Why do people underrate the Raptors?

I've just been arguing in a thread that the Raptors are a top 5 team in the East. How can they not be? Can anyone give me any insight on why they disagree?

 

The Raptors are good every 3 years don't worry they will suck again "knock on wood"

 

I think the Raptors could be around the 5th seed, who knows. So many teams in the East have gotten stronger. I don't think the Raptors will win more games than they did last season, probably around 45. Every team in your division got stronger, except Philadelphia in my opinion. I'm not saying Boston or New York is going to win a ton more games, but they will win more, the Raptors are a good team, I just don't see them with this roster making that next step.

 

Watching them play well last season was a treat, and I loved seeing them in playoffs against NJ, but seeing that they have not done much thus far in the off-season leads me to believe that other teams will gain some ground on them. Replacing Morris Peterson with Jason Kapono is about all they did, so what they're doing is showing us that they have a core of players that will get it done... I just don't believe they can repeat the success the had last year with a much improved Eastern Conference, let alone their division, with a very young group. Like I had said before, teams will be playing much tougher against them this season knowing they're not the same bad Raptors. The only way I see them getting a fifth seed is if the Atlantic division gets hit with injuries and TOR stays strong. But NJ will be back with Nenad, Carter, Jefferson and Kidd... BOS will have a much better lineup with Pierce, Allen, Jefferson and Rondo... NYK now has a very strong frontcourt that compiments scoring threats such as Marbury, Crawford, Richardson, Curry and Randolph to go along with Lee and Robinson off the bench... PHI will be deeper this year and can sneak up with underrated guys such as Miller, Iguodala, Korver, Young, Byars and the other rookies. Looking at the East as a whole, I don't see TOR getting as high as they did unless they develop even more to the point where they can actually win games in the playoffs.

 

Here's what I think: Toronto fans think they are better than they really are. They are the ones underestimating every other team in the East, and talking like their sh*t don't stink. They think they are the best, anybody else over them is ridiculous, and that they will be contenders in no time without any problems.

 

it's just that Knicks making the playoffs are crazy. People tend to overrate moves, Like the Randolph deal. I bet any of you by mid-season there is going to be dysfunction in the locker room.

 

It's not that we think we're better then everyone it just because we play in CANADA. I remember some poster said that we got raped when we traded 2 second round picks for Delfino. Also, just like how everyone on this board prefers Aldridge over Bargnani . Honestly, if the team were in the south the opinions would be different. Some posters are so ignorant on here.

 

American fans in general don't like foreign teams or foreign players. Simple.Even if they say they don't care where someone is from you talk to em for 30 minutes and guarentee they'll call an immigrant gay or a fag, or make fun of the accent or something.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mrMiyagi @ Jul 13 2007, 09:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>American fans in general don't like foreign teams or foreign players. Simple.Even if they say they don't care where someone is from you talk to em for 30 minutes and guarentee they'll call an immigrant gay or a fag, or make fun of the accent or something.</div>I don't really think this has a lot to do with the fact that the Raptors are in Canada.One of the reasons I think some people "underrate" them is because they lack big name players. Yes, Bosh is a great player, but even with him, the Raptors are still lacking in the star department. I'm not saying that's a bad thing by any means at all, but it's just one of the reasons they are underrated. Also, they are still a very young team. Yes, they had a great season, but they haven't really been very competitve in the near past with the exception of last season. Plus, they got knocked out fairley easily in the first round. I'd say the Raptors are rated right around where they need to be.

 

I don't think that people underrate the Raptors. Its just that Raptors fan overrate the Raptors.

 

how? give us one instance where we overate them?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GrizzFanTaylor @ Jul 13 2007, 11:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't really think this has a lot to do with the fact that the Raptors are in Canada.One of the reasons I think some people "underrate" them is because they lack big name players. Yes, Bosh is a great player, but even with him, the Raptors are still lacking in the star department. I'm not saying that's a bad thing by any means at all, but it's just one of the reasons they are underrated. Also, they are still a very young team. Yes, they had a great season, but they haven't really been very competitve in the near past with the exception of last season. Plus, they got knocked out fairley easily in the first round. I'd say the Raptors are rated right around where they need to be.</div>How can you say that? Bosh made the all-nba 2nd team! Plus, He was the All-Star game starter! He would get AlOT of press if he was on the Pistons. Orlando is getting alot of hyped and they got swept. Otis is stupid for paying Lewis that much money. Plus the extension of Howard kickin in next year, they're going to be financial crippled for a LONG time.

 

Read my post more carefully. I said yes, Bosh is a great player, but even with him, they lack big name players. So, basically what I said was other than Bosh, they don't have any household names. They have a lot of players who really have just emerged recently.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GrizzFanTaylor @ Jul 14 2007, 02:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Read my post more carefully. I said yes, Bosh is a great player, but even with him, they lack big name players. So, basically what I said was other than Bosh, they don't have any household names. They have a lot of players who really have just emerged recently.</div>Do you think we overrate them?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ahollz @ Jul 14 2007, 01:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think we overrate them?</div>No, like I said, I think for the most part people rate the Raptors pretty fairly.

 

I still feel the Raptors are still the best team in the Atlantic. Yes Boston got better but can Allen and Pierce and co-exist and better yet even stay healthy. What about the rest of the team do they have a good enough Center I don't think so. Is Al Jefferson going to stay healthy and be steady on defense that remains to be seen. But I really don't like there Point Guard situation. The Knicks yes they look scary on paper with Randolph but everyone in the Starting Lineup demands the basketball and needs the basketball to put up there points. Mabury and Crawford both need the basketball, Q-Rich will shoot every chance he can, and Curry and Randolph sharing the basketball in the post. To be honest with you I think its going to be a mess and they might not even stay healthy. The Nets we know we can beat the Nets we just didn't show up on the road when we needed to and took us to long to recoginze we needed Bargnani on the floor. The Raptors are a really young team and a good chance a lot our players improve because they are still learning and getting better. The Raptors play team basketball most teams in the Atlantic don't. I think its going to come down to injuries but In my opinion and some of you might disagree I feel the Raptors can repeat as Division Champions.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Jul 13 2007, 07:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Here's what I think: Toronto fans think they are better than they really are. They are the ones underestimating every other team in the East, and talking like their sh*t don't stink. They think they are the best, anybody else over them is ridiculous, and that they will be contenders in no time without any problems.</div>Uh, actually....last year we were the only ones saying we would be a playoff team...and we actually under rated our team, so what does that say about you guys?The same sh*t happened last year. You guys think we still suck at defense and because we don't have a primary 2nd option, we won't be one of the better teams in the East. Well guess what? We dont suck at D anymore. In points per possession last season, we ranked right straight in the middle of the league. And we do not need a 2nd option because we play the team game better than almost anyone. We are really celebral passers. The only selfish guy on the team was Juan Dixon, and he was a mid season acquiration. Even Chris gets it done passing wise. And someone usually steps up. Hell, even when Chris was out we still had a winning record. That's actually when we started to win some games. TJ, Andrea, Anthony Parker, Jorge, Jose...someone always steps up besides Chris and has a big scoring game. And Andrea will be even more of an offensive force. He will probably be our potent 2nd option, and he'll probably give us 17-18 a game. You might think that's too much, but it might actually be too little for him. That's actually about what he averaged towards the 22nd half of the season.Oh, and about this bull crap about the East getting stronger. This stuff happens every year. Teams are always going to look better on paper unless they lose one of their best players. THere's the draft, free agency happens, younger players mature....but obviously every team doesn't get better each year. Looking back on it, the same thing happened last season. Everyone thought that there would be 4 really great teams in the East, and that it would be better than the year before. But the East stunk like sh*t last season. Why? Because sh*t happens. There's always going to be bad teams in this league. It's just what happens. Injuries, lack of chemistry, underachievement, bad coaching, etc...you can't go saying that the Raptors won't win more games next season because the East "supposedly" got a lot better...I don't buy that bullsh**. And we still play Western teams 2 times a season...and once we got going even the elite teams could not stop us. We were an amazing team considering how poorly we started. I was starting to feel like I was wrong about us at the beginning of the year, and I even started to feel embarassed about some of the things I said about them. But I was wrong, and you guys were wrong too, but you guys much more so than me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 14 2007, 06:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Uh, actually....last year we were the only ones saying we would be a playoff team...and we actually under rated our team, so what does that say about you guys?</div>
What does that say about us? Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak, Tony Allen, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Delonte West, Ryan Gomes, and Theo Ratliff combined for 271 missed games due to injury.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The same sh*t happened last year. You guys think we still suck at defense and because we don't have a primary 2nd option, we won't be one of the better teams in the East. Well guess what? We dont suck at D anymore. In points per possession last season, we ranked right straight in the middle of the league. And we do not need a 2nd option because we play the team game better than almost anyone. We are really celebral passers. The only selfish guy on the team was Juan Dixon, and he was a mid season acquiration. Even Chris gets it done passing wise. And someone usually steps up. Hell, even when Chris was out we still had a winning record. That's actually when we started to win some games. TJ, Andrea, Anthony Parker, Jorge, Jose...someone always steps up besides Chris and has a big scoring game. And Andrea will be even more of an offensive force. He will probably be our potent 2nd option, and he'll probably give us 17-18 a game. You might think that's too much, but it might actually be too little for him. That's actually about what he averaged towards the 22nd half of the season.</div>
When did I say you didn't have solid defense? When did I say it was a must for the Raptors to have a valid second option? When did I say you wouldn't be a factor in the East? You're pulling all these accusations out of thin air, because I never once said that Toronto wasn't a good team. All I'm saying is that now that Toronto had a great season, every Raptor fan as talking like their team is invincible and saying it's absolutely ridiculous that any other team could be ranked ahead of them. Toronto is one of the better basketball teams in the East.

There's a big difference between what you tried to accuse me (or "us") of in this post and what I actually said.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Oh, and about this bull crap about the East getting stronger. This stuff happens every year. Teams are always going to look better on paper unless they lose one of their best players. THere's the draft, free agency happens, younger players mature....but obviously every team doesn't get better each year. Looking back on it, the same thing happened last season. Everyone thought that there would be 4 really great teams in the East, and that it would be better than the year before. But the East stunk like sh*t last season. Why? Because sh*t happens. There's always going to be bad teams in this league. It's just what happens. Injuries, lack of chemistry, underachievement, bad coaching, etc...you can't go saying that the Raptors won't win more games next season because the East "supposedly" got a lot better...I don't buy that bullsh**. And we still play Western teams 2 times a season...and once we got going even the elite teams could not stop us. We were an amazing team considering how poorly we started. I was starting to feel like I was wrong about us at the beginning of the year, and I even started to feel embarassed about some of the things I said about them. But I was wrong, and you guys were wrong too, but you guys much more so than me.</div>
So Boston isn't gonna be better this year, assuming they stay relatively healthy and factoring in the fact that they brought in Ray Allen? Orlando isn't gonna be better this year with the acquisition of Rashard Lewis (no matter how dumb of a move it was)? Milwaukee won't be better this year if they can stay healthy? The Bulls won't continue to improve?

And the East wasn't horrid last year just because "sh*t happens," as you put it. It was horrid because of the RIDICULOUS amount if injury problems. I'm not saying the East is very strong, because healthy or not it's still wide open, but so many teams were hit hard by the injury bug, and that is the biggest reason.

 

You got it wrong man...I was making this response to everyone, not just you. Only the first part was towards what you said. And I am not saying anything about the Celtics. They've got some great young players, and an amazing scoring trio now. If they stay healthy, I think they are definitely a late seeded playoff team.

 

Holy crap you guys write a lot.