The Misunderstanding of the Raptors.

[Ice Trae]

realgm is a place of overreaction. if your team plays like **** then they'll get ripped apart. just the way it goes. the hawks always wet the bed in the playoffs so im pretty much immune to all the **** that goes our way

[Def Leppard]

Raps Fan here, hate is well deserved, our fans are generally unreasonable, entitled and as easily offended as a vegan at a butchers

[Vlade Divac]

I think people love to knock them while they are down because of how cocky and trolling the fan base has become on here.

I think this is likely a pretty big reason.

Every fan base has those annoying, cocky, in your face fans. When a team is struggling, they tend to hide out. When the team has success, they come out in full force. The Raptors have far and away the largest fan base on here and I think a few bad apples are making the rest of the batch look bad.

Absolutely. But from quantity you get quality. Raptors board has numerous idiots who don't have manners and know squat about basketball. However it has also plenty mature and knowledgeable posters. We are not going to agree always but while doing that lets do it with dignity and civility!

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I think people love to knock them while they are down because of how cocky and trolling the fan base has become on here.

I think this is likely a pretty big reason.

Every fan base has those annoying, cocky, in your face fans. When a team is struggling, they tend to hide out. When the team has success, they come out in full force. The Raptors have far and away the largest fan base on here and I think a few bad apples are making the rest of the batch look bad.

Absolutely. But from quantity you get quality. Raptors board has numerous idiots who don't have manners and know squat about basketball. However it has also plenty mature and knowledgeable posters. We are not going to agree always but while doing that lets do it with dignity and civility!

Oh I agree, I certainly wasn't only calling out the Raptors in this. As I said, every single fan base has them. I've met plenty of great Raptors posters here. The problem is, the annoying fans will always give the good fans a bad rep, and when the Raptors have so many more posters here than other teams, it has stood out a bit more. Thats all.

[MaceCase]

See, I would have given you a pat on the back and a "there, there" and a "I know your pain" but you had to go puffing your chest by throwing dirt on another team. Naw, hope for the best your team can finish this series with a loss average under 25ppg before you decide to throw stones from your glass house.

[SerialChiller]

For those who think the Clippers are on the same level as the Raps look at their All-Star PGs and tell me who raises their play in the playoffs and who is the dumpster fire

Raptors Heat Game 7
Kyle Lowry: 35pts, 9ast, 7reb, 4stls, 55% from the field, plus-31
Dwyane Wade: 16pts, 4ast, 4reb, 0stls, 46% from the field, minus-28

When the season was on the line, one All-Star stepped up and one didn't.

LOL well one of those players has been absolute garbage his entire playoff career including these playoffs except for a couple big games. The other had carried his team to that point and clearly didn't have much left to give after exhausting himself with heroics at an advanced age in basketball terms.

[BloodNinja]

The Raptors aren't the issue. It's the lack of competition at the top in the East. The only elite team is the Cavs (or whoever LeBron plays for) so the end result is almost predetermined. The end result is that you have only one competitive series this deep into the playoffs which is a shame.

If you had the Cavs face Spurs or Clippers (healthy) instead you would an entertaining series on your hands with the result up in the air. I know the Raps are dealing with injuries but even with a fully healthy squad the result would be the same, just less painful.

[anish23]

I know there isnt a way to prove it, but in a 7 game series, I'd take Portland and Clips above the Raps. Still rooting on the Raps but man things arent looking good at all... in ALL aspects.

[ryanpuge]

I think Raptors fans need to not care what everyone thinks of them all the time.

Raptors have the 7th youngest team in the NBA, are in the ECF's and have a 9th overall pick in the draft. There are far worst situations than that. Doesn't mean you should be happy to settle for a Cavs ass-whoopin. But certainly shouldn't be on the ledge either.

This..
As what I said in another thread, some Raps fans need to learn to pick and choose their battles... You guys know your team better, so dont mind posts that are straight out trolling but be open to those posts with valid points...

As a Miami Heat fan, the hatred towards the Raps is not even close to what we had 5-6 years ago... Before it was, Miami Fans and Lebron fans vs the rest of the world...i actually havent seen a post like "ill pick any team except the Raps" which was pretty common back then but against the Heat..

Tip: you guys are in the conference finals where the Men are separated from the boys..start learning how to suck up every loss and move on to the next game...

[spacemonkey]

Fandom often feels like it's own separate game to the NBA.

Why does any fan care what a non-fan thinks of their team?

To extend it further, why does anybody care what anybody else thinks about their team?

To prove them wrong? Educate them?

These are selfish impulses. Just support your own team, leave the trolls to jerk off together.

[S.W.A.N]

Who doesn't hate the raps. I am a rap fan and I hate us.. We have the worse fan base (and the best but man does the worse make us look bad sometimes)

and we play ugly basketball.

Really really ugly basketball.

It's no wonder our fan base is bi-polar. One day Lowry is god the next he is taking a big ol' poo... Demar is the second coming of Kobe except he can be a bigger black hole that the mamba (who else can say that) without a jumpshot. Our guards have a hard time understanding that a pick and roll can be used to get the big man the ball. And ball movement consists of overdribbling before an Iso or high P&R.

Really ugly ball!!!

And yet its also the best raptor season ever and we have more assets and young guys than we've ever had and winning more than ever so @#$% the f ya gonna do?

Raps in 4 !!

[Syd-TK3]

Let's be real the are only 2 series left
People on this site don't have much basketball to watch so complaining about one of the only series left being bad is justified. When Atl and Detroit got swept it was easily overlooled

[Scott Hall]

The Raptors are one of the most bizarre teams you'll come across so let me try and explain them to outsiders...

1) Kyle Lowry the reason why this team won 56 games is because of him. He played out of his mind for
most of the season playing like an MVP candidate at age 29 (turning 30 in March). No player especially
an All-Stars play fluctuates from one extreme to another like him. When's he on he's a top 10 player level
when he's off like the first couple of games against the Cavs he's the worst player on both ends of the
court and is detrimental to his team. Lowry has also become more of 6'0 SG who relies on 3 point shooting
and has no mid range game, speed, handles and usually gets blocked by the trees in the paint.

2) They have some of the worst PF's in the entire league. I don't think most people realize how bad the
Raptors PF situation is. 36 year old Luis Scola is a complete pylon and defensive liability at this point
of his career. Patrick Patterson is an adequate defender, poor rebounder and inconsistent shooter.
Overrated by a lot of Raptors fans. Production wise the Raps are usually playing 4 vs. 5 with this group
of PF's.

3) They have some of the worst BBall IQ players you've ever seen offensively they play cringe worthy
basketball but usually play good defense to keep them in the game. They hardly ever blow anybody out
and are likely to play Philadelphia as closely as they'll play Golden State. Most games are grinded out till
the end. The biggest culprit is DeRozan he might have the worst shot selection in the entire league
when it comes to low BBall IQ.

4) DeMarre Carroll missed most of the year because of knee surgery and now has a wrist contusion. He also
has no chemistry with the brick brothers and appears last years surprising play was because of a contract year.

5) They benefit from playing at the ACC in front of some of the most raucous fans in the league. Some Pacers
and Heat players admitted it during the playoffs. It's extremely hard to win games in Toronto when the
crowd is lit. They've been a good Road team all year but have only played 2 or 3 good Road games these
playoffs while the rest they've looked terrible.

How the Raptors are in the ECF with their 2 best players shooting historically bad numbers as the two high
volume scorers, getting next to no production from the PF spot, playing with a broken down Carroll and now
missing their starting center for several games is almost mind boggling.

It's been amusing trying to watch Vegas try and get a read on them. Imagine if Chris Paul went down the crapper
and started playing like Prigioni then back to Chris Paul then back to Prigioni for a few games then all of a
sudden back to Chris Paul again. It's been such a roller coaster ride never seen anything like it.

[ryanpuge]

Why would you give them credit for 2006? Alonzo Mourning should not have been on that team for the price they paid for him. The man fraudulently ripped off Toronto by claiming he was too ill to play. Do you really think the Raptors would have bought him out if they knew he was healthy enough to play? No, they would have put him up for trade.

Interesting..

Jack and Devlin had this conversation the other night.. They both agreed that Babcock knows that Mourning will be buyout and was only part of the trade for salary matching... The were sarcasticly saying that it was Eric Williams as the key player for the Raps... As per Jack, Jalen Rose wants/thought if it was RJ for VC trade....

Given that you said Mourning was a fraud, why didnt the Raps rescind the trade due to medical reason??

Its also pretty common back then that a traded player and the new team will agree to buy out - esp veterans...

[NBAfan3024]

I dunno it does seem to me the raptors are getting a lot of hate but is it down to their fans? Have they rubbed people the wrong way? I dunno. I think no matter what Raptors do here the rest of the series they have had a great season. Won 56 games? And made the conference finals for the first time in their history. They have cap space to get better and have made great improvements.

However how bad their best two players have been from the field has been shocking really. Maybe the hate is due to the cavs having it far too easily in this conference

[WangZhiZhiRules]

The Raps are good team. Actually, they're a very good team. But they're not great. And the odds of them being great are extremely slim.

I think a lot of people forget that at any given time there are really only 4 or 5 teams that have a true superstar that can win you a title. Right now the list is probably LeBron, Curry, Durant, and maybe Westbrook and Davis (if he'd ever stay healthy).

There are so few teams in history that have won a title without having a superstar. In the past 35 years I'd say the 3 Pistons teams, and maybe the Mavs, depending on how you feel about Dirk (I think he was a superstar). All three of those Pistons teams had phenomenal defense to make up for their lack of a superstar.

Unless the Raps get lucky in the draft, they're probably stuck where they are...a very good team that most likely won't make the finals.

[anish23]

The Raptors are one of the most bizarre teams you'll come across so let me try and explain them to outsiders...

1) Kyle Lowry the reason why this team won 56 games is because of him. He played out of his mind for
most of the season playing like an MVP candidate at age 29 (turning 30 in March). No player especially
an All-Stars play fluctuates from one extreme to another like him. When's he on he's a top 10 player level
when he's off like the first couple of games against the Cavs he's the worst player on both ends of the
court and is detrimental to his team. Lowry has also become more of 6'0 SG who relies on 3 point shooting
and has no mid range game, speed, handles and usually gets blocked by the trees in the paint.

2) They have some of the worst PF's in the entire league. I don't think most people realize how bad the
Raptors PF situation is. 36 year old Luis Scola is a complete pylon and defensive liability at this point
of his career. Patrick Patterson is an adequate defender, poor rebounder and inconsistent shooter.
Overrated by a lot of Raptors fans. Production wise the Raps are usually playing 4 vs. 5 with this group
of PF's.

3) They have some of the worst BBall IQ players you've ever seen offensively they play cringe worthy
basketball but usually play good defense to keep them in the game. They hardly ever blow anybody out
and are likely to play Philadelphia as closely as they'll play Golden State. Most games are grinded out till
the end. The biggest culprit is DeRozan he might have the worst shot selection in the entire league
when it comes to low BBall IQ.

4) DeMarre Carroll missed most of the year because of knee surgery and now has a wrist contusion. He also
has no chemistry with the brick brothers and appears last years surprising play was because of a contract year.

5) They benefit from playing at the ACC in front of some of the most raucous fans in the league. Some Pacers
and Heat players admitted it during the playoffs. It's extremely hard to win games in Toronto when the
crowd is lit. They've been a good Road team all year but have only played 2 or 3 good Road games these
playoffs while the rest they've looked terrible.

How the Raptors are in the ECF with their 2 best players shooting historically bad numbers as the two high
volume scorers, getting next to no production from the PF spot, playing with a broken down Carroll and now
missing their starting center for several games is almost mind boggling.

It's been amusing trying to watch Vegas try and get a read on them. Imagine if Chris Paul went down the crapper
and started playing like Prigioni then back to Chris Paul then back to Prigioni for a few games then all of a
sudden back to Chris Paul again. It's been such a roller coaster ride never seen anything like it.

Eastern Conference. In the West Raps would be out first round.

[anish23]

I dunno it does seem to me the raptors are getting a lot of hate but is it down to their fans? Have they rubbed people the wrong way? I dunno. I think no matter what Raptors do here the rest of the series they have had a great season. Won 56 games? And made the conference finals for the first time in their history. They have cap space to get better and have made great improvements.

However how bad their best two players have been from the field has been shocking really. Maybe the hate is due to the cavs having it far too easily in this conference

Exactly... its getting to the end of May and Raps talk is happening, means they did something right.

But obviously its the Eastern Conference... so there is that.

[HiRez]

AND the Raptors have yet to play a home game. Look at the NBA League Standings. East teams in bold:

Golden State 73
San Antonio 67
Cleveland 57
Toronto 56

Sure, but they play in the East, which means they play a lot more games against East teams (52 vs. 30 from the other conference), as West teams play a lot more games against West teams.

Raps were only 17-13 against West teams this year. If you reverse their winning % East-West for the number of games they'd play in the other conference, they project to win 52 games in the West. That doesn't make them a bad team, it's pretty good, but it makes them bit worse than their RS record indicates, and is clearly a big step below elite territory.

And honestly, the same goes for the Cavs to some extent.

[Scott Hall]

The Raptors are one of the most bizarre teams you'll come across so let me try and explain them to outsiders...

1) Kyle Lowry the reason why this team won 56 games is because of him. He played out of his mind for
most of the season playing like an MVP candidate at age 29 (turning 30 in March). No player especially
an All-Stars play fluctuates from one extreme to another like him. When's he on he's a top 10 player level
when he's off like the first couple of games against the Cavs he's the worst player on both ends of the
court and is detrimental to his team. Lowry has also become more of 6'0 SG who relies on 3 point shooting
and has no mid range game, speed, handles and usually gets blocked by the trees in the paint.

2) They have some of the worst PF's in the entire league. I don't think most people realize how bad the
Raptors PF situation is. 36 year old Luis Scola is a complete pylon and defensive liability at this point
of his career. Patrick Patterson is an adequate defender, poor rebounder and inconsistent shooter.
Overrated by a lot of Raptors fans. Production wise the Raps are usually playing 4 vs. 5 with this group
of PF's.

3) They have some of the worst BBall IQ players you've ever seen offensively they play cringe worthy
basketball but usually play good defense to keep them in the game. They hardly ever blow anybody out
and are likely to play Philadelphia as closely as they'll play Golden State. Most games are grinded out till
the end. The biggest culprit is DeRozan he might have the worst shot selection in the entire league
when it comes to low BBall IQ.

4) DeMarre Carroll missed most of the year because of knee surgery and now has a wrist contusion. He also
has no chemistry with the brick brothers and appears last years surprising play was because of a contract year.

5) They benefit from playing at the ACC in front of some of the most raucous fans in the league. Some Pacers
and Heat players admitted it during the playoffs. It's extremely hard to win games in Toronto when the
crowd is lit. They've been a good Road team all year but have only played 2 or 3 good Road games these
playoffs while the rest they've looked terrible.

How the Raptors are in the ECF with their 2 best players shooting historically bad numbers as the two high
volume scorers, getting next to no production from the PF spot, playing with a broken down Carroll and now
missing their starting center for several games is almost mind boggling.

It's been amusing trying to watch Vegas try and get a read on them. Imagine if Chris Paul went down the crapper
and started playing like Prigioni then back to Chris Paul then back to Prigioni for a few games then all of a
sudden back to Chris Paul again. It's been such a roller coaster ride never seen anything like it.

Eastern Conference. In the West Raps would be out first round.

Regular season no playoffs yes