GT: 7/13 | Summer League | Raptors Vs Magic | 6EST | SN 360

[nivisi9]

It's crazy our roster doesn't have a lot of high end talent but we have a crazy amount of depth. Darko is going to have a really hard time balancing playing time.

ya I am really dreading this and dont think it will suit his coaching well..

He's too much of a nice guy and will probably try and give too many guys mins to our detriment..

Are we really expecting him to bench RJ for CMB mid-season if things play out into a situation that he should?

I dont

Why would Rj be benched in favour of cmb? They play different positions…

Please..its pretty much positional -less basketball at this point..

there's like 100 different lineup variations where CMB could take RJ mins, hes a wing+big

ex.

Quickley-Ingram-Dick-Scottie-CMB

Quickley-Ingram-Ochai-CMB-Scottie

Quickley-Walter-CMB-Scottie-Poeltl

1000 more variations..

If RJ continues to be one of the worst OVERALL shooters in the league as a wing, poor defence, lacking overall impact and CMB has a rookie season of positive overall impact on the floor then we will be in that situation especially considering we have like 5 other guys who can play RJ role and POTENTIALLY more efficiently (Ingram, Ochai, Walter, Dick, etc.)

be abit less rigid and open your mind to the more realistic lineup versatility that can play out with all the guys+ depth we have.

[VanWest82]

Shead is going to play whether y’all think he should or not lol. The front office, coaching staff and players love him. Remember these guys will be playing in transitional lineups with 1-2 starters on the floor with them at all times. They won’t be asked to do as much as they are being asked to do in summer league. Shead has work to do and he isn’t a perfect back up PG but he’ll be fine. We have no one else anyway, so he’ll play. Bc Alijah is not a PG, he can barely dribble and can’t create for others consistently and Chucky isn’t better than Shead. At least not yet. They are also both 2 ways who can’t play a full season anyway. Shead will play and be in the rotation for sure

This is the issue. Shead is a feisty player, but if he's your primary back up you can't afford any injuries. He is not a starter and having so few ball handlers can really limit a team like we saw with FVV Raptors.

[Basketball_Jones]

It sounds like no plays were really run for CMB hoping next game is different. I think he’s really more of an on ball type of player to get the most out of him. He was the first option in college after all they ran everything through him.

[ill-Will03]

We are replacing a lottery pick in year 3 with Jamison Battle now?

Seems unlikely

By year 3, it really doesnt matter if your a lotto pick or not. Gradey was able to coast on that the first 2 seasons, but now we're trying to win, and it’s very far from clear cut that he's a better player than Battle. He's gonna have to show it

He’s 21 and they’ve invested a ton in him, he’s gonna play over a scrub like Jamison Battle

You don’t just automatically get playing time because you were a lotto pick. This is a make it or break it year for Gradey. If he can’t stay on the court because of his defense, battle will be taking his minutes. He's far from a scrub lol

[Godaddycurse]

It sounds like no plays were really run for CMB hoping next game is different. I think he’s really more of an on ball type of player to get the most out of him. He was the first option in college after all they ran everything through him.

cant really design/run plays for him when he's been out for a while w/ hamstring injury..

[Tor_Raps]

Who is our backup c this year? I’m guessing we’re going small ball… Boyles and mogbo probably gonna play together.

Quickley/barrett/ingram/barnes/poeltl
Shead/ochai/battle(dick)/boyles/mogbo

We are replacing a lottery pick in year 3 with Jamison Battle now?

Seems unlikely

By year 3, it really doesnt matter if your a lotto pick or not. Gradey was able to coast on that the first 2 seasons, but now we're trying to win, and its very far from clear cut that he's a better player than Battle. He's gonna have to show it

Preach brother preach. Its gonna be Hunger Games for playing time this year lol.

[FOB]

It'd be awesome for this new look bench mob to carry the Summer League team to a chip with the focus on defence and hustle.

I can see Jakobe's skillset being more valuable in the starting 5 than RJ's and forcing his way into the starting 5 which would be great

Jakobe shouldn’t be getting any minutes with our current rotation unless we have injuries… people are acting like ochai agbaji doesn’t exist… guy is ahead of all of our wing players…

I’m not sure why people overrate these guys. Rj is a legit nba player and would be dominating this summer league run… meanwhile jakobe still looks average at best and hasn’t really stood out.

That being said for the sake of balance I would use Rj as the sixth man scorer.

Quickley/ochai/ingram/barnes/poeltl
Shead/dick/barrett/boyles/mogbo

Although I would replace dick with battle depending on who the better shooter is.

That's exactly how I'd play as well, I just have Sandro getting minutes at backup 5 and Jakobe as well, so could be

Shead/Dick (Walter)/Barrett/Boyles (Mogbo)/Mamu (Mogbo) or

Shead/Barrett/Boyles/Mogbo/Mamu

Man, we're deep. Two really strong lineups imo if everyone stays reasonably healthy.

[GLF]

Y’all have really lost y’all’s minds if you think Battle is better than Gradey lol. I don’t think people on here really watch the games, they just look up boxscores and make judgements off that solely with zero context lol. Gradey takes much tougher shots than Battle and whether y’all think Gradey can shoot or not the league believes he can shoot and guards him as such. Gradey has so much gravity and is a movement shooter who has audacity. He takes shots Battle couldn’t even and wouldn’t even dream of. Battle is strictly a set 3 point shooter.

Gradey was actually a very good set shooter last season which so many people ignore because his overall 3 point percentage was just average. And the reason being was the type of shots he took. Samson Folk says it all the time, Gradey shot something like 43%-46% on wide open set 3 point shots. He’s great at that, but Raptors have higher expectations for him and don’t allow him to just take those easy shots.

Gradey flashed so much to start last season. Yes it did not last but he showed us what he could be. Battle could never. When Gradey figures it out he’s going to be so much more than just a catch and shoot 3 point shooter. He has some exciting potential on offense. And it’s funny bc everyone here hates the defense first players we pick bc they can’t shoot, but the one time we draft offence with no defence and the potential for Gradey to be a special offensive player is clearly still there, everyone gives up on him so early bc he isn’t what they want when they want it. Growth isn’t linear and doesn’t happen at the pace you want it to lol. That’s not how it works. Have some patience.

Yeah, if all Gradey Dick was doing last year was taking completely wide open set shots like Battle, I’m thinking his 3PT% might have ended up a little better than 36% lol

And Gradey could still end up being a bust for all we know relative to expectations, but they’re not gonna bench him for a scrub in Battle (who isn’t a NBA level athlete in any respect) before they know that for sure.

Now where we disagree is I don’t think Battle is a scrub and I love that he actually knocks down shots and plays hard. His skill set is needed in the NBA and I think he is a NBA player, but he is 100% NOT better than Gradey lol. And yes as you said Gradey could become a bust, but as of right now he has way more potential than Battle and flashed it to start last season. Now it’s about being more consistent with it. Even his defence was fine to start last season. It’s once he started losing that weight is when it really fell off a cliff. He has to work on his stamina if he’s going to be running around that much.

[ill-Will03]

This team is in win now mode. We should not be giving anyone hand outs. Whether you were a lotto pick or not. If Gradey doesn’t play well there’s 2-3 waiting to take his minutes

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

We look good when Darko's not the Coach.

[Basketball_Jones]

It sounds like no plays were really run for CMB hoping next game is different. I think he’s really more of an on ball type of player to get the most out of him. He was the first option in college after all they ran everything through him.

cant really design/run plays for him when he's been out for a while w/ hamstring injury..

Not asking for design just run something or give him the ball. And yeah “hope next game is different.”

Okay he hasn’t played in 6 weeks apparently scratch this lol.

[WuTang_OG]

Read on Twitter

[GLF]

And I also don’t think Gradey is owed minutes or doesn’t have to fight for minutes and prove he can stay on the floor defensively. He 100% has to do that. And if he doesn’t he won’t play much. I also think now that we are trying to win and have added some good defenders, they can set up some schemes to try and hide Gradey as best as they can. They have been throwing Gradey to the fire on defence bc we were tanking and not trying to win just to see what he could do in a way I don’t think they will do next season. Darko sometimes used to just put Gradey on the other team’s best offensive initiator just to see what would happen lol. Gradey will no longer be starting which should also help him bc he’ll be guarding lesser players. But everything is a wait and see game. If he doesn’t earn the minutes he won’t play. Simple. But I would bet it would be Ochai and Ja’Kobe that plays over him if that happens, not Battle.

[Tor_Raps]

Imagine saying Battle is a horrible defender in a debate vs Gradey Dick lol

[WuTang_OG]

Todd golden florida head coach was ssitting with bobby and darko all game pretty cool

[Buff]

Y’all have really lost y’all’s minds if you think Battle is better than Gradey lol. I don’t think people on here really watch the games, they just look up boxscores and make judgements off that solely with zero context lol. Gradey takes much tougher shots than Battle and whether y’all think Gradey can shoot or not the league believes he can shoot and guards him as such. Gradey has so much gravity and is a movement shooter who has audacity. He takes shots Battle couldn’t even and wouldn’t even dream of. Battle is strictly a set 3 point shooter.

Gradey was actually a very good set shooter last season which so many people ignore because his overall 3 point percentage was just average. And the reason being was the type of shots he took. Samson Folk says it all the time, Gradey shot something like 43%-46% on wide open set 3 point shots. He’s great at that, but Raptors have higher expectations for him and don’t allow him to just take those easy shots.

Gradey flashed so much to start last season. Yes it did not last but he showed us what he could be. Battle could never. When Gradey figures it out he’s going to be so much more than just a catch and shoot 3 point shooter. He has some exciting potential on offense. And it’s funny bc everyone here hates the defense first players we pick bc they can’t shoot, but the one time we draft offence with no defence and the potential for Gradey to be a special offensive player is clearly still there, everyone gives up on him so early bc he isn’t what they want when they want it. Growth isn’t linear and doesn’t happen at the pace you want it to lol. That’s not how it works. Have some patience.

Gradey is the last one to play poorly, he will come back, have a good game and be the new savior, whoever plays poorly that game...

[Randle McMurphy]

By year 3, it really doesnt matter if your a lotto pick or not. Gradey was able to coast on that the first 2 seasons, but now we're trying to win, and it’s very far from clear cut that he's a better player than Battle. He's gonna have to show it

He’s 21 and they’ve invested a ton in him, he’s gonna play over a scrub like Jamison Battle

You don’t just automatically get playing time because you were a lotto pick. This is a make it or break it year for Gradey. If he can’t stay on the court because of his defense, battle will be taking his minutes. He's far from a scrub lol

You get playing time over Jamison Battle who you are literally better than at every aspect of basketball than him while being three years younger and also a lottery pick in year 3, yeah

And if Jamison Battle doesn’t qualify as a scrub, we must have different definitions of that term. He won’t ever be a NBA rotation player for a winner due to his lack of athleticism and that isn’t gonna improve any time soon.

[GLF]

Imagine saying Battle is a horrible defender in a debate vs Gradey Dick lol

LOL yea he definitely went too far there. Completely disagree with that hahaa

[Randle McMurphy]

Imagine saying Battle is a horrible defender in a debate vs Gradey Dick lol

Battle is worse than Dick at that too and that’s saying something, yeah

Not even close to being a NBA level athlete

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Grady's going to put up like 20ppg this year.