So sad to see BOS up 2-0, we should have trashed both these teams, biggest underachievement year for RAPS

[dTox]

Me to, alot of us saw right through this team's success in the past because of how they barely got by a crap Pacers, bucks and a depleted Heat team, this needed to happen. Masai should be held equally responsible for being short sighted and I can see the media have started to shine the spotlight on him, no more free pass

[ratul]

It's a matchup thing - we are not tough and lebron owns us. I think we would have beaten Boston - they can't stop demar because their D is better on the perimeter

[LastNameEver]

Guys its just a matchup thing. We totally would of destroyed Boston.

[OAKLEY_2]

The most unsafe lead is a 2-0 lead in the playoffs. Our issue is very simple we currently do not have the troops to close out close games with money on the line against real veteran competition. We had some shoulda-coulda's situations but it would have only only put us in the Bron chair of two years ago. The difference? Bismack Biyombo. Popular sentiment has the Bucks and Boston on better trajectories but that will depend on what actually plays out this offseason. The playoff record against the Cavs speaks volumes. Masai's cryptic joke that he cannot sell culture change this time around is like an admission that the culture change was equal parts PR and born out of the necessity of protecting assets vs. moving to a "next level". A level restricted by contract obligations and a no-tax mandate. Bosh gave us a heads up before he left. The great teams pay tax. Masai knows we are only a good team. Claiming to continue to evaluate is serving sht in place of real truth. They know if they publicize their shortcomings they reduce trade values. Raptors are in post spin mode moving into damage control at least one year late in the process. Nothing less than a removal of two of three of BC's guys will do. Amazing to think Hinkie did what BC would never do, a ground zero rebuild, and that he might add players to that mix as icing on a,cake he would never bake. If Demar and KL went somewhere as icing it would prove categorically the Raps were a Hail Mary construction and the organization was in any reasonable sense of being a contender, whistling past the graveyard.

Except that our record of the last five years shows we were knocking on the door of inexplicable tier I status. So close. so far away. Now we stare "so far away" in the face. BC's and MLSE's Casey IS gone. Demar, rumoured to be identified for exit papers, also a overachieving BC relic. JV? Man has enormous heart but is deficient in more than a few areas. He status depends on whether they could ever strengthen the wing in any trade. He is still young and Casey blew his development loving point guards unconditionally. Lowry? Too rich a contract to be moved in any long term approach so he will likely be, as BC final relic, the last of his kind. In his case Steve Nash plan B who massively exceeded all expectations. Raps will want to continue to package him as poster child for post BC (Masai The Evaluator) success.

[whatamoron]

This core is soft trash

Bunch of trash ass nice guys. Horford clowns Ibaka and jv combined

Fake all stars

That's what you get when you get rid of James Johnson and keep Dwayne Casey and expect team toughness

[mike2087]

It's crazy how bad jr smith is playing, I know a lot of people will say its cuz of our defence but how do you go from 77% to hitting nothing. crazy

[ratul]

Guys its just a matchup thing. We totally would of destroyed Boston.

http://www.landofbasketball.com/head_to_head_gl/celtics_vs_raptors_game_log_season.htm

vs.

http://www.landofbasketball.com/head_to_head_gl/raptors_vs_cavaliers_game_log_season.htm

Our record is much better vs Boston compared to Cleveland. There is a reason why certain teams tank for us.

[OAKLEY_2]

Me to, alot of us saw right through this team's success in the past because of how they barely got by a crap Pacers, bucks and a depleted Heat team, this needed to happen. Masai should be held equally responsible for being short sighted and I can see the media have started to shine the spotlight on him, no more free pass

The minute a GM fires a coach they move directly into the line of fire gunsights. For this reason expect an internal hire. Hiring a big name externally and not producing results will get the GM fired. Hire internal and you can mix the notion of saving money with saying it was a transitional move.

[OAKLEY_2]

This core is soft trash

Bunch of trash ass nice guys. Horford clowns Ibaka and jv combined

Fake all stars

That's what you get when you get rid of James Johnson and keep Dwayne Casey and expect team toughness

And Biz who had the rare Raptor ability of elevating his game.

[Brinbe]

Clearest difference is seeing how the Celtics attacked in game 2. Even when down and LeBron going off, they didn't panic. They kept grinding and playing their game. They didn't let up defensively and didn't leave shooters.

They also bricked a bunch of wide open 3s that could have made it look even worse.

The difference a coach makes was on full purview in that first two games and credit to Ainge for fleecing the Nets because that's why they're at this point.

[tdot56]

You ask any raps player and they will tell you they would have beat the celtics and I believe they would have unless the refs pulled some serious **** which they tend to do. I'm still so angry that we lost to the damn cavs.

We would get swept by the Celtics. Lue ran circles around Casey. I shudder to think what Stevens would do to him.

Their players would also suffocate our soft ass fake all-stars with their intensity.

This. Masai was right to fire Casey. Masai will be right when he unloads dd and ibaka for best picks and expirings he can get.

Get these soft ass players out of town... build around the ones who play hard and don't wilt under pressure.

[TravisScott55]

Worst #1 seed in NBA history.

[Cool-Hand-Luke]

Our loss to Cleveland is due to a combination of luck and boneheaded coaching that got us in the end. Our game 1 could have easily gone our way and was just an unlucky last few minutes. Game two and three had many boneheaded coaching decisions that ultimately took the wind out of our sails completely in game 4.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think there was a moment where LeBron bullied Tatum on consecutive possessions and Stevens had him right out of there. Never let LBJ get comfortable. Meanwhile CJ Miles is guarding Kevin Love for like 5 straight post-ups. Ridiculous. The difference to me is that Boston has no real core, no commitments, no egos. They just freelance on offense looking for mismatches and their players all go on mini-runs and then they're off the floor as soon as the Cavs make an adjustment.

Anyway, I lost my mind when Lowry was allowed to go see Villanova play before the 2nd Cavs game and Casey was making practices optional while the defense was slipping. Made me feel like they were too comfortable. To me, that was the season right there.

[Alleged Legend]

Boston plays with so much more grit. to me its not even that they are so much more talented. we got nice kids with nice skills. they got mean kids with nice skills. Brown, Tatum, Smart, Baynes, Morris..... those guys dont back down. They dont smile when you clown them and they dont allow BS cheap shots.

We got nobody like that. Losing Tucker was a big loss. He would have been really useful this year but you need more than just 1 guy willing to scrum it up if needs be. I think OG would be willing but the team was holding him back. He didnt like being disrespected or clowned one bit.

[Son Goku 25]

I can pretty much bet on this, if we had a different coach, switched Ibaka and Demar with high IQ players, we would have won.

Makes me furious to think that we had a really good opportunity but like always, ** it up.

[Yeezus_]

I can pretty much bet on this, if we had a different coach, switched Ibaka and Demar with high IQ players, we would have won.

Makes me furious to think that we had a really good opportunity but like always, ** it up.

It really is as simple as this lol. Thats why I get heated watching this ECF, we let a great opportunity slip away. It must be driving Masai crazy considering theres only a few more years of Lowry being this good.

[ATLTimekeeper]

To be fair, Smart and Morris are not high IQ players. They're competent, but you can see them take regular naps on the floor. Morris especially, when he screws up defensively he automatically forces up a bad shot at the other end. Smart's a good playmaker, but Van Gundy is right, teams don't play him on the pick and roll properly. He can't finish in the paint to save his life. It was painful watching 4 Cavs collapse on him.

Grit factor is great when it's harnessed, and when it isn't you just get a bunch of dumb shots and dumb fouls. Right now the Celtics are just on a huge roll and everything is breaking their way.

[Alleged Legend]

Guys its just a matchup thing. We totally would of destroyed Boston.

nah. they have upped the intensity and risen to the occassion in the playoffs. We have never done that in 5 years. We would get swarmed and beaten. You think Stevens has a great plan for LeBron but is gonna be stumped by Lowry/Demar and our bench that didnt produce in the playoffs??

[andrewww]

I think this is actually the best thing possibly happening to the Raptors. A WAKE UP CALL to the management and to causal fans that the Raps IS NOT a good team, and lots of work needed to be done.

I said to blow up this core years ago but obviously no one agreed at the time. To get to where you want, you must make tough decisions and sometimes unpopular ones.

As Bill Belichick would say "its always better to let a player go one year too early than one year too late"...