Preseason game thread Wizards @ Raptors

[dobrojim]

And beating last year’s W total seems pretty unlikely.
IDK what I was thinking about it being in doubt.

[WallToWall]

Wow, Jordan Poole, that dude would shoot the ball if he had no hands. Why am I getting Jordan Crawford vibes?

That’s actually pretty funny

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

I’ve never seen anything like Poole this offseason. Never ever in any sport seen such consistent polar opposite performances.

Dr. Jordan and Mr. Hyde

[gambitx777]

Jordan Poole might be the most wild NBA fantasy option I've ever seen lol. Would any one be shocked if he put up 80 this year at some point. There is gonna be a game hwrrenhe takes 30 shots and hits 25-28 of them.

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[nate33]

So much for watching competitive basketball. I don't think Patrick Baldwin Jr. belongs on an NBA floor right now.

I'm at the point where I stop watching once PBJ enters the game. That guy is a human white flag.

[nate33]

Considering they don't have Kuz and Jekyll and Poole is off, I thought they played fine. Ultimately, they are going to struggle against any team on the boards. The centers are the tank and that's fine. We need a top five pick, but I don't mind putting a team out there that will at least compete.

I know that's a tough team to drive against, but Deni could have had close to 20 in that first half if he could drive and finish left. I don't love him at the 4 spot and I see where he'll probably back up Kuz in the regular season. But it's good to see him dropping threes and playing D. Bilal is 19 and sometimes we forget that. But when I look at OG, Siakam and Barnes, I don't think it's hyperbole to say that he could be one of those guys one day when he fills out.

Yeah, this is the right take.

They're never going to win games when Poole shoots that poorly. The rest of the main rotation played competently enough. It was still a 12 point game in the middle of the 3rd when Patrick "white flag" Baldwin entered the game, despite Poole shooting 1 for 15.

Deni had a pretty good night, particularly on defense. He was too reckless with his passing though. The Raptors are way too long and athletic to attempt so many thread-the-needle passes into the paint. But if Deni can just hit those 3's like that while playing his usual good D, he'll be a quality starter for a long time.

I liked what I saw from Kispert. He was really aggressive at looking for his shot. That dunk was pretty nasty. Jordan Poole apparently got charged a technical foul in the aftermath while he wasn't even in the game. I wonder what he did? Too much taunting?

I think the team really could have used Kuzma. The Raptors were attacking Coulibaly in the paint with their size. Coulibaly just wasn't strong enough to contend with Siakam or Barnes whenever they got a switch. Having one more mobile forward with a bit more size would have made a big difference defensively.

Gafford has been pretty underwhelming so far this preseason. He is getting pushed around on the boards way too much.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Considering they don't have Kuz and Jekyll and Poole is off, I thought they played fine. Ultimately, they are going to struggle against any team on the boards. The centers are the tank and that's fine. We need a top five pick, but I don't mind putting a team out there that will at least compete.

I know that's a tough team to drive against, but Deni could have had close to 20 in that first half if he could drive and finish left. I don't love him at the 4 spot and I see where he'll probably back up Kuz in the regular season. But it's good to see him dropping threes and playing D. Bilal is 19 and sometimes we forget that. But when I look at OG, Siakam and Barnes, I don't think it's hyperbole to say that he could be one of those guys one day when he fills out.

Yeah, this is the right take.

They're never going to win games when Poole shoots that poorly. The rest of the main rotation played competently enough. It was still a 12 point game in the middle of the 3rd when Patrick "white flag" Baldwin entered the game, despite Poole shooting 1 for 15.

Deni had a pretty good night, particularly on defense. He was too reckless with his passing though. The Raptors are way too long and athletic to attempt so many thread-the-needle passes into the paint. But if Deni can just hit those 3's like that while playing his usual good D, he'll be a quality starter for a long time.

I liked what I saw from Kispert. He was really aggressive at looking for his shot. That dunk was pretty nasty. Jordan Poole apparently got charged a technical foul in the aftermath while he wasn't even in the game. I wonder what he did? Too much taunting?

I think the team really could have used Kuzma. The Raptors were attacking Coulibaly in the paint with their size. Coulibaly just wasn't strong enough to contend with Siakam or Barnes whenever they got a switch. Having one more mobile forward with a bit more size would have made a big difference defensively.

Gafford has been pretty underwhelming so far this preseason. He is getting pushed around on the boards way too much.

Yep. Gaff has been the biggest disappointment this preseason. He’s gotten worse year over year.

[badinage]

Deni was pretty terrific.

They have no interior D without him playing. It was comical with Muscala and walking corpse Gallo in. He plays very good positional D, he bodies up, he boards.

And his shot looked excellent. Higher arc, and it splashed.

Some great passes too (though, yes, gotta protect the ball — there were a couple forced plays; though some were the result of feeding a guy, Gafford, who can only catch a near-perfect lob for a dunk).

He’s a crafty player, and a valuable one. And — excitingly — there’s still room for growth.

This year will be about bringing Bilal along, and trying to get some good flashes out of him in every game. But if they don’t maximize Deni — I use the word “they” on purpose — then this year will have been a failure.

You simply don’t want to have him go to a team like Miami or Golden St. and see what he will become. That would be heartbreaking — and part of a long line of Bullets/Wizards player heartbreak.

[FAH1223]

Poole will struggle with teams with length like the Raptors have.