Raptors pre-playoff musings about Rounds 1 & 2

[GLF]

Indiana*

[JordanMariam14]

WTF are you talking about? Miami is not going to rest Wade in the playoffs and we play Indianna MUCH better. I swear we haven't beat Miami since the big three have arrived. We've beat Indiana before and even when we lose to them it's close. Terrence actually guards Paul George well. We have NO ONE that can guard Lebron even half decent.

They might rest him against us considering the fact they play the Pacers right after us, and we play Miami well too. Also, we've played well against Indy when they didn't have Evan Turner nor Andrew Bynum, Lance Stephenson just had a bad game against us the the time we played them, what if he has a good one? It's Paul George .. I expect him to play better even if Ross is guarding him, and yeah we can't guard LeBron, but we won't have to worry much about anyone else on the Heat as a huge advantage, + JV and Patrick Patterson play really well against the Heat considering their lack of size.

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[GLF]

I think Miami is the team that'll be better for us to face, our teams played well against them, and pretty sure they won't play Dwayne Wade much against us because of trying to rest him for the Pacers!

Pacers in my opinion are just stacked, George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert, Evan Turner, Luis Scola, Andrew Bynum .. I think that's too much for Toronto

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I'm not saying Indiana is easy because yes they're stacked but I definitely think we play them better than Miami. Also we don't match up well against teams that play a lot of small ball. Miami plays a lot of small ball and Casey likes to match up to teams instead of having teams match us, so trust me we're fucked if we play Miami. It will probably be a sweep. Where as I feel we can take Indiana to maybe 6 games and lose. Also I think anyone who thinks we have a better chance against Miami is highly disrespectful. Until Miami loses the Championship this year they are the champions and should be respected as such.

[GLF]

They might rest him against us considering the fact they play the Pacers right after us, and we play Miami well too. Also, we've played well against Indy when they didn't have Evan Turner nor Andrew Bynum, Lance Stephenson just had a bad game against us the the time we played them, what if he has a good one? It's Paul George .. I expect him to play better even if Ross is guarding him, and yeah we can't guard LeBron, but we won't have to worry much about anyone else on the Heat as a huge advantage, + JV and Patrick Patterson play really well against the Heat considering their lack of size.

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Yet we've never beat Miami not once. Yet this is what everyone thinks and all their role players end up stepping up when the playoffs come and hit big shots. Yet they've won the Championship 2 years in a row. And if you think they will rest Wade in the playoffs unless he's seriously injured good luck with that. The ONLY reason they rest him so much in the regular season is to have him as fresh as possible for the playoffs. What was the point otherwise.

[JordanMariam14]

Yet we've never beat Miami not once. Yet this is what everyone thinks and all their role players end up stepping up when the playoffs come and hit big shots. Yet they've won the Championship 2 years in a row. And if you think they will rest Wade in the playoffs unless he's seriously injured good luck with that. The ONLY reason they rest him so much in the regular season is to have him as fresh as possible for the playoffs. What was the point otherwise.

We were a Amir Johnson shot away from a win against them. Of course there are going to be some complications but that comes with every team, and don't they rather have him fresh for the Pacers than the Raptors? I don't know. Just a theory.

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[mcHAPPY]

With way Indy is playing as of late? Most definitely.

Miami has not been playing too hot of late either.

[Phat Farmer]

As much as I would like to think we can take the Pacers in a series, we all have to know they will be be ready. They have that "on/off" button that teams like the Raptors only wish they had. However with that being said they are our only chance to get out of the 2nd round. Lebron would just demolish our whole team thoroughly.

[psrs1]

I've been thinking the 4th seed might be better after all. The Pacers are really limping into the playoffs and who knows maybe if the Raps get past Brooklyn they could catch lightening in a bottle and possibly upset the Pacers. A lot of wishing and ifs & buts but who knows. Maybe this a better route to possibly make the Eastern finals, any thoughts?

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We will not get past Brooklyn. We need to play Wizards to give us the best chance to get past the first round.

[psrs1]

Miami has not been playing too hot of late either.

Yeah but they own us. Have we one even one game against them since Bosh left? We definitely want to avoid Miami.

[2KJ]

I think we can. I see our chances of beating the better than if we face Miami. Miami, as much as I hate them are proven in the east. Lebron is a beast, Wade can step up, Bosh can get hot, they mostly get calls. Although the last game against them, was an improvement, as we did have a chance of beating them, unlike the previous matchups wherein they seem to keep it tight at the 1st half then suddenly wake up in the 2nd and that's the end.

I see the Pacers as probably a better version of the Raps. Both teams are built the same way. And remember that mini-rivalry with them before when both teams were bad? Matrix posterizing Granger, Granger fighting with Barbosa over unsportsmanship by both teams, Hibbert and Bargs jawing? Then last year, Gay with the game winner? This should be an intense matchup, esp since we have Psycho T, and they have Stephenson LOL.

[JawsGT]

I think we could beat Indy. It's a long shot for sure, but if we played for 48 minutes each game we can give them a go of it. Their offense is poor, and the additions they have made have yet to make a real positive impact. They may be stacked but they need to find that chemistry again. If they don't, they are vulnerable.

[thead]

to me either way we gotta go through Indy and Miami to win the conference...it makes no difference to me who we lose to in 6 games of the semi finals

[imanshumpert]

Miami has not been playing too hot of late either.

Miami has LeBron. Indiana lacks any sort of generational talent so it makes them more beatable.

I mean we're a better offensive team than Indiana by a wide margin, and have the ability to play great defense as well.

But I really think we should be focussing on the first round right now. If we get Chicago or Brooklyn we could be out before we get a chance to play IND or MIA.

[MACK11]

Raps good chance of losing in first chance considering Casey.

- He is a reactive not a proactive coach
- doesn't trust youth and will overplay Hayes and salmons
- bad rotations and play design
- will play through Demar and not Lowry

[Raptorsnz]

We were a Amir Johnson shot away from a win against them. Of course there are going to be some complications but that comes with every team, and don't they rather have him fresh for the Pacers than the Raptors? I don't know. Just a theory.

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I'd say we have a 5x better chance against Indiana than Miami. As GLF said, we've never beaten Miami before when they've had the Big 3 and we've beaten Indiana numerous times since. I don't think the Heat will rest Wade though, it's the playoffs, they've had lots of game 7s in the past so they know how close series can get and if they win a series in 4 games then they'll have plenty of time off to rest Wade.

Plus Lebron will become another beast in the playoffs, he's always murdered the Raptors in every match up. I don't think Paul George will. Plus Indiana's offence in general can be soooooo bad.