2022 Toronto Raptors Thread

[The Big Chill]

Middleton has reached an elite level of whining.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Nearly blew it with some abysmal free throw shooting at the end there, but a win is a win.

[mile]

Four in a row!

[Hockey_Ninja]

Just when I thought playoffs weren’t going to be a possibility this year, the boys pull me back in

[The Big Chill]

That game got pretty intense in the 4th. Nice little win and the team finally seems to be on a roll. Siakam has been incredible lately.

[octothorp]

The number of 3-point buzzer-beater wins in the league insane right now... those two DeRozan ones, Kevin Porter Jr last night, and now RJ Barrett tonight.

Meanwhile, Utah's now checking in with a mile-long injury report, so the Raptors' run of catching good teams missing stars continues (but I'm not complaining!).

[GirlySports]

wow, the Utah lineup tonight.

[Karl]

FVV carrying the Raptors.

[Karl]

Triple double for Steady Freddie.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Credit to Utah, that was a very game effort and made that much harder than it appeared. Pretty good chance Van Vleet will be considered the best undrafted player of all-time when he retires.

[Trojan97]

5 in a row. Fred is the man.

[bluejays]

Fred is certainly the man on the team, but this team is definitely not a playoff contender. It's great that they have a hardworking group and good management, but this is a year they need to tank. There have also been a few publications that boldly predicted Fred would be dealt at the deadline. I'm not against it completely because they'd be selling at an absolute high, but I don't know who you'd replace him with? They have zero confidence is Flynn. Personally he's young enough to keep and build around him and Barnes, so tanking would be the best situation. Anyway, the team is in a tough spot because they're definitely pretenders this year. Gotta get that high pick to build around.

[mile]

Would be shocked if Fred went anywhere. I think there's zero chance that happens. He's Lowry's successor as the emotional heart of the team, and is already a better player than he was at the same age.

I think the tank that needed to happen for this team already happened last year, to come out of that miserable season in Tampa with Barnes (who I think is a future franchise player, but I might be overrating him) was an absolute win. If they finish at the bottom this season I have no problem with that and another lottery pick would be amazing, but I don't get the sense that management is even expecting this. They want to see development and signs that the key pieces on this team can play together and be competitive.

This team isn't a playoff contender right now, but I like the upside of all of our starters and see them as building blocks for a contender. It's the bench scoring and undersized bigs that have been responsible for most of our losses this season and I fully trust Masai's ability to fill those holes without the need of another lottery pick - whether it's a mid-1st rounder, FA, or trade.

Flynn has had plenty of opportunities for a late 1st-rounder, but he's been very disappointing every time I've watched him. I have my doubts that he is NBA-caliber, but the same could be said about Fred at points in his first three years so who knows. On the other hand I really like the tools Banton has, the Raptors probably favour him over Flynn right now.

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by fleury

Fred is certainly the man on the team, but this team is definitely not a playoff contender. It's great that they have a hardworking group and good management, but this is a year they need to tank. There have also been a few publications that boldly predicted Fred would be dealt at the deadline. I'm not against it completely because they'd be selling at an absolute high, but I don't know who you'd replace him with? They have zero confidence is Flynn. Personally he's young enough to keep and build around him and Barnes, so tanking would be the best situation. Anyway, the team is in a tough spot because they're definitely pretenders this year. Gotta get that high pick to build around.

The league is so wide open right now tho. No harm in hanging around and remaining competitive for a few years to see if you can land a big piece via trade or FA to catapult you to contender status again. Or perhaps Scottie evolves into a big time player and one of the good young Canadians decides to come home in a couple years.

I agree the full teardown is necessary in basketball when it's rebuild time but I don't think this team is there yet.

Note to mention they seem put a really high value on the culture within the organization that has been built in the last handful of years and I would be surprised to see them go out of their way to challenge its strength anytime soon.

[octothorp]

Yeah, I don't think there's any chance the Raptors trade one of their big pieces. It's a tough year for tanking, because of all that parity and because it's generally thought to be a pretty weak draft class.

Like Miles said, the starters are fine, but the bench is thin and inexperienced and lacking a couple critical roles (a true big and a scorer). With a league-average bench, this is a top 4 team in the east.

Heat, Nets, Bulls, and to a lesser extent the Bucks have a short win-now window due to contracts and age. Raptors salary situation is perfectly positioned for a window opening in 2023-24, when a lot of those teams are past their peak.

[corporatejay]

the proper move is to be an organization people respect so depth players will want to sign with you and then hope you can get a big free agent when the time is right (or get lucky on the draft).

There's no real point in going all in on tanking. Has that strategy worked?

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

the proper move is to be an organization people respect so depth players will want to sign with you and then hope you can get a big free agent when the time is right (or get lucky on the draft).

There's no real point in going all in on tanking. Has that strategy worked?

In basketball it’s worked endlessly if the tank acquires you a highly talented player. I don’t know what this years draft looks like, but assuming it’s bad as other have pointed out, maybe tanking isn’t the greatest route. But if they do see a top five they want and they can deal Siakam, having a solid four players to kickstart the push would be great. It’s still a star driven league not only call wise, but tendency to win-wise. Gotta have a solid starting five at minimum.

[octothorp]

Incredibly entertaining and frustrating game. Hitting even their average on foul shots or open 3s and they probably win this. Suns' sustained defensive intensity was really impressive and something the Raptors should learn from.

[Mathgod]

No Barnes, No Trent Jr, went toe to toe vs one of the top teams. Raptors will be fine.

[savemedrzaius]

That Suns v Raps game had playoff intensity. Imagine if fans were in the building. Even with the loss it was a great game.