It's never too early to discuss Raptors 2019-2020

[Dawgger]

Powell and Thomas might be this week and Gasol and pascal are still 2-3 weeks out minimum. From various twit accounts from raps reporters during news scrums. Been a battle with all the missing bodies, but while skill level has fallen dramatically, effort and approach still laudable and Defense is still the backbone. When offense returns we'll be better off for it. Just gotta hang in there with what we've got. Let's go raps!

Thanks for the update. Hope Powell doesn't come back too soon. Thomas, if he was anywhere near form, would have been a help vs Miami.
I still don't understand why the Raps aren't putting out updates. Not saying they have to say much more than day to day or week to week but there is just no information on the injured "stars". There is some information on Thomas and other reserves but the players that eat up minutes, notta to not much!

 

[basketcase]

Crazy season with the injuries. Might even make it hard to trade guys if Masai wants to blow things up.

 

[basketcase]

Surprised no negative comments after that stinker in Miami!
...

I'm always amazed when pro players have trouble adjusting to zone defenses. Maimi's obviously put some real work into polishing their zone positioning and rotations but most these guys spend half their life playing against zones and teams have enough scouting that both should know what to expect.

 

[Dawgger]

Fred VanVleet is also injured. Hamstring. No word how long he is going to be out. This is what relentless 40 minute playing time by front line players does to a team - decimation.

Knew he left the game but yesterday was the first time I heard ham string and once again no time line from the Raptors as to how long he may be out. Hamstring could be a while!

If this was playoff time or there was an obvious need to play key players 40 minutes or more per game ,I would understand but the extended minutes for the elite players is starting to bite the Raptors in the ass. Nurse does a lot of things well, but managing players minutes is suspect. What happened to "Load Management"? Thought it was a Raptor invention

 

[Dawgger]

A rag tag Raptors team had battled Portland, with 3 All Stars, to a standstill at 99-99 with 20.1 seconds to go when Pat McCaw got the ball. He promptly threw a hard errand pass towards Kyle Lowry. Portland gets the ball and Melo makes game winning shot with 3.3 seconds to go. Game over.

McCaw played 36 minutes, went 2-8, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 points. McCaw, one of the worst Raptors of all time who cost the Raptors the game, despite impressive 12 points each from Canadians Oshae Brissett and Chris Boucher, will no doubt continue to command affection and huge playing minutes from Nick Nurse. Amazing.

On the other ledger, Lillard made 3 ridiculously long bombs down the stretch. But Portland is only 16-22 because he can be wildly inconsistent. Melo is making a surprisingly (to me) great contribution to Portland.

McCaw is not that bad defensively, offensively he is a nightmare. OG plays good D but his offense is inconsistent,could use some more scoring from him as well.

Thought the non call on the moving pick was huge. That call would take 2 points off the board and give the raps the ball, not sure if the Raps would have gone to the line or not but either way, IMO it was a huge difference maker.

 

[wonkyknee]

with Leonard gone, Siakam, Gasol, Powell and Van Vleet all out for a couple weeks, it could get ugly. gonna take a nap and wake up in February and see where we stand.

 

[dick.assman]

McCaw is not that bad defensively, offensively he is a nightmare. OG plays good D but his offense is inconsistent,could use some more scoring from him as well.

Thought the non call on the moving pick was huge. That call would take 2 points off the board and give the raps the ball, not sure if the Raps would have gone to the line or not but either way, IMO it was a huge difference maker.

That and Lowry was clearly fouled by Simons on a drive in the dying minutes.

 

[KarlOrff]

McCaw is not that bad defensively, offensively he is a nightmare. OG plays good D but his offense is inconsistent,could use some more scoring from him as well.

Thought the non call on the moving pick was huge. That call would take 2 points off the board and give the raps the ball, not sure if the Raps would have gone to the line or not but either way, IMO it was a huge difference maker.

Blazers had a foul to give, so RHJ would not have gone to the line, but still a turnover in possession

 

[New World]

Driving to the basket, laying down thunderous stare-down dunks and shooting countless free throws, Demar Derozan scored 25 points, and the Spurs overcame an 18-point lead by the Raptors for a one-point victory. Norm Powell and Pascal both returned from injury. Norm was sharp but Pascal not so much, including missing a point blank layup that would have tied the game with a couple of seconds left. You win some you lose, I guess

Demar to Masai: " I hate San Antonio I need to be back in Toronto"

 

[gcostanza]

Not Raptors, but WNBA news:

https://www.thestar.com/sports/bask...s-reach-tentative-eight-year-labour-deal.html

 

[gfelover]

... And with the return of the Big Spain, boys end this 10 gamer 5-5 with all the hoopla of Christmas, and I hear, some injuries. Interesting stretch with the wacky combinations and tough opponents. Scraped through valiantly and tonight, for moments, showed what we can look forward to in the second half if we can stay healthy. Still ways to go but hope springs eternal. Next stretch is a 10 in 17 days. While strength of opponents is favorable (76ers and Spurs tuffest) it'll be a grind especially since guys are just coming back. Hope they can start building some momentum....lets go Raptors!!!

 

[catherinetog]

Welcome back, Marc Gasol! Franchise record 140 in regular season!

Congratulations!

Let's go, Raptors!

Http://catherinetognewblog.blogspot.com
Https://www.theredzone.com/to/catherine
Ph: 6478874834
Email: catherinetoglee@gmail.com

 

[Insidious Von]

Marc Gasol looks like the Grizzlies version now. Last year he had a grueling schedule, winning both the NBA Title and the FIBA World Cup. That hamstring injury has been a blessing in disguise.

And I was the one who was critical on trading JV.

 

[K Douglas]

Marc Gasol looks like the Grizzlies version now. Last year he had a grueling schedule, winning both the NBA Title and the FIBA World Cup. That hamstring injury has been a blessing in disguise.

And I was the one who was critical on trading JV.

At the outset I thought that trade by Ujiri would turn out to be one of the best moves he ever did for this franchise. I don't think I am wrong - JV is still there but Delon Wright moved on to Dallas where he is buried behind Luka on the depth chart.

 

[Dawgger]

Marc Gasol looks like the Grizzlies version now. Last year he had a grueling schedule, winning both the NBA Title and the FIBA World Cup. That hamstring injury has been a blessing in disguise.

And I was the one who was critical on trading JV.

I wasn't big on the trade either. Initially I thought they gave up too much but hindsight often beats foresight.
I think his age does show and managing his minutes may be key as to how far the Raps go in the playoffs. The fresher and healthier he is the better the Raps will be.
Freddy showed he is back last night and one would have to believe Kyle just got a bruise the other night as the two kicked ass against the Twolves.

 

[basketcase]

Marc Gasol looks like the Grizzlies version now....

I think he was picked up explicitly for covering Embid. But yes, now that everyone else is healthy, he should take a break.

 

[Insidious Von]

The Raptors let opposing teams back into games, maybe they like the struggle. Silly foul on VanVleet - Norm is playing like I've never seen him before. Are the Raptors affiliated with GoDaddy? They've solved that problem by letting Mugsy do the promos - and a fine job he's doing.

Steve Simmons is an asshole. He wrote that Drake is a jock sniffer who let Kawhi and Paul George conspire under his nose. That's harsh, Kawhi had the keys to Drake LA home but I doubt that Drake knew about his plans.

 

[Dawgger]

The Raptors let opposing teams back into games, maybe they like the struggle. Silly foul on VanVleet - Norm is playing like I've never seen him before. Are the Raptors affiliated with GoDaddy? They've solved that problem by letting Mugsy do the promos - and a fine job he's doing.

Steve Simmons is an asshole. He wrote that Drake is a jock sniffer who let Kawhi and Paul George conspire under his nose. That's harsh, Kawhi had the keys to Drake LA home but I doubt that Drake knew about his plans.

Raptors knock off 76ers. Should have been a lot easier than it was but a W is a W. Raptors will get better once Siakim returns to form, last night his perimeter shooting was awful and that is pretty much the way it has been since his return from injury. Freddy looks deadly and Powell appears to be for real.

I.V. I gave up on the print media in Toronto years ago. Just a group of dolts with inflated egos giving you their opinion and often, trying to represent it as fact. There are no Milt Ds George Gs or Dick Bs left. My guess is you are old enough to recall those sports editors of the Star Sun and Globe.

 

[Insidious Von]

I.V. I gave up on the print media in Toronto years ago. Just a group of dolts with inflated egos giving you their opinion and often, trying to represent it as fact. There are no Milt Ds George Gs or Dick Bs left. My guess is you are old enough to recall those sports editors of the Star Sun and Globe.

Jim Shackey Hunt was my favorite and I remember Jack Donohue first bringing basketball to prominence in Canada. He had as much to do with it as Vince Carter. I'm calling Clippers vs Raptors NBA Final....YEAH!

 

[Insidious Von]

Congratulations to Spicy P for making the All Star selection. His hot sauce formula is complete, one of the 16 ingredients is dry mustard....YEAH!