Preseason Game #6: Toronto Raptors 109 - Oklahoma City Thunder 90

[Bendit]

Hamilton is Masai's man...since he has shown so well I think MU will find a way to keep him.

[Raptorsnz]

Man, T Ross has been taking some tough midrange shots off the dribble in these pre season games but he is managing to hit them.

Another really enjoyable game though. Hamilton must get a call up for some team though, he's been on fire the last few games.

If Perkins is still starting over Adams though later in the season Brooks must actually have a head injury.

[Joey]

Just saw that step back 3-pointer from Bruno ... my goodness that's a thing of beauty .. not sure we've seen one of those round these parts in a real long time!

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

I'll I gotta say is T Ross is the S#@t,seems like his not having it,no one is gonna take my minutes. Most Improved player T Ross,I'm predicting coming out party for T Ross,finally

[Chr1s1anL]

Just saw that step back 3-pointer from Bruno ... my goodness that's a thing of beauty .. not sure we've seen one of those round these parts in a real long time!

Kyle Lowry has hit multiple step back 3s. Throw T Ross in there too. Btw does anyone have a clip of Lowry making Russ fall?

[GLF]

Terrence got hot but I'm still not really impressed with him. He hit some TOUGH shots and he still hasn't shown any ability to get to the basket in the half court. Also we have to find a way to keep JHam and Steamer. JHam because he is the best player of the three and Steamer because Amir can't stay healthy if his life depended on it.

[MixxAOR]

Terrence got hot but I'm still not really impressed with him. He hit some TOUGH shots and he still hasn't shown any ability to get to the basket in the half court. Also we have to find a way to keep JHam and Steamer. JHam because he is the best player of the three and Steamer because Amir can't stay healthy if his life depended on it.

It is what it is with Ross. He's Danny Green lite.

[GLF]

It is what it is with Ross. He's Danny Green lite.

I agree. I guess we'll just have the same Ross as last year. But that's fine with me.

[The Great One]

2 more preseason games!!

[ddaylewis]

Kyle Lowry has hit multiple step back 3s. Throw T Ross in there too. Btw does anyone have a clip of Lowry making Russ fall?

I gotchu

http://gfycat.com/WaterloggedImpracticalBasilisk

[white men can't jump]

Man, T Ross has been taking some tough midrange shots off the dribble in these pre season games but he is managing to hit them.

Another really enjoyable game though. Hamilton must get a call up for some team though, he's been on fire the last few games.

If Perkins is still starting over Adams though later in the season Brooks must actually have a head injury.

Terrence got hot but I'm still not really impressed with him. He hit some TOUGH shots and he still hasn't shown any ability to get to the basket in the half court. Also we have to find a way to keep JHam and Steamer. JHam because he is the best player of the three and Steamer because Amir can't stay healthy if his life depended on it.

Yeah, I fully agree about Ross. So far I haven't seen him play a "good" game. Last night he was just hot, hitting lots of terrible shots. And for a player who's been very inconsistent so far in his career, that's not the kind of thing I'm hoping to see, since that kind of decision-making doesn't usually foster better consistency. Definitely don't want him thinking it's good to take most of those shots.

And am I the only one who's still not really impressed with Hamilton? He's shot the ball well and scored well. He doesn't play particularly stupid or anything, but a lot of his shots are somewhat similar to Ross', where he's taking tougher options, and hitting them. And considering he comes in off the bench in the preseason, most of them are against pretty subpar defenders. I just feel like I'm not convinced he could pull this kind of efficiency off in the regular season, with higher intensity/better defenders in front of him. It's hard for me to get excited about his kind of preseason success.

He could definitely be on some NBA team's bench, and if we could open a spot by ridding ourselves of Fields (without eating his contract), I'd be all for keeping him....but as is, we're talking a deep bench wing who's best attribute is scoring....and we have Kyle, Lou, Greivis, DeMar and Ross all capable of putting up some points. Would probably take 2 guys being injured for him to possibly have an impact.

I'd still much rather just sign up Steamer, and keep Hansbrough (who it's been suggested should be traded to make room for Hamilton). I saw on the front page recap that William Lou suggests it's harder to find wings who can score than just a big body....but I really beg to differ. A big body who doesn't look too slow, or suck too hard to contribute even in minor ways on the NBA floor is hard to find. But guys who can shoot a bit and put the ball in the basket are fairly commonplace. Usually the thing that keeps wings as fringe NBAers is their inability to do so consistently and/or contribute beyond that dimension.

[MixxAOR]

Yeah, I fully agree about Ross. So far I haven't seen him play a "good" game. Last night he was just hot, hitting lots of terrible shots. And for a player who's been very inconsistent so far in his career, that's not the kind of thing I'm hoping to see, since that kind of decision-making doesn't usually foster better consistency. Definitely don't want him thinking it's good to take most of those shots.

And am I the only one who's still not really impressed with Hamilton? He's shot the ball well and scored well. He doesn't play particularly stupid or anything, but a lot of his shots are somewhat similar to Ross', where he's taking tougher options, and hitting them. And considering he comes in off the bench in the preseason, most of them are against pretty subpar defenders. I just feel like I'm not convinced he could pull this kind of efficiency off in the regular season, with higher intensity/better defenders in front of him. It's hard for me to get excited about his kind of preseason success.

He could definitely be on some NBA team's bench, and if we could open a spot by ridding ourselves of Fields (without eating his contract), I'd be all for keeping him....but as is, we're talking a deep bench wing who's best attribute is scoring....and we have Kyle, Lou, Greivis, DeMar and Ross all capable of putting up some points. Would probably take 2 guys being injured for him to possibly have an impact.

I'd still much rather just sign up Steamer, and keep Hansbrough (who it's been suggested should be traded to make room for Hamilton). I saw on the front page recap that William Lou suggests it's harder to find wings who can score than just a big body....but I really beg to differ. A big body who doesn't look too slow, or suck too hard to contribute even in minor ways on the NBA floor is hard to find. But guys who can shoot a bit and put the ball in the basket are fairly commonplace. Usually the thing that keeps wings as fringe NBAers is their inability to do so consistently and/or contribute beyond that dimension.

No but Steamer really does suck. Idea that if JV goes down and Steamer takes his place doesn't sit well with me at all. He's a fouling machine. That was his problem since he left Boston. Fans of New Orleans and Minnesota all mention how he can't contribute because he fouls out way too quick. Either moving screen or trying to block a shot, he fouls.

[white men can't jump]

No but Steamer really does suck. Idea that if JV goes down and Steamer takes his place doesn't sit well with me at all. He's a fouling machine. That was his problem since he left Boston. Fans of New Orleans and Minnesota all mention how he can't contribute because he fouls out way too quick. Either moving screen or trying to block a shot, he fouls.

Right, except we don't have anybody with his set of physical tools. We don't need him to play 30 mpg if Jonas goes down, just 15 or so. If Hayes were taller he'd be fine, but there are going to be nights when Hayes can't contribute because of his size. We also definitely don't want Amir playing 30+ minutes at C as well. And given Bebe is a rookie, and isn't even healthy at the moment, we have no clue if he can contribute anything at all (he's still really thin and would get pushed around by most Cs).

So really, it's strictly a matter of "we need all the insurance we can get" between the big spots, because it's a very obvious area of vulnerability. Amir and 2Pat are guys you can expect to miss at least some little bit of time each. And yeah, we just would be at a basic disadvantage without at least someone with true C size if Jonas misses time.

And in the end, I don't mind too much if we keep Ham instead of Steamer, and still wouldn't mind if we don't keep any of them, but I've been alarmed by the willingness to trade Hansbrough, or eat Fields' contract in order to keep both.

[MixxAOR]

Right, except we don't have anybody with his set of physical tools. We don't need him to play 30 mpg if Jonas goes down, just 15 or so. If Hayes were taller he'd be fine, but there are going to be nights when Hayes can't contribute because of his size. We also definitely don't want Amir playing 30+ minutes at C as well. And given Bebe is a rookie, and isn't even healthy at the moment, we have no clue if he can contribute anything at all (he's still really thin and would get pushed around by most Cs).

So really, it's strictly a matter of "we need all the insurance we can get" between the big spots, because it's a very obvious area of vulnerability. Amir and 2Pat are guys you can expect to miss at least some little bit of time each. And yeah, we just would be at a basic disadvantage without at least someone with true C size if Jonas misses time.

And in the end, I don't mind too much if we keep Ham instead of Steamer, and still wouldn't mind if we don't keep any of them, but I've been alarmed by the willingness to trade Hansbrough, or eat Fields' contract in order to keep both.

Maybe Raptors could just wait for a better deal and not sign anybody for now

[white men can't jump]

Maybe Raptors could just wait for a better deal and not sign anybody for now

Yeah, that's why I wouldn't mind them keeping the spot open.

For Hamilton, I wonder if since Masai is probably close to him, he'll have an open dialogue where they'll know before keeping/cutting him what his alternative options are. If he's going to the D-League or China, I say cut him and if you want you can sign him up later.

For Stiemsma, the biggest reason I favour him at all is because it's hard to find bench Cs with any value on the court at all, even just a minimal amount. But we could find ways to make up his minutes, especially if Bebe gets healthy and is able to contribute in any way. Bebe would get pushed around, but you choose between him and Hayes selectively, and it may work out, with Amir/Tyler eating up leftover minutes.