PG: Notorious BI3 come thru (8-1 in last 9)

[Chuck Everett]

Where's the meme of Darko scaring Quickley? It should be posted after every win.

[mihaic]

Kind of off topic, but watching highlights around the league I noticed a "difference" graphic right above the score. Like, do they think we can't substact? How dumb do they think we are lol

What is a substact? We may know how to subtract but we suck at substacting.

Just kidding, but with AI around it will happen soon.

[Appostis]

It's really weird.. one Facebook poster who comes across as abit of a RJ fanboy posts about RJ and his game winning basket.

Not sure how anyone comes away from this game wanting to post about RJ.

[Tripod]

lol wtf? They're 3rd in the league in assists but it's the worst passing team you can remember?

It's not about total assists. Watch how sloppy and unpredictable the ball movement is. Generally the Raptors have been a low turnover team, so it stands out.

fun fact, before this game even started, this season (9 games with poetl)has been the most that jak, scottie, IQ and barrett have ever played together in a season, add in another player they have never played with before in BI and some occasional sloppyness is to be expected. beyond that starting group which tends to chuck and play iso at the beginning this team is a fantastic passing team.

that's pretty crazy

[Tripod]

RJ is weird in that he's at his best when he's the overlooked wide open 3rd option but occasionally he seems to chafe at that role and try to be a hero when it's clear to everyone Ingram and Barnes are the two guys above him on the pecking order.

He had 1 turnover and missed a bunch of makeable shots at the rim, I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say he was really forcing it. If he goes 10-16 instead of 7-16 making the bunnies he missed, suddenly he's not "forcing" it anymore and has a good game instead.

No...it's the head down 1 vs 3/4 drives that he constantly did that people are talking about. That's bad RJ. Regardless if it goes in or not.

The best RJ is the head up willing to pass RJ. Catching the ball while already having a step on his man or curling around a screen is what we want. Last night he had WAY to many of the "I am going to try and score here and don't care what the defense is doing" drives.

And that's when people point out he has reverted back to the NYK RJ. And that RJ is frustrating to watch, regardless of results.

He has always bounced back to good RJ after having these spells. Hopefully good RJ shows up vs 76ers.

[Got Nuffin]

RJ is weird in that he's at his best when he's the overlooked wide open 3rd option but occasionally he seems to chafe at that role and try to be a hero when it's clear to everyone Ingram and Barnes are the two guys above him on the pecking order.

He had 1 turnover and missed a bunch of makeable shots at the rim, I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say he was really forcing it. If he goes 10-16 instead of 7-16 making the bunnies he missed, suddenly he's not "forcing" it anymore and has a good game instead.

No...it's the head down 1 vs 3/4 drives that he constantly did that people are talking about. That's bad RJ. Regardless if it goes in or not.

The best RJ is the head up willing to pass RJ. Catching the ball while already having a step on his man or curling around a screen is what we want. Last night he had WAY to many of the "I am going to try and score here and don't care what the defense is doing" drives.

And that's when people point out he has reverted back to the NYK RJ. And that RJ is frustrating to watch, regardless of results.

He has always bounced back to good RJ after having these spells. Hopefully good RJ shows up vs 76ers.

I know RJ has faults to his game, will always have faults but credit where credit is due - not many people would have thought he could play, much less thrive, in this kind of catch and go system. If RJ were massaging the ball (Derozan-style), checking his scoring options for 5-10 seconds of every clock like he was in NYK, this offence would 100% stall and not work and we would be at a crossroads.

He has bought in and is somehow doing very well in this system which is a huge credit to him. I still think he is a 6th man once Dick / CMB blows up or a trade happens but this season so far has me looking at him a bit differently.

Also, how good is Knueppel. Jfc

[mtcan]

Hornets need to see what they can get for LaMelo + they'll have a top 10 pick in this great draft

I know Lamelo is just really talented but I really dislike the way he plays. He comes off as an unserious player. He just casually launches up 3s at inopportune times and he plays a bit too carefree. And don't even get me started on his injury history. I maintain that if Lamelo Ball and Trae Young are your best players...you aren't going anywhere.

[mtcan]

Top 3?

we sit 3rd in the east after the win, therefore we are top 3

Wow..thought we were tied for 4th.

Tied with the Hawks for 3rd. Knicks lost so we have passed the Knicks who have lost Brunson and OG to injury for the next little while.

[Brinbe]

Fell asleep in the 2nd so just caught up via DVR.

- Obviously one of BI's more impactful games so far with major minutes to match. Didn't mind those bench+Ingram minutes though I don't know if they were winning them or not.

- A healthy Yak is such a gamechanger for us, it's good to see him back to his full self.

- Scottie really having that Lowry-like impact this season in that he just does a bunch of stuff that contributes to winning. It's also If good to see the consistent energy from game-to-game now. If he's gonna be the leader, he's gotta set the tone, and he does through his all-around hustle, effort and unselfishness.

- IQ being freed up to be more of a gunner has definitely unlocked his game.

- Gradey continues to be a plus-positive player, good effort tonight and made his 3s.

- The overall defense and team rebounding has improved and that's been a big reason why they've looked much better. Of course having a functional and healty starting center is a big help in that regard too.

- Was a big fan of Kon's at Duke but even I'm a bit surprised at how he's immediately come in and dominated like he has. Just a really damn good player and the Hornets nailed that pick. If Miller could ever stay healthy they may actually have something cooking there.

- Quality of comp may not be the strongest during this winning stretch but they're doing what they should. Winning is contagious and they're liking it quite a bit. Philly on Wednesday will be a good test once again.

[MiamiSPX]

we sit 3rd in the east after the win, therefore we are top 3

Wow..thought we were tied for 4th.

Tied with the Hawks for 3rd. Knicks lost so we have passed the Knicks who have lost Brunson and OG to injury for the next little while.

The Bucks, who are sliding down the standings, just lost Giannis for what I imagine will be at least a week or two, A Giannis-less Bucks might be the worst team in the league. Still way, way, way early...but a lot of things are aligning for us to be a playoff team.

[pingpongrac]

It's really weird.. one Facebook poster who comes across as abit of a RJ fanboy posts about RJ and his game winning basket.

Not sure how anyone comes away from this game wanting to post about RJ.

I mean, he did hit the game-winning shot. He had a bit of a rough game, but he also didn’t necessarily try to do too much aside from a few possessions in transition. He’d finish that game with 20+ points more often than not, but he (like the rest of the team) just wasn’t getting any calls while he also missed a couple of point-blank layups.

Aside from Ingram — who had his own struggles with 5 TOV — and IQ, no one really had a good game. It was pretty ugly most of the night outside of a few bursts, so it’s promising that we still found a way to beat the Hornets — and the refs — as well as overcoming our own mistakes.

[Shakril]

Wow..thought we were tied for 4th.

Tied with the Hawks for 3rd. Knicks lost so we have passed the Knicks who have lost Brunson and OG to injury for the next little while.

The Bucks, who are sliding down the standings, just lost Giannis for what I imagine will be at least a week or two, A Giannis-less Bucks might be the worst team in the league. Still way, way, way early...but a lot of things are aligning for us to be a playoff team.

Pump the breaks. We are only 2 games ahead of 11th. Meaning, two losses and the world looks different. Just look at chicago, started 5-0 and are now 7-6. Right now we have some easy games + philly on which we should capitalize. But right now, the east is all jumbled together, except for the pistons and 12th place downwards.

[DG88]

Great clutch defense to win the game. BI played a complete game on both ends. This was the classic trap game after completing a road trip so I wasn't surprised by the sloppiness with all those turnovers. The refs were wildin tonight the calls were BS.

[Mak]

Raptors are +550 to win Atlantic. Good value considering Knicks have injuries and Sixers have issues.

[Duffman100]

Need to clean up some of these turnovers and hit our FTs. These are silent killers and we're getting away with it against bad teams.

[MoneyBall]

Kind of off topic, but watching highlights around the league I noticed a "difference" graphic right above the score. Like, do they think we can't substact? How dumb do they think we are lol

What is a substact? We may know how to subtract but we suck at substacting.

Just kidding, but with AI around it will happen soon.

Speak for yourself. I may not know how to spell, but my substacting skills are out of this world

[ATLTimekeeper]

It's really weird.. one Facebook poster who comes across as abit of a RJ fanboy posts about RJ and his game winning basket.

Not sure how anyone comes away from this game wanting to post about RJ.

I mean, he did hit the game-winning shot. He had a bit of a rough game, but he also didn’t necessarily try to do too much aside from a few possessions in transition. He’d finish that game with 20+ points more often than not, but he (like the rest of the team) just wasn’t getting any calls while he also missed a couple of point-blank layups.

Aside from Ingram — who had his own struggles with 5 TOV — and IQ, no one really had a good game. It was pretty ugly most of the night outside of a few bursts, so it’s promising that we still found a way to beat the Hornets — and the refs — as well as overcoming our own mistakes.

Charlotte was jumping our passes and coming up with a lot of TOs, which encouraged more one-on-one play by our main guys. The bench wasn't really involved in this one as a result. So, while the offense looked selfish it was the correct decision by our main guys. A few bad shots within that context, but also the 2:1 whistle ratio makes that always seem a lot worse (guy drives into contact ends up in a run-out for the other team).

RJ did come through in the clutch. BI made the pass. Scottie with the block. IQ with the D on Bridges, forcing an awful shot. Just a feel good win. We haven't had any close games, so this is more normal than we've gotten to witness at this point.

[RapsFanInOhio]

A testament to how bad Hornets are that we still won.

I know RJ banged that last one in but he's definitely the weak link in the starting lineup.

This board just cannot help itself. This wasn’t RJ’s best night but he has been good this year and he’s fit in just fine with the starters. And yet, on the first page of a victory thread, just thrown shade for no apparent reason other than just hating.

It’s gone too far man.

[RapsFanInOhio]

RJ Haters in Shambles!!!

lol he wasn’t very good the last three games
Sloppy , missing easy passes, tunnel vision and bad D

Continuously.

[RapsFanInOhio]

We gotta split up IQ and RJ lol. Their bromance kills our team organization on offense

It’s like this board just can’t control it.