I admit I don't watch many games other than the rockets, so I was wondering how good are the Raptors. They've only lost 16 games and have the 3rd best record in the league. Their point differential is second in the league and higher than the warriors. They've also beat some pretty good teams including us and barely lost to the Warriors. They have a quality starting 5 with quality big men and one of the best wings in the league. I understand that Lowry has a history of choking in the playoffs but is this year different?
They are very good and are my pick to win the east. A lot of posters here like to go espn on ‘em and ignore their legitimacy.
Raptors have insanely good 2nd unit and that's where their strength comes from. DeRozan and Lowry both have been pretty good this year, but nothing we haven't seen before. Raptors are really deep team with lots of ball movement, great defense and excellent coaching; in short, they're pretty legit.
Tbh i didn't watch them at all this season, but the team is basically the same as last season, they look good or great every year in regular season, and they disappoint in the playoffs every year, i look forward to see if something changes this time.
This. NBA Radio echoed the bench sentiment. Raptors beat us handily @ Toyota earlier this year. We were without Paul, IIRC, but still an accomplishment.
They're a very solid and deep team. Their young guys are really out performing expectations and showing lots of promise. But ultimately they're a poor man's version of the Rockets. Chris Paul > Kyle Lowry. James Harden > DeMar DeRozan. And it isn't even close. Our two best players have been MVP candidates while their two best players are guys who barely squeak into the All-Star game (and one of them is a career back up, right, DD?). It's kind of sad to me that they're the best team in the East.
One thing the league and media do good job of at making fans forget is that this in NOT a balanced league. The NBA plays an unbalanced schedule and the east has for a long time been way behind the west. So maybe the point differential and record don't really mean that much when you play all of the teams in the east 3 to 4 times while only playing all the teams in the west just 2 times. MVP award is affected by this too imo.
"Raptors always fall apart in the playoffs" is the basic lazy national media narrative about them but their offensive is the 32 best of all time and their net rating is second in the league. They are legit.
I also think the raptors suffer from a little of what we had in between the Yao/Tmac and Harden Eras. They are really good team basketball wise...which makes them a good regular season team. But they just dont have that true superstar level player that you typically need to do well in the playoffs. To at least advance. Now, I will admit they are better than those rockets teams...but I think it is still a relevant comparison.
Glad posters are pointing out the lazy narrative “we’ve seen this before [....] they choke when it counts”. Blah blah blah as if teams don’t evolve or get better and players don’t mature. It’s pure lazy commentary. Similar to harden flops and doesn’t play defense. Cp3 and harden always flame out in the playoffs. Etc... The raptors are GOOD. Their offense is great, even though it does involve a good amount of midrange shots they are 4th in 3pa a game. They have pretty good ball movement. Their defense is great. Og Anunoby is a stud defender and their team scheme and chemistry on rotations is crisp. Their bench is very solid. They are one of the better units in the league right up there with Houston’s. They have the 4th Ortg and 4th Drtg putting them top 5 in both categories which absolutely defines contender. Especially considerring they have the second best point differential and 3rd best netrtg. They. Are. Legit.
I'll admit that I thought the Raptors would the same mediocre team they've been in years past, but their style of play has changed enough to take them to another level. DD and Lowry iso a lot less, they make more threes, and their bench is full of young energetic players. They're more team oriented now. DD's scoring is down and he's averaging 5.2 assists to only 2.2 turnovers. Their style of play is very similar to Flip Saunders' Pistons rather than their old style. And their defense is the best it’s ever been, #3 in the league currently. It’s funny to hear fans complain constantly about the lack of respect for Houston from the national media, then give the same lazy takes about another elite team that’s playing just as hard. If you demand respect and don't give any, you don't deserve any.
I don’t know a single guy in their rotation aside from: Lowry, DeRozan, Ibaka, Jonas, and CJ Miles. And yet somehow they’re above .700 Must have some good rookies and G-League type guys.
