Raptors playoffs

[iwinthings]

Honestly, even if they lose in Toronto tmo, how can you really not like that too. The crowd would give such a good standing O for them, we’ve appreciated everything they’ve done this season.

However, forcing a game 7 would be great, really shut up the Nay sayers. But this is the fear of playing vs Cleveland, it’s tough to keep 2/3 stars down for a series, Love really showed up yesterday.

Eliminate Turnovers, hit your FT. That’s been the solution to every Toronto loss this yr. Toronto’s team can’t give up easy points (for or against), because they don’t have that offense that can turn out a 20-5 run quickly. Good on Cleveland for forcing the play tho, that’s a big way to beat Toronto. Speed the game up.

If you think anything at all will quiet the naysayers than you seriously underestimate the stubbornness of us human beings. They would have to win 4 championships in a row to earn any respect from some people and even then it would be with a shrug and words like "lucky" thrown in.

In NHL terms it's like the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is a team that has been successful for several years now, including two long back to back playoff runs, and there are lots of people who think they are nothing but Calgary Flames East - riding high on pure luck and bound to come crashing down to earth, and that a player like Tyler Johnson will be a 40 point player within a couple seasons because the league will have figured him out. I mean you can't win with some folks.

It's been real fun to see the Raptors do as well as they have. I've enjoyed it.

[2014olympicgold]

Anyone ever think this whole series, “This is the biggest game in Raptors history”? That’s quite the thing to think. After every game this series, the next becomes the biggest game. Not many teams can say that, especially in the conference finals.

If they lose, I just hope it’s not an embarrassing loss.

PS, did anyone hear the story of why the guy got kicked out of game 4 in Toronto? Apparently he just called Lebron a…”slang for a cat”. And Lebron told the ref the fan touched Lebron and “Physically assaulted him”. It was posted on FB by a stranger sitting next to the guy getting kicked out.

[newfcollins]

Good luck to the Raptors the rest of the way. I can't watch any more. I only saw about two minutes but the reffing was enough for me to turn it off. The worst was Bismak gets a phantom travelling call after LeBron throws the ball away. Life's too short to watch a game I can't enjoy.

(Yes, this is an anti-ref post. Can't be helped)

[blayze]

Good luck to the Raptors the rest of the way. I can't watch any more. I only saw about two minutes but the reffing was enough for me to turn it off. The worst was Bismak gets a phantom travelling call after LeBron throws the ball away. Life's too short to watch a game I can't enjoy.

(Yes, this is an anti-ref post. Can't be helped)

Good thing you didn't stay for the double technical... both on the raptors. Reffing was a joke, but that's par for the course in the NBA.

It was an awesome season and a great playoff run. Basketball fans here finally have something legit to rally behind.

[Axeman33]

Congrats on a great season. They actually got me watching basketball again.

Damn those Cavaliers are strong and as long as they keep draining the 3's like they did against the Raps, they will be tough to beat in the Finals.

[2014olympicgold]

Well, solid season, coming up to exactly where I was expecting them to go. Conference finals is great. The calls were a joke to begin the game again, I never thought you could do what the refs did. Ultimately it was them not checking on plays at the video monitor that would benefit the Raps that got me mad. The goaltending block was just so obvious, but whatever, the league/reffing better has some respect for the Raps going into next yr now.

The team is a superstar away from winning. They have All-Stars, but not that 1 guy where they can take over a series, not just a game. A healthy Toronto I think would have made it interesting. Patterson and his hand could have been the reason why he sucked shooting.


Super Star (DURANNTTTT PLEASE) and a legit 3pt shooter is what Toronto needs.

[Axeman33]

I think if they had a legit 3 point shooter, this series could have easily ended up differently. They just couldn't keep up with Cleveland's 3's (who never seemed to miss many).

[2014olympicgold]

I think if they had a legit 3 point shooter, this series could have easily ended up differently. They just couldn't keep up with Cleveland's 3's (who never seemed to miss many).

It’s also tough when your best 3pt shooter is your starting PG. He can hit 3s no doubt about it, but when he’s the one running the plays, and unlikely the one to get lost/forgotten about, it’s tough getting him open for a 3.

Oh well. 9^th round pick, and a low 20s pick (27?) are great to work with. 9^th+Ross for Okafor/Noel to play the 4 spot (Scola/Patterson) would be great. It gets rid of Ross and his 11mill(?) and upgrades the Scola/Patterson hole in the starting lineup. Noel is like Biz, no offensive value unless under the basket but great on D. Okafor isn’t good on D (can’t do sh!t in space), but better offensively and can shoot.

76ers have so many pieces someone will get moved from that team.

[blayze]

It’s also tough when your best 3pt shooter is your starting PG. He can hit 3s no doubt about it, but when he’s the one running the plays, and unlikely the one to get lost/forgotten about, it’s tough getting him open for a 3.

Tell that to Chef Curry.

[2014olympicgold]

Tell that to Chef Curry.

Curry has terrible shot selection; he’s just amazing at shooting. A lot of his shots are very low percentage, but he’s just so good he hits them.

[blayze]

Curry has terrible shot selection; he’s just amazing at shooting. A lot of his shots are very low percentage, but he’s just so good he hits them.

Think about what you just said there...

[2014olympicgold]

Think about what you just said there...

Curry is rarely open based off traditional ways to get a 3pt shooter open. He’s either taking a shot from way behind the line and the defender is “giving” him that shot, or he just breaks an ankle. It’s not good shot selections he’s doing; he’s just great at shooting. I don’t know how else to describe it to you.

It’s like if Ovi has the puck on the goal line, and tries to roof it over the goalies shoulder every shot. Or if PK wires it from the point when no one is screening the goalie. Or if someone tries to deke his way through 4 defenders. The plays aren’t smart plays, but ones based on skill and skill alone. The ones where you go “WHY DID YOU TAKE THAT?!” then shut up because they scored.

No High School coach would show a Golden State game film to his kids and tell them to do what they do. They don’t play basketball based on high percentage shots, they are all just good shooters. GSW are the only team that can run the way they do and have consistent success (maybe the Cavs). If you took another team and made them play like the Spurs, Raps, Indy, NO Pelicans, and maybe the Bulls, they’d have success.

Watch them play in the finals. Curry will be taking shots where no one would suggest anyone do, but he makes them. Skill vs Shot Selection.

[Axeman33]

Playoffs are over for the Raptors but it sounds like they might be getting an early push for the playoffs for next year.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/n...etown-discount

After DeMar DeRozan’s impending free agency, the biggest question Masai Ujiri faces this summer is whether or not he’ll be able to re-sign Bismack Biyombo.

The 23 year-old centre was a pleasant surprise for the Raptors this season, greatly out-performing his $3 million contract and particularly playing inspired basketball deep into the playoffs— so much so that he may have priced himself out of town completely.

While the NBA continues to go small, teams like the Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder are proving that there is always a ton of value in having a giant, physical presence down the middle who can control the boards and protect the paint. How much value? Some reports have indicated the market is willing to pay upwards of $17 million per season for Biyombo, and while that number may seem higher than Action Bronson at Coachella, there are 21 teams with max. cap space to spend this summer and you can bank on at least one of them talking themselves into devoting a chunk of that dough towards an effective starter.

It may have seemed the writing was on the wall in terms of Biyombo’s off-season departure, but on Monday he expressed his desire to return to the Raptors next season and beyond.

While appearing on Sportsnet 590 The FAN's Andrew Walker Show, Biyombo was asked if he expects to be playing in a Raptor uniform next year. "Honestly, I do," he said, adding that, "We still have some unfinished business. It was so much fun to see the team go from last year to this year making the Eastern Conference finals. Be it would be fun to go even further next season."

Ok, fair enough. Biyombo thoroughly enjoyed the Raps' playoff run along with the rest of us, but money is the biggest issue here, and he addressed that, too. When asked if he would take a hometown discount, he didn't hesitate with his answer:

"Yeah. Things can always be worked out," Biyombo said Monday, "I’ve said that to my people, I’ve said that to Masai. When the right time comes I’d be open to figuring something out. At the end of the day it’s for fun, not money. It’s not always about money. Money is great, but at the same time I ask ‘how much fun am I going to have? The city is great, the team is great, and we’re winning."

In the ten games following Jonas Valanciunas' injury in the second round of the playoffs, Biyombo averaged 8.2 points on 60% shooting, 11 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 33 minutes per game.

He stressed how important this offseason was for the Raptors, and his desire to get back in the gym and go to work, stating that he wants to focus on basketball and not on contract negotiations. "I have the right people in my corner to handle that," Biyombo said, "so I’m not concerned about it. One thing I’m thankful for is the opportunity I was given here. The whole season as we faced ups and downs [but] my teammates allow me to be myself and play my game. It was so much fun to be around my teammates, be around the city. I’m expecting for myself to be back here and I believe I have the right people to get it done.

[blayze]

Watch them play in the finals. Curry will be taking shots where no one would suggest anyone do, but he makes them. Skill vs Shot Selection.

If he's "just so good he hits them" then how can you say his shot selection is poor?

It's not one vs. the other. They are interrelated and different for each individual based on their skill level. What's a good shot for Curry is most likely a terrible shot for the other mere mortal guards in the NBA.

[rataylor22]

If he's "just so good he hits them" then how can you say his shot selection is poor?

It's not one vs. the other. They are interrelated and different for each individual based on their skill level. What's a good shot for Curry is most likely a terrible shot for the other mere mortal guards in the NBA.

You might score shooting the puck full ice at the end of a game for an ENG, but it's still a dumb choice to risk the icing over it. Process vs. results. Results based approaches usually lose, process based approaches usually win.