Well, fuck...that's it for this season. Can't for the life of me figure out how this happened, but I could tell right from their first possession that Lowry wasn't going to play aggressively and set the tone like he did for games 3 and 4. That's the only way they're going to beat good teams, and a couple other players were even quoted declaring that as Lowry goes, so the Raps go.

So why didn't Lowry do what he did the previous two games? Was he tired?

As the game started Jack Armstrong praised Siakam for his play in the two previous games, that he wasn't just standing around playing iso ball, which he isn't good enough (yet?) to pull off. But that's exactly what he did this game. Why did the entire team seem to fall back into the game plan of the first two losses?

It's one thing to go down fighting, but this was a weird mental collapse and shoddy defense. Very disappointing.

And now they come right back and play their guts out for a win in double OT. I don't know what to think anymore. These wild swings are wreaking havoc with my state of mental equilibrium, but what a ride this is.

Vegas is outshooting and outplaying Dallas a lot like they outplayed Vancouver. Maybe Vegas is simply unstoppable.

EDIT - oops. Wrong thread.

Maybe gonna use your crystal ball as a perfect "reverse barometer" like most NBA commentators' predictions. Got any stock market tips - buy or sell? ;-)

The Raps in 7, the so-called 'home' team in this series is due to win one. Hopefully neither of us has a heart-attack Friday night lol.

Announcer on airport speakers: Mr. Siakam...? Mr. Siakam? Your flight is boarding at Game 7... excuse me... Gate 7.

Haven't paid too much attention. It's been all Lakers, Clippers and, Bucks when I have. Has there been opinions on the Raptors?

They won 3 of 4. I think they have Boston figured out. They just all, collectively, have to play well.

Anti-climactic loss after the all-time great playoff game that was game 6. They went out with a whimper, and Boston's greater talent won out.

Impressions:

1. Jayson Tatum is a lot better than Pascal Siakam. Tatum is an emerging superstar, while Pascal may have reached his ceiling. Though if he does improve next year Toronto will remain a very good playoff team, if not a contender.
2. There's no way that Kyle Lowry can play with this intensity for another year. I think he peaked over the past two seasons, and was clearly burnt out against Boston. He wasn't able to muster up the fortitude to be the go-to guy to win games 5 and 7 because he was playing at the limit of his physical capabilities.
3. Can anyone remind me of when Gasol was good? Because he was crap, and I think he gets a sizable portion of the blame for the playoff flame-out. So many missed shots, so much awful defence (still astounds me that he was the Defensive Player of the Year once--he must have been a very different player back when he won that).

My pride wants me to say that the Celtics have to win the whole thing if they were good enough to beat the Raps, but the truth is that they probably can't beat either of the Los Angeles teams in a 7-game series.

Oh well... it was a good run.
At least they won it all last year.

The worst part is Toronto losing to another Boston team. It's gotten annoying.

The Celtics have a good shot at making the finals, which could add to the already extremely spoiled Boston sports fanbase over the last 20 years.

And now who do you cheer for?
Smart and Kawhi looking good.

A.B.L.A.L (anyone but Los Angeles Lakers. Can't stand their bandwagon fans)

Agreed. As a Raptors fan, Clippers and Boston.

Can't stand Theis but I do respect Smart, reminds me of Lowry.

Id argue Raptors could have won the series had Nick Nurse given Matt Thomas substantial minutes in the first two games. Along with subbing Rondae in for Gasol.

The Celtics won by forcing the Raptors to play a perimeter style game, except Matt Thomas wouldve actually been up to this task. Imagine if everytime Gasol attempted a 3 point shot, or Siakam/Powell missed a layup, they had passed to Thomas at the 3 point line instead.

I guess now I'll follow the Clippers or Nuggets. I still like Kawhi and Denver has Murray.

Agreed on both for same reasons.

Karma bites Kawhi in the keister and the preseason championship favourites get ousted from the WC finals after being up 3-1. The schadenfreude makes up somewhat for the bitterness of the Raps losing to Boston (and the Raps losing Kawhi a year ago--I only hold grudges in sports, nothing else).
e.
I'm a Denver fan now. The Kitchener native Murray is a star, and they're a fun team to watch. Jokic is just an amazing passer. One of the ESPN play-by-play guys said he was already the best passing centre of all time.

It occurred to me tonight that with the bubble the game has been pared down to its bare essence without the fans and the cheerleaders and all the other fanfare nonsense, and I like it. There's a satisfying purity to the experience if you're a true fan of the game, though I can certainly see how fair weather fans might find the experience wanting.

Nice to see Kelly Olynyk from Kamloops BC in the NBA finals.

Raptors will be starting the 2020-2021 season in Tampa Bay.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/st...46469168336897

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https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball...ence-1.5809117

'Expect to win': Canadian men's basketball team ready to take next step

The men's team hasn't even qualified for the Tokyo Games yet. It must win a six-team last-chance tournament in Victoria, B.C., beginning June 29 to book its first Olympic ticket since 2000.

...

Whether Canadian men's basketball is in its so-called golden era is questionable. Some say yes, while others argue that there's more coming. According to Rowan Barrett's projections, there could be 35-40 Canadian NBA players by 2025. This past season, 21 Canadians were on NBA rosters.

There was a whole week during the NBA playoffs where Canadians dominated the league. Jamal Murray was putting up 50 points in elimination games. Lu Dort was coming out of nowhere for OKC to guard James Harden on one end and score 30 in Game 7 on the other. Steve Nash was named head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Outside of the U.S., no country boasted more NBA players during the 2019-20 season.

Serge Ibaka leaves Toronto to go join back up with Kawhi.

Not surprised that we didn't sign him, VanVleet was a good deal but still leaves us in a tougher spot to keep significant cap space for next years free agency. I am surprised how little he got from the Clippers. He's a big personality though and I think he has his eye on some form of a career in entertainment after basketball so he may have taken an LA discount.

Glad he got a ring with the Raptors, best of luck to him.

First impressions after a disappointing opening night:

1. Kyle Lowry is still the heart and soul of this team. Shame it's probably inevitable that he'll get traded during the season in order to get something of value instead of letting him walk for nothing this summer.

2. I don't think Pascal Siakam has reached his ceiling yet. The prospect of him turning into a top ten player in the league this year is tantalizing.

3. Love the progress of Chris Boucher. The man has always had confidence, and now he's bringin' the goods on the offensive side as a backup.

4. Fred VanVleet is good, but he's no Kyle Lowry.

5. Aaron Baynes is no Ibaka or Gasol. The downgrade at the centre position is gonna hurt the Raps this year.

6. We're all waiting for Anunoby's offensive game to show up. Will it ever? I personally don't understand why everyone is so high on him.

7. I'd like to see more of Terence Davis.

8. There was a distinct lack of gumption on the team. We're used to seeing them bend but not break when the other team makes a run, but tonight was the first time in years that they went down with a whimper in the second half. I guess we'll have to get used to that this year.

9. It's an odd feeling being on the other side of the championship mountain. It's not as exciting, but you still look for small mercies in the form of player improvements and breakthroughs.

Yeah, they suck now. Whether they can get out of this early season slump and salvage the season remains to be seen.

I was too hard on Fred, I think. He's playing well. I really don't like Aron Baynes, though. He's useless. Alex Len has been their best big so far, and I don't know why Coach Nurse doesn't start him instead.

I've given up on OG Anunoby. I don't see any sign that he's going to get better. Wouldn't mind seeing him as part of a trade.

Seems what I said back in December about the centre position was spot on. The loss of Gasol and Ibaka has left a cavernous hole in the roster. I wouldn't be surprised if Normal Powell and OG Anunoby get traded for a big that can rebound and be a presence on defense.

Gasol couldn't shoot the ball and he knew that, but what he provided was D and leadership. Serge was well liked and an impact player. And of course Kawhi was the God of impact players. All those pieces missing and I guess this is what happens.

Pascal is a very good player but he doesn't have that "presence" on the court.

I'm no ball expert so I won't pretend I can coach better than Nurse but I can give my observations. When Norm was killing it last year, he still didn't get the minutes you'd think. Same with Boucher this year and last. And before that, Poetl. Though Poetl seemed kind of soft so not someone you would want to give starters minutes to and I think if he played more minutes, that high FG% of his (based on small sample size) would drop. You could also question why Serge didn't start and play more minutes than Gasol but Gasol does bring a lot to the table, but not the same stats Serge could bring. Serge would be a starter on the vast majority of teams. Full credit to him for accepting his role and still pumping up the guys with his fashion game and cooking show.

Having said that, there are reasons to play certain guys with other guys at certain points of the game. It's not a matter of putting the 5 guys with the best FG% on the floor or the 5 tallest guys at each position, etc. But I said this before and I'll say it again, I think Nurse is like many other coaches who think they are the smartest guy in the room and goes against the most conventional way of thinking. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. That's one of the great challenges of coaching. A prime example in soccer was "best coach in the world" Pep Guardiola leaving out his best impact player, Thomas Muller aka the Space Interpreter in the Champions League return leg against Barcelona because he didn't fit in with Pep's plan on how to counter Barca's style of play. Or as a GM Gretzky not taking Crosby to the big ice of the 2006 Olympics in Europe and taking more guys with physicality that probably wasn't going to translate well on that ice and that's exactly what happened. But Wayne did admit he screwed up afterward and I appreciated that.

I don't watch games live anymore. Just highlights and box scores. I haven't watched extended periods of live basketball for many years now. Not like back in the day when I could watch a Raps game from start to finish so what I am saying is not super informed but is my best observation and opinion.

OG is a very quiet guy like Wiggins. I had low expectations for both those guys because I notice a trend of pro athletes in emotional sports where guys who lack passion and aggression to fuflill their potential. A guy like Kawhi however, has what those guys don't. All around game and that "presence" I mentioned. A guy like Stockton was quiet but he stuck to what he did best, which was dish the ball out to the guys to finish the play.

I was hoping Wiggins would be a volume scorer and maybe win a championship with a superstar that actually has those intangibles he is missing. But it turns out I don't think he is aggressive enough to get to the rim and pile up more of those points. OG I was hoping would be a defensive specialist but again, I think he's missing that aggressiveness to be a consistently great shot blocker and rebounder.