<div class="quote_poster">Junoon Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Personally speaking, I'm not expecting Andrea to win ROTY. That'd be great, but I don't think he will be able to establish himself as the player he's supposed to be till his second or 3rd season. However, I expect him to improve every year as he adjusts more and more to this league. He has played with grown men and tough competitions and tougher pressure in the Euro league. I think more then anything, it's his mental approach that will be the most difficult part. The transition from Euro to the NBA is tough for bigs, be it Dirk or Darko, but eventually Andrea will make his prescence felt. At this point, I just want him to contribute as much as he can. A run-and-gun system should make it more helpful to make use of his offensive capabilities. At this point and time, he's more of a liability on defense (based on pre-season games) but hopefully that improves as well. My only concern about this year for the Raptors (Bargnani is not a concern to me) is Chris Bosh's injury of plantar plantar fasciitis. We've seen it slow down Tim Duncan for a whole season and it'll be disappointing if it affects Bosh as much as it did Duncan. Once again, if the two stars of the team miss more then 20 games each, the bet is off. I am confident in the Raptors, but obviously my confidence wavers when Chris Bosh is going to be harrowed by a foot injury throughout the whole season.</div> I don't have a doubt in my mind that Andrea won't do good. I like where he is at in Toronto and should gain experience playing alongside Bosh. Plantar fascitis hurts many people's careers every season. Tim Duncan has recently had it and has sidelined him a couple of times. So yeah if any player misses 20 or more games, then bets are off. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Junoon:</div><div class="quote_post">As for the Magic, I'm rooting for them to make the playoffs as well, so I can't really say anything negative about them to try to piss you off </div> I really would like to see any team make the playoffs besides Detroit. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Junoon:</div><div class="quote_post">Oh, I just assumed because he didn't know because he no basketball knowledge whatsoever Just playing CLos.</div> Ouch that hurts man geez. LOL just kidding No hard feelings.
<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think we both know the Knicks are better than both teams. I'll leave now.</div> You better after that comment.
<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think we both know the Knicks are better than both teams. I'll leave now.</div> Ha...
Man, I can't believe I missed this whole discussion until now. Count me in for the Raps. After watching the preseason games and seeing what this team can do, I'm psyched. The Raptors won't be a worse team than the Celtics.
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Man, I can't believe I missed this whole discussion until now. Count me in for the Raps. After watching the preseason games and seeing what this team can do, I'm psyched. The Raptors won't be a worse team than the Celtics.</div> You can't let preseason judge on how you think the 2 teams will play in the regular season. I mean it doesn't mean anything at all.
<div class="quote_poster">hustler Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">So is it only me, Junoon, and Chutney siding with the Raptors?</div> Fever and Locke are in as well. I think Skiptomylou is in as well, but I'm not sure...I'm too lazy to go back to the other pages and check. Someone should make a list of the bet participants on each side. That'd keep things more organized. If no one does it I'll eventually end up doing it. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I think we both know the Knicks are better than both teams. I'll leave now.</div> Thank God you left cause as much as there maybe a Celtics/Raptors fans rivalry going on, we BOTH know our teams are better than the Knicks Nah, honestly, I think the Knicks have an enormous amount of talent stacked on thier team. But talent doesn't always win in the NBA (as Knicks fans can attest to from last year's horrible experience). I'm not sure if the Knicks will make the playoffs or not (I hope not cause that lessens the Raptors chances) but I do think they're better then a 23 win team, or whatever it is they won last year. However, for the sake of comedy, I hope Isiah continues being an idiot by doing and saying ridiculous and stupid things. Hopefully, his renewed coaching career is just as unsuccessful as his GM career has been so we can all continue to make Isiah jokes day by day
<div class="quote_poster">CLos Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You can't let preseason judge on how you think the 2 teams will play in the regular season. I mean it doesn't mean anything at all.</div> And thanks to you for telling me that. I never knew that. In the case of the Raptors, yes, the preseason will tell me how they'll play in the regular season. They'll be a running team, they'll be high scoring, and they'll be highly entertaining. While you can't tell how well a team will do, you can tell how certain players will. And what I've seen from Fred Jones, Garbajosa, Bargnani and PJ Tucker have been very good. Now, with good players playing with good chemistry, what do you get? A good team. Also, if preseason doesn't mean anything, what the hell do you play it for? And it's not just a tuneup for the players.
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">And thanks to you for telling me that. I never knew that. In the case of the Raptors, yes, the preseason will tell me how they'll play in the regular season. They'll be a running team, they'll be high scoring, and they'll be highly entertaining. While you can't tell how well a team will do, you can tell how certain players will. And what I've seen from Fred Jones, Garbajosa, Bargnani and PJ Tucker have been very good. Now, with good players playing with good chemistry, what do you get? A good team. Also, if preseason doesn't mean anything, what the hell do you play it for? And it's not just a tuneup for the players.</div> Actually it IS a tuneup for players. Preseason is for players trying to have that last roster spot on the bench and also for players to get into the feel of the NBA again. Sure the Raptors have been good, but in a whole 82 games, Boston will win more games.
Just so we're clear there are only two players that could nullify the bet. If Pierce or Bosh is hurt for more than 20 games, then the bet is done. As for making a list, I'll get it rolling. Celtics: CLos CeltixQueen 44Thrilla Squishface bengcord3 cMac44111 Franchise4Ever That's all of us, as for the Raps, I have this collection. Raptors: Junoon P.A.P. Chutney Fever hustler SkiptoMyLue11 Locke And I'm officially closing it to Raps fans until we can get some more Celtics on here. Actually, anyone who wants to join can, we'll just divvy up the names when it comes down to it. If the Raps win (and they won't) you guys can collabo on our sigs and that'll make it nice and even.
<div class="quote_poster">Squishface Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just so we're clear there are only two players that could nullify the bet. If Pierce or Bosh is hurt for more than 20 games, then the bet is done. As for making a list, I'll get it rolling. Celtics: CLos CeltixQueen 44Thrilla Squishface bengcord3 cMac44111 That's all of us, as for the Raps, I have this collection. Raptors: Junoon P.A.P. Chutney Fever hustler Franchise4Ever SkiptoMyLue11 Locke And I'm officially closing it to Raps fans until we can get some more Celtics on here. Actually, anyone who wants to join can, we'll just divvy up the names when it comes down to it. If the Raps win (and they won't) you guys can collabo on our sigs and that'll make it nice and even.</div> Correct me if I am wrong, but Franchise4Ever chose to side with the Celtics.
<div class="quote_poster">hustler Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Correct me if I am wrong, but Franchise4Ever chose to side with the Celtics.</div> You're right, I'll fix it. We're dead even, but I still say anyone can join who wants to.
Well its even 7 on each side. I'll be in on it. Even though I think both teams aren't proven, Boston has a lot of youth, Raps have a lot of international players, Bosh has plantar fasciatus, etc. Anything can happen. I'm in, (for the Raps of course)
<div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">And thanks to you for telling me that. I never knew that. In the case of the Raptors, yes, the preseason will tell me how they'll play in the regular season. They'll be a running team, they'll be high scoring, and they'll be highly entertaining. While you can't tell how well a team will do, you can tell how certain players will. And what I've seen from Fred Jones, Garbajosa, Bargnani and PJ Tucker have been very good. Now, with good players playing with good chemistry, what do you get? A good team. Also, if preseason doesn't mean anything, what the hell do you play it for? And it's not just a tuneup for the players.</div> CLos is right. In this case these are just tune-up games. Why do you think you don't usually see the normal starters in the forth quarter of close games? Its because, its a good opportunity for coaches to see what players mesh well in certain situations, or just see what players should actually make the team. You may be able to tell that a team will have a high scoring offense or a good defense, etc. But you can't tell how someone will respond in the regular season by looking at their preseason stats. Especially when dealing with a rookie... Whether it is who you speak of (Bargani) or even the Celtics Rondo, they may make a heck of an impression in the preseason, but the regular season may wear them down after a number of games and they may not perform at the same level. Or even look at Paul Pierce for instance, he hasn't had a jaw dropping preseason, but you know when the regular season rolls around he will perform at a high level [barring any injuries]. Just take a look at Cleveland's preseason record, they are 1-5, LeBron is averaging 14 points in 28 minutes, so do you actually think that means they are a lousy team or James will have a bad year? No.
I think football is the best example of how players tend to treat these games. If you look at Friendlies preseason with EPL and the like, oftentimes players on the first team only participate to raise their match readiness, steady their pace, or work out issues with fitness. Near as I can tell, the NBA is the exact same way. It's just to get used to game speed again.
Well, in preseason games for whatever league, NBA or NFL, the best players on that team are only going to play garbage minutes so the other players like rookies or old veterans for example can try to have a spot on the team. Toronto is going to give Andrea B. a lot of minutes so he can play at the NBA level. It doesn't mean it will translate into exactly that.
<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think we both know the Knicks are better than both teams. I'll leave now.</div> I agree MrJ..... Knicks fans unite? Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how all this plays out. The Raps have made some big improvements and the Celts are only getting better. Gonna be exciting.
Well in Toronto's case, one thing that you can take away from the pre-season is the depth they've shown. Our bench has consistently outperformed other team's benches and often their starters as well. That looks to be something that will translate into the regular season. Other than that, I agree, that the pre-season is usually just a tune-up.
