Basketball in Canada

[megadude]

The game 3 loss was massive. Heartbreaking loss in OT. The absence of Scottie Barnes for a couple of games could have been a real X factor. It's quite possible that if he plays game 3 then the Raps win that and it's totally different series. Fred was also out two games, including last night. I think he's overrated, but who knows, maybe it's a different game with him. They were basically tied at HT afterall. Shades of Leafs Habs last year with JT and Muzzin missing. I get that feeling of what could have been. Luck is such a big part of sports.

I had a conversation with my bro a couple of years ago about the ridiculous number of Raptor legends, all stars and fan favourites. In the past 25 years + we've had so many of those guys compared to most franchises in the league. I'm sure some other teams have their Bismack Biyombo's and what not that we don't know about because we're not local to that market, but I feel like the Raps have had so many, many guys to latch on to. Scottie Barnes became a fan fave by like his third game in the league but you can now add him to the list of ROY with Mighty Mouse and VC. One day I should compile a list of all these guys.

Haven't had an MVP or DPOY but COY, EOY, Sixth Man, ROY, Dunk Contest, 3 Point Contest, MIPOY. And just a bunch of likeable guys. It's an easy team to like.

And something else I want to throw in here. I said this a while back here. Last year or the year before. Steve Nash does not feel like a coach. They were the title favourites and BKN gets swept in the first round. They had challenges through the year but they got lots of talent. Whatever issues they have, it shouldn't result in a four game sweep.

Now, I'm liking the new NBA over the past three years where it's not just big markets or loaded teams making the finals. There's more parity. So it's not surprising to see the Nets not go far, but out after four games is bad.

They have a window to win after getting an aging and injured Durant. So I was shocked that they hired a coaching noob. I love Steve, but he's not a real coach! Doesn't have the personality for that. At the same time, you don't need to get a long time, big name coach. Just someone with some coaching chops in the league, even if an assistant. Though that assistant would have to have a HC type personality. So not Luke Walton. Just because you're the son of an NBA legend and you were an assistant for the GSW does not mean you'll be a good HC. He just does not have the personality or demeanor.

[Acajack]

There was a rare mention of the Raptors at the tail end of the sports segment on my local radio station this morning. And no it wasn't a dig. It was actually sympathetic.

The sportscaster mentioned the score and then added: "just so people know, in basketball terms that's a hell of a blowout".

#QuebecBasketballCulture

[TorontoDrew]

I would have been more upset about last nights loss if I thought we had a great team this year. I still have my Leafs to watch now, and I'm more excited about the Jays this year who are at the moment looking like one of the top MLB teams this year based on the stats our players stacked up in the tail end of last years season.

See you in the fall Raptors.

[samne]

Great season and Raptors exceeded expectations. I would’ve said making it to the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment at the beginning of the season. This roster had no business getting fifth seed and then actually made a bit of a series out of it. No complaints.

Jays and Leafs now.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There was a rare mention of the Raptors at the tail end of the sports segment on my local radio station this morning. And no it wasn't a dig. It was actually sympathetic.

The sportscaster mentioned the score and then added: "just so people know, in basketball terms that's a hell of a blowout".

#QuebecBasketballCulture

This thought certainly came to mind by the 4th quarter:




Still, this is a franchise in the midst of a rebuild - no one even expected them to make the playoffs this year, let alone as the 5th seeded team in the East and to then put up a good 6-game fight against an objectively better opponent. The second half of last night's game notwithstanding, I'm pleased with their performance and excited to see all these young players continue to grow.

[WhipperSnapper]

Call me surprised by the blowout losses. They had an unexpected but, incredible second half of the season. The pressure got to them in the first few games.

[Denscity]

They got knocked by getting blown out in their own building? That's not how you want to end the year too bad.

[suburbanite]

Even though the final result was disappointing, they were playing with house money already.

Those missed free throws at the end of game 3 really hurt now though...

[megadude]

Just saw Jamal Magloire (in Raps workout gear) at the Longo's beside the ACC. I've seen him a couple times around the ACC the past ten years or so because he played for the Raps and then became a coach.

Since he was waiting for a pizza and I was too, I joked around and said Hey, the season is over, you coaching the Leafs now? He chuckled and said yeah. I then mentioned that I saw him once over 20 years ago at a club in Markham... Shang-... He jumped in and said Shangri-La, while nodding his head and smiling. Good memory.

I must say, every time I've seen this 7 footer, he really did not stick out as much as I'd think for being that tall. I think it's a psychological thing. When you know who that person is it doesn't feel surprising to see someone that tall. If I saw a random stranger that tall then I think I would say woah! Mo-Pete is 6'7, so not a giant but still tall. When I passed by him lining up at a club Downtown, again, I don't remember thinking of him as tall and standing out way above everyone else. I just thought, hey, cool, that's Mo-Pete... lining up at a club for some reason and not just walking in straight to a booth.

I remember a couple of times seeing like 2-3 guys, 6' plus, in peak physical condition dressed in suits close to the ACC or at the airport and thinking how much they stood out. I did not know who they were. But then I thought they must be hockey players so I look up the team the Leafs are playing or just played and I confirmed those guys were on the roster. So, because I didn't know who they were, they stood out much more.

[rousseau]

Big shout out to Andrew Wiggins. If the Raptors win in 2019 was Canada's greatest hoops moment, his MVP performance in last night's win and overall key role in Golden State's playoff run toward what's looking like a title will make him a strong contender for Canada's greatest basketball player.

You could argue that Steve Nash still holds that distinction, but for me, championships trump everything. Nash never won it all, nor did he ever make it to the finals. And his two regular season MVP awards were highly debatable as well.

The postseason success has gotta be really gratifying for Wiggins, who's always been dogged by accusations of not living up to his potential and being too passive and complacent. He was the rookie of the year in 2014-15, but after an upward swing for a couple more seasons his progress seemed to stall, and they were getting frustrated with him in Minnesota. Being traded to Golden State gave him a new lease on life.

[suburbanite]

Bad take. I'm loving watching the Wiggins resurgence but it has literally been ~30 games. Consecutive MVPs is undoubtedly a more significant achievement than winning a championship on this generation's biggest dynasty.

The fetishizing of rings is one of the worst things the modern sports media has cemented in its coverage of the NBA.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Bad take. I'm loving watching the Wiggins resurgence but it has literally been ~30 games. Consecutive MVPs is undoubtedly a more significant achievement than winning a championship on this generation's biggest dynasty.

The fetishizing of rings is one of the worst things the modern sports media has cemented in its coverage of the NBA.

+1

It's easier to play well on the best team in years versus putting a good team on you back and into the playoffs every year.
Plus Wiggins is famous for not showing up for his country the most.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Bad take. I'm loving watching the Wiggins resurgence but it has literally been ~30 games. Consecutive MVPs is undoubtedly a more significant achievement than winning a championship on this generation's biggest dynasty.

The fetishizing of rings is one of the worst things the modern sports media has cemented in its coverage of the NBA.

Again, those two MVPs Nash won were highly controversial.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...otly%20debated.

Wiggins hasn't simply signed on to winning (potentially) a title by joining a dynasty, he's a key reason that they're even in it. Without him they would not have made it to the finals.

Plus, what on earth does "fetishizing" rings mean? That's the entire point of playing. Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Karl Malone were all great players who will be in the hall of fame, but their greatness comes with an asterisk: no titles. As does Steve Nash's.

Someone on here keeps bringing up a woman's basketball team from a hundred years ago that won a lot of games, which is of course a nice achievement. But the Raptors are Canada's greatest hoops team because they won the NBA title. There's really no argument against that.

Okay, you can do an extreme thought experiment and argue that the best player on a team that loses the finals ten times in a row is better than a key player on a one-time winner. But that's not what we're dealing with here.

Nash had many great seasons, and is highly ranked, without question. But did he ever lead the team to a title? No.

Titles are trump cards. I'm not saying that Wiggins is now better than Barkley, Stockton and Malone, mind you. They do actually pose a problem to my position vis-a-vis said thought experiment. But Nash, good as he was, was always overrated. As much as I despise our current era of woke race-huckstering, he got disproportionate plaudits partly for being a successful white guy, something that's blindingly obvious in retrospect.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Denscity

+1

It's easier to play well on the best team in years versus putting a good team on you back and into the playoffs every year.
Plus Wiggins is famous for not showing up for his country the most.

You don't know anything about basketball, and you're clearly a fan-boy because someone from BC popped up on the radar, but I'll explain something to you:

Point guards do not put teams on their backs by passing. They do it by scoring. You can be the world's greatest passer, but that means squat if your teammates don't score.

There are very valuable players out there with singular talents for rebounding, passing, blocking shots or setting screens, and you need those guys, but the only player that carries a team to a win is the guy who can score when you need it most.

Steve Nash wasn't that guy.

[Coldrsx]

Reed Clarke, MBA• 2ndPresident at Edmonton Stingers Professional Basketball Club1d • 1 day ago
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Huge shout out to all the Edmonton Stingers fans and partners who attended and contributed to our first ever Sell Out in team history.

#yegbasketball is alive and well!

...and were just getting started!

[megadude]

I made multiple posts here about Wiggins saying so much of the same thing. Not about the greatest though. But I said I wish he didn't go to Kansas because Bill Self is not the kind of guy to bring the beast out of him, which was glaringly apparent when he took like five shots total in their early round loss in the tournament. I wish he went to UNC under Roy Williams.

It's obvious he's not the kind of guy to lead his team as a star. He's more like a second or third star option. I said I was very happy he got traded to GSW where he would have no pressure to be "the guy" and could observe and emulate the kind of intensity shown from Steph and Draymond. He goes there and voila, makes the all star game.

I would have been rooting for Boston if it weren't for Wiggins being on GSW. But since they have him, I'm glad they're winning.

Anyhoo, no way can Wiggins trump Steve Nash as the greatest Canadian player. Steve is by no means one of the GOATs of the NBA but he was a great player for a good number of years. I'd rather have him as PG than say AI, Russ or Marbury - guys who scored a lot but didn't have the right leadership or team player type attributes. Steve had the right attitude to go along with his sexy passing skills. I don't know if he was capable of being a volume scorer but I know he didn't need to be when he had guys like Marion and Stoudamire to pass to. If your PG is a great scorer then so be it. Nice to have. But if you don't need him to be, and just need him to be a great facilitator, then nothing wrong with that. I think Steve played his role pretty much perfectly.

There's lots of great PGs that haven't won a championship and I don't hold it against them. See John Stockton (all time assists and steals leader). See current player Chris Paul, who clearly makes his teams much better. I would say Nash's Suns teams wouldn't have won nearly as many games with another PG in place except maybe a couple others at that time. A handful at most.

There will probably be a Canadian in the next generation that surpasses Steve due to the sheer number of highly rated guys coming up, but for now, he's the GOAT in Canada.

[rousseau]

That's it, Wiggins is numero uno for Canadian players. Without him the Warriors wouldn't have won the title. Came up big again tonight on both sides of the floor, and almost single-handedly stymed every potential Celtic run in the second half with key stops.

If Nash had a title he'd still be tops, but not now.

[Coldrsx]

Agreed and what a fun series to watch; great game tonight.

[blueandgoldguy]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Bad take. I'm loving watching the Wiggins resurgence but it has literally been ~30 games. Consecutive MVPs is undoubtedly a more significant achievement than winning a championship on this generation's biggest dynasty.

The fetishizing of rings is one of the worst things the modern sports media has cemented in its coverage of the NBA.

Yep it is a team game. Wiggins wouldn't have a sniff of a championship if it weren't for his teammates in particular one Mr. Curry.

I would bet no one touches Steve Nash as the greatest Canadian basketball player for several years to come.

Edit: Wiggins was a pretty underwhelming player for several years which is why he was traded in the first played...overpaid for what he brought to the game. Sure he played well in the finals, but he wouldn't even be in this position if it wasn't for his teammates brought him to the dance.

Saying Wiggins is better than Nash is like saying Claude Lemieux was a better hockey player than Gilbert Perreault because he one the Conn Smythe (mvp of the playoffs) and the Stanley Cup.

While we're at it, I guess Ted Williams can't be considered the greatest hitter of all time in baseball - which he is in many circles - since he would be disqualified for never winning a world series.

[Acajack]

Bénédict Mathurin of Montreal chosen 6th overall in 1st round of NBA draft (by Indiana I think).

Even François Legault is excited.