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

[TeamDisgruntled]

IQ’s floater is all the way back and it couldn’t have come soon enough. I was literally rage posting on game threads to start the year, now I just wanna sing his praises.

Also as bad as Rj was in the first half, he was really good in the second half.

[RapsFanInOhio]

I’m not even exaggerating, but that was the worst officiated game I have ever seen in my life.

Nothing will beat the Jan 9, 2024 lakers game for me.

https://www.reddit.com/r/torontoraptors/comments/19577kz/lakers_raptors_officiating_breakdown_yep_it_was/

https://www.espn.com/nba/matchup/_/gameId/401585144

This game made me question my fanhood.

[YogurtProducer]

Was working so I didn't get to see the game. Box score makes it look closer than makes a lot of sense, but we came away with the win, so that's awesome!

I was working but had the game open on my phone. I noticed Kon. We missed a lot of easy buckets. I hope they keep the momentum going. The team looks great, a lot of unselfish talent, and the weak defensive players are getting better. Darko is probably the best development coach we had other than Casey. Dick even looks like he's getting better. It seems like Darko is looking to make smart players like CMB and Dick player harder in short minutes. A smart player that plays hard and makes minor mistakes is the best role player to have. Fun thing is we got tons.

Last year, this might have been a loss. So it's nice to see us get it done, even if it was a little ugly. Looks like a bunch of guys had nice games, though.

It was weird. It was the first game in a long time that it was close at the end and I wasn’t really worried we would blow it. I even felt somewhat confident we would figure it out

[ReggieSlater]

The problem with the officiating might be a similar issue we had with Lowry. Barnes complains a lot and loudly. He just buts the refs on the defensive so early in the game that I think some dont adjust well and swallow their whistle. Both teams were playing physical. I dont think the calls against the Raptors were that bad, but like the Philly game from a few weeks ago, it seemed like the game wasnt being called the same way on each side.

Great win. Glad I didn't go to bed angry.

[rapsincr]

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

ye, the injuries last year were wild

[shmoosicle]

Biggest surprise for me out of this game was that Knueppel is pronounced with a hard K

[mtcan]

Biggest surprise for me out of this game was that Knueppel is pronounced with a hard K

You thought his name is pronounced like..."Nipple"?

[bluerap23]

Biggest surprise for me out of this game was that Knueppel is pronounced with a hard K

You thought his name is pronounced like..."Nipple"?

rolls off the tongue better

[redraptor77]

IQ’s floater is all the way back and it couldn’t have come soon enough. I was literally rage posting on game threads to start the year, now I just wanna sing his praises.

Also as bad as Rj was in the first half, he was really good in the second half.

Quick played well on the offensive side
His D was okay
RJ and Quick backcourt has to be so good offensively due to their poor D
RJ - his propensity to go 1V3 or 1V4 cost a swing of four to six points. He gets caught deep and the team comes down and scores easily on transition
It also cools everyone off . His passing is inconstant due to that and players don’t anticipate the rock
He made two pocket pass to Jakob but not well down two turnovers
In the playoffs that’s huge
I don’t think he played well 2nd half - blew defensive assignment s was beat in the drives and was beat on post ups
His saving grace was the last bucket which was made easy by Jakob boxing out the center

[lobosloboslobos]

woke up thinking how intense those blocks were. both guys coming out of nowhere to demolish those shots and seal the game. amazing.

[JCP11]

IQ’s floater is all the way back and it couldn’t have come soon enough. I was literally rage posting on game threads to start the year, now I just wanna sing his praises.

Also as bad as Rj was in the first half, he was really good in the second half.

I don't worry about RJ on offense even when makes bad decisions with the ball or when his shot is not falling, he plays aggressive and goes to the rim which is a positive. My biggest issue is with his defense, he's just not good. It's fine when you're retooling and the early team success is fun but when the goal is the playoffs and beyond I don't think you can have him in the starting 5 long term especially with IQ and BIs limitations. That will be Bobby's big decision this year, find a better fit in that starting 5 at the SG spot.

[Raps in 4]

Biggest surprise for me out of this game was that Knueppel is pronounced with a hard K

I was more surprised that the part after the K is pronounced "nipple". I thought it was just Matt being silly at first, but when I switched to the Charlotte broadcast, they said it the same way.

[Psubs]

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

Knueppel is like a thicker Chris Mullen 2.0.

[Psubs]

Guess who's on third? Lupe steal like Lupin the Third

4-0 against #2 and #3 combined

Wow we passed the Knicks.

Brunson didn't play so Miami beat them.

[HumbleRen]

4-0 against #2 and #3 combined

Wow we passed the Knicks.

Brunson didn't play so Miami beat them.

I believe Brunson and OG might be out for 1-2 weeks, maybe longer.

[mihaic]

I like that how our big 3 attacks in different ways. RJ wants to get downhill, Barnes wants to bully you, BI wants to go over the top.

And Quick will throw a floater or sink a 3. Very complementary.

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[WuTang_CMB]

I like that how our big 3 attacks in different ways. RJ wants to get downhill, Barnes wants to bully you, BI wants to go over the top.

And Quick will throw a floater or sink a 3. Very complementary.

SWISS ARMY KNIFE

[_MidNight_]

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.

We were also out rebounded. Our record wont distract me from how bad we are without Yak. We have far too many wings and not a single legit backup center with size. If Yak goes down for a stretch of games we might be screwed!

[KG1585]

RJ came through with the clutch layup but he has been pretty bad last 4 games. If he is not playing efficiently on offence, he is a negative player. The defence has been terrible. Gradey should have played some more minutes over him this game. There was a stretch in the 4th, Raps had no space on offence, and Hornets kept loading up on Ingram. Last 4 games, he is shooting 40% from field, 19% from 3 and 50% for the free throw line along with bad defence. He always starts the season shooting the ball well and then fades.