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| quote: | Originally posted by MarkT
^^^ there is no way in hell Minnesota is a better team than Toronto. Take off KG and they will completely fall apart. Take away ANY one player on Toronto and the team survives.
actually, if I'm reading the stats right, the Raps *would* be the 8th seed, if you project out the #s.
there are only 6 teams over .500 in the western conference. the raps record would put them in the playoffs. ok, we have easier compeition over here, you say? true. So let's say they played over there and thus we will just look at just their % against West. Conf. opponents:
while the Raps are 12-15 against the Western Conference (.444), that is actually a better winning % than 8 of the 15 teams in that conference against their own conference's teams. So, factoring out their easier schedule, and going solely by everyone's records against Western Conf. opponents, the Raps would be the 8th seed, no?
erase the Raps horrible start (i.e. they are better than their overall record indicats), and they are a better team than their overall record would suggest.
in any case, sure it will definitely benefit the team to go into the playoffs winning the Atlantic. It means playing a shittier team and possibly winning a round or two...whereas if they played in the West and went in as the #7 or #8 seed, they'd prob. get smoked in the 1st round by a division champ there.
I like to look at the Raps in a positive light...not just as a fan, but because they've also accomplished what they have with virtually a *completely* revamped roster. All of the top teams in the West (Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Utah) have not made *major* changes and that's a big reason for their success (on top of their obvious talent level) and Houston remains largely the same, but has had injury problems.
give the Raps another year or two and they'll be competing with those teams. Bosh, Bargnani, TJ and Calderon easily match up with their counterparts on other teams. As the |
i give colangelo alot of credit for revamping the raptors roster.. but it's a patchwork roster at best.
tj ford? while he's somewhat worth the almost $10million/year he is still a defensive liablity given his size (5'10"). most 'small' pg's are defensive liabilities to their teams (think iverson), i've never heard of any guard around 6feet that was a defensive stopper.
i actually think calderone is more than capable of leading, even given his sketchy shooting inconsistencies. but his assist/TO ratio is solid, he just needs more minutes, which are unfortunately given to a higher paid player (tj ford)
garbosa is a great glue guy, but he's 28 or 29 years old, at his prime, so his production will fall in later years.
maybe i was a bit harsh in saying that minnesota is a better team. you are right. but KG is an A+ player who can completely dominate the game. while bosh is getting there (A-), bosh still has weak games where he coasts... youth i presume.
i'm just trying to tone down the irrational exuberance from all the crazy toronto fans, b/c from a realistic perspective, the raptors are a solid team, but nothing to get super excited right now, b/c they are in a stage of growth, and havn't reach full maturity yet.
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hello thar
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