I knew, along with everyone else that the Raptors are going to the playoffs but now after the victory over the Bobcats, we mathematically clinched a spot in the playoffs!!! It looks so beautiful to see the x beside our team in the standings!http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_c...ew_Std_Cnf.html
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MosDefinitely @ Apr 1 2007, 10:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I knew, along with everyone else that the Raptors are going to the playoffs but now after the victory over the Bobcats, we mathematically clinched a spot in the playoffs!!! It looks so beautiful to see the x beside our team in the standings!http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_c...ew_Std_Cnf.html</div>congrats man! I didnt think Toronto would be in there for awhile. Thas my team in the East man! :happy0144:
It is also nice to see the Wizards 1.5 games behind, and the Heat 2 games behind from us. We gotta finish off the Atlantic but we need homecourt 27-10 at home it doesn't get much better then that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MiﮒFi?? @ Apr 2 2007, 11:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It is also nice to see the Wizards 1.5 games behind, and the Heat 2 games behind from us. We gotta finish off the Atlantic but we need homecourt 27-10 at home it doesn't get much better then that.</div> Wizards pretty much have no chance of catching up to the Raptors without our "engine" Caron Butler. The Raptors will keep third seed. Congrats Raps.
Im just glad ill be able to watch my Raps play for a bit longer, hopefully we'll muster through the first round.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MosDefinitely @ Apr 2 2007, 01:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Im just glad ill be able to watch my Raps play for a bit longer, hopefully we'll muster through the first round.</div> Chances are you're going to end up playing the Wiz, who without Caron Butler are the worst team in the NBA. Crazy inconsistent on jump shooting, lack of energy, and less rebounding for the Wizards will give Raps an easy series.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Apr 2 2007, 06:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>:drunk: Here's to the end of being the Craptors for three years</div>We were craptors for 5 years. Nice to hear we finally win our first divison title in franchise history.
im glad for toronto..after all that bullsh** with Carter and Tmac wanting to be superstars and shine with other teams and for a while of mediocrity they've finally gotten things going and have developed great chemistrythey're my darkhorse for East Conf. Champs
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Apr 2 2007, 06:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>:drunk: Here's to the end of being the Craptors for three years</div>AMEN.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (playaofthegame @ Apr 2 2007, 05:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>im glad for toronto..after all that bullsh** with Carter and Tmac wanting to be superstars and shine with other teams and for a while of mediocrity they've finally gotten things going and have developed great chemistrythey're my darkhorse for East Conf. Champs</div>I love you.lol. but seriously, they can come out of the east. they have one of, if not the best talented teams in the east.I was at the game yesterday and I have tickets to game 2. I know it didnt go on sale to the public but my bro knows a guy thats a ticket sales guy and he got us 10 seats.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ortiz34 @ Apr 2 2007, 06:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I love you. lol. but seriously, they can come out of the east. they have one of, if not the best talented teams in the east. I was at the game yesterday and I have tickets to game 2. I know it didnt go on sale to the public but my bro knows a guy thats a ticket sales guy and he got us 10 seats.</div> That's ridiculous, they may have the most talent but the East isn't so bad that the Raptors go to the finals. To me the Eastern Conference champion will be Detroit, Cleveland, Miami (If they have a healthy Dwayne Wade), or Chicago. Toronto isn't up to the standards of these teams, they lack a effective secondary offensive option which forces them to surround Chris Bosh with role players and no TJ Ford doesn't count as a secondary offensive option. He can't score at the rate of other options however his court vision is uncanny. Sticking role players around Bosh is what Cleveland does and I do not believe that Bosh is nearly as ready as LeBron to lead a team deep into the playoffs. Within the next two years Bosh will be ready to take on this task however without every playing a playoff minute, I do not think Bosh will be able to take them to the finals. They have a young team that although is very talented does not play as smart ball as some of the other teams. If there is one team that would pull of an upset it is Toronto, but honestly, as bad as the East is there are a couple of teams that have pulled away from the rest since the all-star break. Toronto, who has improved without a doubt, is still not a contendor in the East. I predict Raps put up a good fight against the Pistons in the second round.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Apr 2 2007, 06:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That's ridiculous, they may have the most talent but the East isn't so bad that the Raptors go to the finals. To me the Eastern Conference champion will be Detroit, Cleveland, Miami (If they have a healthy Dwayne Wade), or Chicago. Toronto isn't up to the standards of these teams, they lack a effective secondary offensive option which forces them to surround Chris Bosh with role players and no TJ Ford doesn't count as a secondary offensive option. He can't score at the rate of other options however his court vision is uncanny. Sticking role players around Bosh is what Cleveland does and I do not believe that Bosh is nearly as ready as LeBron to lead a team deep into the playoffs. Within the next two years Bosh will be ready to take on this task however without every playing a playoff minute, I do not think Bosh will be able to take them to the finals. They have a young team that although is very talented does not play as smart ball as some of the other teams. If there is one team that would pull of an upset it is Toronto, but honestly, as bad as the East is there are a couple of teams that have pulled away from the rest since the all-star break. Toronto, who has improved without a doubt, is still not a contendor in the East.I predict Raps put up a good fight against the Pistons in the second round.</div>This is how the Raptors play.Bosh = #1 OptionEveryone else = #2 OptionThe Raptors have great depth, on any given night anyone can step up. They don't have a definitive second option, because they don't play that way. Bosh kicks it out and they swing the ball to the open man, and that open man is the second option at that point. Everyone can shoot on the Raptors team, that's what makes them such a dangerous team.And I'm not arguing, just making my opinion stated.I do like the fact that you said the Raptors will put up a fight against the Pistons, cause they would if they played them in the second round.The Raptors will get the third seed, we can pretty much agree on that since Butler is out for the rest of the season most likely. If(in other words, when) they make it to the second round, they would play the higher seed of the 2 vs 7 or 4 vs 5 matchup and Detroit would play the lower seed of those.So let's say the Raptors end up playing the Cavs (but let's not count out NJ in that series, they still do have Kidd and Carter), they have a very good chance of advancing and playing in the ECF. Detroit would play Miami or Chicago if Cleveland advanced to play the Raptors. Whoever comes out of that series will get beat up. And the Raptors can pounce on that tired team early and have a shot of going to the Finals.That's kind of confusing, but it'll make sense once you read it carefully.So yeah, it's not about going to the Finals all of a sudden. It's about the matchups and circumstances along the way, and the Raptors have pretty good matchups and can go all the way.Now, I know this is going TOO far, but if what I said up there is correct and the Raptors make the Finals, they'll play a beat up team. Be it Spurs, Sun or Mavs.Because if Suns make it all the way, they have to face the Spurs AND Mavs.If the Spurs go all the way, they have to play Suns AND Mavs.And the Mavs will have to play a team with momentum be it Suns or Spurs.Whoever goes to the Finals out of the West, like we saw last year, will be very tired and the Raptors would have a good chance.But, let's take it one game at a time.
Yeah, we don't really need a 2nd option because we have so many guys who can contribute 10-14 points....when Bosh doesn't play well, we are screwed though. Thankfully, that hardly ever happens.I'm not going to argue that we will win the conference though. That is highly unlikely. Detroit is a team that is loaded with stud players, and they have won a championship before, and been to the Finals twice. I don't see us getting past the Cavs either because they simply will have a hungry Lebron, and also a great defense to work with. Ditto with Chicago. They've got an amazing defense, and alot of good offensive players too.I'd be happy and satisfied just to get to the 2nd round. Remember Raptor fans, this is only the start. I'm sure we'll eventually make it to the 3rd round, maybe even the Finals once our team reaches its full potential.
[quote name='ortiz34' post='324365' date='Apr 2 2007, 06:42 PM']This is how the Raptors play. Bosh = #1 Option Everyone else = #2 Option The Raptors have great depth, on any given night anyone can step up. They don't have a definitive second option, because they don't play that way. Bosh kicks it out and they swing the ball to the open man, and that open man is the second option at that point. Everyone can shoot on the Raptors team, that's what makes them such a dangerous team.[/quote] I said that thats how the Raptors offense works myself. I said that it's similar to what the Cavs have with LeBron, but I also questioned how ready Bosh is to take on the task of leading a bunch of role players deep into the playoffs with zero experience. LeBron took the Cavs to the second round with this style of play but second round is no finals and LeBron was much more ready to take on this challenge than Bosh. Not to mention that Cavs squad had more experience than Toronto. New Jersey really has no chance of taking on the Cavs and beating them. They have proved this year that without a decent big man in Krstic, they can't succeed. LeBron is just too much of a playoff threat for NJ to stop and honestly I question how good of a duo Kidd and Carter are. The engine to that offense is Richard Jefferson, they have been able to score much easier with him back. Also just becuase Caron Butler is out do not expect to just walk right past the Wizards. I'm not doubting that the Raptors will win that series becuase it is clear that they will but Gilbert over the past two years has really stepped his game up in the playoffs alongside Antawn. Cavs will be in just as fine of a shape as the Raptors are and not to mention that we know how effective the Cavs can be in the playoffs. We all saw the Detroit series last year, when they nearly beat the squad that alot of people believed would be winning another chip. Cleveland and Toronto's teams as I said before are created on the same basis. Surround your start player with role players. So it's pretty safe to say that the final out-come to that series will be which franchise player out-plays the other. I think we all know that LeBron will out-play Bosh, LeBron will be a huge matchup problem for the Raptors as well. You really can't expect Joey Graham to be able to stop LeBron. This is where I believe Toronto's playoff run will end in 2007. Now that is taking it much too far. If Toronto magically does get to the finals I seriousely dobut that they would be able to take on the Suns or Mavs no matter how tired they are. Miami had played through some tough series on their way to the finals as well. Dallas fell apart after an amazing Heat comeback in game three. During game four, Miami had so much momentum from the previous game that they walked over the Mavs. After that Dallas had lost alot of confidence and still gave Miami alot of fight during the last two games that both came down to the buzzer. It did not have alot to do with Dallas being tired at all. This is pretty much how I believe the Raptors will be during the next couple of years. They still need to develop before they can contend with the big guns and eventually when their young studs like Bargnani are at another level, I believe that they can contend.
