BTW we are all waiting for you to start the NEW thread!:rockon:
Well a couple of weeks away till training camp opens but with so many changes it seems the 2017/18 season is yesterday's news ..
BTW we are all waiting for you to start the NEW thread!:rockon:
I am curious to see if Lowry just mailed in the summer ( not a peak condition ) and has a fuck you attitude after the Raps trading their buddy ... I think Pascal Siakam will have a break out season . He has had an amazing summer .. It is hard to believe that the Raptors may have 1 of the 4 top players in the NBA but have given the keys to a rookie coach .Well a couple of weeks away till training camp opens but with so many changes it seems the 2017/18 season is yesterday's news ..
I wonder if Masai knew he was going to do the "trade" when he fired Casey, or did he feel strong enough that Casey wasn't good enough to bring this team past the first round ?I am curious to see if Lowry just mailed in the summer ( not a peak condition ) and has a fuck you attitude after the Raps trading their buddy ... I think Pascal Siakam will have a break out season . He has had an amazing summer .. It is hard to believe that the Raptors may have 1 of the 4 top players in the NBA but have given the keys to a rookie coach .
Speaking of Nurse you will see a lot of headlines with him this season.Thanks rg.
To me the big question mark is Nurse. I believe the horses are there can Nurse get them to play for him, if so, does he have what it takes to get them deep into the playoffs?
Other questions: Will Masai make anymore moves? Will Norman Powell return to form? That young group of bench players, how high is their ceiling? OG how good will he be?
Agreed Nurse ... He maybe a great X and 0 's guy but to be a head coach in the NBA you have to be a manager of people and with Lowry , Ibaka and Kawhi he will have has hands full ... That is one thing we are going to miss about DeRozan his personality defused a lot of drama that may have occurred in the dressing room .Thanks rg.
To me the big question mark is Nurse. I believe the horses are there can Nurse get them to play for him, if so, does he have what it takes to get them deep into the playoffs?
Other questions: Will Masai make anymore moves? Will Norman Powell return to form? That young group of bench players, how high is their ceiling? OG how good will he be?
rg: My thinking is Danny Green has the personality to replace DeRozan. He is a veteran and everything I read about him is positive. Now we just have to have him show us he can get the job done here!Agreed Nurse ... He maybe a great X and 0 's guy but to be a head coach in the NBA you have to be a manager of people and with Lowry , Ibaka and Kawhi he will have has hands full ... That is one thing we are going to miss about DeRozan his personality defused a lot of drama that may have occurred in the dressing room .
If we dp have a top five player in the NBA we have a top 5 player who is motivated to get a lot of $$$ this summer and he may lead this bunch to extraordinary things . The things he does may not show in the ESPN highlight package but he will be the Anker to one of the top defenses in the NBA .
I do think and don't know if anyone will agree but this is either going to be a great risk the GM did and we are going to see a magical season or this might blow up in his face.
Well Leonard will lead by example ... Lowry will have no part of leadership and so I can see a guy like Fred maybe saying I will take it if nobody wants it ... Fred can only lead the young core .... Ibaka is friggin moody and won't be lead by someone . Like I said ... This is either going to go really well or it's going to be a gong show .. I think Masai will have to be more hands on in the leadership department to help Nurse out .rg: My thinking is Danny Green has the personality to replace DeRozan. He is a veteran and everything I read about him is positive. Now we just have to have him show us he can get the job done here!
If Ibaka and Miles perform to their "billing(s)" this team will be one of the deepest in the league. The bench has to show us that last year was not a one year thing.
If we get the D we expect from Leonard and it becomes contagious this team should be able to play successfully against anyone. If is such a big word!
Press Interviews with Nurse, Lowry, Leonard Masai and Green, are on the Raptors site. IMO pretty lame! Dumb ass media trying to make the players say something that will get them in shit!Lowry should shut the hell up. He's a 32 year old unathletic PG that's being paid $33/year. No other team would come close to paying him that. How he was an All-Star the last four years is beyond me.
https://www.si.com/nba/2018/09/05/kyle-lowry-raptors-masai-ujiri-demar-derozan-kawhi-leonard-spurs
Thank you so much !!! This organization gave him a 33 million dollar contract and they were bidding against themselves cause nobody else was going to give him that coin ... He wasn't a all star when he came to T.O and was just a PG that couldn't stay in one place ... He has been miserable since he got here ... I would honestly love wake up and here he has been traded ...Lowry should shut the hell up. He's a 32 year old unathletic PG that's being paid $33/year. No other team would come close to paying him that. How he was an All-Star the last four years is beyond me.
https://www.si.com/nba/2018/09/05/kyle-lowry-raptors-masai-ujiri-demar-derozan-kawhi-leonard-spurs
Lowry is so fake when he talks ... Just generic answers ... You know shit like I am going to give my 100 percent .... Is it just me but when Nurse speaks he gives me no confidence as a fan ... He is so unqualified to get the keys to this team ... He maybe a great X & O's but he maybe not ready to deal with drama that Lowry and Lenard my present to him ... Stackhouse with Nurse as an assistant would have been better but you know Nurse would not have take an assistant rolePress Interviews with Nurse, Lowry, Leonard Masai and Green, are on the Raptors site. IMO pretty lame! Dumb ass media trying to make the players say something that will get them in shit!
For the second straight day, Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry declined to speak to the media following the team’s practiceRG I have mixed thoughts on a lot of levels. I am fine with KLO at this point. Thought he handled the asshole press well. Thought they were just trying to create comments that would give them a bull shit story. Surprised they haven't called the players and coaches mommies looking for stories. Nurse has a lot to overcome. He takes over from a popular and successful coach. He has to win at least close to 60 games and then advance deep into the playoffs to have what most would consider a successful season. As an assistant, he was mentor and friend to a lot of the players. As a head coach he is now the BOSS! and he may not be appreciated when he gets on someone's ass. Should be interesting. My belief is that Masai wanted someone from outside the Raptor organization as head coach and couldn't find a taker that he believed could get the job done. My thoughts are it will be an interesting year and once the season is over the drama will continue.
Dawg, nothing it that game made me less excited for the year. KL and KLo both looked good together and KL looked no worse for wear. Other 13 guys seem ready for the season already so a good starting point. D was already evidently better and that's going to be better too. Again 3 weeks to get it up a notch but I think Raps nation has got to be getting as excited as Leafs nation. Still TBD but man, it might be a lot of fun this year.....anyone watch the game last night? I saw parts of it and kind of liked what I saw. Thought the chemistry was good. Hard to judge how good or bad things are watching an exhibition game.