Feelings About The Playoffs And Tanking

[WJF]

Slightly pissed. Even with the 7th or 8th seed in the east the team will still need a top flight player to put us into a top 4 type team situation. We need a stud in this years draft to add to the overall talent.

[heinz57]

What if, for some insane freak of nature, modern day miracle, by the hand of god, leap of faith....Ajinca does good beside Bargs, Reggie comes back and continues to be a rebound monster, everybody is healthy and trey johnson surprises....and we make the playoffs.

Would you be pissed or happy?

i'd be happy, but i'll be in the minority. bitches always make up a reason to cry.

[Roughhide]

I'd say pissed because the 8th seed would lead to an early exit inevitably and I would hate to see us lose out on a top - end talent.

[Apollo]

High lotto picks aren't guaranteed superstars. So essentially you guys, the ones who would be mad to see them make the playoffs, are rooting against the Toronto Raptors this season? Interesting concept...

I personally feel that the y should be focused on developing the young guys by giving them lots of game time experience. If those kids bring it enough to make it to the show then I'm going to be excited for them.

[Joey]

I'm with Apollo on this one. As a Raptor fan, our goal is for our team to make the Playoffs, and ultimately win a championship. Though high draft picks help toward that goal, NOTHING compares to the confidence a young team can gain from making the playoffs. Even in a weak conference. Getting Demar and Ed some playoff experience would be HUGE going forward for the organization.
With our pieces, even with a playoff spot, BC could still trade up in the draft if anyone that we like is available. Winning is everything. Just win and lots of other stupid little problems go away.

[Apollo]

Good point Joey. The two first rounders, along with the TPE will still be on the table on draft night. They will have the resources to move up the board.

Winning now with the young guys running the show would had a lot of credibility to a team who may have cap space to spend on free agents. On the other hand, if it doesn't happen and they land a nice pick I would be beating them up for it.

[duncan]

The short answer: Pissed.

The long answer: I'd say that I'm a fan of the Franchise, not necessarily this year's Team; so, while it's great to watch the young guys develop and try to win 40 or so games and make the 7/8 seed, I still really think that to be a top-tier franchise you need top tier talent from high in the draft.
People say that high lotto picks aren't guaranteed superstars, but without that high pick, you don't even get the chance to find out what they can be in this league.
2 playoff home games isn't worth risking the next 3-6 years of the franchise for, IMO.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

I asked the question and didnt give my O. dumbass.

Id be happy. Like i always say, this team needs to win and win now, not later. the playoffs is the playoffs, 1 or 8 it doesnt matter. getting to the playoffs is what teams initially strive for, after playoffs then finals. before, i always wondered whats the big deal with the playoffs, its just the same as a regular season game, but ive come to realize that in the playoffs, teams play tougher, refs tend to let them play more, and the atmosphere is just booming. if our young guys can experience that atmosphere at this early stages in their careers, i think that would be really great for their development. mind you, the best in the NBA right now had their playoff experiences very early in their careers (kobe, dwight, duncan, wade, LBJ). getting that feather on their cap for sure will give them confidence and swagger.

[LBF]

Happy. The high draft pick would be great but no true fan could say they'd be mad about their team in the playoffs. I actually think the season will play out in classic Raptors fashion. That being, they play their selves out of the playoffs in the first half of the season and then they play their selves out of a high lotto pick in the second half of the season... Such a scenario would annoy me.

hence the term "mediocre forever".

[j bean]

There are many who don't believe this team is on the right track with the personnel they have at the moment. To too much losing and too many ? to say with any certainty. To make it to the playoffs they probably have to play over .500 the rest of the way and that looks a little improbable considering the losing streak they're on.
However if they started to play consistently better as a team and could pull it off it would help in a lot of ways including making Toronto look better as a rising young team to a FA they may have their sights on.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

High lotto picks aren't guaranteed superstars. So essentially you guys, the ones who would be mad to see them make the playoffs, are rooting against the Toronto Raptors this season? Interesting concept...

I personally feel that the y should be focused on developing the young guys by giving them lots of game time experience. If those kids bring it enough to make it to the show then I'm going to be excited for them.

hit the nail right on the head. i think its hilarious that people are saying i hope the raps lose so we can get a top 3 pick, when infact, like you said, a top pick doesnt always guarantee a stud. if we do get a top pick and turns out to be a dud, everybody's going to start bitching again, how we should lose again to get another high pick blah blah blah. but if we make the playoffs, we get additional profit for home games, more sponsors, respect from other teams and refs, players might start to realize that hey, coming to toronto aint that bad....if one thinks getting a high draft pick is better for the future, look at the bigger picture and see how a playoff spot will benefit us more....

[Apollo]

They're mediocre because they haven't been able to keep stars and lure guys to town for reasonable prices because they can't establish a winning culture. Bosh was a 4th overall pick. Bargnani was a 1st overall pick. They didn't win shit. They couldn't lure guys to town. Why? Because once they stringed together a few winning season they went back into the toilet again. One guy isn't going to getting it done. One guy can help a lot but the Raptors real problem won't be fixed with one guy. History alone should tell us the Raptors aren't going to be successful by resting the future of the franchise on one guy or two guys. I want to see the team roll with the young guys. I want those guys to try as hard as they can. If that leads to a high lotto pick then so be it. I'll be happy to get the new player. If that leads the team to the playoffs then so be it. I'll be happy that they stuck it to Bosh and showed the league that the Raptors organization is now legit. If they land just shy of the playoffs and out of the high lotto I'll be annoyed but accepting of the situation...

hit the nail right on the head. i think its hilarious that people are saying i hope the raps lose so we can get a top 3 pick, when infact, like you said, a top pick doesnt always guarantee a stud. if we do get a top pick and turns out to be a dud, everybody's going to start bitching again, how we should lose again to get another high pick blah blah blah. but if we make the playoffs, we get additional profit for home games, more sponsors, respect from other teams and refs, players might start to realize that hey, coming to toronto aint that bad....if one thinks getting a high draft pick is better for the future, look at the bigger picture and see how a playoff spot will benefit us more....

Exactly and outside the top 3 or 4 the whole thing is going to get dicey. Chances are the Raptors aren't even going to be in the top 3 or 4 if the season continues as is. Making the playoffs with these young guys would be just as valuable to the team as landing the 5th overall choice.

[duncan]

I asked the question and didnt give my O. dumbass.

Id be happy. Like i always say, this team needs to win and win now, not later. the playoffs is the playoffs, 1 or 8 it doesnt matter. getting to the playoffs is what teams initially strive for, after playoffs then finals. before, i always wondered whats the big deal with the playoffs, its just the same as a regular season game, but ive come to realize that in the playoffs, teams play tougher, refs tend to let them play more, and the atmosphere is just booming. if our young guys can experience that atmosphere at this early stages in their careers, i think that would be really great for their development. mind you, the best in the NBA right now had their playoff experiences very early in their careers (kobe, dwight, duncan, wade, LBJ). getting that feather on their cap for sure will give them confidence and swagger.

You speak of the confidencs it will bring this young team; What if they get Blown Out by the Celtics, Magic or Heat in the first round 4-0? What is that going to do to their pyche?
Then you've got Davis, Johnson, Bargs, DeDe and Jose all looking around the room at each other, wondering where the help is going to come from.
That kind of scenario can kill confidence.

[Apollo]

You speak of the confidencs it will bring this young team; What if they get Blown Out by the Celtics, Magic or Heat in the first round 4-0? What is that going to do to their pyche?
Then you've got Davis, Johnson, Bargs, DeDe and Jose all looking around the room at each other, wondering where the help is going to come from.

That's called taking your lumps and if they were strong enough down the stretch to get in why are you so confident it would be a "blowout"? Four straight defeats where they were in the games would still bring credibility and confidence throughout the league and locker room.

That kind of scenario can kill confidence.

Making it and losing bad is worse on their confidence then just losing bad and not making it? Really?

As I mentioned before. They have the assets to move up in the draft. Over $10M in the TPE and 2 first rounders.

[TheGloveinRapsUniform]

There are many who don't believe this team is on the right track with the personnel they have at the moment. To too much losing and too many ? to say with any certainty. To make it to the playoffs they probably have to play over .500 the rest of the way and that looks a little improbable considering the losing streak they're on.
However if they started to play consistently better as a team and could pull it off it would help in a lot of ways including making Toronto look better as a rising young team to a FA they may have their sights on.

100% agree. i think one of the reasons why Melo did not want to go to Jersey is because he knows the team, even with him in it, will definitely not contend this year and even the next 2-3 years unless they get another superstar. With the Knicks, they have the pieces to eventually be contenders. If the raps make it to the playoffs, that at least, gives the team merit. Cant remember who said it here but Jennings has more upside than Derozan because Jennings already made it to the playoffs. True.