team jacking shots up that they shouldn't. Seems like each guy steps up when it's time and then steps back and supports someone else when it's theirs. Loads of fun.
13 points up on the Hawks with about 3 and a half minutes to go.
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Solo best record in the NBA....for like 3 more hours but still. Hopefully not the last time this year. Raps can win a lot of different ways which always helps come playoff time.
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