Player Rnkings Celtics vs Raptors series

[Saint Lazarus]

What the hell is this?

The order is:

Kyle Lowry
Jayson Tatum
Pascal Siakam
Kemba Walker
(Gordon Hayward)
Fred VanVleet
Jaylen Brown
Serge Ibaka
Norman Powell
Marc Gasol
Marcus Smart
OG Anunoby

Lowry over Tatum. Oh no.

Lowry impacts the game beyond the box score. He leads. He motivates. He inspires. He mesmerizes refs with that big booty of his.

Tatum is a chucker with a medium sized behind at best. It’s fair to rank him behind Lowry.

[Metallikid]

What the hell is this?

The order is:

Kyle Lowry
Jayson Tatum
Pascal Siakam
Kemba Walker
(Gordon Hayward)
Fred VanVleet
Jaylen Brown
Serge Ibaka
Norman Powell
Marc Gasol
Marcus Smart
OG Anunoby

Lowry over Tatum. Oh no.

Lowry impacts the game beyond the box score. He leads. He motivates. He inspires. He mesmerizes refs with that big booty of his.

Real talk.

[pingpongrac]

I'm not even going to pretend like the Raps can't come back on us real fast. But, re-reading this thread, it's abundantly clear that several of you in here did not really know all that much about the team you were about to be playing.

I disagree. I feel like it was mostly fair. Tatum is clearly the best player in the series. After that, Lowry (though pretty lackluster offensively so far) is #2 then you have a pick 'em depending on the night for Siakam/Kemba/Brown/FVV. Smart has been the MVP of the series so far, but overall he's in the same tier as OG/Ibaka/Powell then you have the Theis/Gasol matchup that's more intangible-based. Wanamaker and Ojeleye are solid rotation players, but they're generally not as impactful as any of the players listed before them.

Simply put, the difference in the series has been Smart hitting threes at an absurd rate (11/20, mostly contested) while FVV and Lowry (6/35 combined, roughly half wide open) are both in the midst of an ice-cold shooting stretch. Smart's streaky shooting could come to a screeching halt in game 3 and FVV/Lowry could find their groove, which would obviously turn this series on its head.

[50yrceltsfan]

2 games in, I'd list the entire Celtics roster and then OG Adobe. Only one team and one guy from the other team has shown up so far. Disappointing to type that.

Pretty much this. Celtics win every pairing based on effectiveness so far: Smart over Lowry, Kemba over FVV, Brown over Siakam, Tatum over OG, Theis over Gasol. Ibaka/Robert Williams isn't even a clear Raps advantage.

[SMTBSI]

I'm not even going to pretend like the Raps can't come back on us real fast. But, re-reading this thread, it's abundantly clear that several of you in here did not really know all that much about the team you were about to be playing.

I disagree. I feel like it was mostly fair. Tatum is clearly the best player in the series. After that, Lowry (though pretty lackluster offensively so far) is #2 then you have a pick 'em depending on the night for Siakam/Kemba/Brown/FVV. Smart has been the MVP of the series so far, but overall he's in the same tier as OG/Ibaka/Powell then you have the Theis/Gasol matchup that's more intangible-based. Wanamaker and Ojeleye are solid rotation players, but they're generally not as impactful as any of the players listed before them.

You're right, it certainly wasn't everyone. I was writing to the posters like Metallikid who had the Raps with the top-end advantage at almost every position, and the substantial depth advantage. Others were more reasonable, on both sides.

Simply put, the difference in the series has been Smart hitting threes at an absurd rate (11/20, mostly contested) while FVV and Lowry (6/35 combined, roughly half wide open) are both in the midst of an ice-cold shooting stretch. Smart's streaky shooting could come to a screeching halt in game 3 and FVV/Lowry could find their groove, which would obviously turn this series on its head.

I don't generally go in for these kinds of analyses, where it is imagined that one or two trends will reverse and turn the series on its head. First, because those trends may or may not be happening in as much of a vacuum as is imagined, and second, because even if those one or two things do ebb in a team's favor, other things will flow out of favor. It's never quite so neat and well-packaged. I could just as easily say that we're up 2-0, and Tatum and Walker haven't both had a good game at the same time yet.

But, I'm going out of may way to not make any real predictions here, because I still think anything can happen in this series. If Smart doesn't go godmode in the 4th, this is a 1-1 series and we're having a very different conversation.

[Golden Knight]

Lowry impacts the game beyond the box score. He leads. He motivates. He inspires. He mesmerizes refs with that big booty of his.

Tatum is a chucker with a medium sized behind at best. It’s fair to rank him behind Lowry.

[Duke4life831]

Im hoping the Lowry over Tatum talk is just in jest. I hope haha.

[bs_and_cs]

Kyle Lowry has not, never was and never will be a better player than Kemba Walker either.

That's absurd.

[PierceFan4ever]

1. Tatum




2. The rest

[shi-woo]

Looking back at this thread I still can't believe how underrated Smart is. Recency bias aside, no love for an All-Defense player who gets teammates involved, is a decent 3pnt shooter, undisputed team leader, and clutch AF.

He's literally everything Raptor fans say Lowry is, except he's a better defender, and isn't as goo taking it to the rim.

1. Tatum
2. Kemba
3. Lowry
4. Brown
5. Siakim
6. Smart
7. FVV
8. OG
9. Theis
10. Ibaka

People way to high on FVV, and not enough love for Jaylen Brown.

[LoveMyRaps]

Looking back at this thread I still can't believe how underrated Smart is. Recency bias aside, no love for an All-Defense player who gets teammates involved, is a decent 3pnt shooter, undisputed team leader, and clutch AF.

He's literally everything Raptor fans say Lowry is, except he's a better defender, and isn't as goo taking it to the rim.

1. Tatum
2. Kemba
3. Lowry
4. Brown
5. Siakim
6. Smart
7. FVV
8. OG
9. Theis
10. Ibaka

People way to high on FVV, and not enough love for Jaylen Brown.

Theis better than Ibaka?

[Ill News]

I'm not even going to pretend like the Raps can't come back on us real fast. But, re-reading this thread, it's abundantly clear that several of you in here did not really know all that much about the team you were about to be playing.

I disagree. I feel like it was mostly fair. Tatum is clearly the best player in the series. After that, Lowry (though pretty lackluster offensively so far) is #2 then you have a pick 'em depending on the night for Siakam/Kemba/Brown/FVV. Smart has been the MVP of the series so far, but overall he's in the same tier as OG/Ibaka/Powell then you have the Theis/Gasol matchup that's more intangible-based. Wanamaker and Ojeleye are solid rotation players, but they're generally not as impactful as any of the players listed before them.

Simply put, the difference in the series has been Smart hitting threes at an absurd rate (11/20, mostly contested) while FVV and Lowry (6/35 combined, roughly half wide open) are both in the midst of an ice-cold shooting stretch. Smart's streaky shooting could come to a screeching halt in game 3 and FVV/Lowry could find their groove, which would obviously turn this series on its head.

While I agree that FVV and Lowry have uncharacteristically missed wide open threes, I think the Celtics' frenetic defense needs to be credited somewhat. I'm watching the defensive highlights and those wide open misses are either rushed or not in rhythm, which could be chalked up to the Celtics' great rotations and the threat of their athletes contesting the shots like they do for most of the game. If a screen does manage to free them up for a three, the fact that the Celtics keep running through those screens in order to contest is probably bothering the Raptors that they hoist up rushed shots. In other words, the Celtic defense is throwing the Raptors shooters out of rhythm.

Just look at the game-tying three that FVV missed at the end of Game 2: even though he was running full speed up court, Tatum was backpedaling at the same speed, keeping in step with him and contesting it at the right time, thus forcing an off-balance three. That's great, disciplined defense.

[ballup]

Kyle Lowry has not, never was and never will be a better player than Kemba Walker either.

That's absurd.

Come on. Kemba has only ever been a low tier all star. While Lowry is about the same level now, he had peaked as a mid tier all star

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[juju14]

What the hell is this?

The order is:

Kyle Lowry
Jayson Tatum
Pascal Siakam
Kemba Walker
(Gordon Hayward)
Fred VanVleet
Jaylen Brown
Serge Ibaka
Norman Powell
Marc Gasol
Marcus Smart
OG Anunoby

Lowry over Tatum. Oh no.

Lowry impacts the game beyond the box score. He leads. He motivates. He inspires. He mesmerizes refs with that big booty of his.

Tatum is a chucker with a medium sized behind at best. It’s fair to rank him behind Lowry.

Tatum +- is great and so is his defense/intangibles. You clearly don't watch Celtics

[TheBounceIsReal]

Kyle Lowry has not, never was and never will be a better player than Kemba Walker either.

That's absurd.

Come on. Kemba has only ever been a low tier all star. While Lowry is about the same level now, he had peaked as a mid tier all star

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

They're pretty close actually. Kemba has made four all star games, two starting. Lowry has made six, but he's also four years older and has never started. Each have one 3rd team all-NBA. Kemba is better offensively and Lowry is better defensively.

Kemba's playoff stats are better but he was on a crap team most of his career and has only played in 17 playoff games to date. Lowry was an important player on a title run last year but still only averaged 15/4.9/6.6 on .576 TS, which is good but not great. He also has a deserved reputation as a choker in big playoff games/series.

Hard to definitively say one guy is better than the other.

[Curmudgeon]

LOL, the three best players in this series have been Lowry, Tatum and Smart. Siakam and Brown probably tied for 4th.

[ballup]

Kyle Lowry has not, never was and never will be a better player than Kemba Walker either.

That's absurd.

Come on. Kemba has only ever been a low tier all star. While Lowry is about the same level now, he had peaked as a mid tier all star

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

They're pretty close actually. Kemba has made four all star games, two starting. Lowry has made six, but he's also four years older and has never started. Each have one 3rd team all-NBA. Kemba is better offensively and Lowry is better defensively.

Kemba's playoff stats are better but he was on a crap team most of his career and has only played in 17 playoff games to date. Lowry was an important player on a title run last year but still only averaged 15/4.9/6.6 on .576 TS, which is good but not great. He also has a deserved reputation as a choker in big playoff games/series.

Hard to definitively say one guy is better than the other.

Kemba is the better scorer as he can create his shot in more areas. Lowry has been the better playmaker because Kemba's passing has only been okay, but never a real asset compared to the average point guard. Lowry was a better finisher at the rim. If I gave a arbitrary videogame rating for the peaks of both, Kemba would be an 81-83 while Lowry would be 84-85.

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[robbie84]

1. Tatum
2. Siakam
3a. Lowry 3b. Walker
4. Brown
5. Fred

Something like that, a lot of the players in the series have the capability to be the best on any given night.

Why would you take Brown ahead of Van Vleet?

Username checks out.

[TrustFundBaby]

Kyle Lowry has not, never was and never will be a better player than Kemba Walker either.

That's absurd.

Lowry from 14 to 18 is inarguably better. He was the leader of 50+ win teams while Kemba couldn't make the playoffs consistently in the trash East

Lowry was an ASG starter 2x as well

[Floody100]

1. Robert Williams






2. The rest.