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Raptors - a playoff team in 2013-14?

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  • #46
    For sure locks:
    Miami
    Chicago
    Indiana
    New York
    Brooklyn
    Cleveland

    Cleveland because they brought some nice new additions as in, Jarrett Jack, Andrew Bynum & Earl Clark, and not tomention the 1st overall pick Anthony Bennett.

    For the last two spots, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington, Detroit will fight for it.

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    • #47
      hotfuzz wrote: View Post
      How about the fact that Cavs have arguably a top 30 (perhaps even top 20?) player in their roster and a top 3 center (D12, Gasol, Bynum), and we don't.
      I'm not going to argue with the former, but is Bynum a top 3 center? Is he ever going to play a full season of basketball again? I'm not sure I'd put him ahead of Lopez in general. And people will say things like "when healthy", but this is a guy who missed all of last season, who has only played a full season once, and only played more than 65 games once, and those last 2 happened in the same season which was his 2nd season (in 2006-07). It's not like it was a terribly risky signing, but I wouldn't count on Bynum contributing much to the Cavs season, just because of the injury risk. Usually ends up playing 1/2 - 3/4 of the season.

      Also, while I would be surprised to see JV in that discussion this season, JV could be well on his way to being that. I wouldn't be shocked to see him put up something like 14-15 pts, 8-10 rpg, and about 2 bpg. He could have a bigger impact for Toronto than Bynum does with the Cavs.

      I think the Cavs strength actually comes from the versatility and depth at the other spots. Thompson, Bennett, Karasev, Jack, Clark, Waiters, Irving....these guys bring a lot of skill and athleticism when you throw them together. The question is making it work, especially when they're almost all young.
      Last edited by white men can't jump; Mon Jul 22, 2013, 12:06 PM.

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      • #48
        No way. Cleveland is the playoff team, but not 'for sure lock'.

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        • #49
          Millwaukee has less talent than we do
          Detroit has nobody to stretch the floor. Monroe, Drummond and Smith in the paint is a mess.
          Clevland just added another rookie to their starting line up.

          I think Toronto has just enough talent and veterans to sneak into the playoffs.

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          • #50
            Nilanka wrote: View Post
            Go easy on her, she's 14

            Critical thinking skills are still in development at that age (at least it was for me....)
            Ouch, critical thinking eh? I'd like to see the correlation between degree of critical thinking and predicting success in pro sports. I bet its no better than, or slightly above, random. There is every reason to believe that the Raptors are capable of making the playoffs next season. Every team in group 2, and some in group 1, are one injured player away from the lottery. I agree with lilmamba. Look at last season. We are a prime example of a team ready to make it to the post season, but didn't because of injuries.

            Sometimes the cynicism of fans on this site really cause me to shake my head in amazement.
            Welp, that sucked.

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            • #51
              white men can't jump wrote: View Post
              -In the past 2 years, Atlanta has lost their 2 most talented players (JJ and Smith), and now their head coach. They have managed to maintain a decent talent level, but that's a lot of change. I can see them challenging and making it, but it will be tough for them, and Horford is going to have to have a career year.
              Johnson was a mammothly overpaid and overrated player whose loss barely hurt Atlanta. Josh Smith is a good player, but Paul Millsap is a more than adequate replacement for him in just about every possible respect. Atlanta hasn't lost any other players from last year's team which was a perfectly sturdy #6 seed. Barring injury issues they should basically be about as good as they were last year, which is to say they'll end up somewhere in the #5-7 seeds.

              -Milwaukee has lost it's best scorer and replaced him with a guy who keeps being discarded, and now has an unhappy RFA point guard who already underachieved. Not a big OJ Mayo fan. Oh, and they also have a new coach. Ironically Atlanta's old one. I think Milwaukee ends up firmly at the bottom of this B group. If they make the playoffs, it's because someone like Henson or Antetokounmpo explodes.
              Milwaukee got rid of a streaky, inefficient volume scorer when they let Monta Ellis leave, and Jennings is now in a contract year and has cause to make as many waves as possible. That assumes the Bucks don't trade him. Remember that the Bucks are nowhere near close to finishing their team yet; they have only about $46 million committed so far, so they can afford to snag a pricey asset from another team if need be. (I could honestly see them sign-and-trading for Gerald Henderson.) They have a top-10 center in Larry Sanders and a fairly deep bench (Carlos Delfino, Zaza Pachulia, Luke Ridnour, Ekpe Udoh).

              Don't get me wrong: I think the Bucks are going to have a very hard road ahead of them to make playoffs. But let's put it this way: they're a team whose starting five are a highly-promising young center, a good young power forward, a talented point guard in a contract year who needs to prove himself, a talented but questionable shooting guard and a strong small forward. Does that sound like anybody to you? Except that Ersan Ilyasova is a more efficient player than Rudy Gay?

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              • #52
                a one derozan a JV and a two gays.

                Well you just named all the players we have. I know I'm douche right now, but quality>quantity. We are not a playoff lock team, I'm here for two years but even I understood one thing, don't expect too much. Last season we all were jumping around during the offseason that this team is 6-8th seed. Then that 13 straight loss start. HOWEVER, our chances this year are 1.5x times better at making the playoffs because of the obvious talent and bench upgrade + 1/3 teams tanking for top 5 picks.
                Official Pope of the Raptors sponsored by MLSE.

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                • #53
                  JordanMariam14 wrote: View Post
                  For sure locks:
                  Miami
                  Chicago
                  Indiana
                  New York
                  Brooklyn
                  Cleveland

                  Cleveland because they brought some nice new additions as in, Jarrett Jack, Andrew Bynum & Earl Clark, and not tomention the 1st overall pick Anthony Bennett.

                  For the last two spots, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington, Detroit will fight for it.
                  i personally dont think those three additions could make them any better than toronto.... we have much more talent, experience and a better coaching staff, just saying
                  What they got to say now? Nothing they can say now. Mobbin' on the low. Winnin' on the low
                  The city embraced me, made me feel at home. The only difference [between Compton and Toronto] for me is the cold. -DeMar
                  No Where Near the South Side #WeTheNorth

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                  • #54
                    lilmamba_ wrote: View Post
                    i personally dont think those three additions could make them any better than toronto.... we have much more talent, experience and a better coaching staff, just saying
                    Much more talent? Experience of losing?
                    Official Pope of the Raptors sponsored by MLSE.

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                    • #55
                      I'm also dying for some playoff action, and also believe that this group could provide it.
                      -There are things that could easily hurt our chances:

                      Is Dwane Casey coaching like 1st year Dwane or 2nd year Dwane?
                      Is Rudy's vision and back really what had him shooting from distance poorly?
                      Does Demar have another level he can reach as a passable defender and 3pt shooter?
                      Was 2012/13 Lowry as good as it gets consistently?

                      Lowry, Demar, Rudy, Amir & Jonas - is tight.
                      A mix of Hansbrough, Fields, Augustin, Ross, Buycks as bench support is questionable - but has real potential.

                      There's no doubting Miami and Indiana will be superb next season ... But i'm not scared of anyone else.
                      NYK is still messy, and not insulated well from injuries.
                      Brooklyn will only have 1 ball to share amongst gobblers like Deron, Joe joe, Pierce, Brook, etc ... need chemistry fast.
                      Atlanta has an underwhelming team built around Horford.

                      Everyone is giving away the top 5-7 spots in the east ... they have to earn it, and we have enough talent that if coached and dedicated properly - should be a very tough team to play against.
                      The only way to bag a classy lady is to give her two tickets to the gun show... and see if she likes the goods.

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                      • #56
                        RandomGuy wrote: View Post
                        Much more talent? Experience of losing?
                        fine i guess talent, yes. much more, i guess not
                        and by experience i mean playoffs experience, its nice to have those guys in your locker room
                        What they got to say now? Nothing they can say now. Mobbin' on the low. Winnin' on the low
                        The city embraced me, made me feel at home. The only difference [between Compton and Toronto] for me is the cold. -DeMar
                        No Where Near the South Side #WeTheNorth

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          If Detroit plans to put Josh Smith at the 3, that is a recipe for disaster. It will be his job as a 3 to space the floor, since they already have post presences in Drummond/Monroe. Smith getting a green light to shoot the 3pt shot is NOT what they want, but what they may have to live with. He shot 30% on 2.8 3-pointers a game last year playing the 4! We all know how notorious he is in that category.
                          Twitter - @thekid_it

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                          • #58
                            lilmamba_ wrote: View Post
                            fine i guess talent, yes. much more, i guess not
                            and by experience i mean playoffs experience, its nice to have those guys in your locker room
                            Agreed. Maybe overthinking, but the fact that Rudy came from a winning atmosphere in Memphis SHOULD be to our advantage. Whether it will be or not, we'll have to wait and see.
                            Twitter - @thekid_it

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                            • #59
                              lilmamba_ wrote: View Post
                              fine i guess talent, yes. much more, i guess not
                              and by experience i mean playoffs experience, its nice to have those guys in your locker room
                              Only guy who has any significant playoff experience is Rudy Gay, but then Josh Smith has that too, and so does Millsap. OJ mayo came from the same Memphis team.
                              "Stay steamy"

                              - Kobe

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                              • #60
                                lilmamba_ wrote: View Post
                                i personally dont think those three additions could make them any better than toronto.... we have much more talent, experience and a better coaching staff, just saying
                                no, you're right, it isn't those three additions that, alone, make them better than TO. it's that they were likely already better than TO without those additions.

                                irving was/is already head/shoulders above any pg on TO's roster - adding jack just solidifies the position further.

                                i'm not a huge waiters fan, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would take any SGs on the raptors over him (enormous DD homers excluded, of course). and no one's going to argue that ross is on par with miles, right? i mean, he could get there, i guess, he's got the tools...but what's he done so far (last year & in vegas) to give anyone much optimism?

                                granted, they (cavs) are reaaaally weak at the 3, and that's probably the raptors 'best' position (well, it's the position played by their 'best' player, natch). it's also still july, so maybe, just maybe, there are more moves to be made. maybe.

                                tristan hasn't been great, and he gets criticized for not living up to his draft position (as will bennett), but he made some big strides in the latter half of last year...and, if we're being fully truthful with ourselves, although amir is underrated, that's actually a fairly even matchup...and if TT continues his development (and if amir maintains his current level of play), it's not a stretch to imagine that by january, TT is considered the better overall player. not to mention they have bennett looking to earn minutes as well. as much as we hope that psycho & acy will contribute off the bench...well, that remains to be seen.

                                i'm as big a JV fan as there is, but even my val-coloured glasses can't hide the fact that (a healthy) bynum is several levels above him as a player...and even if he's hurt, or is a lesser player due to his previous injuries, they've still got andy, who would have been an all-star last year if not for his injury. hell, if they both come back to form & are healthy, thompson & bennett could both be fighting for minutes at the 4.
                                TRUE LOVE - Sometimes you know it the instant you see it across the bar.

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