ESPN Eastern Conference Predictions (Raptors 12th)

[Pointgod]

Lol at the sixers projection.

Their current backcourt:

Maxey/milton
Curry/danny green


Lol that might be the worst backcourt in the entire league right now. I think ppl are underestimating how much trouble they are in if ben sits. And i think he will.

And they are totally maxed out. Nothing they can do except trade ben for a mediocre replacement while also probably having to give away FRPs.

This is so yummy yummy delicious. Ofc...i could be wrong but i think ppl are crazy to be giving them third place in the east. Like......how?

Imagine how easy it will be to score against that backcourt. They are gonna lead the league in opponent's shooting %.

There’s no way the Sixers are top 3 if Ben is still on the roster at the beginning of the season. I could legit see them falling to 6th if they don’t get things sorted out. Chemistry issues are no joke. I think if they trade Ben for a player like Mccullum, then they’re not in any danger of falling.

[mdenny]

Lol at the sixers projection.

Their current backcourt:

Maxey/milton
Curry/danny green


Lol that might be the worst backcourt in the entire league right now. I think ppl are underestimating how much trouble they are in if ben sits. And i think he will.

And they are totally maxed out. Nothing they can do except trade ben for a mediocre replacement while also probably having to give away FRPs.

This is so yummy yummy delicious. Ofc...i could be wrong but i think ppl are crazy to be giving them third place in the east. Like......how?

Imagine how easy it will be to score against that backcourt. They are gonna lead the league in opponent's shooting %.

There’s no way the Sixers are top 3 if Ben is still on the roster at the beginning of the season. I could legit see them falling to 6th if they don’t get things sorted out. Chemistry issues are no joke. I think if they trade Ben for a player like Mccullum, then they’re not in any danger of falling.

They're gonna go from beung one of the hardrst teams to play against to the easiest. Even if they get mccallum. Rim protection of embiid isnt nearly as effectove without perimeter defense.

Ben's impact on a night in/night out basis is being tremendously underated. They will be swiss cheese without him. They suddenly become a very short team that can't defend.

All the ingredients for a meltdown are in play. A horrible coach. Capped out for foreseeable future. An unstable fanbase that boos their own team. Disgruntled star sitting out. Injury prone center who will not tolerate his value dropping via team struggles. Look for Joel to start missing games for vague injuries if they come out the gate under 500.

I honestly think they could miss the playoffs. Its 50/50 imo. Meltdown incoming.

[Basketball_Jones]

For once, I wouldn’t mind this ESPN prediction

[canada_dry]

Jv hive is still alive?

Will lou is rolling over in his grave right now.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[pingpongrac]

???

JV unleashed is putting up 19, 15, 17 ppg and 11 or 10+ rebounds his 3 seasons in memphis so far.
he also had a year avging 15ppg for us one year regular season

let alone not knowing what birch can do in the playoffs. meanwhile JV was the xfactor winning playoff games for us - double double as a rookie in his first PO game, dominating indiana even tho casey had kyle/demar brick boing for 30 shots each

what are the question marks for... Jv put up 12 and 8/9 every years for 6 years lol and never averaged 15 for us. and yep... Jv was always going to put up better numbers on a bad team. With Birch's mobility it aint all that far off what we got in those years at the position while losing to Cleveland and almost losing to the bucks.

Dude don't give this stuff that is was all Casey Lowry DD and never JV responsible. We weren't going to win ever, but clearly our biggest weakness having to play JV at C. The entire time.

Our biggest weakness was feeding an inefficient shot taker 20-30 shots per game and 29%+ usage on a near supermax contract - who was also a sieve defensively.

JV averages 12/9 in 22-25 minutes was not the biggest weakness LMAO

JV averaged 11.8 PPG and 8.4 REB in 25 MPG for his career in Toronto. Birch averaging 11.9 PPG and 7.6 REB in 30 MPG for us last season isn't too far off JV's overall production in Toronto. Obviously JV was the better offensive player, but the point still stands that C was a glaring weakness from 2014-2018 as JV was continually exposed on the defensive end. Maybe not the biggest weakness, but it was right up there with coaching and DeRozan.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using RealGM mobile app

[Mikistan]

what are the question marks for... Jv put up 12 and 8/9 every years for 6 years lol and never averaged 15 for us. and yep... Jv was always going to put up better numbers on a bad team. With Birch's mobility it aint all that far off what we got in those years at the position while losing to Cleveland and almost losing to the bucks.

Dude don't give this stuff that is was all Casey Lowry DD and never JV responsible. We weren't going to win ever, but clearly our biggest weakness having to play JV at C. The entire time.

Our biggest weakness was feeding an inefficient shot taker 20-30 shots per game and 29%+ usage on a near supermax contract - who was also a sieve defensively.

JV averages 12/9 in 22-25 minutes was not the biggest weakness LMAO

JV averaged 11.8 PPG and 8.4 REB in 25 MPG for his career in Toronto. Birch averaging 11.9 PPG and 7.6 REB in 30 MPG for us last season isn't too far off JV's overall production in Toronto. Obviously JV was the better offensive player, but the point still stands that C was a glaring weakness from 2014-2018 as JV was continually exposed on the defensive end. Maybe not the biggest weakness, but it was right up there with coaching and DeRozan.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using RealGM mobile app

taking 5 more minutes to get the same stats is a pretty glaring difference in production but whatever you say

[pingpongrac]

Our biggest weakness was feeding an inefficient shot taker 20-30 shots per game and 29%+ usage on a near supermax contract - who was also a sieve defensively.

JV averages 12/9 in 22-25 minutes was not the biggest weakness LMAO

JV averaged 11.8 PPG and 8.4 REB in 25 MPG for his career in Toronto. Birch averaging 11.9 PPG and 7.6 REB in 30 MPG for us last season isn't too far off JV's overall production in Toronto. Obviously JV was the better offensive player, but the point still stands that C was a glaring weakness from 2014-2018 as JV was continually exposed on the defensive end. Maybe not the biggest weakness, but it was right up there with coaching and DeRozan.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using RealGM mobile app

taking 5 more minutes to get the same stats is a pretty glaring difference in production but whatever you say

I mean not really. If JV maintained the same offensive output in those extra 5 minutes, he would have averaged 14 PPG and 10 REB. An extra bucket and a couple boards isn't a very big difference at all, especially considering it was JV's defence that was a glaring weakness.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using RealGM mobile app

[OAKLEY_2]

For once, I wouldn’t mind this ESPN prediction

Why even have an opinion on the "prediction" when ESPN is certified useless.

[SaveTheHens]

I don't see how we got any worse this season. Lowrys gone but if we really wanted to we couldve pushed for the play-in last season, and Dragic will likely be able to surprise people & produce to a similar level Lowry did. That and Boucher's going to come out looking great, OG, Freddy will be solid, Pascal won't regress much and maybe will even take a step. Another dark horse raptors team coming up lol

[Mikistan]

I don't see how we got any worse this season. Lowrys gone but if we really wanted to we couldve pushed for the play-in last season, and Dragic will likely be able to surprise people & produce to a similar level Lowry did. That and Boucher's going to come out looking great, OG, Freddy will be solid, Pascal won't regress much and maybe will even take a step. Another dark horse raptors team coming up lol

no. more. baynes

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/TOR/2021.html

If you filter this page totals by minutes played this year you will find that

3rd - lowry 1600 minutes
players 6 - norman powell 1300 minutes played
7 stanley johnson 1000 mins
8 aaron baynes 980 mins
9 deandre bembry 972 mins
and 14th terence D - 493 mins

are all gone from this team,.

that frees up 6600 minutes in 72 games = 92 minutes of play time per game is instantly now filled by

trent jr, precious, barnes, dragic


overall looks like an upgrade

[JN]

Percentage of Season Missed Last year:

Anunoby 40.3%
Lowry 36.1%
VanVleet 27.8%
Siakam 22.2%
Norm/GTJ 18.1%

Boucher 16.7%
Flynn 34.7%
(Birch 73.6%)
(Dragic 100.0%)
(Barnes 100.0%)
(Achiuwa 100.0%)

Don't forget City of Toronto - 100%
I think we win between 43-46 games. Arguanbly not the best record to be at, but that is besides the point.

[NinjaBro]

Easy money, take the Vegas over 35.

[Bruin]

Feel like we end up with a pick in the 6-10 range and get the Canadian from Michigan, Caleb Houstan.

[TOStateofMind]

Pretty much everything had to go wrong last yr to not make the play offs/play in (+some tanking in the end of the season). They should be fighting for one of the bottom seeds especially now that they actually have a home again.

[720]

Feel like we end up with a pick in the 6-10 range and get the Canadian from Michigan, Caleb Houstan.

Yeah, I see us as either a 5-10 lotto team or a team that's fighting for the play in. I hope Masai and Bobby don't actually try to become a play in team. Might as well miss the playoffs and have a punchers chance at a top 4 pick.

Banchero, Hardy, Caleb, Chet, Emoni(maybe?, NBA please),Duren, Baldwin. Solid solid top 7.

[tecumseh18]

Easy money, take the Vegas over 35.

And for the hardcore tankers who fervently believe the current core is deeply flawed, picking the under should be "easy money". If Raps are on target for 35 wins, then Masai is trading Pascal and Fred and everyone else not named Scottie or OG at the deadline without question. And I'd support that.

I personally believe we'll be over. But it's hard to judge, because the East does have a lot of talented teams this season.

[ConSarnit]

It will probably come down to the last ten games. If we’re 7th at that point we’ll probably end up 7th. If we’re 10th at that point we’ll probably pull the plug like last year and try to free fall.

I don’t think the FO will throw away a very good shot at a playoff spot (7th) but also won’t feel any need to squeak into the play-in (if we are battling for the 10th-11th spot).

This team could slot anywhere from 7-11 but I’d wager on the upper end because we’ll win enough games on defense alone.

[Purple Fever]

We will qualify for the playoffs and lose in 7 to Milwaukee.

[dalton749]

I’ve got the east looking pretty balanced and doubt anyone comes close to 60 games this season. For the regular season I’d go:

1. Milwaukee (50-55 wins)
2. Miami (48-53 wins)
3. Brooklyn (48-53 wins)
4. Chicago (45-50 wins)
5. Atlanta (42-47 wins)
6. Philly (40-45 wins)
7. Boston (40-45 wins)
8. Toronto (39-44 wins)
9. New York (38-43 wins)
10. Indiana (36-41 wins)
11. Charlotte (32-37 wins)
12. Washington (32-37 wins)
13. Cleveland (25-30 wins)
14. Detroit (18-23 wins)
15. Orlando (18-23 wins)

[will]

tWo with the Birdman handrub.