Game 60: MEM @ DEN

[ducler]

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[VCfor3]

And for the first time this season, there are no players on the injury report.

[Whole Truth]

Denver forunate so far, up 3 with Memphis shooting 1-11 from 3 on mostly open looks.

[Whole Truth]

Hopefully Memphis can find their shot 2nd half.

Denver 7-16 from 3 to Memphis 3-16, +12 but only up 5.

[VCfor3]

Yup. Also that shot by Ja at the end of the half that didn't count was beautiful ha

[E S V L]

Jokic is the hell of a player

[VCfor3]

Jokic is the hell of a player

He's easily my pick for MVP. Then again I'm biased since I win $100 if he gets it lol.

[Whole Truth]

Reading the trade board, I see Memphis want to return Toronto's favor. Why do you think the team that gave him away want him back at a higher cost ?.

The posters saying they don't want him back are the same posters that said Greg Monroe & Arron Bayne are as good or better..reason they gave you no good reason as to their disinterest.

Raptors - 2012 - 23 wins, draft Jonas 5th
Raptors - 2013 - 34 wins Jonas rookie year, 57 GS
Raptors - 2014 - 48 wins, Jonas replacing Bargnani as the full time starter, 81 GS, first round exit
Raptors - 2015 - 49 wins, 80 GS, first round exit
Raptors - 2016 - 56 wins, sharing duties with Bizz, 60 GS, Eastern conference finals (Cavs)
Raptors - 2017 - 51 wins, Bizz lost to FA, 80 GS, Eastern conference semi finals (Cavs)
Raptors - 2018 - 59 wins, Traded for Ibaka < (3J), 77 GS, Eastern conference semi finals (Cavs)
Raptors - 2019 - 58 wins, Derozan traded for Kawhi prior to season, Jonas traded at deadline for Gasol, NBA Champions

Take note, In Jonas 8 yr career, Raptors averaged 50 wins with Jonas as the starter. An extra 8 wins sharing the court with Ibaka who I have 3J ending up better than.

Raptors couldn't hurdle Lebron/Love, with or without Kyrie because their front court could stretch Jonas out. Paired solely with Derozan's perimeter defense..

The year Raptors won the Championship with Gasol, not even considering Kawhi upgrading Derozan defensively. Magic & Philly were both poor 3pt shooting teams & Gianis was boxed out vs the Bucks allowing Gasol to sit at home after a poor showing his first 2 games that they didn't. A Curry/Draymond GS core with Wiseman, Oubre & Wiggins added, is showing themselves a borderline playoff team. GS took Raptors to 6 with no Durant & Klay for 3 games.

Following season Boston used the corner 3 to stretch the **** out of Gasol 2nd round & they were nowhere close to the capability of those Cavs teams Jonas faced paired with Derozan's defense, not Kawhi. Raptors fans like to state because of the narrative built around Jonas defense "Gasol took us to where Jonas could not". When it should be, Kawhi took us to where Derozan could not because he was the "Allstar" player Raptors were catering too in their rotation decisions. He got credit when they won, Jonas got the blame when they loss. It's left out that Derozan also played the Cavs with all of Bizz, Ibaka & Jonas with no success. In fact both Bizz & Ibaka were blown out by nearly 30pts in all the Cavs wins, not just 1 or 2.

Jonas unlike Gasol didn't have his chance to play with Kawhi in the Playoffs. Where I have no doubt a Lebron/Love front court would have stretched the **** out of Gasol too, especially after seeing Boston actually do it. Not surprise, without Kawhi to single handily win them a series like he did in Philly because Raptors were playing 4 on 5 offensively.

Jonas was traded to a 22 win team that featured Gasol/Conley & a rookie 3J, replacing the teams star C Gasol. In his first full season, Conley is traded & replaced by a rookie Morant who himself is not a strong defender. Memphis misses the playoffs by one game, play in vs Portland thanks to key injuries suffered in the bubble & a 22pt FT disparity in Portland's favor.. Whereas Derozan went to a playoff Spurs team with a top rated defense, for their star player who missed the year due to injury,. He collapsed their defense & they missed the playoffs for the first time since.., where the young Memphis squad manages to be top 10 with Jonas starting as Raptors were a top 5 defense with him starting.. for all the reasons the GBB article stated & more.

Jonas is now in his 2nd full season & without 3J among other key injuries has contributed to Memphis currently sitting 2-3 games over 500, firmly in the playoff mix down the final stretch of a crazy schedule where every other day is a B2B, a fatigue factor that attributed to the shooting performance the other night in the rarified air of mile high.

This is my final attempt to keep Memphis from making the same mistake.

[Whole Truth]

- 3rd stringer Greg Monroe is better.
- Arron Baybes is as good or better.

- Richard Holmes is better. That's why Kings with Fox are firmly in the playoff mix.

Make your bed... lay in it.