Toronto Raptors 2013/14 Season

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by moon

What's the point of this point other than to make up crap about me and take thread the way off course ?

It's not making anything up, it's going off the observations I, and others, have made about your posting style. With regards to teams you cheer for, you always have ready-made excuses as to why they lost. When it comes to teams you don't cheer for or cheer against, you rarely if ever give them any credit, pointing to other factors for their success.

And by the way pulling out this one?

As to your question no I am not a Heat fan but have got tired of all the crap LeBron and the Heat got for doing nothing wrong at all. I am a Raptors fan but it is tough based on all the crap teams they have had, stupid moves they make and having an unlikable team.

Is pretty hilarious. I don't think we've seen a single positive comment from you in this thread regarding the Raptors. Considering where they've been and how they've played this year, the fact you can't find anything, at all, positive to say makes you either are not a fan, or are one of the worst fans ever. And really? Unlikeable? No, the Heat are unlikeable with the floppers they have, Wade being dirty as he is and Bosh being the ultimate tag-along. The Raptors? What is unlikeable about them? Can't wait to see the response (and the defense of the Heat too).

[moon]

I have said last season and this year I do not like make up of the Raptors team. So no I don't see a ton of positives outside if JV progressing (although not as much as I would like).

They are unlikable because I can't stand a high volume, low effective scorer like DD. The fact that he is a turnstile on defense doesn't make him much more likeable. Lowry is a Dbag who plays when he wants so nice to see him trying this year but he was frustrating before this year and hard to forget that. Fields a horrible, dumb contract, Johnson is a meh guy not likeable or dislikable, Hansborough is Tar Heel scum and his fake tough guy act is tiresome for him and others that try it. Ross frustrating to watch him only be able to shoot and dunk and the shooting is way too hit and miss.

Another reason is the TO media (Tim and Sid, Doug Smith, Grange) constantly overrating these guys. Not the Raptors fault but annoying nonetheless.

I like that they finally canned Colangelo and think Ijiri could be a step I the right direction.

My main issue though is the seemingly happiness from the team and many fans with mediocrity. The team has zero shot at a title and very few pieces in place that could be the core of a championship team. Maybe JV could be the 3rd best guy on a title team, but other than that they have a lot of peripheral pieces of what would be a title contender and they seem happy to continue in that path.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Antithesis

It's cray that even in the midst of this run they are on, the Raptors haven't really separated themselves from the teams in their immediate vicinity.

Over the last 10 games, they have:

Gained 1 game on Chicago
Stayed even with Brooklyn
Gained 1 game on Washington

It has been a real blast to watch this team recently. Definitely looking forward to seeing how they can perform in the playoffs.

Yeah, I see this as being a great pressure situation for them, having a bunch of teams chasing them and playing at a high winning percentage, forcing them to never take a game off the rest of the way. Given that Toronto has a relatively easy schedule, they could otherwise fall into some bad habits.

Also, my take on likeability of individual Raptors:
DeRozan: I'm not a fan of his game, but his effort level and commitment to self-improvement is tremendous.
Lowry: My favorite guy on the Raptors, and possibly my favorite Raptor ever. His effort level has never been less than 100%, but he's understanding how to turn his effort level into a winning style of basketball.
Ross: Articulate, smart guy. His potential as a 3-and-D guy makes him one of the true 'championship pieces' on this team.
Valanciunas: His growth is a little slower than I hoped (although playing great since the all-star break and is beasting again today). But I don't see how Canadians can't love a basketball player who loves icefishing and bison meat.
Johnson: Gritty, lunchbucket guy who plays through more injuries than anyone else on the team, I suspect. His love of the city he plays in enough to make him likeable.
Fields: Meh. Nice guy, but is pretty-much broken as a player right now, due to factors beyond his control.
Hansborough: I don't really like him, but he's masterful at drawing fouls, and I love having that skillset on the team (wish Casey would take advantage of it more).

[EricCartman]

Originally Posted by moon

I have said last season and this year I do not like make up of the Raptors team. So no I don't see a ton of positives outside if JV progressing (although not as much as I would like).

They are unlikable because I can't stand a high volume, low effective scorer like DD. The fact that he is a turnstile on defense doesn't make him much more likeable. Lowry is a Dbag who plays when he wants so nice to see him trying this year but he was frustrating before this year and hard to forget that. Fields a horrible, dumb contract, Johnson is a meh guy not likeable or dislikable, Hansborough is Tar Heel scum and his fake tough guy act is tiresome for him and others that try it. Ross frustrating to watch him only be able to shoot and dunk and the shooting is way too hit and miss.

Another reason is the TO media (Tim and Sid, Doug Smith, Grange) constantly overrating these guys. Not the Raptors fault but annoying nonetheless.

I like that they finally canned Colangelo and think Ijiri could be a step I the right direction.

My main issue though is the seemingly happiness from the team and many fans with mediocrity. The team has zero shot at a title and very few pieces in place that could be the core of a championship team. Maybe JV could be the 3rd best guy on a title team, but other than that they have a lot of peripheral pieces of what would be a title contender and they seem happy to continue in that path.

Demar DeRozan hasn't been very efficient until this year, but this year he's gone to the line 7 times a game and makes 80 percent of those free throws. He might not shoot 45% yet, but it's not like he's ineffective.

Lowry is a D Bag triple double threat every night.

As far as Ross is concerned he could do more, but his role on this team is to shoot 3's and defend which makes him the perfect complimentary piece.

Agree with Fields. That was a Colangelo contract though.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by moon

I have said last season and this year I do not like make up of the Raptors team. So no I don't see a ton of positives outside if JV progressing (although not as much as I would like).

They are unlikable because I can't stand a high volume, low effective scorer like DD. The fact that he is a turnstile on defense doesn't make him much more likeable. Lowry is a Dbag who plays when he wants so nice to see him trying this year but he was frustrating before this year and hard to forget that. Fields a horrible, dumb contract, Johnson is a meh guy not likeable or dislikable, Hansborough is Tar Heel scum and his fake tough guy act is tiresome for him and others that try it. Ross frustrating to watch him only be able to shoot and dunk and the shooting is way too hit and miss.

Another reason is the TO media (Tim and Sid, Doug Smith, Grange) constantly overrating these guys. Not the Raptors fault but annoying nonetheless.

I like that they finally canned Colangelo and think Ijiri could be a step I the right direction.

My main issue though is the seemingly happiness from the team and many fans with mediocrity. The team has zero shot at a title and very few pieces in place that could be the core of a championship team. Maybe JV could be the 3rd best guy on a title team, but other than that they have a lot of peripheral pieces of what would be a title contender and they seem happy to continue in that path.

Have you actually watched games this year? Cuz almost all your points are about past years.

To be honest I expected JV to take a much bigger step after the Gay trade but it hasn't happened but you're somewhat happy about his progression. People who watch the game can tell he defence is quite bad and offence game clicks sometimes. Hes good for 10+ rebounds a night though. To me he's been a disappointment this year.

DD isn't efficient but then again more high scorers aren't look at the number of shots big scorers jackup, they have to shoot more to score more. I'm not a DD fan but he has improved this year.

You're bitching about Lowry last year? The whole team was a mess even prior to the Gay trade. He has brought his game to a much higher level. Definitely the MVP of this team. He has played his heart out.

Fields barely plays and was handed the dumb contract by BC, again a thing of past. All teams have some stupid contracts sitting on the bench.

Hansbrough Tar Heel scum, again living in the past. He has brought some toughness to this team no doubt, fake or not he brings it.

Ross has been playing some decent defence this year and his 3 point shooting has improved.

Your next issue is the media? the fans? the team itself being happy with itself? I'm not sure if you noticed but people generally are happy when good things happen! They're winning games! What do you want from them? bitch and complain that they want Durant to join the team?

The fact you're happy with JV's progression and still pissed about the rest is clear that you don't watch the games and are just in here to bitch about the past.

[moon]

I said JV hasn't progressed as much as I would like but he is better than he was last year. I am not happy with where he is but the fact he isn't a big white stuff like many Euros are shows something.

I certainly haven't watched all the games this year, tough to listen to Matt Devlin that much, but seen a lot if their games .

[RemyD]

"Demar DeRozan hasn't been very efficient until this year, but this year he's gone to the line 7 times a game and makes 80 percent of those free throws. He might not shoot 45% yet, but it's not like he's ineffective."

Yup!

[flames_fan_down_under]

Good win for the Raps tonight after the Pelicans came on firing like crazy in the 1st quarter. They keep pace with the group around them too as Chicago and Brooklyn both with wins tonight.

[St. Pats]

They have been playing with very little intensity of late. The trade boost long since worn off. They were pathetic in the first half against the Pelicans. Worst half of the losing streak. They need all their bodies healthy and playing hard defensively to even have an outside chance at a playoff round win. Heck they need it just to win regular season games.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

They have been playing with very little intensity of late. The trade boost long since worn off. They were pathetic in the first half against the Pelicans. Worst half of the losing streak. They need all their bodies healthy and playing hard defensively to even have an outside chance at a playoff round win. Heck they need it just to win regular season games.

They've won 6 of 9 in March, with some fairly tough games in there.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Feels like March Madness watching the end of this game. What a shot by Lowry.

[bluejays]

God damn, this is a nice end. Errors on both sides.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Durant is in another world sometimes. Most dangerous offensive player since MJ for sure. Horrible loss for the Raptors though, cannot lose a game up 8 with 50 seconds left.

[bluejays]

Salmons really screwed up at the end. Tough loss.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Durant>>>>>Lebron. Salmons sure isn't going to be liked in T.O. over the next few days.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Some more superlatives on the incredible Kevin Durant. First player since 1992 (gee I wonder who...) to have 50+ points, 12+ rebounds and 7+ assists. He had 5 of the top 8 scoring games this year and could legitimately have five 50 point games (He has two, also had two 48 and a 46 point game). He's at 34 straight games of 25+points and will likely break Jordan's record of 40 straight now that Westbrook figures to miss some time. Still has an outside shot at joining the 50-40-90 club (FG%, 3%, FT%). LeBron might be better all around as a player, but offensively it just isn't close. Durant is on another planet.

[Joborule]

Clinched playoff spot. Who saw that coming at the start of the year?

[Da_Chief]

No one! So happy for these guys, truly deserve it no matter what the haters say.

Lets go Raps.

[octothorp]

Magic number to clinch the division is down to 9, and the magic number to clinch the tiebreaker over Brooklyn is 2 division wins.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Great that one of my favorite teams will be in the playoffs this spring!