OT: Perkins/Simmons Feud lol (toronto mentioned)

[Scase]

I'm conflicted, both of them suck but both of them cant be wrong.

[Chuck Everett]

Perkins is right about Toronto though. If Ingram and Quickley are going to be wearing ugly fits on the sidelines then he's wrong. If they're actually suiting up though, the Raps will be a tough out. Not many teams, especially in the East, who will have a deeper cast of solid players.

[MoneyBall]

I like Bill Simmons, he's fun to listen to. I never take his opinions seriously because he doesn't either.

[Stromile12]

Bill is mad that he's a little dork

[NinjaBro]

I always did like Uncle Perk

[PoundTown]

East is pretty bad but I dont think Raps are top 6. I guess its possible to be 6-8...if all breaks right.

No way anyone thought it was possible for Detroit after being the worst team in league last year, I'd say we are way more likely next year to land in 6th than they were this year. East will be bad, injuries will happen/ have already happened; With some good health, this team can be top 6, no doubt in my mind.

[niQ]

If our main guys stay healthy, I don't think it's that farfetched. At the very least, we should be in that 6-8 range.

Pacers, Bucks, and Celtics all have key players missing extended time. (Was going to include Cleveland but I think the latest was that Garland would only miss around 10 regular season games.) Celtics also traded away Jrue and KP.
ATL will be interesting but will also be at the mercy of KP and JJ's injury history.
Philly will always have to deal with Embiid's knees and sometimes PG's availability.

As weird as it sounds, I think the top records next year may be Cleveland, Orlando, and Knicks. Of course, that also depends on their health.
Banchero and Wagner somehow both suffered torn right oblique injuries last season.

[ontnut]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Since Bill is so negative on Toronto making it top 6, let's see him put his money where his mouth is.

Open challenge to Mr. Bill Simmons (I assume this might get to him somehow). $10k bet. I get a 3% edge on whatever the first Vegas odds that comes out for Raptors to make top 6 is (to account for bookie margins and Bill's confidence).

I'll parlay the 9:1 odds I just cashed on OKC winning the '24-25 chip that I placed June 2024 lol.

Raps realgm: I'm not on Twitter/X but feel free to repost this challenge.

[djsunyc]

while the east is wide open, it is not easy. going into the season:

favorites right now have to be ny and cle.

but orlando, boston, hawks, indy (prove it season), pistons, 76ers will all be decent to good teams. bucks, bulls and heat won't tank.

wizards and hornets won't be pushovers.

only the nets look like the outright tanking team going into the season.

injuries and trades could change things but our success next season is going to depend a lot on chemistry and health luck. there will be expectations on masai, darko, and the players. i'm optimistic but the path to top 6 is not going to be an easy road.

[ontnut]

while the east is wide open, it is not easy. going into the season:

favorites right now have to be ny and cle.

but orlando, boston, hawks, indy (prove it season), pistons, 76ers will all be decent to good teams. bucks, bulls and heat won't tank.

wizards and hornets won't be pushovers.

only the nets look like the outright tanking team going into the season.

injuries and trades could change things but our success next season is going to depend a lot on chemistry and health luck. there will be expectations on masai, darko, and the players. i'm optimistic but the path to top 6 is not going to be an easy road.

If you're a betting person, I'd take whatever odds you can on ORL to win the East, or finish top 3. But make sure you have a cash out option in case of injury/whatever. I'm buying ORL stock low right now, but I'm not sure then can clutch it out. I'm also buying Raptors stock to be a 4-6 seed.

[CPT]

I hate Perkins and love Simmons, but this is a weird hill for anyone to die on.

I feel like 5-6 is our absolute ceiling next season, so it’s not outrageous that we might finish 7th or lower.

I honestly think Perk just says stuff whether he believes it or not, and while Simmons believes most of what he says, he either actually hates the Raptors/Canada (I think this is part of it), or he figured out years ago that Raptors fans are insane and will drive clicks and downloads.

[The Duke]

When Perk says “top 6”, it means “6th ceiling”

[Scott Hall]

Man oh man oh Man!!!!

A perfect storm is brewing!!!!

Anybody who knows me would know I keep it 100% real and I'm not the stereotypical Toronto delusional Homer that over hypes and over rates our players and team.

I've got some good news for you there is gonna be some major money to be made off the Raptors next year and it's gonna be GLORIOUS!!! I'm not even a gambler and I will not miss this upcoming Gravy Train that is gonna be made off of all the casuals.

Not only is most of the league oblivious to what has been going on but even a contingent of our fanbase is.I even got in a massive debate with a guy on Raps Twitter last night about it before he tapped out.

It took casuals years to finally wake up and catch on to Siakam, OG, Fred and Norm...

Meet the new generation Ja'Kobe, Gradey, Shead, Ochai, CMB, Martin and possibly Battle. Now I'm not saying they will be as good as the previous group but they don't have to be to do damage in a wounded horrific Eastern Conference but these guys are gonna be quality NBA players and a lot of them will be blossoming in the 2nd half of next season.

There is a reason why Masai traded for Ingram and that was before we knew of all the injuries about to happen and some people have completely been sleeping on Brandon Ingram because of the injuries and being in that dumpster fire down in New Orleans.

The biggest X-Factor ironically will be "The face of the NBA" Scottie Gump Barnes. You never know what to expect from him year to year but the defense is great and we just need his shot to get closer to what it was 2 years ago. I also think breaking his hand then getting the Jokic elbow to the eye had something to do with it regressing. If he does continue to suck offensively and there is no improvement in his handle we have enough scorers to limit his touches and Ingram will help stop him from getting double teams.

Free Agency hasn't started yet and a lot is to be determined but as of right now the only teams that concern me are Cleveland and New York. I'm also curious to see what Philly and Bostons final roster looks like so I'll reserve judgment on them.

But I definitely could see the Raptors making the ECF or Semi Finals next year and nobody will see it coming except for a select few hardcores.

I've known Bill Simmons was a complete fraud since the first time I ever came across his work in 2004 and 21 years later nothing has changed. I've also known Kendrick Perkins is one of the best NBA analysts since 2019 when he was literally the only one on TV that knew the Raptors were legit contenders and gonna win the tittle.

The new Jurassic World movie that's come out this summer is a perfect omen and indicative of the future.... let's just say they're not the only pack of Dinosaurs about to sneak up on everyone sleeping and attack.

Quote the Raven nevermore

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[Tripod]

We finishing 5th

[canz55]

I'd be happy with 7th.

[HumbleRen]

I think Bill just starts shaking whenever someone says anything nice about the Raptors lol.

That man hasn’t said a peep about the Knicks fans cheering when Tatum tore his Achilles but will bring up the KD thing still 5 years later. He’s a clown.