Team Approval Rating & Player Grades (End of 2025: 20W-15L)

[LoveMyRaps]

Easy F.

But your grade depends on your own objective and expectations. If you review past similar polls, they likely average out to B grades.

My objective is an exciting legitimate top 4 East playoff team. 1st round exits with middling roster and no exciting players isn't appealing. Currently, team is 4th but could easily drop in standings very soon. Playoff revenue means nothing to me.

It's becoming more clear that Bobby isn't the guy to take this franchise to next level.

Your expectations are also unrealistic.

How many teams can you name that went from being a bottom feeder, or simply missing the playoffs, to winning a playoff round the following year? Go on, list them.

The goal of this season was to reach the 1st round and be competitive. We're still one of the youngest teams in the league. Again, your "objective" is damn near impossible.

Your F stands for fallacy.

[MiamiSPX]

I give the overall thing a B with various levels of frustration and grades.

Scottie, Ingram and RJ get B+ to A.
Quickley is like C+ or B-, just too inconsistent and not enough defense.
Shead and Mamu B to B+ off the bench
Walter C but rising
Dick is a D- to F.
CMB is a B-, doing everything well but finishing and FT.
Poeltl has been hurt, so hard to grade.

I agree with all of these, except I would give Mamu an A and Dick an F.

[Westside Gunn]

Comparing to our New Years records in the previous 5 years I believe this is one of the best if I'm not wrong. We should make it to the playoffs
Overall team B+


Big 4:
Ingram - A He has his limitations, does get tired easily which is why he need the other Big 3 or else the load is too much for him.
Barnes - A- Defensive growth, sort of a different player
Barrett: - A- i think he's the co anchor - we have seen how ineffective Barnes and Ingram can be without him
Quickley - B+ - Roughly A 17/6 PG as a Raptor. Maybe won't be Maxey, but at current production Im pretty happy. B because of those blank scoring nights and maybe can be a better playmaker. Can't complain.

Mamu - B+ - He's doing more than expected
Shead - B - Reminds me of a faster Jose Calderon minus the deadly 3 point shooting. A stable PG
Walter - C - inconsistent and raw.
Dick - C- disappointment. expected him to start when Barrett was injured but his minutes have been cut in half this year
CMB - B - exactly as advertised.

[ItsDanger]

Easy F.

But your grade depends on your own objective and expectations. If you review past similar polls, they likely average out to B grades.

My objective is an exciting legitimate top 4 East playoff team. 1st round exits with middling roster and no exciting players isn't appealing. Currently, team is 4th but could easily drop in standings very soon. Playoff revenue means nothing to me.

It's becoming more clear that Bobby isn't the guy to take this franchise to next level.

Your expectations are also unrealistic.

How many teams can you name that went from being a bottom feeder, or simply missing the playoffs, to winning a playoff round the following year? Go on, list them.

The goal of this season was to reach the 1st round and be competitive. We're still one of the youngest teams in the league. Again, your "objective" is damn near impossible.

Your F stands for fallacy.

Also? The goal? My objective is different. To build towards a legit contender, not to just make playoffs. I stated clearly it depends on your own expectations for the season. I don't see the path to reach my objective. 8 teams out of 30 are in top 4 in both conferences,and add in those who are building close to that and it's hardly unrealistic.

Your last comment is the true fallacy.

[Clutch0z24]

C- Which is a mid grade for a mid team.

I like what i have seen from

Barnes-Even though hes not a first option or anything you can see he is trying to do anything he can to win out there , A little inconsistant to be a legit star because no stars are hot and cold like him and if you want to call Barnes a legit superstar he would need to start being consistant on a night to night basis.

CMB-Even if he lacks an offensive game right now he has lots of time to develop that with time....But his defense has been really good and his hustle plays something you can't teach he seems to be a great hustle player....Would not be my first choice if we had a redo at the draft but from what i seen from him you can't really complain...At least he shows heart out there.

Ingram-Obviously we have been missing out on this kind of player for many years now and having a player like him dramatically helps the team in every way possible....We need more players in the style of Ingram where we let off of that defense first mentality and get more guys who are not horrible on defense but can flat out get his own buckets.....Helps a team alot when it comes to winning games....

Mamu-Ofc he is overexceeding expectations but its also hard to be super excited about him since we prolly lose him next year in free agency so its like yeah i think he shown to be a guy who can help the team in our rotation but he might not be a long term player for us due to us not having the money to keep him.

Shead-I think out of all the other young guys Shead is the one who might stick around as at least a rotation guy.

Can't say much about

RJ Barrett-Injured and i think he helps the team, He is the one guy outside of Ingram who i think is a competent get your own bucket type of player on our roster

Jakobe Walter-Like the last few games from him but he also is nothing special or someone you need to hang onto....Prolly adding him to any trade for upgrades

Who i don't like

IQ-Horrible contract and is not as good as you would have hoped for he looks like a 6th man type of player at best and can not run an NBA offense as a PG.....He should be a off the bench scoring gunner as his role if you want to be taken seriously as a team but he is getting paid like he is an all star starting PG....Such a joke

Yak-I think trading for him alone was one of the worst moves we done at the time and it is having a negative effect on our team years later....Guy is an okay C but if Yak is your starting C just like IQ you are not a serious team....Yak has not been a winning player in the league as well every team he is on has been bad or mid when he is the starting C....Fact he is having back problems in his 30s can only go more down hill from here...

Dick- Don't really need to say much about him just a horrible draft pick and has been a horrible player....He was drafted to be a shooter and can not really shoot, Bad defender....Just a add on in a trade at this point to be someone elses development project.

Ochai-Regressed and does not really do much for you if his shot is not falling....

Rest of the roster are guys who could be out of the league in a few years since they are not much of anything special...

Team mid....Not expecting much this year and its hard for me to see us getting any better due to contracts, Draft position, Only having enough assets to make a mid tier level trade rather than getting a legit game changer....So i see the Barnes era teams ultimatly being first or second round fodder until another rebuild occurs....Some things to like but also lots to hate....

[Jadoogar]

B- overall. The record looks decent because we beat up on bad/injured teams. Now we can't even do that. I imagine the magic and Cavs overtake us pretty soon. Maybe the Sixers too if Embiid is going to play this well.

A
Scottie- our best player by far. How many games has he won for us based on his clutch blocks alone
Mamu - maybe our best FA signing ever?

B
Ingram - good scorer but you can see why he hasn't been on many successful teams in the past. Poor defensively and can get tunnel vision
RJ - if not for missed games, he would be an A. Consistent and reliable
Shead - likely a backup PG in the long run but he's been solid for us.
CMB - looks like he will have a long career. Worst case scenario is defensive/rebounding specialist off the bench

C
IQ - very disappointing so far. Contract looks like a severe overpay
Walter - ups and downs, don't see a starter here

D
Ochai - trade fodder

F
Poeltl - if he's cooked, oof. horrendous contract
Gradey Dick - Shooter who can't hit shots.

[bape_lovers]

If you can get prime Lebron and Bosh to join the team, then yea, that's the only team that went from bottom to finals. Anyways, never take that poster seriously. No point of replying.

Easy F.

But your grade depends on your own objective and expectations. If you review past similar polls, they likely average out to B grades.

My objective is an exciting legitimate top 4 East playoff team. 1st round exits with middling roster and no exciting players isn't appealing. Currently, team is 4th but could easily drop in standings very soon. Playoff revenue means nothing to me.

It's becoming more clear that Bobby isn't the guy to take this franchise to next level.

Your expectations are also unrealistic.

How many teams can you name that went from being a bottom feeder, or simply missing the playoffs, to winning a playoff round the following year? Go on, list them.

The goal of this season was to reach the 1st round and be competitive. We're still one of the youngest teams in the league. Again, your "objective" is damn near impossible.

Your F stands for fallacy.

[LoveMyRaps]

If you can get prime Lebron and Bosh to join the team, then yea, that's the only team that went from bottom to finals. Anyways, never take that poster seriously. No point of replying.

Easy F.

But your grade depends on your own objective and expectations. If you review past similar polls, they likely average out to B grades.

My objective is an exciting legitimate top 4 East playoff team. 1st round exits with middling roster and no exciting players isn't appealing. Currently, team is 4th but could easily drop in standings very soon. Playoff revenue means nothing to me.

It's becoming more clear that Bobby isn't the guy to take this franchise to next level.

Your expectations are also unrealistic.

How many teams can you name that went from being a bottom feeder, or simply missing the playoffs, to winning a playoff round the following year? Go on, list them.

The goal of this season was to reach the 1st round and be competitive. We're still one of the youngest teams in the league. Again, your "objective" is damn near impossible.

Your F stands for fallacy.

Funny thing is even that Miami team finished 47-35 and were one of the top teams in the East before acquiring LeBron and Bosh. So even they didn't just go from being a bottom feeder to one of the top teams in the league.

[Grew]

I've said it before. This team has no NBA winners on it. Darko hasn't won jack as a head coach. No one on this team has won a playoff series as a rotation piece. Our "vet" is a career scrub who hasn't played for a team of any significance. We even have a new GM.

These guys are still learning how to win in this league from the top down.

[kalel123]

Can't give this team higher than B-/C+.

This team still has gaping hole in the middle that it hasn't figured out for years.

And backup SG position is f'ing messy with overlapping mediocre talents and politricks of it all. They need to make a choice between Dick/Walter and trade one of 'em out. I guess flavour of the month is Walter now but I think either of them would do much better without the other and it'd also allow Battle more minutes. Frankly speaking, Battle's probably better than either of them now, which is the sad truth on the state of our two first round picks.

And in the meantime, they are also so close to borderline of the tax line that they have to do everything they can to get under that to allow themselves flexibility. This team at this juncture should not be a tax team. Not when they are so closely over.

[Jerry Lucas]

That being said, the more we see of Darko, the more I think he is not the coach for this team. I have never been too high on him, but the polarizing play of this team and their inability to get up for almost half of the games until they’re down by 15-20 points is a pretty damning piece of evidence that Darko isn’t getting the guys prepared enough.

Criticize Masai for hiring him then, despite conducting a large search with a lot of candidates they talked to.

You've never been too high on Darko, that much is clear pretty much whenever you post about him, yet not once in your posts criticizing Darko have you ever criticized the guy who hired him for that decision.

[pingpongrac]

That being said, the more we see of Darko, the more I think he is not the coach for this team. I have never been too high on him, but the polarizing play of this team and their inability to get up for almost half of the games until they’re down by 15-20 points is a pretty damning piece of evidence that Darko isn’t getting the guys prepared enough.

Criticize Masai for hiring him then, despite conducting a large search with a lot of candidates they talked to.

You've never been too high on Darko, that much is clear pretty much whenever you post about him, yet not once in your posts criticizing Darko have you ever criticized the guy who hired him for that decision.

Why would I criticize Masai for a signing he made three years ago when it wasn’t an issue then, but it’s a bit of an issue now when Masai isn’t even affiliated with the team anymore? I wasn’t fully on board Darko as the head coach because his in-game management was noticeably bad from the get-go, but we were in a transitional period and development of the youth and changing the culture were more important than winning. That ship has sailed now and it is becoming increasingly clear that Darko isn’t the coach for us to take the next step — which is what I have always felt as he would need to be replaced when we want to seriously start competing.

Weird that you’d come at me when half of this board has complained about Darko much more than I have then demand I criticize Masai for a current day issue when it’s out of his hands.

[iBall101]

Nothing above a C+.
Coaching has been sub par.
Bench needs significant improvement.
Gonna need to make some moves before the deadline. Poeltl and IQ contract not seeming so bright and probably won't age well.

[LoveMyRaps]

Nothing above a C+.
Coaching has been sub par.
Bench needs significant improvement.
Gonna need to make some moves before the deadline. Poeltl and IQ contract not seeming so bright and probably won't age well.

Damn, you're a tough critic. Not even a positive grade for Sandro? Or Scottie? Or Ingram?

[Morris_Shatford]

I opted for a B+
Too lazy to grade every player but clearly Mamu and Ingram have exceeded my expectations and Yak's injury and Gradey forgetting how to play basketball has been disappointing. I also take back everything I said about Barrett this off-season.

In the off-season, I assumed with a largely healthy team we would be 41 - 41;
Had no idea how Ingram and Barnes would co-exist and was concerned the injuries last season may have been legit and not strategic for some of the other starters. Couple that with having one guy on the roster at the time over 6' 9" and I really thought the stars would need to align for us to sniff the playoffs.

So far, I am content to be wrong.
We have injuries to players I wasn't expecting to get hurt and miss large swaths of time and we still five games above .500.
This team is no where near being a contender but we are better than I expected us to be and I haven't hated watching this team as much as I expected to.

[iBall101]

Nothing above a C+.
Coaching has been sub par.
Bench needs significant improvement.
Gonna need to make some moves before the deadline. Poeltl and IQ contract not seeming so bright and probably won't age well.

Damn, you're a tough critic. Not even a positive grade for Sandro? Or Scottie? Or Ingram?

Lol. Sandro gets an A. Scottie gets a B. And B.I. gets a B-. I had high hopes for B.I. going into this season and he's fell a bit short so far. Scottie is arguably dpoy or a top 3 candidate. And Sandro brings way more value then his contract. He's been single handedly the bright spot of the team at this point.

[Freeman6]

B

Disappointed in dick and Jakobe not making a leap.

Surprised at the switch up on poetl. He's obviously hurt and it has impacted his ability to contribute.

And most of you didn't expect this team to be 21-15 and 4th in the east. Shut up.

[Jakay]

LOL these grades. You guys would give OKC a B.

I am surprised by the universal hate on Gradey. I thought he's made really good strides overall. His defence is way better this year, and he's attacking the basket a lot. His shooting, odd for sure, for being a shooter, but his stroke is good, I kind of feel like it's a process of putting it together. Or to rephrase, this is the kind of player who everyone clamours to trade only to watch them excel elsewhere.

Overall for expectations this is a B+/A team. Like shut up if you thought they'd be this good. No you didn't. No one did. Sure they're not world beaters, but this is a damn fine step up from last year. Also everyone was hurt last year, a lot of it legitimate.

Interesting to see where this season goes. There's been a big up and a big down, and obviously they're closer to the middle. Can they beat some big guns on a legitimate night? They came damn close with the Lakers. Been a few close ones. A measure of Inconsistency is expected with such a big youth movement.

[NinjaBro]

A+