Masai: We have a Young Team and there will be Growing Pains

[Raps1103]

Where all my heads that think moving from Tampa will add 20 wins this year?

Masai with that reality dose.

well, we have added 17 so far with 6 more games remaining.

The trolls post super negative Shiznat … then… if they’re right .. they strut around like they did something .. and if they’re wrong … then they say “well I’m glad I was wrong” it’s like a win win .. to be a miserable negative baiting troll ! Lol

[ATLTimekeeper]

Bandwagon is full anyway. They'll be remembered until they flip to their burners.

[brownbobcat]

Nurse had different plans and played our starters 40+ plus minutes vs injury riddled teams.

BaHahaha … this guy is such a troll .. that he can’t even be happy about our winning record .. he’s making up bulls#%t excuses, as to WHY WE’RE DOING SO WELL !! Lol lol .. and this guy is just allowed to bait n troll .. just wow !!

I think a lot of tWo diehards don't even like basketball or competition in general, it feels like they'd be much happier just following whoever the top 2-3 teams are every year.

Masai can be cryptic sometimes, but he's always been extremely transparent with one principle - the results dictate the strategy.

If they suck, they'll blow it up. If they win, they'll push ahead with that core. If that core hit hits a wall, they'll change it up. The execution is hard, but the strategy is simple.

There was a ton of bad luck and extenuating circumstances in the 2020/21 season and it made sense to tank in the 2nd half even though there was some talent there. Coming into 2022, I always said Masai's going to give them some rope until January or so and then choose a path forward. If Scottie didn't show promise, if other guys didn't progress and they racked up tons of losses, they probably would have reset and moved Siakam/FVV. But there's no reason to do that until it becomes the obvious path.

[aminiaturebuddha]

I can't remember the exact number I predicted, but I think I settled on 42 wins. I thought with such a young team we'd be extremely inconsistent, which we have been to some extent (great wins against good teams, bad losses against bad teams), but things are also coming together nicely near the end of the season. And probably due to Scottie and Precious, it's happened a bit faster than I imagined.

Overall though, I've been very positive about the direction of the team, and felt we were on the right path and didn't need major changes. I still do, and will, even if we lose out in the 1st round and don't really make much noise in the playoffs this year.

[Johnny Bball]

Nurse had different plans and played our starters 40+ plus minutes vs injury riddled teams.

Hahahahaha. You spent a year trash talking everyone while be abjectly wrong and now you keep making so many excuses for not having any idea about this teams talent. You still don't even get it and it's April.

[Backcountry]

From what Masai said, my prediction was that we would be "competitive losers". I really believed that teams like NY, Atlanta, Indiana etc. had improved in the offseason and we would be fighting for maybe a play-in spot. Didn't see Chicago or Cleveland improving like they did, but I also figured that "growing pains" meant all season long! It's been a fun ride so far.

I think Masai just correctly softened expectations for fans, but it was really unlikely he was expecting them to lose, even competitively. Everything about that guy is winning this, winning that... What he tells the fans or media is just to set the tone, but Bobby Webster was talking about how they wanted this to be the 2013/14 season. And he was pretty much bang on.

In another thread, I predicted our record would be 50-32 and we'd go to the finals. But I was speaking a combination of tongue-in-cheek and hopefulness.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Masai before the season: We have a Young Team and there will be growing pains.

Masai now: We have Team Young and there will be pain going up against us.

[brownbobcat]

In another thread, I predicted our record would be 50-32 and we'd go to the finals. But I was speaking a combination of tongue-in-cheek and hopefulness.

Right as the season started, I said 45 definitely in reach with how Barnes has been able to make an immediate impact, and that they just needed 2-3 more solid rotation guys to go with the starters. With the resurgence of Boucher and Achiuwa proving me wrong in recent weeks, it looks like the Raptors found enough depth after all.

Before seeing Barnes explode, I thought .500 would've been a successful season.

[mihaic]

I thought we would win between 33-37 games, and I knew barring injuries we won't be able to tank . I am impressed with the outcome, I think Scottie, Precious wildly exceeded my expectations. GTJ as well a bit better than expected. But the key improved player is Pascal.

[Quattro]

I don’t think anyone expected the team to come together and be this good this fast. What amazes me are the people around here who are legitimately unhappy about this. Why are you even bothering watching this team and pretending you’re a fan when you actually want them to lose?

[ontnut]

I thought we would win between 33-37 games, and I knew barring injuries we won't be able to tank . I am impressed with the outcome, I think Scottie, Precious wildly exceeded my expectations. GTJ as well a bit better than expected. But the key improved player is Pascal.

That's pretty much my sentiment. I had Raptors a bit higher though, 37 was my floor (hence me taking the over bet on Raptors wins). I honestly had .500 record expectations. The East was actually better/more even that I expected.

Pretty much everyone in the top 6 has exceeded my expectations except for OG. I had OG as a MIP candidate as well as a fringe DPOY candidate - injuries and inconsistent play cost him that (I think both bets were pretty heavy, over +1000). I had low expectations for Boucher's continuation off last season (esp from 3), but he's been better lately as the 7th man.

[Ell Curry]

I thought we would win between 33-37 games, and I knew barring injuries we won't be able to tank . I am impressed with the outcome, I think Scottie, Precious wildly exceeded my expectations. GTJ as well a bit better than expected. But the key improved player is Pascal.

That's pretty much my sentiment. I had Raptors a bit higher though, 37 was my floor (hence me taking the over bet on Raptors wins). I honestly had .500 record expectations. The East was actually better/more even that I expected.

Pretty much everyone in the top 6 has exceeded my expectations except for OG. I had OG as a MIP candidate as well as a fringe DPOY candidate - injuries and inconsistent play cost him that (I think both bets were pretty heavy, over +1000). I had low expectations for Boucher's continuation off last season (esp from 3), but he's been better lately as the 7th man.

Same but I figured Boucher would still be a good bench player.

If you'd told me the Cavs and Bulls were gonna win 45 ish games I'd have had us in the play-in and around 40.

[ontnut]

I thought we would win between 33-37 games, and I knew barring injuries we won't be able to tank . I am impressed with the outcome, I think Scottie, Precious wildly exceeded my expectations. GTJ as well a bit better than expected. But the key improved player is Pascal.

That's pretty much my sentiment. I had Raptors a bit higher though, 37 was my floor (hence me taking the over bet on Raptors wins). I honestly had .500 record expectations. The East was actually better/more even that I expected.

Pretty much everyone in the top 6 has exceeded my expectations except for OG. I had OG as a MIP candidate as well as a fringe DPOY candidate - injuries and inconsistent play cost him that (I think both bets were pretty heavy, over +1000). I had low expectations for Boucher's continuation off last season (esp from 3), but he's been better lately as the 7th man.

Same but I figured Boucher would still be a good bench player.

If you'd told me the Cavs and Bulls were gonna win 45 ish games I'd have had us in the play-in and around 40.

I didn't think that Boucher would be out of the rotation, but I certainly didn't believe he'd repeat as a 38% 3pt shooter while delivering ~2 bpg. If there's an outlier season, that one was it (he's 28% from 3 - worse than I expected, and 0.9 bpg, also worse but I suspect guys have adjusted to his 3pt close out blocks)

[OakleyDokely]

I'm usually pretty optimistic about the teams chances, but even I didn't see this coming. I mean, they still have a shot at 50 wins. They're going to finish ahead of the Nets and within the range of the top East contenders. And, the best is still to come. Barnes, Precious, GTJ will all get better, there's still probably some improvement coming from OG. Only Siakam and VV are entering their peak years and they're still only 28. The Raps could have another 5-10 years of sustained success following the previous decade of success. We need to appreciate just how rare this is in sports. Sustained success just isn't supposed to happen.

[2019nbachamps]

It’s safe to say we exceeded most peoples expectations. I for one thought it’d be a transition year with us missing the playoffs. We’re in good shape and a couple of pieces away from being contenders.

[mdenny]

I thought we would win between 33-37 games, and I knew barring injuries we won't be able to tank . I am impressed with the outcome, I think Scottie, Precious wildly exceeded my expectations. GTJ as well a bit better than expected. But the key improved player is Pascal.

That's pretty much my sentiment. I had Raptors a bit higher though, 37 was my floor (hence me taking the over bet on Raptors wins). I honestly had .500 record expectations. The East was actually better/more even that I expected.

Pretty much everyone in the top 6 has exceeded my expectations except for OG. I had OG as a MIP candidate as well as a fringe DPOY candidate - injuries and inconsistent play cost him that (I think both bets were pretty heavy, over +1000). I had low expectations for Boucher's continuation off last season (esp from 3), but he's been better lately as the 7th man.

This is probably the first season in franchise history in which every single top 6 player on the team showed clear and quantifiable improvements. Pretty remarkable but that's the upside of having a young core.

[brownbobcat]

I'm usually pretty optimistic about the teams chances, but even I didn't see this coming. I mean, they still have a shot at 50 wins. They're going to finish ahead of the Nets and within the range of the top East contenders. And, the best is still to come. Barnes, Precious, GTJ will all get better, there's still probably some improvement coming from OG. Only Siakam and VV are entering their peak years and they're still only 28. The Raps could have another 5-10 years of sustained success following the previous decade of success. We need to appreciate just how rare this is in sports. Sustained success just isn't supposed to happen.

I think people also underrate depth and the tiny margin of error for winning/losing in this league. Boucher & Precious turning their game around after rough starts was like adding 2 additional pieces where the ripple effect adds 4-8 wins.

[vini_vidi_vici]

I'm usually pretty optimistic about the teams chances, but even I didn't see this coming. I mean, they still have a shot at 50 wins. They're going to finish ahead of the Nets and within the range of the top East contenders. And, the best is still to come. Barnes, Precious, GTJ will all get better, there's still probably some improvement coming from OG. Only Siakam and VV are entering their peak years and they're still only 28. The Raps could have another 5-10 years of sustained success following the previous decade of success. We need to appreciate just how rare this is in sports. Sustained success just isn't supposed to happen.

Thats why I dont understand the pessimism. If were talking about the whole of the team, despite being a developmental yr, we vastly exceeded expectations.

To your point, you can see where guys can make big leaps, and throw in anything we get from our lottery tickets (Flynn/Bonga/Johnson/Banton/Champagnie/Brooks). This team is in a great place. Sure FVV is not good at ____, but man, were arguing the edges, in a developmental yr.

I cant think of a time ive been more excited for the following yrs, like this.

[Pooh_Jeter]

This team has exceeded most people's expectations, but there is more context to the equation.

The first and most encouraging sign is that Scottie is more ready to contribute than basically anyone thought.

A lot of players played through injuries and played extremely heavy minutes to boot. This is an extreme outlier compared to the rest of the league.

A first round pick was also dealt for a rotation player.

Despite these factors the team will ultimately end up a few games out of a play in scenario where a lot of people pegged them to be.

[Vampirate]

It all ultimately just depends on how good Barnes can become.

We are a 1st or 2nd round exit unless Barnes becomes a perennial All Star or better.