What will make this season a successful one ?

[Nilanka]

Personally I can't enjoy something and complain about it at the same time.

I can enjoy a movie and judge its overall entertainment value, while also dissecting it's finer points, and commenting on specific scenes/lines. That's what's happening here.

[McRealistic]

Lol @ "hating"
while also doing what we can increase our chances of knocking off a better Cavs team. Part of the latter is not wasting possessions on DeRozan's 15+ misses a night.

Please do not start with this ...

I know many DD haters will use this series to bash him more. The Reality is, this team will NOT beat Cavs !!!

This is a fact ... DD can play the best game he ever can and this team will not beat Cavs because Cavs is just that good right now.

We have a huge hole in our PF. Our starting C is injured and we are just not as good as Cavs talent wise, experience wise and ...

So lets not play that game that we pretend we lost the series because DD shoot too many jumpers

To me, this NBA eastern final is for guys like DD, Lowry, Big Val, CJ and Ross to experience that stage. It is time for them to feel how nice it is to be there and smell the NBA finals and get thirsty for the future and for next season.

Our team is not yet there in our quest to NBA finals.Cavs is there and has a ton of experience. We make the right moves this off season and then we can realistically talk about beating Cavs next year.

So Enjoy the games and let the guys be relax to enjoy this stage and gain some valuable experience.

[white men can't jump]

Can we also not pretend that Demar playing like hot garbage and monopolizing the offence isn't hurting our chances?

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[McRealistic]

Can we also not pretend that Demar playing like hot garbage and monopolizing the offence isn't hurting our chances?

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You have ZERO chance ... Plain and Simple ...

It is just not our time this season.

[Nilanka]

Please do not start with this ...

I know many DD haters will use this series to bash him more. The Reality is, this team will NOT beat Cavs !!!

This is a fact ... DD can play the best game he ever can and this team will not beat Cavs because Cavs is just that good right now.

We have a huge hole in our PF. Our starting C is injured and we are just not as good as Cavs talent wise, experience wise and ...

So lets not play that game that we pretend we lost the series because DD shoot too many jumpers

To me, this NBA eastern final is for guys like DD, Lowry, Big Val, CJ and Ross to experience that stage. It is time for them to feel how nice it is to be there and smell the NBA finals and get thirsty for the future and for next season.

Our team is not yet there in our quest to NBA finals.Cavs is there and has a ton of experience. We make the right moves this off season and then we can realistically talk about beating Cavs next year.

So Enjoy the games and let the guys be relax to enjoy this stage and gain some valuable experience.

The only fact here is that you don't know the difference between 'fact' and 'opinion'.

[Raptor Jesus]

This team is designed, run and winning based on Demar's usage.

Lump it or love it.

Could he be better? Could the system not be? Could 25 million be better spent? Seems moot as we're in the ECF with it and no time or few resources to do anything about.

Go Topes'

[Mess]

This team is designed, run and winning based on Demar's usage.

Lump it or love it.

Could he be better? Could the system not be? Could 25 million be better spent? Seems moot as we're in the ECF with it and no time or few resources to do anything about.

Go Topes'

The "Everything DeMar" thread will reach 1,000 pages before their season ends (and maybe 2,000 before July 1st) so it seems we all have plenty of time here.

[Nilanka]

This team is designed, run and winning based on Demar's usage.

Lump it or love it.

Could he be better? Could the system not be? Could 25 million be better spent? Seems moot as we're in the ECF with it and no time or few resources to do anything about.

Go Topes'

I'm not even asking for a complete overhaul in schemes. Just need to rein in DeMar's usage, and hold him accountable for dumb decisions.

I mean, does he really need 29 shots when he's clearly not feeling it?

[S.R.]

Clearly this forum is for discussion, with hundreds of threads covering every conceivable topic. I'm not sure why anyone would expect everybody to come here and just type "Yay!" for X number of days after a series win. I've no doubt everybody here was cheering and yelling during the game.

But to come in and make a contentious and highly opinionated statement like (to paraphrase) "I was right, Casey was right, Lowry was right, and DD was right - and all of you who objected need to shut up, eat crow, and enjoy the moment" if that isn't the message board equivalent of throwing your gloves off in the middle of a hockey game, I don't know what is.

Back to the original OP question - definitely at this point the season is a success on a bunch of fronts.

[OldSkoolCool]

It's a success. Anyone whining now needs to step back and take a deep breath.

I'm going to go with a different point of view than "winning = success", because you can succeed at something by doing it the wrong way.

We are winning because Lowry, Ross, Carroll, JV, Biz, Patt, CoJo, and Powell (first round), have gone out on the floor, played hard on defense, shared the ball, and play efficiently. Lowry hasn't shot the greatest, but he has always had a massive impact on the team's performance. Basically, Lowry+JV+supporting cast has done an amazing job and have given us our success.

What isn't good, are the periods where we decide not to pass the ball, ISO, slow the pace, and struggle with perimeter defense. The game of basketball is a game of runs, but those periods aren't runs when every single one of them can be attributed to DD and Casey freezing JV out of the offense or not holding DD accountable.

We are having success with some aspects of our game, and in those areas we should give due credit. I enjoy seeing success from those guys.

But at no point will I take a step back and say that what DD is doing is 'ok' because the team is having success despite his best efforts. Actually, I'm probably going to ramp up my complaining because I'm extremely competitive and want to enjoy more success. I want the Raptors to keep doing the right things that are leading to their success.

DD is a cancer on the court.

DD should be benched for the remainder of the playoffs

Why?

Because I want to win basketball games.

[slaw]

DD is a cancer on the court.

DD should be benched for the remainder of the playoffs

Wait......................... so you're telling us you don't like Derozan's game?

[Raptor Jesus]

The "Everything DeMar" thread will reach 1,000 pages before their season ends (and maybe 2,000 before July 1st) so it seems we all have plenty of time here.

Make more sense in the offseason. The team can't make substantive changes to effect whatevers left in this season.

Still don't see why every thread needs to be a referendum on X player.

[McRealistic]

So Big Val is a now show for game one and two
Hope we see him in the other 2 game as this can be huge for his development.

[Axel]

Clearly this forum is for discussion, with hundreds of threads covering every conceivable topic. I'm not sure why anyone would expect everybody to come here and just type "Yay!" for X number of days after a series win. I've no doubt everybody here was cheering and yelling during the game.

But to come in and make a contentious and highly opinionated statement like (to paraphrase) "I was right, Casey was right, Lowry was right, and DD was right - and all of you who objected need to shut up, eat crow, and enjoy the moment" if that isn't the message board equivalent of throwing your gloves off in the middle of a hockey game, I don't know what is.

Back to the original OP question - definitely at this point the season is a success on a bunch of fronts.

As a mod, I would like to really endorse this post and remind all members that posts indicating that people shouldn't be sharing their opinion on any topic is not tolerated.

Discussing the good, the bad and the ugly is why we are here.

[Fully]

I'm going to go with a different point of view than "winning = success", because you can succeed at something by doing it the wrong way.

Winning does not equal success - got it.