Yeezus_ wrote:ItsDanger wrote:Raps roster is the anti "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts".
What about last season when they collectively outperformed expectations?
East has gotten better this year. Last year we finished above:
Nets - kyrie was in and out of the lineup, then simmons didn't play for the second half
Cavs - they were better than us for most of the season until they got the injury bug. They also added Mitchell this season
Hawks - big disappointment last year and added an allstar in the summer
Pacers - improved after having Haliburton for the full season
Teams that were above us last year are still above us this year (Celtics, Bucks, Sixers, Heat)
These teams all improved in the summer (whether through new additions or health) and we stayed the same. Staying the same while other teams improve is taking a step back.
Furthermore, our players have played insane amount of minutes and it's starting to take a toll. Opposing teams have figured out our scrambling, turnover focused defense and have adjusted. The lack of rim protector is really showing more this year.
Raptors are absolutely less than a sum of their parts due to the poor fit. Our top 6 are good to great players in a vacuum but they just have too many overlapping skill sets. It worked last season when we caught teams by surprise and other teams had their own issues to deal with (detailed above).