It’s finally time for the 2014-15 Toronto Raptors season. That means it’s roundtable time. You can check out part one here – part two starts now.
The participants (in order of when they sent me answers, for fairness): Blake Murphy, William Lou, Tim Chisholm, Scott Hastie, Ryan McNeill, Sam Holako, Zarar Siddiqi, Barry Taylor, Greg Mason, Garrett Hinchey, Andrew Thompson, Tamberlyn Richardson, Tim W.
6. How many minutes does Lou Williams get?
Blake Murphy: His fewest since 2006-07, that’s for sure. I really like Williams, but he wasn’t brought in to fill an obvious need, and he’s a little superfluous given how effective Lowry-Vasquez lineups are. I’d be surprised if they can find more than 16 minutes a night.
William Lou: 23 minutes per game to match his number.
Tim Chisholm: 18 minutes per game. It would be a seven-year low for him, but Vasquez pushes for minutes, too. That remains a minutes battle that it will be interesting to watch; both players are going to have to sacrifice.
Scott Hastie: 21 per game. This is tough, because our depth is as strong as it ever has been. The average number of minutes won’t really represent Casey’s rotation though. I think he will play with match-ups and whatever player between Vasquez/Ross/Williams is having the best game.
Ryan McNeill: 18-22 minutes per game.
Sam Holako: He should get all of Landry’s minutes; ALL OF THEM!
Zarar Siddiqi: 15 – all behind DeRozan at shooting guard. Dwane Casey will manage DeRozan’s minutes better, and if Williams produces, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t play even more.
Barry Taylor: Lou Williams is one of the best insurance policies the Raptors have had in recent years. When the team is healthy it’d be nice to see him for 8-10 minutes a game. But when someone goes down he’ll be a great replacement to hold everything together.
Greg Mason: 26 a night feels about right. No one can question Derozan’s work ethic but he’s sort of like that dog who will play Frisbee until he passes out because he loves it so much. Casey needs to allocate some of Demar’s minutes to Lou.
Garrett Hinchey: 20-25, similar to Greivis Vasquez. I can’t wait to see how Casey mixes and matches what may be the deepest backcourt in the entire league. All four players expected to play significant minutes are real scoring threats, and that’s exciting stuff.
Andrew Thompson: 8-10 a game. Casey’s penchant for veteran guards will be tested by his intolerance for being a defensive seive. Williams will be a valuable bench scorer and ball handler, but there a ton of bodies to compete with. Regardless, he isn’t John Salmons, and that’s neat.
Tamberlyn Richardson: With one of the deepest benches in the Association Raptors should produce early leads allowing for an even distribution of minutes. Williams is in a contract year and historically is a fourth-quarter sniper, so he’s likely to aim to repeat his sixth-man award. If he’s rolling he’ll get minutes, so I predict 20 minutes per game.
Tim W.: 17 mpg.
7. Do we ever see Landry Fields again?
Blake Murphy: Sigh. Probably not beyond garbage time scraps.
William Lou: We’ll probably see Landry cover Nikki Minaj’s Anaconda, before our minds explode.
Tim Chisholm: In spot minutes maybe, but James Johnson pushes him further down the depth chart.
Scott Hastie: He will be the glue guy when Bruno and Bebe get extended run at the end of blowouts.
Ryan McNeill: Only on a missing poster…
Sam Holako: Hopefully we will only see him on the bench; his Instagram account is interesting…errr…yea…
Zarar Siddiqi: Yes. At the airport checking his luggage in for a flight to Russia to play for CSKA Moscow.
Barry Taylor: On a basketball court, probably not. On a crappy summer reality series, definitely. Based on his contract and affinity for bad TV Landry is a natural Laker. Send the man west for a pair of the new Kobes and make everything right in the universe.
Greg Mason: No. Sad story. I’ll spare the snark.
Garrett Hinchey: In a suit, on the end of the bench, unless there are injuries. His expiring deal could be attractive to teams looking to make a splash in free agency next year. Hopefully, he’ll be part of a trade during the season. #BelieveinMasai
Andrew Thompson: Who is Landry Fields? Is this a person, because if so, I don’t remember ever seeing or hearing from him. Or is Landry Fields maybe a place? I don’t understand the question. Regardless, it clearly has nothing to do with the Toronto Raptors basketball team.
Tamberlyn Richardson: 5-games or less. Fields would rather pass to a referee than shoot!
Caveats:
- Injury to key player(s)
- Multiple blow-outs by Raptors
- Ujiri decides to showcase him just prior to trade deadline in an effort to dump his salary early in favor of a playoff contributor or draft picks.
Tim W.: Yes. He’ll still struggle at the beginning of the season, but slowly get his form back and by the All Star game will start taking time away from James Johnson.
8. What are you most looking forward to this season?
Blake Murphy: It’s basketball season, what the hell is there NOT to look forward to? The team’s going to be good, maybe very good, they’re going to play playoff basketball, and they’re going to be a likeable group getting there. And seriously, Bruno. Bruno. 100 times Bruno. Every time he hits the floor, it’s going to be must-watch. Garbage time will have never felt so good.
William Lou: BRUNOOOOOO!!! Seriously, garbage time has never been more fun. Winning games would be nice too.
Tim Chisholm: Watching the team work to improve upon a successful season without having to try and integrate a major, head-shaking acquisition (Hakeem, Kapono, Jermaine). They get to just grow organically, which may or may not work but it will be fun to watch.
Scott Hastie: Success. For once in our fandom, we are not talking about all the new faces on the roster and selling hope. Analyzing a team where the weaknesses are the difference between third place and fifth place in the conference is way more enjoyable than talking about a team that is intentionally trying to get into the lottery.
Ryan McNeill: Having a buzz at the Air Canada Centre for every game. Also, having a season where the team is playing for something and high expectations are placed on the team.
Sam Holako: The four games we play the Nets; fuck I hate them…
Zarar Siddiqi: DeRozan’s quest to become the best shooting guard in the league. Very interested to see what he’ll do to elevate his game to the next level. You know he’s got the hunger to be the best, and it’ll be interesting to see what his coach and he himself will try to do to get there.
Barry Taylor: Watching good basketball on a regular basis. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a team worthy of being excited for. It’ll be great to watch the established chemistry develop and see where it can go. Really curious to see how Lowry and Demar co-exist and work on taking their games to yet another level.
Greg Mason: I look forward to seeing 15-feet of Brazilian arms laying waste to all who approach the rim in garbage time… and the purple ‘Dino’ throwback jerseys.
Garrett Hinchey: BRUNO. How can you not say Bruno? The kid is a freak of nature, and it’ll be fun watching him get his feet wet in limited minutes. Bebe Nogeuira is a close second, and Chuck Hayes runners are obviously third.
Andrew Thompson: Optimism. Remember spending all of last preseason arguing about the case for tanking? Rudy Gay wasn’t exactly a topic for calm agreement and joy either. But this year, there is reason for promise. The last time I felt that way, I hadn’t heard the name Lebron James before.
Tamberlyn Richardson: SUCCESS!!!!!!
After years of lamenting the Raptors’ misfortunes I feel like I won the lottery:
- I joined the Republic gang
- 95% success on predictions
- It was a delight to see the TDot return (and possibly exceed) the basketball frenzy absent since the cousins exited the building.
Tim W.: Seeing how Valanciunas develops into a borderline All Star this season.
9. What are you least looking forward to this season?
Blake Murphy: People mismanaging expectations. Last year was great, but it was out of nowhere and unexpected. One good season does not beget a great one, development isn’t linear, and so on. I’m a little worried all the new fans and the buzz around the team could waver if the team doesn’t go gangbusters.
William Lou: Whenever Valanciunas and Amir Johnson aren’t in the game. Form your layup lines single-file, please.
Tim Chisholm: People clamouring for minutes for Bruno during the season. This isn’t like the bad years when the club had tons of on-court minutes to devote to developing rookies, those minutes aren’t there when you’re trying to win, and people are either gonna freak out at Casey for not playing him or at Ujiri for drafting a bust and neither reaction will be appropriate.
Scott Hastie: The by-product of success. With success comes blowout wins and there will be a string of non-descript games where we handle opponents and learn very little. 82-game seasons are a slog, but watching Toronto thrash teams like Philadelphia, Orlando and Minnesota further mars it.
Ryan McNeill: Trying to figure out where to find the game on TV or the radio. TSN? Sportsnet? NBA TV Canada? Or, even better, when games aren’t televised during the preseason.
Sam Holako: The four games we play the Nets; fuck I hate them…fuck, them…
Zarar Siddiqi: 7:30pm starts instead of 7:00. I cannot begin to tell you how seriously that time change has messed with my ability to watch basketball.
Barry Taylor: Lockout talk. God willing it won’t happen but there’s so much money at stake that it could get ugly in two years.
Greg Mason: Tyler Hansbrough doing awkward, flaily things that piss me off on principle alone.
Garrett Hinchey: *Knocks on wood.* The injury bug. The Raptors were unbelievably lucky last year when it came to their core players, and history suggests that that luck won’t continue for another full year. God, I hope I’m wrong. *Knocks on wood again.*
Andrew Thompson: I get the impression that Jack Armstrong is a very nice man. There are people out there who enjoy his commentary, perhaps you are one. I don’t get it, and I doubt it, but I acknowledge the possibilty that you exist.
Tamberlyn Richardson: I’ll turn a negative into a positive: Raptors will be in a lot of games late utilizing the core plus bench members Williams, Patterson, Vasquez and Johnson to secure wins. This saddens me as it means we won’t get to see much of Air B&B (specifically Bruno) and his untapped potential.
Tim W.: Seeing Valanciunas get ignored in the post again and again this season.
10. What’s your own personal goal for the season?
Blake Murphy: It’s an impossible goal, but I’d like to average six-plus hours of sleep. There is so much evidence out there that sleep is crucial to health and performance, I’d like to fit in a bit more.
William Lou: It’s my sophomore season here on Raptors Republic, so I’m hoping to sleep even less and write even more. I’m coming for you, Zach Lowe!
Tim Chisholm: Can the club avoid slow starts or getting huge leads and immediately giving them up? It’ll happen sometimes because it’s an 82-game season, but the club has to be able to avoid putting themselves against the wall like that early.
Scott Hastie: I’d love for the Raptors to sign a player with a similar name as mine. William Lou got it last year, so all I’m asking is for Toronto to poach Scott Hastings from the Nuggets broadcast crew. (Please do not do this. He is terrible.)
Ryan McNeill: I want to step up my game night blogging and tweeting. I want to give fans more insight into the team and locker room than I have in previous seasons.
Sam Holako: This needs to be the season we don’t regress. Some guys got paid, some guys are new, some have big paydays coming up, but everyone needs to be focused, and pick-up where they left off from from last year.
Zarar Siddiqi: Not accidentally delete a podcast.
Barry Taylor: Avoid a massive gut increase from all the beer consumed while watching this team.
Greg Mason: I’m living in Budapest this season, so my modest goal is to convert the entire country of Hungary into Raptors fans.
Garrett Hinchey: Lose 10 pounds, get back into squash. Why are you asking about us?
Seriously, though, I’d love to see this team improve on last year’s results. In my mind, that means the second round of the playoffs. If you put yourself in that situation, you’re a great series or an injury away from the conference finals. After that, who knows?
Andrew Thompson: Everybody is waiting to hear whether that 15th roster spot goes to Steimsma, Cherry or Hamilton. Personally, I still think I have an outside shot at grabbing it myself. Hey, until Masai sits me down and tells me it definitely isn’t me, it technically isn’t definitely not me. Hit me with a 10 day Masai; I got this.
Tamberlyn Richardson:
Tough one to answer”
- Keep my prediction success rate high
- Make a concerted effort to not complain about the zebras on Twitter
- Get in less debates with my male friends at social gatherings; I know the stats so it’s an unfair advantage
- Represent women who love the NBA; hey we’re out here!
Tim W.: To get more readers to hate me and to be able to get through a podcast without Zarar having to heavily edit out all my ums and ahs.
