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Patsfan1081 wrote:

Lalouie wrote:they're in the east where there's only two other teams to worry about.

they're well coached

they have a vet team. one of only TWO contenders w/ a vet team

rising star, solid star, solid bench,

they been through a lot and come through like champs. they've survived as much cr@p as any team has the right to expect.

tor versus mil in the east

Two other teams? They’re 1-6 vs Milly, Boston, and Miami this year and have the worst record vs playoffs teams among the four teams. Not sure how you come to the conclusion there are only two veteran teams that are contenders either....

this is the playoffs, man.

tor went thru a lot os s*** during the season,,,,and so far all the older vets teams are winning

Theyre the reigning champs they have reason to be confident

but deep down they know they have nothing for Milwaukee. Theyre banking on Og Anunoby being the guy Kawhi was for him them basically LOL

Kills me to say this as a Raps fan, but if we face the Bucks in the playoffs, I don't see how we can get past them without Kawhi.

On defense, I still think it's possible to disrupt their offense, even without Kawhi. OG, Siakam, Gasol/Ibaka can swarm Giannis in the paint. OG's no Kawhi on defense, but he's still pretty close.

Our offense is where we'd really struggle without Kawhi. Our biggest offensive threat will likely be neutralized by Giannis, so we'd have to really rely on the supporting cast to step up.

toronto is a great team, and everyone contributes, of course

With Kawahi, it came down to the last bucket in game 7 against the Sixers last year.

kenwood3333 wrote:With Kawahi, it came down to the last bucket in game 7 against the Sixers last year.

But then they rolled out four straight wins in the next series vs the Bucks...

Not saying they'll do the same this season without Kawhi. Just sayin'....

sule wrote:Stupid Canadian team should keep their ego in check and remember their place in the pantheon of NBA teams.

Yea. On top. Biatch.

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Going to depend on how Pascal handles Lebron on Kawhi level defense. Going to need him to get us half court buckets under heavy defensive pressure.

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rapsdontlie wrote:Kills me to say this as a Raps fan, but if we face the Bucks in the playoffs, I don't see how we can get past them without Kawhi.

On defense, I still think it's possible to disrupt their offense, even without Kawhi. OG, Siakam, Gasol/Ibaka can swarm Giannis in the paint. OG's no Kawhi on defense, but he's still pretty close.

Our offense is where we'd really struggle without Kawhi. Our biggest offensive threat will likely be neutralized by Giannis, so we'd have to really rely on the supporting cast to step up.

I'm with you that itll be MUCH harder but it's something that is reasonable. Bucks are the favourites against any team for sure. It just shouldn't be a foregone conclusion that they're making the finals. They're not THAT good.

Why wouldn't they be optimistic? They have the 2nd best record in the east and have been a great winning team for years with and without Kawhi. That doesn't mean I think they're going to beat the Bucks but lets be real, if knock on wood Giannis were to test positive for corona then who is coming out of the east? It's anybody's guess. Any time you can put yourself realistically in a conference final you should be optimistic about making the finals, I know I would.

kenwood3333 wrote:With Kawahi, it came down to the last bucket in game 7 against the Sixers last year.

Sixers starting lineup was ridiculously talented, 4 max contract players, their weakest player was Redick who was a 40% 3pt shooter on 8 attempts per game....it's no coincident that the Heat became a top team in the East as soon as Butler joined them.

Sixers went down a tier as soon as Butler/Redick were swapped with Horford/Richardson.....huge downgrade. Sixers will regret giving that big of a contract to old man Horford.

Raptors will have their hands full with Magic in round one. They should focus on that series first.

I'm not that optimistic about making the finals tbh, but every series win is going to be more satisfying than last year because it'll be well deserved without having a "hired gun".

VanWest82 wrote:Raptors will have their hands full with Magic in round one. They should focus on that series first.

Gasol's hands are definitly going to be full taking care of his son

SFour wrote:

VanWest82 wrote:Raptors will have their hands full with Magic in round one. They should focus on that series first.

Gasol's hands are definitly going to be full taking care of his son

Spoiler:

Raptors have trouble scoring. Magic have tremendous length and one of the best defenses in the NBA. They have a player, Isaac, who was grown in a lab to slow down Siakam. Not saying Magic should be favored or anything but it might be closer than you think.

VanWest82 wrote:

SFour wrote:

VanWest82 wrote:Raptors will have their hands full with Magic in round one. They should focus on that series first.

Gasol's hands are definitly going to be full taking care of his son

Spoiler:

Raptors have trouble scoring. Magic have one of the best defenses in the NBA. They have a player, Isaac, that was pretty much grown in a lab to slow down Siakam. Not saying Magic should be favored or anything but it might be closer than you think.

what did Siakam average in the 1st round against Magic/Isaac

22.6 points on 53/36/90........I don't see where Isaac slowed him, and that was last season, he's a much better player this season.

SFour wrote:

VanWest82 wrote:

SFour wrote:
Gasol's hands are definitly going to be full taking care of his son

Spoiler:

Raptors have trouble scoring. Magic have one of the best defenses in the NBA. They have a player, Isaac, that was pretty much grown in a lab to slow down Siakam. Not saying Magic should be favored or anything but it might be closer than you think.

what did Siakam average in the 1st round against Magic/Isaac

22.6 points on 53/36/90........I don't see where Isaac slowed him, and that was last season, he's a much better player this season.

Siakam vs. Magic (mostly Isaac) this year: 17.3/11.0/4.0 and 3.0 TOVs on 42.4% TS in 110 mins. Last year Orlando used most of their defensive attention on Kawhi. It might be different this time around.

The Raptors can be optimistic.

They are the second best team in the East.

Their problem is that they struggle against all of the top playoff teams. That is why every opponent after the first round will be optimistic about facing Toronto.



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VanWest82 wrote:

SFour wrote:

VanWest82 wrote:
Raptors have trouble scoring. Magic have one of the best defenses in the NBA. They have a player, Isaac, that was pretty much grown in a lab to slow down Siakam. Not saying Magic should be favored or anything but it might be closer than you think.

what did Siakam average in the 1st round against Magic/Isaac

22.6 points on 53/36/90........I don't see where Isaac slowed him, and that was last season, he's a much better player this season.

Siakam vs. Magic (mostly Isaac) this year: 17.3/11.0/4.0 and 3.0 TOVs on 42.4% TS in 110 mins. Last year Orlando used most of their defensive attention on Kawhi. It might be different this time around.

Raptors are still 3-0 vs Magic this season despite Siakam averaging lower than his season average...I would say that's a good sign.

It's not like Kawhi left and the Raptors are still the same team as last season, there's a reason why they have the 3rd best record in the leauge...you have Lowry, FVV, Ibaka, Powell etc all making improvements in their offensive games which the Magic didn't have to deal with last season.

FVV averaged 7 ppg against the Magic in 2019 playoffs, Ibaka averaged 9 ppg, Powell averaged 9 ppg, Lowry only 11 ppg...that won't happen this season....all 4 of those players nearly doubled their scoring output this season.

Magic won't have to deal with Kawhi but their defensive attention will now have to deal with this:
FVV is averaging 17.6 ppg
Lowry is averaging 20 ppg
Ibaka is averaging 16 ppg
Powell is averaging 16.4 ppg

Top 2-3 teams in the east...what's the question here?

It's a 10-20% chance they'll make it to the finals- truthfully I see the ECF as the ceiling (60%) and the floor being a second round exit.

*Shrug