Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Mar 31 2007, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wow, your 8 games over .500 in the Eastern Conference, you want a cookie? For the last 3 years Sam Mitchell has been called one of the top worst coaches in basketball, been hated/called for firing by Raptors fans , now over the offseason they add smarter/experienced talent and now he's a coach of the year candidate according to fans because he's 8 games over .500 in the most sh*tty conference in all of sports. Give me a break. You put Phil Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jerry Sloan in Toronto and they could do a better job with that team. Sam Mitchell winning COY would be a complete joke.</div>actually the raptors could of been much better. Except Rob Babcock came and messed us up, with the pick and the trade of VC for trash. in the 8th pick we could of got iguodala, and for VC I heard many things he was going to New Orleans for Baron Davis +, but Babcock didnt like it or something. So we could of actually been a lot better with Mithcell's 1st year.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! Absolutely right BCB. Mitchell isn't coach of the year. Colangelo is a lock for Exec. of the Year though.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Mar 31 2007, 03:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Raptors bench will be smaller without Jorge Garbajosa and Andrea Bargnani. That will become annoying for them during the playoffs. It is also known that the big three can play 48 minutes a game, especially in the playoffs. I'm not saying they will but they can rack up the minutes if they need to and that will result in less reliance on the bench.</div>FYI Bargnani will be back before the playoffs.They will miss Garbajosa though. He's a glue guy who does all the small things a team needs to succeed.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticFan @ Mar 31 2007, 11:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>FYI Bargnani will be back before the playoffs.They will miss Garbajosa though. He's a glue guy who does all the small things a team needs to succeed.</div>But will he be at 100% for playoff time? Either way even with Bargnani I don't think much will change, I stand by my prediction. Bargnani is a great role player but that is all he is for now.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! We'll just have the wait and see in the playoffs, theres really no point in convincing any fan that their team will lose in the first round of the playoffs because so and so is better and what not. I like Arenas, Jamison and Butler and the Wiz for that matter but Raps are gonna knock em out if they meet up!
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zards @ Mar 31 2007, 01:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wizards made a huge improvement from '03-04 to '04-05. We went from 25 wins to 45 wins. Anyways, we'd beat you guys in 6. No doubt.</div> :no3: Bosh and others ALWAYS dominate when we play you guys. The difference is that our offense always does great against you guys, but we actually play some defense too.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Mar 31 2007, 01:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Again, alot of that is due to the injury problems which have been ravaging the Wizards. I still think that the Wizards will beat out the Heat for the division and could catchup to the Raptors due to the rest of our schedule being amazingly easy. 6 games is far from being a pushover, Washington and Cleveland went at it last year for 6 games every game went down to the final seconds but Cleveland pulled through. Washington and Chicago went at it for 6 games, three games were decided at the buzzer and Washignton pulled through. In no way is a 6 game series a blow out. Washington is the better team than Toronto, we can run faster than them and our much more experienced along with the fact our team has been together and played with each other much longer. Our regular season since January has had a large amount of injuries and hopefully now that Caron is finally back we can put it together and get through this final stretch.The only real advantage that Toronto has against the Wizards is that Sam Mitchell can way out coach Eddie Jordan. Do not say defense because we will see how good Toronto's defense is when they get into a running match with the Wizards. I get that Tornto runs too but not nearly at the pace of the Wizards who let me remind you have out-ran even the Suns. The Wizards offense is completely dominant over the Raptors and the experience goes our way.</div>That explains why we've won 3 out of 4 games against youy guys this year, right? Yeah, we have a great offense too, and we always play our best offensive ball against you guys.....coincidence? I don't think so...you guys are just dreadful on defense, and we actually show up on the other end. Our bench is alot deeper then yours, we have ALOT of role players who can contribute alot to our team. And if we can hold down one of your big 3, we've got a great chance of winning games against you guys. I'd much rather play you guys than the Heat.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Mar 31 2007, 06:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wow, your 8 games over .500 in the Eastern Conference, you want a cookie? For the last 3 years Sam Mitchell has been called one of the top worst coaches in basketball, been hated/called for firing by Raptors fans , now over the offseason they add smarter/experienced talent and now he's a coach of the year candidate according to fans because he's 8 games over .500 in the most sh*tty conference in all of sports. Give me a break. You put Phil Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jerry Sloan in Toronto and they could do a better job with that team. Sam Mitchell winning COY would be a complete joke.</div>Why do you have to be so f*cking negative and annoying all the time? We won only 27 games last year, that's why we're happy.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Apr 1 2007, 01:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>But will he be at 100% for playoff time? Either way even with Bargnani I don't think much will change, I stand by my prediction. Bargnani is a great role player but that is all he is for now.</div>He is supposed to be back in action a week or so from now, so he will play some games before the playoffs begin, so don't count on him to be completely rusty.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! And you guys say Celtic fans sometimes overreact. Every time the Raptors move up one in the standings, they start a new topic and throw a party. I don't care what seed the Raptors are in the playoffs, we all know that the 5th seed has a better record and is a better team (Bulls). I would fear Miami (4th seed) in the playoffs more than Toronto.Listen, I'm happy for the Raptors, and they are one of the teams I really want to see move on in the playoffs, but this means nothing (even though you guys corrected yourself to say they fixed it and moved you back at 3rd seed). You are the 5th most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference playoffs, IMO.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! It does mean something. Everyone expected us to be another scrub team again this year, we went through 3 years od being a terrible team. I know all of our fans are very excited about our team finally being respectable again, and also very excited at the fact that we can become an elite powerhouse in the East in the future...
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Apr 1 2007, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That explains why we've won 3 out of 4 games against youy guys this year, right? Yeah, we have a great offense too, and we always play our best offensive ball against you guys.....coincidence? I don't think so...you guys are just dreadful on defense, and we actually show up on the other end. Our bench is alot deeper then yours, we have ALOT of role players who can contribute alot to our team. And if we can hold down one of your big 3, we've got a great chance of winning games against you guys. I'd much rather play you guys than the Heat.</div>You probabely haven't watched many playoff series since the Raptors haven't been there. The regular season series doesn't mean anything, the Wizards swept the Cavaliers in the regular season series but lost in 6. Everyone plays great offense against the Wizards, we don't try to slow down a time often on the defensive end all we do is try to out-run them. Although it has it's problems just look at the Suns or remember Showtime? Of course you'd rather play us than the defending champions but you will lose in 6, your team has zero playoff experience. Your team would never be able to matchup with our big-three, TJ Ford is the only person who would give the least bit of bother for the Wiz. Also your "role players" aren't that great. Juan Dixon doesn't show up every night and all your other role players are pretty young. I'm not saying your role players are bad but I'm saying you're way over-rating them.The playoffs are an entirely different world CB4, the regular season series are very un-important.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Apr 1 2007, 01:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>You probabely haven't watched many playoff series since the Raptors haven't been there. The regular season series doesn't mean anything, the Wizards swept the Cavaliers in the regular season series but lost in 6. Everyone plays great offense against the Wizards, we don't try to slow down a time often on the defensive end all we do is try to out-run them. Although it has it's problems just look at the Suns or remember Showtime? Of course you'd rather play us than the defending champions but you will lose in 6, your team has zero playoff experience. Your team would never be able to matchup with our big-three, TJ Ford is the only person who would give the least bit of bother for the Wiz. Also your "role players" aren't that great. Juan Dixon doesn't show up every night and all your other role players are pretty young. Besides in the first round of the playoffs bench is very un-important, it comes to effect really during the second round.The playoffs are an entirely different world CB4, the regular season series are very un-important.</div>I do watch playoff games. Yeah, but that usually doesn't happen. Teams still play hard in the regular season, and the Raptors have just outplayed you guys in our matchups. Okay, stop comparing the Wizards to the Suns and Showtime. I'm not a Wizards fan, but I'm pretty sure you don't have f*cking Magic and Kareem on your team, and you definately do not have the ball movement, and deepness of the Suns. The Suns have a TON of amazing offensive players, whereas you guys just have 3 great ones. And also, like I said before, you are a horrendous defensive team, and you don't have a deep bench or good role players.Rasho has won championships, TJ has played in the playoffs in very year he's played, Juan Dixon, and Mo have playoff experience, and guys like Andrea and Jose have experience overseas. If we come to play, we don't need a bunch of playoff veterans on the team. We just have to come out, play hard, and do everything we can to win the ball games. You are overrating playoff experience. Our guys will be very hungry, and you can bet your ass that we will match your intensity. okay, look at our bench and tell me if they are not productive. Jose Calderon is one of the greatest backup PG's in the League, Joey G always brings intensity and aggressiveness to the table, Juan Dixon is a great offensive player, Mo Pete plays defense and offense to the table, and is a great shooter. Andrea Bargnani is a great offensive threat off the bench. He is an amazing shooter for a big man, and he's got good quickness too. And this is not counting Anthony Parker, who could be called "The Perfect NBA role player" because he does absolutely everything..Oh yeah, we can play a lick of defense too.An NBA bench is important in any game. Don't give me that bullsh**.
Re: The Raptors are second in the East! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Apr 1 2007, 12:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I do watch playoff games. Yeah, but that usually doesn't happen. Teams still play hard in the regular season, and the Raptors have just outplayed you guys in our matchups. Okay, stop comparing the Wizards to the Suns and Showtime. I'm not a Wizards fan, but I'm pretty sure you don't have f*cking Magic and Kareem on your team, and you definately do not have the ball movement, and deepness of the Suns. The Suns have a TON of amazing offensive players, whereas you guys just have 3 great ones. And also, like I said before, you are a horrendous defensive team, and you don't have a deep bench or good role players.Rasho has won championships, TJ has played in the playoffs in very year he's played, Juan Dixon, and Mo have playoff experience, and guys like Andrea and Jose have experience overseas. If we come to play, we don't need a bunch of playoff veterans on the team. We just have to come out, play hard, and do everything we can to win the ball games. You are overrating playoff experience. Our guys will be very hungry, and you can bet your ass that we will match your intensity. okay, look at our bench and tell me if they are not productive. Jose Calderon is one of the greatest backup PG's in the League, Joey G always brings intensity and aggressiveness to the table, Juan Dixon is a great offensive player, Mo Pete plays defense and offense to the table, and is a great shooter. Andrea Bargnani is a great offensive threat off the bench. He is an amazing shooter for a big man, and he's got good quickness too. And this is not counting Anthony Parker, who could be called "The Perfect NBA role player" because he does absolutely everything..Oh yeah, we can play a lick of defense too.An NBA bench is important in any game. Don't give me that bullsh**.</div>Okay, first of all I'm not saying that we have the same talent as the Suns or Showtime but that we can run a similar style to them. The Raptors outplayed us @ Toronto when the Wizards didn't have half their squad because of injuries and the other time when we didn't even have Antawn Jamison. The regular season series between the Raptors and the Wizards means nothing. Also the Wizards offense is pretty much run through isolation so ball movement isn't even a big factor for us. Wizards can score up to 20 points in a matter of 5 minutes if they are feeling it, I've seen it happen and the Raptors can not matchup to that. Defense is a non-factor for the Wizards as it is for the Suns that is what my comparison to these teams means.Playoff experience will be huge coming into the first couple of games. The playoffs are a different world as I said and bench's usually play alot less during the playoffs btw. Wizards may not rely on their bench as much but their starters can play 40+ minutes a night with ease. We have the most conditioned roster in the eastern conference.You're blowing your bench way out of proportion. Firstly, Juan Dixon played very little for the Wizards in the playoffs. Juan had one good game and the rest of the time he was going 1/12 from the field. Not to mention he's pretty streaky.TJ Ford played in a bucks series that they got swept. I can hardly call that experience. Mo Pete had playoff experience when he was a rookie and sophomore that was years ago. Also the game oversees is completely different.Also about Rasho, he won a championship playing a minute off the bench for the Spurs, lol.You think the Wizards wont be hungry? Our goal that was set this year was to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm not saying that will happen but their is no doubt that the Wizards will show up with just as much if not more heart than the Raptors.You're talking about your bench like they're gods. It's deep but there is really no stand out guy other than Bargnani on there. Wizards have an 8 man rotation and that is fine for the playoffs, as long as your starters aren't the only ones on the floor it's fine, you don't need your IR pitching in as well. Wizards have Antonio Daniels, one of the best ball handlers in the NBA and can pretty much get to the foul line at will. Darius Songaila, although he is a dumb defender he can cuase a nuisance for defenses on the offensive end with his ability to shoot the jumper. Etan Thomas may not be the most accomplished center in the NBA but he can offensively rebound and has the heart and muscle to grab the ball and keep it. Andray Blatche, I'm not saying he is the next KG but he falls under the same category as Darius Songaila, it kills defenses to have a big man who can play the 5, that can shoot the three as well. Not to mention I think Blatche is one of the very few guys on our team that can play defense.As I said, you can't say we can play a lick of defense too and think you're a better team than the Wiz. Alot of teams play better defense than the Suns too, it doesn't matter if you get into a running match with us your defense will be pretty non-existent too.
