PG: OKC thunders Raps, Tank rolls on

[Pointgod]

We absolutely can catch up to the Hornets, Jazz, and Pelicans and secure a top 4 standing if we tank hard enough.

Believe.

Not if Ingram comes back and that soft schedule.

[AbC?]

Just lol at this idea that Raptor fans always knew Barnes wasn't going to be a #1 option. There was so much delusional hope in him and there are still remnants of it here and there. It quickly transitioned into "he can be the best player on a contender but doesn't need to be the best scorer" and now it's the belief he's a #2 caliber player on championship level team. It's still too optimistic. I see him as a utility #3, and that's a maybe, not for certain.

[dballislife]

after timeouts darko always runs the play for rj with poeltl...you know why, cause the coaches know rj and not scottie is your best shot at a bucket when your team needs it

ingram and rj will help shoulder the load for scottie, cause he really needs it

[DelAbbot]

Just lol at this idea that Raptor fans always knew Barnes wasn't going to be a #1 option. There was so much delusional hope in him and there are still remnants of it here and there. It quickly transitioned into "he can be the best player on a contender but doesn't need to be the best scorer" and now it's the belief he's a #2 caliber player on championship level team. It's still too optimistic. I see him as a utility #3, and that's a maybe, not for certain.

Scottie's projection went from Magic to Lamar Odom

[GLF]

His #1 option days are coming to an end with Ingram joining the team.

I have Barrett as the better 2nd option as well. Then the third option a toss up between him and IQ, is that work 30M+ a year? The Siakam and OG moves don't make sense. We didn't want to pay either 35-40M a year, but we want to pay Barnes, Ingram, and IQ who are all worse the same amount? How does it make sense man?

Well for 1, they both wanted to get paid and their Ave cap hits are 42 and 47 million respectively.

Barnes isn't a natural scorer. We all knew that. Hell he was called a zero level scorer pre-draft. And yet he has shown he can be a 20 point guy without having a go to move or outside shooting. Though this year he is working on his midrange and that looks like his sweet spot.

We all know he naturally thinks pass 1st...vs an RJ who thinks score 1st. That likely never changes. But that's why him and RJ are a good fit and him and BI are likely an even bigger one.

I hope they try all they guys together to see how things mesh because they all can benefit from each other.

People have short memories. We have seen Scottie take over 4th Q's before against good teams. We know he isn't a #1 scoring option, hence why they went after Ingram. But yet he can get you 20...which is 37th in the league. Who else is around there? Siajam 20.7. Sabonis 20.4. Markkannen 19.3, Sengun 19.2. Even Williams is at 21.1 but gets to feed off the gravity of SGA. Barnes doesn't have that. Adding BI helps

I used this example in another thread. Take the Memphis game. He struggled with a bigger DPOY guy on him in JJJ. But with Ingram, JJJ would he guarding him. That frees Barnes up who would instead be guarded by Wells. That's a massive difference. And if RJ was playing, RJ would be guarded by Kennard. RJ could absolutely exploit that matchup. It just shows that by adding an Ingram, what it can do for others and making their matchups easier. And certainly playing without both RJ and now Ingram, yeah, Barnes is going to struggle against 2 top defensive teams. And hell, Yak missed 1.5 of those games too.

His last 9 games he has still managed to post 7 games of 20 pts or more. You would swear he is a 10 point scorer now the way people ate going on. Plus we have seen his defense increase a bunch and that takes energy. He will eventually be our Lowry. He will be the 2nd best player on the team but likely the 3rd scoring option. But will also fill the scoresheet and be a menace on defense. And he will have games where he takes over offensively like Lowry scoring the 1st 12 points of game 6 vs GSW.

Relax. He and the team are far from a finished product. And yet he has won ROTY and been an All Star. And his numbers this year are almost identical to last year.

I am so happy you’re on this forum. Your posts are a breath of fresh air. Always so level headed and never quick to jump to conclusions. Everyone here is just way too extreme and negative all the time. And there is just no grace or patience given to young players. No nuance. Not context. Just this player is bad and will never be this or that. Always speaking in absolutes like they can see the future. It’s so tired.

Anyway, BI’s presence alone is gonna make everything so much easier for everyone. I think he is going to help IQ and Scottie the most. Because right now they are being asked to do too much on offence and their skill sets currently can’t handle it. Allow them to move down a peg in the offence and get guarded by lesser defenders and also have BI attracting the attention away from them and watch them flourish. I always say, if Scottie got to play the role on offence Evan Mobley gets to play he would look like a superstar.

Mainly because he’s a great finisher in the paint and would just be fed easy looks all night from Garland and Mitchell. But he would add the extra element of playmaking and passing that Mobley doesn’t have because that’s Scottie’s one elite skill. So when people say Mobley is better than him because numbers wise he is having a better year I laugh. Mobley is the 4th option out there. 3rd sometimes and sometimes even 5th. BI allowing Scottie to move down a peg will only help his game and the team as a whole.

[Mikistan]

I dont think I've ever seen less than a page for a PG thread. The tank really killing the fandom?

Jakobe starting to get more efficient as the season progresses has me excited for his future.

I know it has for me.

this year and tampa season, first years since post carter trade that i havent watched every game

[AkelaLoneWolf]

Quickley is not the answer at PG. I could care less about the 10 assists. Scoring and playing defense wins you games.

Trade him in the off-season. That's if you get any takers with that massive contract Masai gave him.

Man I miss Lowry..

wasn't paying too much attention to the game last night but looking at the boxscore, he tied Battle with fewest attempts at 5. was the okc defense that good or was he just passing up the ball for no reason.

[bape_lovers]

with Chet and harestin and not much spacing/injury, he was just floating. It’s all good, this is what development looks like. People expectation is unrealistic

Quickley is not the answer at PG. I could care less about the 10 assists. Scoring and playing defense wins you games.

Trade him in the off-season. That's if you get any takers with that massive contract Masai gave him.

Man I miss Lowry..

wasn't paying too much attention to the game last night but looking at the boxscore, he tied Battle with fewest attempts at 5. was the okc defense that good or was he just passing up the ball for no reason.

[TorontoBarneys]

Throwing shade at tankers as some sort of "own" because Scottie doesn't look like a future star anymore is odd considering they were the first posters to tell everyone that you shouldn't get comfortable with Barnes as your only big prospect and to continue getting high draft picks.

How does that translate to betting on Barnes being a #1 option?

[mihaic]

We absolutely can catch up to the Hornets, Jazz, and Pelicans and secure a top 4 standing if we tank hard enough.

Believe.

Not if Ingram comes back and that soft schedule.

It's gonna be tough if they won't sit players

[Son Goku 25]

Just lol at this idea that Raptor fans always knew Barnes wasn't going to be a #1 option. There was so much delusional hope in him and there are still remnants of it here and there. It quickly transitioned into "he can be the best player on a contender but doesn't need to be the best scorer" and now it's the belief he's a #2 caliber player on championship level team. It's still too optimistic. I see him as a utility #3, and that's a maybe, not for certain.

Scottie's projection went from Magic to Lamar Odom

Which is ok.

A mix of Sheed and Odom is great for us esp if we can get better talent around him.

The only thing is that Scottie projects to have a Lowry like impact at his best and we need that.