PG: Plan the Parade

[MEDIC]

Is Chomche gonna be in the big league this year? He didn’t look terrible, but slower/heavier and not much jump/vertical coming off injury.

I thought it was the best I have seen him play overall. Such a big difference from 7-8 months ago.

He has bulked up, so he doesn't look as quick, but he looks a lot stronger & is able to compete down low because of it. He is already growing into his man bod, yet is still only 19 years old.

He also looks a lot more aware of his positioning on both sides of the floor.

Even if he gives up a bit of speed for bulk/ strength, he will be a better 5 man. He'll still be one of the more mobile.5's in the league. That block he had last night was a thing of beauty. Came.out of nowhere to get there & contest. I thought it was going to be an easy dunk.

Highlight play & one of my favorite plays of the night.

[ArthurVandelay]

I love this style of play. Tough/ gritty/ in your face full court defense. I have been wanting the Raptors to play like this since......forever. This is my style of basketball....very entertaing.

This is what they played under Nurse in his final seasons. People complained and said it reminded them of the dreadful coach O'Neil days.

The offense was the problem under Nurse. Not the defense.

Can play great defense and offense. Doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive

[PD28]

First Raptors game I've watched in its entirety in a looong while. Glad to see the positive shift around here

Martin looks like a solid pickup, and I can def see him get minutes - lookout Gradey.
Was never a Mogbo believer but looks like he's finally learning to be assertive and use his athleticism - all of last year he was so timid. You can't be undersized and timid.
Shead looks alright, able to control the offense and get other involved. Really needs to develop that 3 for him to be a real threat offensively.
Walter had a shaky night but I like his aggression on the defensive end and he's using the bulk better going downhill.

[MoneyBall]

I love this style of play. Tough/ gritty/ in your face full court defense. I have been wanting the Raptors to play like this since......forever. This is my style of basketball....very entertaing.

This is what they played under Nurse in his final seasons. People complained and said it reminded them of the dreadful coach O'Neil days.

The offense was the problem under Nurse. Not the defense.

Can play great defense and offense. Doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive

I agree, it is precisely because they are not mutually exclusive that it was a problem. Shooting percentages go down when players are exausted from busting their tails on defense.

[PushDaRock]

The battle for mins on this team is going to be intense. Nobody is going to be able to coast, it's an iron sharpens iron mentality that should benefit the team as a whole.

[LoveMyRaps]

If we make the playoffs, Shead will get serious consideration for an All-Defense spot.

He's a beast.

Also was nice to see him knock down that three. He's been working on that a ton over the summer, and it's not farfetched to believe he'll shoot at a 36% clip this year considering he shot 32% last season.

[PushDaRock]

First Raptors game I've watched in its entirety in a looong while. Glad to see the positive shift around here

Martin looks like a solid pickup, and I can def see him get minutes - lookout Gradey.
Was never a Mogbo believer but looks like he's finally learning to be assertive and use his athleticism - all of last year he was so timid. You can't be undersized and timid.
Shead looks alright, able to control the offense and get other involved. Really needs to develop that 3 for him to be a real threat offensively.
Walter had a shaky night but I like his aggression on the defensive end and he's using the bulk better going downhill.

Gradey is the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb on this roster. He's going to need a huge summer.

[DreamTeam09]

I love this style of play. Tough/ gritty/ in your face full court defense. I have been wanting the Raptors to play like this since......forever. This is my style of basketball....very entertaing.

This is what they played under Nurse in his final seasons. People complained and said it reminded them of the dreadful coach O'Neil days.

The offense under nurse sucked, no1 hates defense. Ppl get upset at offense tho, under Darko Toronto shares the rock

[dagger]

Those who saw Chomche in the weeks leading up to his injury could see the development. Had he completed the season healthy, I suspect there would have been more excitement about his development. Now, it's coming back.

Simply put, the 905 were a better team with him on the court than off. He's not a flashy big man with arms and legs and torso flailing about. He's kind of standup with good positioning, and he has just the right mentor in Poeltl for how to play the position. The injury was unfortunate, but fortunately didn't require surgery and within a few weeks, he was walking around without any evidence of a brace. So in the big picture, it looks like a nothing burger. I also saw glimpses of some offence from him, although I suspect that will become more obvious in future years since the thing that matters most right now is his defensive game. But he could develop into a real all-rounder. He's 19, and will be for the first few months of the season, meaning he's a few weeks older than some of the one-and-dones in this year's draft. And I still can't believe they drafted him 58th and got him to sign a two-year two-way. I didn't even know that existed. Had he gone undrafted, another team might have scooped him up as a free agent.

[MEDIC]

Those who saw Chomche in the weeks leading up to his injury could see the development. Had he completed the season healthy, I suspect there would have been more excitement about his development. Now, it's coming back.

Simply put, the 905 were a better team with him on the court than off. He's not a flashy big man with arms and legs and torso flailing about. He's kind of standup with good positioning, and he has just the right mentor in Poeltl for how to play the position. The injury was unfortunate, but fortunately didn't require surgery and within a few weeks, he was walking around without any evidence of a brace. So in the big picture, it looks like a nothing burger. I also saw glimpses of some offence from him, although I suspect that will become more obvious in future years since the thing that matters most right now is his defensive game. But he could develop into a real all-rounder. He's 19, and will be for the first few months of the season, meaning he's a few weeks older than some of the one-and-dones in this year's draft. And I still can't believe they drafted him 58th and got him to sign a two-year two-way. I didn't even know that existed. Had he gone undrafted, another team might have scooped him up as a free agent.

He has a pretty good hands and a soft touch around the basket. With him being so young and inexperienced, this really bodes well for his future. So much untapped potential.

Honestly, I was most excited about Chomche's performance last night.

Martin was exciting, but he is 4-5 years older than Chomche & kind of did what I expected him to do (after watching him at Florida this year).

[Duffman100]

Funny someone needs to tell Chomche how big he is.

When he did the great seal and drop step on his guy, he faded away with a little push floater. Great touch and he made it.

But he could have just gone and tried to dunk it over the guy.

[LoveMyRaps]

Chomche does need to work on his awareness. He tends to wander around the offensive end with his head down at times.

But again, I was super impressed with him last night.
Night and day difference compared to last season.

[MoneyBall]

I love this style of play. Tough/ gritty/ in your face full court defense. I have been wanting the Raptors to play like this since......forever. This is my style of basketball....very entertaing.

This is what they played under Nurse in his final seasons. People complained and said it reminded them of the dreadful coach O'Neil days.

The offense under nurse sucked, no1 hates defense. Ppl get upset at offense tho, under Darko Toronto shares the rock

The offense sucked in part because of the defense, though. They couldn't dispense the energy for a high motion offense because their defense required so much of their stamina.

[TimeForChange]

First Raptors game I've watched in its entirety in a looong while. Glad to see the positive shift around here

Martin looks like a solid pickup, and I can def see him get minutes - lookout Gradey.
Was never a Mogbo believer but looks like he's finally learning to be assertive and use his athleticism - all of last year he was so timid. You can't be undersized and timid.
Shead looks alright, able to control the offense and get other involved. Really needs to develop that 3 for him to be a real threat offensively.
Walter had a shaky night but I like his aggression on the defensive end and he's using the bulk better going downhill.

Gradey is the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb on this roster. He's going to need a huge summer.

he really needs to be playing in summer league. nothing should be guaranteed.

[dagger]

First Raptors game I've watched in its entirety in a looong while. Glad to see the positive shift around here

Martin looks like a solid pickup, and I can def see him get minutes - lookout Gradey.
Was never a Mogbo believer but looks like he's finally learning to be assertive and use his athleticism - all of last year he was so timid. You can't be undersized and timid.
Shead looks alright, able to control the offense and get other involved. Really needs to develop that 3 for him to be a real threat offensively.
Walter had a shaky night but I like his aggression on the defensive end and he's using the bulk better going downhill.

Gradey is the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb on this roster. He's going to need a huge summer.

he really needs to be playing in summer league. nothing should be guaranteed.

Gradey is 6'6" and the best movement and distance shooter on the team except for Quickley. I remember how there were loads of detractors for Scottie in his second season when he didn't seem to match the trajectory that was expected of him. In his third season, save for his three point shooting, Scottie seemed to be more of what at least some of us hoped. Gradey's D is the issue, but he is still a better offensive bet than any one of the younger guys except maybe Walter (though I'd still bet on Gradey), and since the late Kevin O'Neill isn't coaching this team, offence and especially scoring still matters.

[Randle McMurphy]

If the Raptors are ever gonna win the ever valued SL title, this would be the team to do it. Loads of guys with NBA experience.

[dagger]

If the Raptors are ever gonna win the ever valued SL title, this would be the team to do it. Loads of guys with NBA experience.

Definitely need another banner at the Scotiabank Arena

[Raptaurus]

Gradey is the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb on this roster. He's going to need a huge summer.

he really needs to be playing in summer league. nothing should be guaranteed.

Gradey is 6'6" and the best movement and distance shooter on the team except for Quickley. I remember how there were loads of detractors for Scottie in his second season when he didn't seem to match the trajectory that was expected of him. In his third season, save for his three point shooting, Scottie seemed to be more of what at least some of us hoped. Gradey's D is the issue, but he is still a better offensive bet than any one of the younger guys except maybe Walter (though I'd still bet on Gradey), and since the late Kevin O'Neill isn't coaching this team, offence and especially scoring still matters.

Grady getting traction in the rotation will depend mostly on his hitting three’s at a high percentage to mitigate his lack of D. There is otherwise a dearth of shooters on this team.

[Psubs]

Funny someone needs to tell Chomche how big he is.

When he did the great seal and drop step on his guy, he faded away with a little push floater. Great touch and he made it.

But he could have just gone and tried to dunk it over the guy.

I suspect he's being timid not reckless coming back from injury.

[VanWest82]

Chomche does need to work on his awareness. He tends to wander around the offensive end with his head down at times.

But again, I was super impressed with him last night.
Night and day difference compared to last season.

Yeah, he had a couple of drops on passes in tight for easy baskets that are probably more awareness issues than anything, but we're still a ways away from catching a low pocket pass on the roll and making a play on the move or finishing through contact. Overall, he's an impressive prospect though.