Game #2: Atlanta Hawks 102 - Toronto Raptors 95 (F)

[ReubenJRD]

Real problem is:

1. Raptors dont have a PG.
2. Gay took way too many unnecessary shots tonight. Dude was playing 1 on 5 in the first.
3. Defense was atrocious
4. They played 9 preseason games. Should be more than good enough to figure out your rotation. Casey tonight used 13 players. WTF was that all about?
5. Amir can't continue to shoot 3's.

I personally loved the way Buycks and Augustin played in their minutes - more so Augustin, he found lots of open guys.

[Chr1s1anL]

Who is saying he can't do wrong? He is a 21 C oozing potential and needing experience to reach it

I hate ppl saying this team is anything but a 12th pick in the lottery

Shouldn't he earn these minutes than? Like everyone is saying Ross should. His not a savior.

[The Great One]

I personally loved the way Buycks and Augustin played in their minutes - more so Augustin, he found lots of open guys.

Yup. Raps played a lot better when Casey took Gay and Lowry out in the 3rd.

[wallz]

I personally loved the way Buycks and Augustin played in their minutes - more so Augustin, he found lots of open guys.

Augustin surprised me with how composed he is under pressure. He's better than Lowry at the drive and kick, which is pretty discouraging now that I think of it

[ReubenJRD]

Shouldn't he earn these minutes than? Like everyone is saying Ross should. His not a savior.

Sure isn't, but he's the starting centre of this league and already has shown a lot of promise. To be fair though, I feel like Ross has earned more minutes as well.

[GLF]

What lost the game was Casey's decision to go with Daye for the last five minutes of the first half, which sparked a Hawks run and put them into a hole they could never get out of. Starters plus Fields makes some sense in the unit that closed out the game, because Fields can make up for at least some of Demar's defence and can do smart things on offense. Daye, Gay and DeRozan on the court is an idea that makes no sense, especially during key moments in the game.

OMG couldn't agree more! That's soooo true, I didn't even think about that. That was when we lost it and Atlanta gained a lot of confidence. It was all downhill from there.

[ReubenJRD]

Augustin surprised me with how composed he is under pressure. He's better than Lowry at the drive and kick, which is pretty discouraging now that I think of it

Augustin was a pretty solid point guard when he started for Charlotte, I remember he was a Raptor killer as well.

[mcHAPPY]

Shouldn't he earn these minutes than? Like everyone is saying Ross should. His not a savior.

No actually. Not everyone is saying that. Ross got screwed last year too. This year as well. ED before that.

Casey is probably eh worst coach the raptors can have right now. If the team is relying on internal organic growth to take the next step, it isn't going to happen with Ross and JV on the bench.

[Jclaw]

I ask this in all honesty, because I am more of a fan than a player. Did we try one pick n roll tonight?

[psrs1]

I honestly think a lot of our loses falls on Casey. Like his rotations and his offense are soooo bad! Our team is good enough to be a playoff team. Yea our sealing isn't high but we should be beating teams like Atlanta. Casey is a BIG problem. Rudy played really bad but he missed shots he normally makes and will make. And then our defense still isn't even great so what's the point of Casey.

I agree. Stan Van Gundy would not have to olerated a loss like tonight's if he was Raptor coach. This 'winnable' game we lost yet again. Lakers fired coach four games in last year why not us?

[phez]

JV's sucking tonite or not isn't the issue. Of course a 2nd yr rookie is going to suck against the combined post of milsap and horford. But what is the fucking point of all this talk of his development if you don't even give him the chance to work it out instead of benching him for most of the game. You want him to suck and make mistakes now when the games don't matter as much, rather than later when the raps are 'supposed' to go on their playoff run.

[white men can't jump]

The only time Jonas got a stop on horford was when they doubled down.

And who exactly was stopping Horford? Amir didn't. And again, it allowed their other bigs to have better games. I'll take Jonas having a tough game, but playing tough, which he was, against an all-star. The Raps had no rim protection with him out of the game. And it put too much responsibility on Amir. Going small didn't accomplish anything. The lineup wasn't actually playing that well, except that DeMar was having a great night. If DeMar was having an average game, that lineup would've looked damn awful. They weren't running good things to even free him up. It was crappy offense, spotty D, and they're lucky DeMar was hot, otherwise they would've been blown out by 20

[GLF]

Yea, I don't want to be dramatic after 2 games like most fans are but the more I think about it the more I think Casey is the problem and we need to fire him. He isn't the only problem but he's a big problem and maybe the number one problem. Our rotations and our lack of offense are our biggest problems and that lies mostly on Casey.

[psrs1]

Guys, Atlanta has too much talent for us to handle. Perhaps if JV was more seasoned it would have been a more even match,but with all this perimeter one on one stuff we aren't going far this season.

That is scary statement. If any truth is crushing to many of us.

[mcHAPPY]

JV's sucking tonite or not isn't the issue. Of course a 2nd yr rookie is going to suck against the combined post of milsap and horford. But what is the fucking point of all this talk of his development if you don't even give him the chance to work it out instead of benching him for most of the game. You want him to suck and make mistakes now when the games don't matter as much, rather than later when the raps are 'supposed' to go on their playoff run.

You got it.

Here is a riddle: how do you kill talent? Destroy it's confidence