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The 2013-2014 Toronto Raptors thread: A 'Drake' New World

I actually watched some of the game last night. Nice to see them being competitive again. That said, I wonder if it's counter productive to Ujiri's plan.
 
Well, if anyone was waiting for a game to see what the Valanciunas hype was about tonight might have been the night. True it was against the Knicks but 16 points, 18 rebounds(including 7 offensive boards) and good interior defense all night.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Well, if anyone was waiting for a game to see what the Valanciunas hype was about tonight might have been the night. True it was against the Knicks but 16 points, 18 rebounds(including 7 offensive boards) and good interior defense all night.
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Going up against Tyson Chandler too. 
Bargnani actually had a fairly decent game with 18 points 12 boards against his former team.

 
L K said:
Bargnani actually had a fairly decent game with 18 points 12 boards against his former team.
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The rebounds and help defense were impressive and spoke to him probably wanting to beat the Raptors but 18 points on 6-17 shooting is the Bargnani I'm ok with seeing the back of.
 
Any team can win a single game but Masai Ujiri is getting put in a very difficult position in terms of what to do with Kyle Lowry.  The Raptors beat the Pacers 95-82 to win their 4th game in a row.  The Pacers were 25-5 coming into the game and are the top seed in the East.

Terrence Ross is starting to play with more confidence and is looking good in the starting lineup.  Good defense and his shot is starting to look like a legitimate threat.

Valanciunas is getting more touches and looks considerably more dangerous. Right now his aggressive play is being hampered by foul trouble but I think as he continues to play this way that he's going to start getting more of those calls in his favour instead.

9-3 since the trade and the Raptors regained a .500 record at 15-15.  Not that it really matters but they legitimately have the 4th best record in the East now too.
 
Another dismantling of a division rival.  Raptors win their 5th game in a row after beating the Wizards.  Dwayne Casey also won Coach of the Month for December. 
 
93-85 win over Dallas last night.

Derozan with 40 points.

Mavericks players, Vince Carter booed, Jose Calderon cheered ( pre-game ovation).

More here:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/basketball/nba/game/1349959/recap/
 
Great game last night, seat-of-the-pants ending and all.  Lowry played great.  I don't understand basketball, I guess, since resigning him seems like a no-brainer.

But I have to say, last night Chuck Hayes was absolutely brutal.  I know he's basically the 11'th man and expectations for him are limited, but there was one sequence in the third quarter where he was on the floor and, not coincidentally, the Raptors blew a 9 point lead, looked like he was a recreational basketball player.  Fouls, turnovers, missed assignment, mishandling the ball.  And this was in four minutes, maybe. 

Anyway, I know somebody has to fill that limited role off the bench and that you're not going to Dwight Howard to do it.  But, holy mackeral, Hayes is terrible.
 
A Weekend at Bernier's said:
Great game last night, seat-of-the-pants ending and all.  Lowry played great.  I don't understand basketball, I guess, since resigning him seems like a no-brainer.

But I have to say, last night Chuck Hayes was absolutely brutal.  I know he's basically the 11'th man and expectations for him are limited, but there was one sequence in the third quarter where he was on the floor and, not coincidentally, the Raptors blew a 9 point lead, looked like he was a recreational basketball player.  Fouls, turnovers, missed assignment, mishandling the ball.  And this was in four minutes, maybe. 

Anyway, I know somebody has to fill that limited role off the bench and that you're not going to Dwight Howard to do it.  But, holy mackeral, Hayes is terrible.
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It's worth mentioning, though, that Hayes is really only in the role at all because of the injury to Tyler Hansborough. With everyone healthy he's probably a DNP.
 
Nik the Trik said:
A Weekend at Bernier's said:
Great game last night, seat-of-the-pants ending and all.  Lowry played great.  I don't understand basketball, I guess, since resigning him seems like a no-brainer.

But I have to say, last night Chuck Hayes was absolutely brutal.  I know he's basically the 11'th man and expectations for him are limited, but there was one sequence in the third quarter where he was on the floor and, not coincidentally, the Raptors blew a 9 point lead, looked like he was a recreational basketball player.  Fouls, turnovers, missed assignment, mishandling the ball.  And this was in four minutes, maybe. 

Anyway, I know somebody has to fill that limited role off the bench and that you're not going to Dwight Howard to do it.  But, holy mackeral, Hayes is terrible.
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It's worth mentioning, though, that Hayes is really only in the role at all because of the injury to Tyler Hansborough. With everyone healthy he's probably a DNP.
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Hayes has a role on the team when they play slow guys who he can match physicality against.  He would be fine in brief minutes against a Roy Hibbert/Joakim Noah type where Hayes can match their physicality.  Right now though, he looks like Oliver Miller out there.

Lowry was a man on a mission last night.  It's going to be a real interesting decision from MU on whether they bring him back or trade him.  The Raptors should get decent value for him (although there really aren't a lot of teams in desperate need for a starting PG right now) but they would be very hard pressed to replace him in the next year or two. 

At 23-21, bottoming out in the draft is over and done with.  New Orleans, Sacramento, Utah, Orlando, Philly and Boston are going full tank mode so at best the Raptors drop into a remote chance of a top pick and then you have a big hole next year. 

Unfortunately at the same time, Amir Johnson has looked awful in January.  I don't know if he is hurt, or if Casey's system of pulling him away from the basket is the problem but I think PG and PF are the priority positions for the Raptors moving forward.
 
Nik the Trik said:
A Weekend at Bernier's said:
Great game last night, seat-of-the-pants ending and all.  Lowry played great.  I don't understand basketball, I guess, since resigning him seems like a no-brainer.

But I have to say, last night Chuck Hayes was absolutely brutal.  I know he's basically the 11'th man and expectations for him are limited, but there was one sequence in the third quarter where he was on the floor and, not coincidentally, the Raptors blew a 9 point lead, looked like he was a recreational basketball player.  Fouls, turnovers, missed assignment, mishandling the ball.  And this was in four minutes, maybe. 

Anyway, I know somebody has to fill that limited role off the bench and that you're not going to Dwight Howard to do it.  But, holy mackeral, Hayes is terrible.
Click to expand...

It's worth mentioning, though, that Hayes is really only in the role at all because of the injury to Tyler Hansborough. With everyone healthy he's probably a DNP.
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Agreed, bang on, Nik.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Demar Derozan named to the All-Star team for his first appearance in the big game.
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It's deserved.  If Derozan can't go, I hope Lowry is his replacement.
 
Derozan fumbled the final play in a failed comeback against Portland.  That was quite possibly the worst basketball game I have ever watched.  The refs made the game entirely about themselves.  Fitting that it was the first night with "Adam Silver" signed basketballs.  Good way to start the new Commissioner era off with terrible officiating.
 
OldTimeHockey said:
Holy crap? And a technical? Wow! We thought NHL refs were bad.
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That Ref should be tarred, feathered, and placed in a room full of tigers; man that call was idiotic.  :o
 
Potvin29 said:
Spider said:
OldTimeHockey said:
Holy crap? And a technical? Wow! We thought NHL refs were bad.
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That Ref should be tarred, feathered, and placed in a room full of tigers; man that call was idiotic.  :o
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So, this happened: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/nba-kyle-lowry-offensive-foul-call-raptors-kings/
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From the video/link commentary:
So the icing on the cake? Running away from the referee apparently was worthy of a technical foul. And that was Lowry?s sixth, meaning he fouled out with his team down six points and 25.5 seconds left. And the Kings had the ball and a free throw.

So he ran from the referee??!!  That's a foul, his sixth, game over.  Huh, what??!! 
 
Raptors defeat the Atlanta Hawks last night 104-83, highlighted by DeMar DeRozan's 31pts.  Last home game before the All-Star break.

Source:  Sportsnet
 
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