A Worthless Season? I think not.

[beanbag]

Well stated. Colangelo should have put his foot down sooner, and told him to play guys like Alabi a month before he started to play major minutes and Calderon, Bargnani and Demaar should have had
their bums parked on the bench sonner. This past month when everyone else started to tank like the Cavs, GSW, Nets and Kings we have our coach playing these guys like it was game 7 of the finals, and our 4th place lotto standing crashed. Of course, Colangelo and the rest of this franchise had no balls or vision to do the right thing needed.

You are such a moron, it isn't even funny.

[J-Roc]

OP is out to lunch.

1. This team still sucks. And extra three or four games won isn't notable around the league.
2. If you conclude we'll be better because of this and that AND a TOP PICK, then it only makes to maximize that top pick. It's not like you're concluding we have stars other than Casey, Val and the pick.

[hankscorpioLA]

OP is out to lunch.

1. This team still sucks. And extra three or four games won isn't notable around the league.

I never said that.

I said that teams have taken notice that the Raptors are no longer an easy win.

2. If you conclude we'll be better because of this and that AND a TOP PICK, then it only makes to maximize that top pick. It's not like you're concluding we have stars other than Casey, Val and the pick.

Of course we would be better if we added a top pick.

But my point all along is that just because we didn't get the top pick, that does not make this season worthless.

[hankscorpioLA]

This past month when everyone else started to tank like the Cavs, GSW, Nets and Kings we have our coach playing these guys like it was game 7 of the finals

Indeed he did play Ben Uzoh, Jason Dentmon, and Alan Anderson like it was game 7 of the finals.

[Man of Steel]

There were times when we played vets needlessly to win games that were "tankable". If the young'ns were benched to preach accountability then so be it but at times it seemed like there was more to it than that.

[Schad]

The reason we aren't in the discussion for one of the top picks is precisely because of the progress that took place on the floor this season. In one season, with no major roster changes and with all the limitations associated with having a new coach for the lockout-shortened season, the Raptors went from being one of the softest teams in the NBA to arguably one of the toughest.

Three wins. That was the separation between us and the second-worst team in the league. Make no mistake, we're still one of the worst teams by talent in the league, and we're going to see at least one (and possibly more) passing us on the way up thanks to the draft.

[Fairview4Life]

There were times when we played vets needlessly to win games that were "tankable". If the young'ns were benched to preach accountability then so be it but at times it seemed like there was more to it than that.

I've seen people complaining about Bargnani and Derozan playing with the game on the line, too. So at some point someone needs to tell everyone what a legitimate tanking lineup is, so we can all get on the same page.

The Raps played the most games decided by 2 possessions or less in the NBA this season. No one remembers the close losses apparently, but they were the vast majority of our games played. Sometimes **** happens in the NBA. Like Joe Johnson going 2-12, or Philly scoring 7 points in a quarter/22 points in a half.

[Test of Wills]

I think it comes down to the fanbase having a dreadful product on the court this entire season and all it basically resulted in is the 8th pick in a draft where many were discussing highly-touted prospects for majority of the season.

[Fairview4Life]

I think it comes down to the fanbase having a dreadful product on the court this entire season and all it basically resulted in is the 8th pick in a draft where many were discussing highly-touted prospects for majority of the season.

People are certainly upset. What's dumb are the arguments that the Raps didn't tank this year, or that they were out managed in the tanking department or some other nonsense. The 3 wins thing is straight up luck. There's not much else to it.

[J-Roc]

Bayless should have been starting from the beginning of the season. We would have suffered losses, or developed a future starting PG. That's how you tank.

[Thesachman19]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

[Ballin]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

You forgot the green font bro

[Thesachman19]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

You forgot the green font bro

green font?

[jd4]

I respect the original poster's ideas but I don't agree with them. Former Raptor coach, Sam Mitchell said it best when he used to say, "In the NBA, you win with talent." For the Raptors, the best place to acquire and keep talent for a while is via the draft. Being only 4 losses away from having the 2nd best chance of getting Anthony Davis or at least being able to draft one of Beal, Barnes, Drummond, MKG, etc. is frustrating. There were about 10 games they should have lost this year: 2 against the Knicks, 2 against the Celtics, and one against the Hawks, Philly, Memphis, Denver, Phoenix, and Utah. Had the lost, even 1/2 of these games, we'd be in a much better situation to get a higher end talent in the draft.

Barring any luck in the lottery, drafting 8th puts us in a position to draft a player similar to DeRozan...good but never quite good enough to be a difference maker. So, as a result, I see this team becoming much like the 76ers...good but never quite good enough to be a championship contender. They'll get into the playoffs, perhaps as soon as next year, but will they ever be a championship contender because in the end, that's the ultimate goal of each NBA team.

So, while I respect the job Casey did this year and the progression in some of the players, I still feel unsatisfied with the season since from a big picture perspective.

[Schad]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

Your premise requires a serious lack of investigation. We missed the playoffs by 12 games. Bargnani missed 35 games. Of those 35, 10 were wins. To close the gap, we'd have had to go 22-13, rather than 10-25, in those efforts...given that we were some distance below .500 in the games in which he did play, there's absolutely no logical reason to believe that he would have made this a playoff team. Absolutely zero.

[Brinbe]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

Your premise requires a serious lack of investigation. We missed the playoffs by 12 games. Bargnani missed 35 games. Of those 35, 10 were wins. To close the gap, we'd have had to go 22-13, rather than 10-25, in those efforts...given that we were some distance below .500 in the games in which he did play, there's absolutely no logical reason to believe that he would have made this a playoff team. Absolutely zero.

Well-done, Schad... these people need a severe dosage of reality.

[Thesachman19]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

Your premise requires a serious lack of investigation. We missed the playoffs by 12 games. Bargnani missed 35 games. Of those 35, 10 were wins. To close the gap, we'd have had to go 22-13, rather than 10-25, in those efforts...given that we were some distance below .500 in the games in which he did play, there's absolutely no logical reason to believe that he would have made this a playoff team. Absolutely zero.

Problem is, it's not all black and white.

A) Bargnani was ineffective for a large number of games in his return from injury
B) We started to tank towards the end

[Thesachman19]

Agreed with OP. If Bargnani was healthy, we would have made the playoffs...

I did a similar article, if you guys want to check it out
http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-rapto ... d-of-year/

Your premise requires a serious lack of investigation. We missed the playoffs by 12 games. Bargnani missed 35 games. Of those 35, 10 were wins. To close the gap, we'd have had to go 22-13, rather than 10-25, in those efforts...given that we were some distance below .500 in the games in which he did play, there's absolutely no logical reason to believe that he would have made this a playoff team. Absolutely zero.

Maybe it is a bit rash for me to say we would have absolutely made the playoffs, but we would have been in contention.

[Schad]

A) At no point were we above .500 with Bargs in the lineup, and we won around our seasonal average while he was ineffective.
B) From March 2nd onward, we were 12-19. From April 1 onward, we were 6-8. That's right: we actually had a far better winning percentage when tanking.

[manap3000]

wow there is certainly a lot of doom and gloom going around here, mind if I join in?

The only idiots that are happy with what we achieved this season haven't watched nba basketball long enough to know what it takes to win in this league.

OF COURSE WE DID OKAY THIS SEASON!!!, EVERYONE REALIZES THIS IS THE DEEPEST DRAFT SINCE BRON BRON AND THE GANG, AND ARE TRYING THEIR DAMNDEST TO BE AWFUL. GOLDEN STATE WENT 3-17 IN THERE LAST 20 GAMES IF ANYONE DIDN'T KNOW.

I put it in capitals so everyone realizes, this is a league built on star power, sure you can win games without elite talent, but if you want to go far it is a hell of a lot easier if you have all-stars or a superstar. Everyone was bad this year, b/c they realize this draft will prevent them from mediocrity, and these "****" teams will be whooping our ass next year.

It is no ones fault. It is not the players/coaches responsibility to worry about tanking, they just go out there and do their job, try to win. Colangelo got rid of barbosa, to try and rev this tank up, but it didn't work. I'll reserve judgement until I see what he pulls out his hat this offseason, b/c he is going to need to for me to even consider watching this team next year.