2019-20 Raptors and General NBA Thread

[flames_fan_down_under]

And they finish with a 46 point lead. Just domination from beginning to end.

[octothorp]

And to think that's without two key rotation players. I love where this team is at right now.

Surprised at Indiana: this was a real statement game opportunity for them, and they showed no resistance at all. I thought they'd take a step forward after getting Oladipo back, but they look worse than they have all season. I wonder if there might have been a bit of a sense of relief in getting him back, and guys have taken their foot off the gas. I still think they have the opportunity to turn it around and be the most dangerous of the lower-seeds in the playoffs.

[The Big Chill]

We are well into the stretch run here where the only thing left to decide for the top teams is playoff seeding. Tonight should provide a break from the monotony though with the Bucks in town. This Bucks team is one of the best ever regular season teams, and it will be very interesting to see how we match up against them.

I'm really looking forward to the game, hopefully it delivers. Both of these teams thrive on defense and ball movement, so it should be a highly entertaining game.

[edslunch]

Really curious how they measure up tonight

[MillerTime GFG]

A win tonight would change my mindset from "this team could win a couple rounds in the playoffs" to "this team has a chance to win another championship".

Could be a huge confidence booster tonight.

[octothorp]

One thing about Nurse is he's never going to sacrifice the big picture for a win in February. So I think he'll hold a lot of stuff back in terms of matchups and tactics. Like last year, he used Kawhi on Giannis very sparingly even though it was obviously the Raptors' best matchup on him, until game 3 of the ECF; Giannis couldn't fully adjust to that change mid-series. I think Nurse will be approaching it as seeing what different guys like OG and RHJ can do on Giannis, but will avoid tipping too much about how he actually plans to defend the Bucks the playoffs.

[Senator Clay Davis]

How about Bradley Beal dropping 53 and 55 points in back to back nights and losing both games? Gonna be wasting more of his career away in Washington sadly.

[The Big Chill]

Starters got their butts kicked tonight.

[Strange Brew]

I’m watching the Rockets and the Grizzlies and the Grizz are wearing throwback jerseys to when they joined the league. The jerseys actually say Vancouver on them. That’s really committing to the retro.

Not quite the same as say a Brooklyn Dodgers retro.

[The Big Chill]

What a lame finish. I can't believe a ref calls a super soft foul like that to decide the game.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Injuries really starting to pile up on the Raptors. Lowry out of the game at the moment to go along with Fred VanVleet, Ibaka and Gasol. It's been a struggle lately for sure.

Edit: looks like Lowry is back.

[The Big Chill]

Huge win tonight with Boston losing. Hopefully we get some bodies back soon. The injuries this season are getting ridiculous.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Well that was a great win. Boucher was incredible off the bench and Siakam, Powell and Lowry did the rest. Nice to end that small losing streak.

[Drake]

Kyrie Irving is about to be on his 7th head coach in 9 NBA seasons.

@wojepsn:
The Nets are mutually parting ways with coach Kenny Atkinson, league source tells ESPN.

[octothorp]

That's a weird and bad choice, I think. Atkinson did a great job of developing the young guys on the roster and getting them to where they're at, and just as some of the like LeVert are playing the best ball of their career, they let go of the guy most responsible to for making that happen?

I imagine ownership wasn't willing to commit on an extension that Atkinson thought he deserved, and ownership wants to let Irving and Durant pick the coach next year. Still weird they wouldn't just let it ride through the playoffs. Really curious to see where they go, as there aren't any fits right now that are a clear upgrade. Most of the former coaches available are either similar to Atkinson (like Joeger), notoriously non-star-player friendly, (Thibodeau), or have a history that disqualifies them (Lue). For what it's worth, I think there's always a lot of really talented assistant coaches in the league just waiting for their opportunity, but organizations where decisions are driven by stars and owners tend not to be great at identifying those guys.

As for Atkinson, he'd be a great pickup for the Knicks (or any other team with some young talent on their roster). Between him and Joeger, that's a couple really talented, experienced head coaches on the market.

[octothorp]

Norman Powell wins E.C. player of the week, with better than 30ppg over the last 3.

Tough call for Nurse when FVV comes back. Nurse likes his two PG lineups, but Norm's been killing it as a starter. Getting Gasol up to speed and back into the starting lineup would also give the Raptors a little more playmaking and flexibility to keep FVV coming off the bench.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Norman Powell wins E.C. player of the week, with better than 30ppg over the last 3.

Tough call for Nurse when FVV comes back. Nurse likes his two PG lineups, but Norm's been killing it as a starter. Getting Gasol up to speed and back into the starting lineup would also give the Raptors a little more playmaking and flexibility to keep FVV coming off the bench.

Aaand Powell goes off injured.

[The Big Chill]

OG out with injury now as well. What a crazy season. Hopefully they are both minor injuries.

[flames_fan_down_under]

OG is back on the floor. But losing Powell clearly sucks. I don't know what was more impressive in that first half, Siakam basically being unstoppable or Lowry being Lowry and pushing a great pace and draining clutch 3s. Anyways these are two teams I really enjoy watching.

[The Big Chill]

What a game! This team just doesn't quit. Somebody always steps up.