Morse Code wrote:everdiso wrote:YoungD23 wrote:
You cannot bring the ESPN list into any discussion lol, everyone but ESPN knows that it's a joke.
I can't knock on your opinion but I guess time will tell. For me, this roster is not going to get the job done but I know this team is preparing for the off-season/FAs.
I'm excited to see the growth of the young guys but for me, this roster won't get the job done.
Ok, well I have my opinion, the opinion of
all the stats, and even the opinion of sites like ESPN.
Were you surprised that the raps finished 2nd overall last year?
I generally find you to be a very logical poster, but bro, who are we beating in the east with that team?
Philly?
Miami?
Brooklyn?
Milwaukee?
Boston?
That’s already 5 teams that are better than us as currently constructed. Even if we get lucky and beat one of them, we’re not getting through to the conference finals and certainly not the finals. I will bet money that we are a first round out this year if the roster stays in tact.
I'm with everdiso
Teams that come back essentially intact may improve, or fall-back, but they not likely drop a bunch in the standings. For the raptors, they are coming back with the same coach, most of the same staff, will have continuity in terms of schemes and style, and even come back with most of their line-up -- about 80% of last year's minutes played (Gasol + Ibaka missed 46 games last year and combined for 15% of minutes played) including 6 of their top 7 by VORP
Now you can assume that last year's 53-19 was a fluke. You can assume the shift from Gasol/Ibaka to Baynes/Len/Boucher will cost them. You can assume that a bunch of high IQ players 23-27 yrs old, who have improved every year they've played, will stop improving. All of these are risks. My guess is that they don't do as well, but still end up with home court in the playoffs.
But what makes me most optimistic for the RS is that the Raptors have a winning culture based on defence, and I don't think that will change/disappear this year. When you always play hard and only play guys who play good defence, you're in every game. I expect them to be top 5 in the league in the RS.
The playoffs are a different story. The game slows down, there is less emphasis on the fast break, and half-court execution and player size matter more -- all of which is to the Raptors disadvantage. The Raptors weaknesses of defensive rebounding and a lack of a dominant go-to scorer also show up mostly in the playoffs. Even with that, the Raptors are probably a second round team i.e. top 8.
For a gap year waiting on the 2021 off-season, that's great positioning. A lucky break or two, or some unexpected player growth, could get them to the ECF. That is one mighty high treadmill, and a joy to watch.
