Raps are Good But CAUTIOUSLY optimistic thread

[Tripod]

BI was looking for a "home/team" where the entire organization and players took bball seriously. He found that in TO.

[JCP11]

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Ingram has gone out of his way, unprompted, to praise Darko on 3 separate occasions over the last few weeks in his postgame interviews. He loves him.

Darko got him looking like a winning basketball player and not just a talented injury prone hooper looking for his buckets. That's how people viewed him and that's why many gave up on him. You can tell he's got a new found love for the game.

[anotherhomer]

like....another BI deal....someone you absolutely need, and available for cheap

that won't happen with AD, ja Morant or Lamelo Ball....those guy provide nothing that we need....or cost, or salary make sense

Exactly. Those are the wrong type of guys to chase, but a deal that works out the way the BI deal has thus far? That's a little more interesting, to be sure.

i'ts kinda interesting....it's now broken out when raps were exploring trades in 2023 and 2024 for Pascal, they were always interested in Brandon Ingram

[tsherkin]

like....another BI deal....someone you absolutely need, and available for cheap

that won't happen with AD, ja Morant or Lamelo Ball....those guy provide nothing that we need....or cost, or salary make sense

Exactly. Those are the wrong type of guys to chase, but a deal that works out the way the BI deal has thus far? That's a little more interesting, to be sure.

i'ts kinda interesting....it's now broken out when raps were exploring trades in 2023 and 2024 for Pascal, they were always interested in Brandon Ingram

Interesting. He was definitely the right kind of deal. Now we just have to hope that he can stay healthy enough for his clear impact to be present enough to matter.

[CazOnReal]

i'ts kinda interesting....it's now broken out when raps were exploring trades in 2023 and 2024 for Pascal, they were always interested in Brandon Ingram

Source?

[tsherkin]

So, consecutive losses. Figured I'd bump this a bit. We've had guys missing and we sort of new that this was coming, I think. Our offense, as many of us have indicated in various threads, very much depends on all the pieces being there so no one guy is asked to do too much. Things break down when we ask that of anyone on the team. We need the distribution.

But it's a temporary thing, hopefully, and when RJ comes back, we should get back to clicking ahead with our potent scoring, as long as we maintain our passing game. Bench looks a little rough in a couple different ways, so that's a little concerning, but I think we all mostly knew we weren't a 55-win team in the waiting, so there are going to be ups and downs. We need to not lose our minds the first time we lose 4 games in a row this season, for example, right? Statistically, that's quite likely to happen at some point as well, even aside from injuries and what have you.

We have the Blazers on Tuesday. Avdija is going to be a problem, but they're a middling O and a crap D, so we definitely have a shot even though we're out of sorts. They're sort of bipolar on the boards, dominant on the O boards (2nd-best in the league at the moment) but the 4th-worst on the other end, so that's something we should look to exploit.

Go Raps!

[Basketball_Jones]

I think we’re still a 50 win team! Let’s see how we adjust without RJ for a few more games. Overall, guys look pretty tired and we’ve played a few more games then the knicks already it’s been a busy schedule.

[anotherhomer]

So, consecutive losses. Figured I'd bump this a bit. We've had guys missing and we sort of new that this was coming, I think. Our offense, as many of us have indicated in various threads, very much depends on all the pieces being there so no one guy is asked to do too much. Things break down when we ask that of anyone on the team. We need the distribution.

But it's a temporary thing, hopefully, and when RJ comes back, we should get back to clicking ahead with our potent scoring, as long as we maintain our passing game. Bench looks a little rough in a couple different ways, so that's a little concerning, but I think we all mostly knew we weren't a 55-win team in the waiting, so there are going to be ups and downs. We need to not lose our minds the first time we lose 4 games in a row this season, for example, right? Statistically, that's quite likely to happen at some point as well, even aside from injuries and what have you.

We have the Blazers on Tuesday. Avdija is going to be a problem, but they're a middling O and a crap D, so we definitely have a shot even though we're out of sorts. They're sort of bipolar on the boards, dominant on the O boards (2nd-best in the league at the moment) but the 4th-worst on the other end, so that's something we should look to exploit.

Go Raps!

Definitely go Raps.

Ya losing 4 games in a row is very possible. Raps just aren't that good. Ingram and Barnes are players good enough to build around if you want a competitive regular season team to make playoffs, but they still rank 20-40. Like they *may* make all-star 1-2 times in next 5 years.

It's guys like RJ and IQ, along with the wings and lack of center, that's a question mark.
IQ can shoot 3, strong rebounder for his size, has some floater and layups but streaky, really a shooting guard in point guard, and not a good on-ball defender at PG.
RJ - well good rim-pressure, workable 3-pt shot, but lack of on-ball defense, streaky 3-pt shot and very little mid-range shot...and also below ball-handling skills.

[tsherkin]

So, consecutive losses. Figured I'd bump this a bit. We've had guys missing and we sort of new that this was coming, I think. Our offense, as many of us have indicated in various threads, very much depends on all the pieces being there so no one guy is asked to do too much. Things break down when we ask that of anyone on the team. We need the distribution.

But it's a temporary thing, hopefully, and when RJ comes back, we should get back to clicking ahead with our potent scoring, as long as we maintain our passing game. Bench looks a little rough in a couple different ways, so that's a little concerning, but I think we all mostly knew we weren't a 55-win team in the waiting, so there are going to be ups and downs. We need to not lose our minds the first time we lose 4 games in a row this season, for example, right? Statistically, that's quite likely to happen at some point as well, even aside from injuries and what have you.

We have the Blazers on Tuesday. Avdija is going to be a problem, but they're a middling O and a crap D, so we definitely have a shot even though we're out of sorts. They're sort of bipolar on the boards, dominant on the O boards (2nd-best in the league at the moment) but the 4th-worst on the other end, so that's something we should look to exploit.

Go Raps!

Definitely go Raps.

Ya losing 4 games in a row is very possible. Raps just aren't that good. Ingram and Barnes are players good enough to build around if you want a competitive regular season team to make playoffs, but they still rank 20-40. Like they *may* make all-star 1-2 times in next 5 years.

It's guys like RJ and IQ, along with the wings and lack of center, that's a question mark.
IQ can shoot 3, strong rebounder for his size, has some floater and layups but streaky, really a shooting guard in point guard, and not a good on-ball defender at PG.
RJ - well good rim-pressure, workable 3-pt shot, but lack of on-ball defense, streaky 3-pt shot and very little mid-range shot...and also below ball-handling skills.

We have some talent. We need to stay as healthy as possible, because we're considerably worse when we aren't, with a much lower floor as a result of our construction. But if we can be reasonably healthy, we can do pretty well, and that's what we have to hope for at this time.

[anotherhomer]

So, consecutive losses. Figured I'd bump this a bit. We've had guys missing and we sort of new that this was coming, I think. Our offense, as many of us have indicated in various threads, very much depends on all the pieces being there so no one guy is asked to do too much. Things break down when we ask that of anyone on the team. We need the distribution.

But it's a temporary thing, hopefully, and when RJ comes back, we should get back to clicking ahead with our potent scoring, as long as we maintain our passing game. Bench looks a little rough in a couple different ways, so that's a little concerning, but I think we all mostly knew we weren't a 55-win team in the waiting, so there are going to be ups and downs. We need to not lose our minds the first time we lose 4 games in a row this season, for example, right? Statistically, that's quite likely to happen at some point as well, even aside from injuries and what have you.

We have the Blazers on Tuesday. Avdija is going to be a problem, but they're a middling O and a crap D, so we definitely have a shot even though we're out of sorts. They're sort of bipolar on the boards, dominant on the O boards (2nd-best in the league at the moment) but the 4th-worst on the other end, so that's something we should look to exploit.

Go Raps!

Definitely go Raps.

Ya losing 4 games in a row is very possible. Raps just aren't that good. Ingram and Barnes are players good enough to build around if you want a competitive regular season team to make playoffs, but they still rank 20-40. Like they *may* make all-star 1-2 times in next 5 years.

It's guys like RJ and IQ, along with the wings and lack of center, that's a question mark.
IQ can shoot 3, strong rebounder for his size, has some floater and layups but streaky, really a shooting guard in point guard, and not a good on-ball defender at PG.
RJ - well good rim-pressure, workable 3-pt shot, but lack of on-ball defense, streaky 3-pt shot and very little mid-range shot...and also below ball-handling skills.

We have some talent. We need to stay as healthy as possible, because we're considerably worse when we aren't, with a much lower floor as a result of our construction. But if we can be reasonably healthy, we can do pretty well, and that's what we have to hope for at this time.

ya, the team as it is, can't really withstand injuries unfortunately....it's not like LA dodgers where they give all their pitchers time to slowly recover

[Tacoma]

So, consecutive losses. Figured I'd bump this a bit. We've had guys missing and we sort of new that this was coming, I think. Our offense, as many of us have indicated in various threads, very much depends on all the pieces being there so no one guy is asked to do too much. Things break down when we ask that of anyone on the team. We need the distribution.

But it's a temporary thing, hopefully, and when RJ comes back, we should get back to clicking ahead with our potent scoring, as long as we maintain our passing game. Bench looks a little rough in a couple different ways, so that's a little concerning, but I think we all mostly knew we weren't a 55-win team in the waiting, so there are going to be ups and downs. We need to not lose our minds the first time we lose 4 games in a row this season, for example, right? Statistically, that's quite likely to happen at some point as well, even aside from injuries and what have you.

We have the Blazers on Tuesday. Avdija is going to be a problem, but they're a middling O and a crap D, so we definitely have a shot even though we're out of sorts. They're sort of bipolar on the boards, dominant on the O boards (2nd-best in the league at the moment) but the 4th-worst on the other end, so that's something we should look to exploit.

Go Raps!

Not the first time RJ's absence has been mentioned as a reason for our recent woes, but he's the same guy that the FO was trying to trade away all summer and it was only recently people said we'd be better off with him coming off the bench. But now he's a key starter we're dearly missing?

I don't think it's as much a temporary thing that has happened as much as it's a regression to the mean because realistically we aren't going to stay 14-5, a 74% winning team, which translates to 60 wins over 82-game season. A CAUTIOUSLY optimistic prediction is more in line with 45-50 wins.

[tsherkin]

Not the first time RJ's absence has been mentioned as a reason for our recent woes, but he's the same guy that the FO was trying to trade away all summer and it was only recently people said we'd be better off with him coming off the bench. But now he's a key starter we're dearly missing?

I mean, I think basic observation has made clear his importance. And we already knew that we were a flawed team. This conversation has played out in a couple of other threads, so there's no real reason to have it again here while we're trying to focus on just optimism, though.

A CAUTIOUSLY optimistic prediction is more in line with 45-50 wins.

I will be thrilled with anything north of .500, personally.

EDIT: 45 seems attainable, I just mean that I will be happy regardless.

[PushDaRock]

So, consecutive losses. Figured I'd bump this a bit. We've had guys missing and we sort of new that this was coming, I think. Our offense, as many of us have indicated in various threads, very much depends on all the pieces being there so no one guy is asked to do too much. Things break down when we ask that of anyone on the team. We need the distribution.

But it's a temporary thing, hopefully, and when RJ comes back, we should get back to clicking ahead with our potent scoring, as long as we maintain our passing game. Bench looks a little rough in a couple different ways, so that's a little concerning, but I think we all mostly knew we weren't a 55-win team in the waiting, so there are going to be ups and downs. We need to not lose our minds the first time we lose 4 games in a row this season, for example, right? Statistically, that's quite likely to happen at some point as well, even aside from injuries and what have you.

We have the Blazers on Tuesday. Avdija is going to be a problem, but they're a middling O and a crap D, so we definitely have a shot even though we're out of sorts. They're sort of bipolar on the boards, dominant on the O boards (2nd-best in the league at the moment) but the 4th-worst on the other end, so that's something we should look to exploit.

Go Raps!

Not the first time RJ's absence has been mentioned as a reason for our recent woes, but he's the same guy that the FO was trying to trade away all summer and it was only recently people said we'd be better off with him coming off the bench. But now he's a key starter we're dearly missing?

I don't think it's as much a temporary thing that has happened as much as it's a regression to the mean because realistically we aren't going to stay 14-5, a 74% winning team, which translates to 60 wins over 82-game season. A CAUTIOUSLY optimistic prediction is more in line with 45-50 wins.

He was the piece they were willing to move for an Upgrade. An upgrade from RJ is an All-Star level player. He's the guy on the shortest term and we have the most depth at SG so logically it made the most sense that he would be the piece you did move in that type of trade. Somehow that got spun into we are trying to get rid of him for anything but nobody wants him.

[PushDaRock]

Not the first time RJ's absence has been mentioned as a reason for our recent woes, but he's the same guy that the FO was trying to trade away all summer and it was only recently people said we'd be better off with him coming off the bench. But now he's a key starter we're dearly missing?

I mean, I think basic observation has made clear his importance. And we already knew that we were a flawed team. This conversation has played out in a couple of other threads, so there's no real reason to have it again here while we're trying to focus on just optimism, though.

A CAUTIOUSLY optimistic prediction is more in line with 45-50 wins.

I will be thrilled with anything north of .500, personally.

EDIT: 45 seems attainable, I just mean that I will be happy regardless.

It would take a pretty epic collapse for this season to turn out disappointing from the expectations that were there at the beginning of the season.

[anotherhomer]

Not the first time RJ's absence has been mentioned as a reason for our recent woes, but he's the same guy that the FO was trying to trade away all summer and it was only recently people said we'd be better off with him coming off the bench. But now he's a key starter we're dearly missing?

I mean, I think basic observation has made clear his importance. And we already knew that we were a flawed team. This conversation has played out in a couple of other threads, so there's no real reason to have it again here while we're trying to focus on just optimism, though.

A CAUTIOUSLY optimistic prediction is more in line with 45-50 wins.

I will be thrilled with anything north of .500, personally.

EDIT: 45 seems attainable, I just mean that I will be happy regardless.

RJ is an upgrade over what Jakobe offers, but then you taking away the on-ball defense, and still missing ball-handling and point guard duties.

Raps are ideally looking for someone who can offer what both RJ (Rim attack, cutting) and Jakobe (on-ball defense) with more high-volume of 3-pt shooting and capable of handling PG duties.

[tsherkin]

RJ is an upgrade over what Jakobe offers, but then you taking away the on-ball defense, and still missing ball-handling and point guard duties.

Raps are ideally looking for someone who can offer what both RJ (Rim attack, cutting) and Jakobe (on-ball defense) with more high-volume of 3-pt shooting and capable of handling PG duties.

Sure, but this ideal someone is a pretty damned good player, a perennial All-Star type of guy. That isn't easy to find, nor to afford. So it's not something I'm really focused on right now, because we don't have a reasonable path to acquiring said player at the moment.

[anotherhomer]

RJ is an upgrade over what Jakobe offers, but then you taking away the on-ball defense, and still missing ball-handling and point guard duties.

Raps are ideally looking for someone who can offer what both RJ (Rim attack, cutting) and Jakobe (on-ball defense) with more high-volume of 3-pt shooting and capable of handling PG duties.

Sure, but this ideal someone is a pretty damned good player, a perennial All-Star type of guy. That isn't easy to find, nor to afford. So it's not something I'm really focused on right now, because we don't have a reasonable path to acquiring said player at the moment.

ya, there's not really any buy-low situation here that would work

with a 1/4 of season in, it'll be interesting to see how things play out

1) Will one of Jakobe, Gradey Dick or Ochai step up and fill the void at backup SG.
2) Can CMB continued to improve on offensive end.
3) Can the starting line-up continue to improve
4) Can Raps find a backup big men

[GoRapstheoriginal]

GO RAPTORS GO! LETS GO RAPTORS! #TEAM POSITIVEPOLLY! ALL BOARD! CHOO CHOO! ! ! !

[tsherkin]

with a 1/4 of season in, it'll be interesting to see how things play out

1) Will one of Jakobe, Gradey Dick or Ochai step up and fill the void at backup SG.

Not really holding my breath there. I figure that there's a reasonable chance that Ochai will actually hit any of his threes as the season wears on, and I have any hope that Gradey will be something worth 15-20 mpg, but as far as actually filling the void, I don't really see it happening.

2) Can CMB continued to improve on offensive end.

He will. What his ceiling is in that capacity, I do not know. I hope we don't try to force it too much. He has some potential there, particularly if his three keeps dropping, but I don't want another Scottie situation where we have to go through a season or two of asking of a player far too much and then having all that backlash, you know? I like CMB. I've warmed considerably to the pick, but I want to keep focus on what he's doing right now and not try to force him along too much.

3) Can the starting line-up continue to improve

I figure they will. Time together will help with chemistry. RJ has shown that he is willing to work on his game, and shows signs of improvement, and I figure that BI will continue to evolve into his role in this new environment.

4) Can Raps find a backup big men

We'll see. I hope so, but they are generally hunted for across the league, so it won't be simple or easy, I expect. I think we might have to start considering that we can use traditional bigs and just accept a certain degree of disadvantage on perimeter D in order to have the rebounding and rim protection out of our bench guy. Can't always chase the unicorn.

[Appostis]

Team needs a backup center and one of CMB/Ja'Kobe/Battle or Dick to step up.