Raptors ready for a serious title run! Enjoy the ride.

Vorticity · Post #61 » by **Vorticity** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:24 pm

Hello, I'm the horse's mouth

[this topic starts at 1:40]

Spoiler:

https://pmd.cdn.turner.com/nba/big/teams/raptors/2019/03/25/2528682/1553534419290-NBA-WEB-190325-NURSE_digital-2528682_nba_android_high.mp4

LilRomeo905 · Post #62 » by **LilRomeo905** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 9:18 pm

Not so fast ... If playoffs started today, remember our record against the current 7th seed team rn.

E-TRAK · Post #63 » by **E-TRAK** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:15 pm

Who remembers early on Danny green's podcast, think it was with nurse? mentioning how nurse would do things that didn't seem to make sense but after explained, he understood and trusts hpw nurse wants to do certain things for a greater plan.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using RealGM mobile app

ATLTimekeeper · Post #64 » by **ATLTimekeeper** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:15 pm

I've brought this up before, but Kawhi leads the league in net rating post ASB for players that play +30 minutes and 4th for players that play +25 minutes. The switch has been flipped. The Raptors' bench has been awful all year, and so it's not a case of them taking these games easy. That's fiction. The important players are all playing really well, it's just that Nurse has maintained a long bench and that bench has been unproductive and dragged us into a bunch of coin flip games, some we've won, some we've lost.

Post #65 » by **lebron stopper** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:31 pm

ATLTimekeeper wrote:I've brought this up before, but Kawhi leads the league in net rating post ASB for players that play +30 minutes and 4th for players that play +25 minutes. The switch has been flipped. The Raptors' bench has been awful all year, and so it's not a case of them taking these games easy. That's fiction. The important players are all playing really well, it's just that Nurse has maintained a long bench and that bench has been unproductive and dragged us into a bunch of coin flip games, some we've won, some we've lost.

Last 5 games:

Gasol +20.7
Lowry +20.6
Green +17.7
Leonard +14.9
Siakam +12.0
VanVleet +9.2

Anunoby -4.3
Lin -5.7
Powell -11.4
Ibaka -21.1
McCaw -22.9

https://stats.nba.com/players/advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612761&LastNGames=5

Uncle Dennis · Post #66 » by **Uncle Dennis** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:02 am

Quattro wrote:
NBA Network wrote:
MickeyDavis wrote:
Hell we (Bucks) haven't won a playoff series in 18 years. I'm scared of the first round.

Well our Raptors haven't done anything in the playoffs aside from 2016 during the entire existence of the franchise. The Bucks are way more reliable to squash their first round opponent than the Raptors b/c the Raptors can't beat a team in fewer than 6 games. The Raptors also can't win on the road in the playoffs which is another huge advantage for the Bucks should they meet in the Eastern final.

YA! 100% agree. And the worst thing about this is that we keep fielding the EXACT SAME TEAM year after year! I mean, when stuff like this starts happening, the LOGICAL thing to do is change things up! Fire your coach. Make some trades. Sign some free agents. Do SOMETHING. But noooo. Not Masai.

I hope this is sarcasm.

Jcity08 · Post #67 » by **Jcity08** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:24 am

Uncle Dennis wrote:
Quattro wrote:
NBA Network wrote:
Well our Raptors haven't done anything in the playoffs aside from 2016 during the entire existence of the franchise. The Bucks are way more reliable to squash their first round opponent than the Raptors b/c the Raptors can't beat a team in fewer than 6 games. The Raptors also can't win on the road in the playoffs which is another huge advantage for the Bucks should they meet in the Eastern final.

YA! 100% agree. And the worst thing about this is that we keep fielding the EXACT SAME TEAM year after year! I mean, when stuff like this starts happening, the LOGICAL thing to do is change things up! Fire your coach. Make some trades. Sign some free agents. Do SOMETHING. But noooo. Not Masai.

I hope this is sarcasm.

I've lost the ability to detect sarcasm on this forum, everything is just blended. I don't even trust green font anymore.

Quattro · Post #68 » by **Quattro** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:29 am

Uncle Dennis wrote:
Quattro wrote:
NBA Network wrote:
Well our Raptors haven't done anything in the playoffs aside from 2016 during the entire existence of the franchise. The Bucks are way more reliable to squash their first round opponent than the Raptors b/c the Raptors can't beat a team in fewer than 6 games. The Raptors also can't win on the road in the playoffs which is another huge advantage for the Bucks should they meet in the Eastern final.

YA! 100% agree. And the worst thing about this is that we keep fielding the EXACT SAME TEAM year after year! I mean, when stuff like this starts happening, the LOGICAL thing to do is change things up! Fire your coach. Make some trades. Sign some free agents. Do SOMETHING. But noooo. Not Masai.

I hope this is sarcasm.

Of course it’s sarcasm. But ya, on this forum, I don’t blame you for questioning.

Post #69 » by **Patman** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:33 am

LilRomeo905 wrote:Not so fast ... If playoffs started today, remember our record against the current 7th seed team rn.

Doesn't mean squat. We swept the Wiz in the regular season and they swept us in the playoffs the same year Lmao.

Lateral Quicks · Post #70 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:50 am

I think there's likely an element of truth to this. My sense is the guys are coasting a bit right now, and Nurse has hinted multiple times that he's holding stuff back.

Gianni13 · Post #71 » by **Gianni13** » Tue Apr 2, 2019 4:25 pm

Now you’re starting to slowly see all the sets;)
I’m so pumped the ceiling is the trophy and I know we’re finally capable.

ropjhk · Post #72 » by **ropjhk** » Tue Apr 2, 2019 4:54 pm

This team cannot be judged by the regular season. It's pretty evident that the team has approached the regular season as 82 practice sessions. Lowry's Green room appearance kind of validates this position. I don't expect Nurse to coach the team like he did in the regular season.

I'm still worried about team chemistry. All the different lineups has given Nurse valuable information on what works in different situations but it doesn't help with team chemistry. We'll just have to wait and see if Nurse's strategy pays off.

macNcheese3 · Post #73 » by **macNcheese3** » Tue Apr 2, 2019 5:06 pm

Playoffs are going to rock!!

visionquest · Post #74 » by **visionquest** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 7:44 am

Gianni13 wrote:- He’s actually gained huge respect from the players and people around him. For one, I heard Lowry especially is very impressed with how “smart” Nurse is.

Was this before or after Lowry said out loud in practice 'Dat **** dumb"! (See KL on Danny's podcast)

Vlade Divac · Post #75 » by **Vlade Divac** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 9:30 am

Anatomize wrote:That end game play we drew up for Gasol a few weeks back was one of the best game ending out of timeout plays I’ve ever seen, and that’s not hyperbole.

How often do you see a good 3 point shooter get that open of a look on a game ending play. He had two guys set a double screen like a wall on the baseline to free up Gasol in the corner.

To me it showed there are a variety of plays we haven’t exposed yet. Moreover, the way this team played against OKC and Boston showed me that we have an extremely high two way ceiling.

I feel sorry for whatever team has to face us over a 7 game stretch, it won’t be easy to beat us twice in a row no matter who you are.

The Bucks are the only team that gives me slight concerns currently, but they do have holes which matchup well with ours (particularly interior defensive play, lack of offensive rebounding).

Offensive efficiency in last 3 minutes of close games is still BY FAR the worst among playoff teams (as it was last season).

Raps1103 · Post #76 » by **Raps1103** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 2:33 pm

fedord wrote:I see this thread pop up every year. And every year we make an early and embarrassing exit. I'll believe it when I see it.

To Lebron.. and only Lebron .. lol lol but I guess that little tidbit of info isn’t important ... ( not to mention Kawhi n green being here)... lol .. ahhhh the miserables with their cherry picked facts

T-d0t · Post #77 » by **T-d0t** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 3:11 pm

Raps1103 wrote:
fedord wrote:I see this thread pop up every year. And every year we make an early and embarrassing exit. I'll believe it when I see it.

To Lebron.. and only Lebron .. lol lol but I guess that little tidbit of info isn’t important ... ( not to mention Kawhi n green being here)... lol .. ahhhh the miserables with their cherry picked facts

While I agree with the Raps being different this season, we did get beat by the Nets and swept by the Wizards during these playoff years.

Jcity08 · Post #78 » by **Jcity08** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 3:14 pm

T-d0t wrote:
Raps1103 wrote:
fedord wrote:I see this thread pop up every year. And every year we make an early and embarrassing exit. I'll believe it when I see it.

To Lebron.. and only Lebron .. lol lol but I guess that little tidbit of info isn’t important ... ( not to mention Kawhi n green being here)... lol .. ahhhh the miserables with their cherry picked facts
While I agree with the Raps being different this season, we did get beat by the Nets and swept by the Wizards during these playoff years.

Also many of our playoff wins were done in close drawn out series. Basically every round of the playoffs scared me in the past.

XxIronChainzxX · Post #79 » by **XxIronChainzxX** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 3:15 pm

LilRomeo905 wrote:Not so fast ... If playoffs started today, remember our record against the current 7th seed team rn.

Casey is undefeated when facing a team he swept in the post season, after all.

Wait, is undefeated the right word? :wink:

That said we need to check the egos at the door. The Dallas Mavericks surely thought the same about golden state and Dirk ended up accepting his MvP at the NBAs most humiliated press conference.

PoundTown · Post #80 » by **PoundTown** » Wed Apr 3, 2019 3:23 pm

I want to see our top 7 playing 90 percent of the minutes. Only play OG when siakam is sitting or maybe if it is required matchup wise to it is play him at the four when siakam is playing the 5. I could see Milwaukee going small with Giannis at the 5 to neutralize our advantage at the 5 over them but shouldn’t be something we see against the sixers. Also, only play norm to fill the gaps at the wing for a few minutes here and there. Our starters have been great as of late and need to have them out there as much as possible. Good thing we couldn’t get our hands on mirotic because I think gasol makes us a much better team.