Official Play-in Thread - Our Play-in Destiny is in our Hands

[YogurtProducer]

Of course, you don't need all of our team to be healthy in order to compare with opposing team all healthy. Are you also expecting all our players to play 82 games next year? No, right. There won't have many sample size against teams being fully healthy.

And many of our loses from against shorthanded teams, right? Murray, Holmgren, Lillard, Cunningham, Wagna, Mitchell, etc.

And many of our losses this year had us missing

Barnes
Barrett
Poeltl
Quickley
Ingram (now)
Brown / Olynyk (then)

Even Walter missed a ton of time when we were already shorthanded.

IDK Why this is such a difficult concept to grasp. We have been one of the most injured teams in the entire league. Why you somehow have reached the conclusion that it doesnt matter is insanity.

Its a lot easier to handle injuries when it is a guy here or a guy there. It is much harder when you have IQ/Barnes out at the same time, and Brown/Olynyk/Walter off the bench and you are now playing deeper backups as starters and third stringers as 6th men.

I think you just overrated our own injuries. Losing a game without Quickley and Brown and Olynyk vs Denver without Murray, great, that must be comparable: https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-den-0022400166/box-score#box-score

And please explain the below two games:
https://www.nba.com/game/orl-vs-tor-0022400470/box-score
https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-cle-0022400517/box-score

You are joking right? That top game didn't have Scottie either

And yes, this might shock you but in an 82-game season sometimes you lose against short-handed teams. Sometimes you win when you are short handed, such as this one. Posting that we have a few losses against otherwise great team missing a few guys isn't proof of anything. I mean, we have wins short handed as well, such as this one:

https://www.nba.com/game/ind-vs-tor-0022400247/box-score

Or you know... the 15 wins we have this year with IQ out.

You are getting WAY to bogged down in the details. The reality is we are one of the most injured teams in the league this season. IQ is arguably our 2nd/3rd best guy and he has barely played. RJ/Barnes/Poeltl have combined to miss a quarter or so of the season each. Ingram hasn't touched the floor.

But hey, that is comparable to Denver mising Jamal Murrary for a one-off game in which we were missing Barnes, right?

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/injured/_/year/2024/view/team
https://www.bball-index.com/nba-injuries/

[Indeed]

And many of our losses this year had us missing

Barnes
Barrett
Poeltl
Quickley
Ingram (now)
Brown / Olynyk (then)

Even Walter missed a ton of time when we were already shorthanded.

IDK Why this is such a difficult concept to grasp. We have been one of the most injured teams in the entire league. Why you somehow have reached the conclusion that it doesnt matter is insanity.

Its a lot easier to handle injuries when it is a guy here or a guy there. It is much harder when you have IQ/Barnes out at the same time, and Brown/Olynyk/Walter off the bench and you are now playing deeper backups as starters and third stringers as 6th men.

I think you just overrated our own injuries. Losing a game without Quickley and Brown and Olynyk vs Denver without Murray, great, that must be comparable: https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-den-0022400166/box-score#box-score

And please explain the below two games:
https://www.nba.com/game/orl-vs-tor-0022400470/box-score
https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-cle-0022400517/box-score

You are joking right? That top game didn't have Scottie either

And yes, this might shock you but in an 82-game season sometimes you lose against short-handed teams. Sometimes you win when you are short handed, such as this one. Posting that we have a few losses against otherwise great team missing a few guys isn't proof of anything. I mean, we have wins short handed as well, such as this one:

https://www.nba.com/game/ind-vs-tor-0022400247/box-score

Or you know... the 15 wins we have this year with IQ out.

You are getting WAY to bogged down in the details. The reality is we are one of the most injured teams in the league this season. IQ is arguably our 2nd/3rd best guy and he has barely played. RJ/Barnes/Poeltl have combined to miss a quarter or so of the season each. Ingram hasn't touched the floor.

But hey, that is comparable to Denver mising Jamal Murrary for a one-off game in which we were missing Barnes, right?

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/injured/_/year/2024/view/team
https://www.bball-index.com/nba-injuries/

Right, only 15 wins (and some how 5 games winning streak before the trade deadline with us being injured), that is pretty much the issue. And how many did we win with everyone back (except Ingram)? 1 out of 6 games? Against short handed teams?

It is just silly to not think we are a middle of the pack play-in team next year as I stated.

[ash_k]

We really need to see Yak|Scottie|Ingram|Barrett|IQ this season ASAP and fight for the play-in..for 20 games, it would be worth it! To evaluate the fit and to seal Darko's fate one way or the other. If it crashes, we should not allow Darko to run a 3rd training camp.

Getting a lotto pick would be an asset, as none of those players in the draft will be coming to take anyone's place in the starting 5 next season including any player around that 14% chance.

Let's play-in!

[YogurtProducer]

I think you just overrated our own injuries. Losing a game without Quickley and Brown and Olynyk vs Denver without Murray, great, that must be comparable: https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-den-0022400166/box-score#box-score

And please explain the below two games:
https://www.nba.com/game/orl-vs-tor-0022400470/box-score
https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-cle-0022400517/box-score

You are joking right? That top game didn't have Scottie either

And yes, this might shock you but in an 82-game season sometimes you lose against short-handed teams. Sometimes you win when you are short handed, such as this one. Posting that we have a few losses against otherwise great team missing a few guys isn't proof of anything. I mean, we have wins short handed as well, such as this one:

https://www.nba.com/game/ind-vs-tor-0022400247/box-score

Or you know... the 15 wins we have this year with IQ out.

You are getting WAY to bogged down in the details. The reality is we are one of the most injured teams in the league this season. IQ is arguably our 2nd/3rd best guy and he has barely played. RJ/Barnes/Poeltl have combined to miss a quarter or so of the season each. Ingram hasn't touched the floor.

But hey, that is comparable to Denver mising Jamal Murrary for a one-off game in which we were missing Barnes, right?

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/injured/_/year/2024/view/team
https://www.bball-index.com/nba-injuries/

Right, only 15 wins (and some how 5 games winning streak before the trade deadline with us being injured), that is pretty much the issue. And how many did we win with everyone back (except Ingram)? 1 out of 6 games? Against short handed teams?

It is just silly to not think we are a middle of the pack play-in team next year as I stated.

When was everyone back? The first time those 4 played together was games 36 thru 39 of the year vs a relatively healthy DET, MIL, & NYK, CLE without Mitchell. (and this might shock you, but a 48 win CLE team missing 1 player is not the same as TOR missing 2 to 4).

Then we saw them for 2 more games game 48 and 49 in which IQ played 15 and 17 minutes (So aka - not full strength).

And none of this considers that Ingram has not played a second or that we have an incoming 2025 pick.

So your entire opinion is on the back of 4 games in mid January against 4 of the top 6 teams in the East while we were trying to get a new team playing together, and was directly before our 8-2 stretch in which IQ was the only guy out. Crazy, it took a few games for a moderately healthy team to figure it out together.

I honestly don't even understand your stance anymore. Is it that since we went 1-5 in the 6 games our team played together all season you have a big enough sample to draw conclusions? BEcuase if so, thats comical.

[S.W.A.N]

I am coming over to the dark side.

Time to get hyped for our playoff run.
We're going to be the 10th seed strictly based on the fact the East sucks aasss. Might as well enjoy the wins instead of lamenting draft position

Edit: Just kidding. The Bulls just brought me back to Team Tank

[mihaic]

I am coming over to the dark side.

Time to get hyped for our playoff run.
We're going to be the 10th seed strictly based on the fact the East sucks aasss. Might as well enjoy the wins instead of lamenting draft position

Edit: Just kidding. The Bulls just brought me back to Team Tank

Do we need Scottie to repeat that playin experience he had against the Bulls? Did that really help him?

I'd rather have a better stab at a good rookie, it'll help more next year. And I'm not really considering more than opportunistic tank jobs, but this is an opportunistic possibility.

[ItsDanger]

Only 5 games out of the play in. On Jan 21st, we were 7.5 games out. Progress.

[TorontoBarneys]

We are not tanking, so might as well start cheering for a potential play-in spot.

[Tripod]

Only 5 games out of the play in. On Jan 21st, we were 7.5 games out. Progress.

Well when you go playing 9-10 basketball over 19 games, gotta expect to be catching playoff teams.

[NinjaBro]

Back in business, let's go!

[S.W.A.N]

I am coming over to the dark side.

Time to get hyped for our playoff run.
We're going to be the 10th seed strictly based on the fact the East sucks aasss. Might as well enjoy the wins instead of lamenting draft position

Edit: Just kidding. The Bulls just brought me back to Team Tank

Do we need Scottie to repeat that playin experience he had against the Bulls? Did that really help him?

I'd rather have a better stab at a good rookie, it'll help more next year. And I'm not really considering more than opportunistic tank jobs, but this is an opportunistic possibility.

I don't think we need it. I certainly don't want it. I would love to get Flagg or as high as possible, but it feels like the writing is on the wall.

The east just really really sucks.

It is entirely redonkulous but we could easily go on a 10 game winning streak while actively trying to tank.

There is not a single game left where I think we don't have a real shot at winning. Golden State during the road trip is probably the hardest game and Dallas IF A.D is healthy.

I love the draft and spend way too much time thinking about who we can get so this winning crap is annoying.

From now on I'm assuming we're drafting 15th and any better than that is just a bonus

[Shakril]

You are joking right? That top game didn't have Scottie either

And yes, this might shock you but in an 82-game season sometimes you lose against short-handed teams. Sometimes you win when you are short handed, such as this one. Posting that we have a few losses against otherwise great team missing a few guys isn't proof of anything. I mean, we have wins short handed as well, such as this one:

https://www.nba.com/game/ind-vs-tor-0022400247/box-score

Or you know... the 15 wins we have this year with IQ out.

You are getting WAY to bogged down in the details. The reality is we are one of the most injured teams in the league this season. IQ is arguably our 2nd/3rd best guy and he has barely played. RJ/Barnes/Poeltl have combined to miss a quarter or so of the season each. Ingram hasn't touched the floor.

But hey, that is comparable to Denver mising Jamal Murrary for a one-off game in which we were missing Barnes, right?

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/injured/_/year/2024/view/team
https://www.bball-index.com/nba-injuries/

Right, only 15 wins (and some how 5 games winning streak before the trade deadline with us being injured), that is pretty much the issue. And how many did we win with everyone back (except Ingram)? 1 out of 6 games? Against short handed teams?

It is just silly to not think we are a middle of the pack play-in team next year as I stated.

When was everyone back? The first time those 4 played together was games 36 thru 39 of the year vs a relatively healthy DET, MIL, & NYK, CLE without Mitchell. (and this might shock you, but a 48 win CLE team missing 1 player is not the same as TOR missing 2 to 4).

Then we saw them for 2 more games game 48 and 49 in which IQ played 15 and 17 minutes (So aka - not full strength).

And none of this considers that Ingram has not played a second or that we have an incoming 2025 pick.

So your entire opinion is on the back of 4 games in mid January against 4 of the top 6 teams in the East while we were trying to get a new team playing together, and was directly before our 8-2 stretch in which IQ was the only guy out. Crazy, it took a few games for a moderately healthy team to figure it out together.

I honestly don't even understand your stance anymore. Is it that since we went 1-5 in the 6 games our team played together all season you have a big enough sample to draw conclusions? BEcuase if so, thats comical.

Claiming that our injuries hadnt had impact on our record is rather an uneducated Statement.
We lost many games by single digits, while beeing shorthanded. We even lost some of those through stupidity, which actually should be wins, despite beeing shorthanded. Yes our team is beaten under value record wise.

We are not worse than Orlando or Miami as our games against them has shown. What we have is a lack of consistency, which hopefully will be built up over the next 20 games and that might even lead us to a play-in spot, which i am totally fine with.

[Shakril]

I am coming over to the dark side.

Time to get hyped for our playoff run.
We're going to be the 10th seed strictly based on the fact the East sucks aasss. Might as well enjoy the wins instead of lamenting draft position

Edit: Just kidding. The Bulls just brought me back to Team Tank

Do we need Scottie to repeat that playin experience he had against the Bulls? Did that really help him?

I'd rather have a better stab at a good rookie, it'll help more next year. And I'm not really considering more than opportunistic tank jobs, but this is an opportunistic possibility.

Actually yes. Its a high pressure game. He saw that a little girl screaming can shatter your concentration which can lead to a defeat.
Those are the kind of situations you have to experience so that in the future you can deal with them better. That game was actually perfect for it to experience - as painful as it was.

[mihaic]

I am coming over to the dark side.

Time to get hyped for our playoff run.
We're going to be the 10th seed strictly based on the fact the East sucks aasss. Might as well enjoy the wins instead of lamenting draft position

Edit: Just kidding. The Bulls just brought me back to Team Tank

Do we need Scottie to repeat that playin experience he had against the Bulls? Did that really help him?

I'd rather have a better stab at a good rookie, it'll help more next year. And I'm not really considering more than opportunistic tank jobs, but this is an opportunistic possibility.

Actually yes. Its a high pressure game. He saw that a little girl screaming can shatter your concentration which can lead to a defeat.
Those are the kind of situations you have to experience so that in the future you can deal with them better. That game was actually perfect for it to experience - as painful as it was.

That my friend, was not Demars daughter or Scottie although anecdotally it's funny to think it was. It was Fred and Pascal being checked out and especially Nick Nurse not giving a rat's ass. I was at the game and I can tell you NN was out, was talking to my daughter right in the game discussing why he does nothing no change when we had that big lead and we lost the game by him not caring what Lavine was doing.

If anything losing another playin will be bad for Scottie imo, he cannot effing close a regular season game.
Winning the playin will be even worse for the future as we'd pick 15th.

So ya there's a lot at stake.

[mihaic]

^^ and by the way the reason I want to tank now is because I am generally not pro tank. But they botched 2 years now, and I don't want another being bottom feeder next year. Just get an extra good player now from the top of the draft, and we're set next year

[Shakril]

Do we need Scottie to repeat that playin experience he had against the Bulls? Did that really help him?

I'd rather have a better stab at a good rookie, it'll help more next year. And I'm not really considering more than opportunistic tank jobs, but this is an opportunistic possibility.

Actually yes. Its a high pressure game. He saw that a little girl screaming can shatter your concentration which can lead to a defeat.
Those are the kind of situations you have to experience so that in the future you can deal with them better. That game was actually perfect for it to experience - as painful as it was.

That my friend, was not Demars daughter or Scottie although anecdotally it's funny to think it was. It was Fred and Pascal being checked out and especially Nick Nurse not giving a rat's ass. I was at the game and I can tell you NN was out, was talking to my daughter right in the game discussing why he does nothing no change when we had that big lead and we lost the game by him not caring what Lavine was doing.

If anything losing another playin will be bad for Scottie imo, he cannot effing close a regular season game.
Winning the playin will be even worse for the future as we'd pick 15th.

So ya there's a lot at stake.

Yes, we didnt lose cause of free throws, we lost cause we were leading up double digits in the 4th.
No matter how checked out someone was or not, we were still leading and winning the game.

It change with a little girl screaming. If you actually were at the game, you would know.

That experience is valuable, gambling with lottery balls isnt.

[DelAbbot]

I am coming over to the dark side.

Time to get hyped for our playoff run.
We're going to be the 10th seed strictly based on the fact the East sucks aasss. Might as well enjoy the wins instead of lamenting draft position

Edit: Just kidding. The Bulls just brought me back to Team Tank

Do we need Scottie to repeat that playin experience he had against the Bulls? Did that really help him?

I'd rather have a better stab at a good rookie, it'll help more next year. And I'm not really considering more than opportunistic tank jobs, but this is an opportunistic possibility.

I don't think we need it. I certainly don't want it. I would love to get Flagg or as high as possible, but it feels like the writing is on the wall.

The east just really really sucks.

It is entirely redonkulous but we could easily go on a 10 game winning streak while actively trying to tank.

There is not a single game left where I think we don't have a real shot at winning. Golden State during the road trip is probably the hardest game and Dallas IF A.D is healthy.

I love the draft and spend way too much time thinking about who we can get so this winning crap is annoying.

From now on I'm assuming we're drafting 15th and any better than that is just a bonus

Take that same expectations to your life and you will live a happy life

[mihaic]

Actually yes. Its a high pressure game. He saw that a little girl screaming can shatter your concentration which can lead to a defeat.
Those are the kind of situations you have to experience so that in the future you can deal with them better. That game was actually perfect for it to experience - as painful as it was.

That my friend, was not Demars daughter or Scottie although anecdotally it's funny to think it was. It was Fred and Pascal being checked out and especially Nick Nurse not giving a rat's ass. I was at the game and I can tell you NN was out, was talking to my daughter right in the game discussing why he does nothing no change when we had that big lead and we lost the game by him not caring what Lavine was doing.

If anything losing another playin will be bad for Scottie imo, he cannot effing close a regular season game.
Winning the playin will be even worse for the future as we'd pick 15th.

So ya there's a lot at stake.

Yes, we didnt lose cause of free throws, we lost cause we were leading up double digits in the 4th.
No matter how checked out someone was or not, we were still leading and winning the game.

It change with a little girl screaming. If you actually were at the game, you would know.

That experience is valuable, gambling with lottery balls isnt.

Dude I had lower bowl tickets fir that game, which I now regret I purchased, it did cost a lot and they didn'teven throw in a memorabilia tshirt like they used to before.

We lost the game because NN did not react to Chicago Bill Donovan changing the strategy. You have to see the game beyond the makes and misses, perhaps you now understand what I meant.

NN was mentally checked out, I could see the body language from where I was sitting, in hindsight it's clear he knew he was out.

[Tripod]

Ot was clear Nurse bailed on them in that presser in Philly. He just allowed players to do whatever they wanted to. He wanted that season to ends as quickly as possible so he could move on.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

DESTINY!!!!!!!!!!!

C'mon TWO the basketball gods have spoken, it's time to repent.....hop aboard the bandwagon!!