PG: Gritty win in Phily (9-1 in last 10, 5 W straight)

[Clutch0z24]

flopping in the playoffs would make it a horrendous 4 years

We should expect to suck in the playoffs if we make it there. We lack experience in general and haven't made it there as a group.

For the record I have this team top 6 in the east but they’re still a tier below contender. I don’t expect them to make a deep run in the playoffs.

When the raptors traded for kawhi I knew that team was a contender. And you still see how hard it was for them to get to the finals and win it all. I don’t see that same level of talent from this squad. I think even the team without kawhi the year after was better than this team and they didn’t even get past the 2nd round.

Yeah we have a fun team to root for and they are still a young team so its possible some of our guys take a leap still in their games.....But you are right, The east is very very very weak prolly the weakest its been in a long time and thats saying alot considering how bad the East has been in general since LeBron switched conferences.

The last time the East was stacked was our Championship run year which i agree we all knew once we got Kawhi and LeBron left we were in the mix to contend and could beat any team in the NBA even the elite ones....This team is good because we have a really solid starting lineup and play basketball the right way....But talent wise we are obviously a step below the actual top teams in the NBA and imo don't really have a shot to compete against them teams atm...

We would need a big time trade involving picks and a combination of players for a Giannis level player but honestly i do not see a trade like that coming for us and i think we just roll with this team and hope for the best....Id say we make the 2nd round and have a competitive series but ultimatly lose....Pistons/Knicks/Cavs if healthy beat us in the playoffs.

[SFour]

Murray makes 11m and Monk makes 19m. Who else would you be trading?

Walter, Ochai, Dick......does look like Monk is out of reach but the overall point is they can consolidate into a better role player.

We're not running a 10 man rotation in the playoffs

You want us to trade our cheap young players with potential for role players?

lol do you think we're a championship contender or something?

according to you Raptors can't make any trades then......can't move RJ, can't move bench players

I don't think Raptors are even close to a championship but they could be a trade away from a deep playoff run

[mustardtiger]

I think the right move for us is to look at a guy like Brook Lopez. Clips in shambles and he’s affordable at 9M. Ochai and Temple and a 2nd round pick and good to go. I’ve never liked him but can’t deny he would give us some playoff savvy and attitude, and completely solve the back up C/ Poetl insurance issue.

[PushDaRock]

Walter, Ochai, Dick......does look like Monk is out of reach but the overall point is they can consolidate into a better role player.

We're not running a 10 man rotation in the playoffs

You want us to trade our cheap young players with potential for role players?

lol do you think we're a championship contender or something?

according to you Raptors can't make any trades then......can't move RJ, can't move bench players

I don't think Raptors are even close to a championship but they could be a trade away from a deep playoff run

I'm not saying they won't make any trades. I am saying your trade targets make no sense.

[PushDaRock]

I think the right move for us is to look at a guy like Brook Lopez. Clips in shambles and he’s affordable at 9M. Ochai and Temple and a 2nd round pick and good to go. I’ve never liked him but can’t deny he would give us some playoff savvy and attitude, and completely solve the back up C/ Poetl insurance issue.

I'm not giving up a SRP for him. If they're out of the playoff race, he likely gets bought out.

[LLJ]

I don't think any of the EC teams are actual championship contenders. This is both a good and bad thing in that if the Raptors make it in the playoffs as a top 5-6 team, they probably still have a slight chance at upsetting a higher seeded team.

The bad thing is that when your conference's competition sucks, it gives a sense of fool's gold because executives often build their team while primarily looking at their own conference first. This is what happened in 2001-2003. This has been a problem with the East for decades. They build teams to win the East, but often run into trouble when in the NBA Finals when they face actual championship contenders.

[Tofubeque]

Watching this team I'm reminded of some ensemble starting 5s that have been great in the East, like the 2000s Pistons or the 2010s Horford/Millsap Hawks. Maybe no tier 1 superstar but 5 guys you have to guard.

Not saying they're that good yet, but you wouldn't want to break up those 5.

[mustardtiger]

I think the right move for us is to look at a guy like Brook Lopez. Clips in shambles and he’s affordable at 9M. Ochai and Temple and a 2nd round pick and good to go. I’ve never liked him but can’t deny he would give us some playoff savvy and attitude, and completely solve the back up C/ Poetl insurance issue.

I'm not giving up a SRP for him. If they're out of the playoff race, he likely gets bought out.

This could be true, but if so Brolo has zero chance of signing here. So cost of doing business.

[MainEvent]

Very entertaining game, great W

[SFour]

You want us to trade our cheap young players with potential for role players?

lol do you think we're a championship contender or something?

according to you Raptors can't make any trades then......can't move RJ, can't move bench players

I don't think Raptors are even close to a championship but they could be a trade away from a deep playoff run

I'm not saying they won't make any trades. I am saying your trade targets make no sense.

Trey Murphy, Keegan Murray make sense....they're just some quick examples I'm sure there's plenty more. I only mentioned Kings and Pelicans because one is on the verge of blowing up and the other is probably going to want picks.

[Boogie!]

I don’t think people give Rj enough credit for being able to fit around all of these offensive players that need the ball in their hands… somehow he’s the problem though.

He doesn’t need to fit his game to others though, he arguably has the easiest job out of the starters. He just has to play off of other people. Things only get bad when he reverts to his Knicks offensive ways.

Fitting around other players and not having a consistent role while still contributing in an efficient manner is very difficult to do.
poeltl, bi and barnes have established roles. quickley and rj are trying to fill in the gaps.

There’s a reason why you can’t just take certain players and make them fit a team seamlessly. Derozan is a guy Rj gets compared to a lot, do you think derozan would fit on this team and still be able to get his in the flow of the offense next to this case or players? Absolutely not. Because his game doesn’t allow for it.

It’s the same reason a guy like Norman Powell is so valuable. The guy can light it up efficiently but he does it in the flow of the offense next to other players that need the ball in their hands more.

[HumbleRen]

Watching this team I'm reminded of some ensemble starting 5s that have been great in the East, like the 2000s Pistons or the 2010s Horford/Millsap Hawks. Maybe no tier 1 superstar but 5 guys you have to guard.

Not saying they're that good yet, but you wouldn't want to break up those 5.

Reminds me of the mid 2010’s hawks for sure.

Will probably never be anything of note in the playoffs but they’ll rack up a bunch of wins in the regular season.

[Boogie!]

We should expect to suck in the playoffs if we make it there. We lack experience in general and haven't made it there as a group.

For the record I have this team top 6 in the east but they’re still a tier below contender. I don’t expect them to make a deep run in the playoffs.

When the raptors traded for kawhi I knew that team was a contender. And you still see how hard it was for them to get to the finals and win it all. I don’t see that same level of talent from this squad. I think even the team without kawhi the year after was better than this team and they didn’t even get past the 2nd round.

Yeah we have a fun team to root for and they are still a young team so its possible some of our guys take a leap still in their games.....But you are right, The east is very very very weak prolly the weakest its been in a long time and thats saying alot considering how bad the East has been in general since LeBron switched conferences.

The last time the East was stacked was our Championship run year which i agree we all knew once we got Kawhi and LeBron left we were in the mix to contend and could beat any team in the NBA even the elite ones....This team is good because we have a really solid starting lineup and play basketball the right way....But talent wise we are obviously a step below the actual top teams in the NBA and imo don't really have a shot to compete against them teams atm...

We would need a big time trade involving picks and a combination of players for a Giannis level player but honestly i do not see a trade like that coming for us and i think we just roll with this team and hope for the best....Id say we make the 2nd round and have a competitive series but ultimatly lose....Pistons/Knicks/Cavs if healthy beat us in the playoffs.

If you trade Scottie for Giannis in a one for one type trade this a contender. If the bucks are out of the race, do they trade Giannis for Scottie, dick, Walter? lol.

[everdiso]

I see the board has moved quickly from "raps are gonna suck this year" to "well the raps are gonna suck in the playoffs".

[SFour]

I don't think any of the EC teams are actual championship contenders. This is both a good and bad thing in that if the Raptors make it in the playoffs as a top 5-6 team, they probably still have a slight chance at upsetting a higher seeded team.

The bad thing is that when your conference's competition sucks, it gives a sense of fool's gold because executives often build their team while primarily looking at their own conference first. This is what happened in 2001-2003. This has been a problem with the East for decades. They build teams to win the East, but often run into trouble when in the NBA Finals when they face actual championship contenders.

OKC is likely repeating, barring an injury....best we can hope for is a Pacers-like run.

[Thaddy]

I don't think any of the EC teams are actual championship contenders. This is both a good and bad thing in that if the Raptors make it in the playoffs as a top 5-6 team, they probably still have a slight chance at upsetting a higher seeded team.

The bad thing is that when your conference's competition sucks, it gives a sense of fool's gold because executives often build their team while primarily looking at their own conference first. This is what happened in 2001-2003. This has been a problem with the East for decades. They build teams to win the East, but often run into trouble when in the NBA Finals when they face actual championship contenders.

Alternatively we raise the value of our assets, gain playoff experience, and then make a trade in the off season. We could probably put together RJ, IQ, Agbaji and a pick for AD.

Poeltl / Mamu
AD / CMB
Barnes / Walter
Ingram / Dick
Shead / Hepburn

If healthy that would be a contender and likely finals team. AD would crush the East and have two stars that compliment him very well. We could likely load manage him with CMB too. Then we'd have several upcoming cheap rookies we could utilize for another trade or continuation.

[CoachD]

IQ really showed up in the 4th after a slow start for him scoring. We're not winning without the clutch threes he hit. I have been incredibly skeptical of him, but he has been key to basically all the recent wins. I don't know if he's worth 32 million a year, but he is solid player.

Yeah he’s solid. 4th option guy. Overpaid for that though but I guess we worry about it later while we win some games.

The guy we traded for him is making a lot more $ and is also a 4th option ....

[PushDaRock]

according to you Raptors can't make any trades then......can't move RJ, can't move bench players

I don't think Raptors are even close to a championship but they could be a trade away from a deep playoff run

I'm not saying they won't make any trades. I am saying your trade targets make no sense.

Trey Murphy, Keegan Murray make sense....they're just some quick examples I'm sure there's plenty more. I only mentioned Kings and Pelicans because one is on the verge of blowing up and the other is probably going to want picks.

Both their teams extended these guys on long term deals, it's not impossible these guys get moved but why would they get moved for what we would want to offer?

Murray for some combo of Gradey/Ochai/Walter makes like no sense for them.

Murphy for RJ + picks is going to be pricey. They would be asking for likely 3 FRP's at least if they're even willing to trade him at all which they have no incentive to do.

[PushDaRock]

For the record I have this team top 6 in the east but they’re still a tier below contender. I don’t expect them to make a deep run in the playoffs.

When the raptors traded for kawhi I knew that team was a contender. And you still see how hard it was for them to get to the finals and win it all. I don’t see that same level of talent from this squad. I think even the team without kawhi the year after was better than this team and they didn’t even get past the 2nd round.

Yeah we have a fun team to root for and they are still a young team so its possible some of our guys take a leap still in their games.....But you are right, The east is very very very weak prolly the weakest its been in a long time and thats saying alot considering how bad the East has been in general since LeBron switched conferences.

The last time the East was stacked was our Championship run year which i agree we all knew once we got Kawhi and LeBron left we were in the mix to contend and could beat any team in the NBA even the elite ones....This team is good because we have a really solid starting lineup and play basketball the right way....But talent wise we are obviously a step below the actual top teams in the NBA and imo don't really have a shot to compete against them teams atm...

We would need a big time trade involving picks and a combination of players for a Giannis level player but honestly i do not see a trade like that coming for us and i think we just roll with this team and hope for the best....Id say we make the 2nd round and have a competitive series but ultimatly lose....Pistons/Knicks/Cavs if healthy beat us in the playoffs.

If you trade Scottie for Giannis in a one for one type trade this a contender. If the bucks are out of the race, do they trade Giannis for Scottie, dick, Walter? lol.

Add on 4 or 5 FRP's and they would consider it. Ultimately Giannis will pick where he wants to go though.

[dTox]

Mods can we please call out this negativity. Rj has a good game and people still can’t help but talk about his flaws. Why is spewing this negativity allowed, they just won and Rj had a great game scoring 50/40/90.

I don’t think you understand the difference between spamming negativity vs talking about the games guys play based on that game lol

Mods why is this allowed? Now he’s attacking my perception of negativity and the fact that I’m spamming. I guess the logic is you’re allowed to be negative on a player as long as you do it at a lesser amount of posts? Someone clarify this for me. So as long as I only post one trade gradey dick post per thread that’s okay and I’m not considered to be spamming negativity?

Also, he posted this negativity in a game where Barrett actually played well where as I criticize dick for things he doesn’t do well and when he’s underperforming. Again someone clarify why it’s okay? Or is it just because im boogie! Just like it’s just because it’s Rj Barrett so we’re allowed fo ignore all the positives and act like it’s only the negatives that exist for said person.

Dude are you seriously asking mods take action towards a poster because he made a criticism towards a certain player? How old are you lol.

You legit hated on some of our players, no matter how well they played, even better players than RJ, do you remember your days against DeMar?

Edit: I scrolled a few pages and voila, you couldn't help but mention DeMar in a negative light, while comparing him to RJ (ps. If RJ played as well as prime DeMar on this team, he would be the best player on the roster and he's nowhere close to that). And this is coming from someone who never really loved Demar's game.