Are back in Canada, and struggled mightily against Washington at the home opener. Something like four players (?) remain from their 2019 championship team. But they have a lot of talent, and if anyone can turn mutton into lamb it is Nick Nurse. After a few more games we will guess if Nurse has the nous to navigate this team into the playoffs - last season was so irregular that it is hard to conclude much.
Playoffs might be rough, most of the second tier east teams got better and the only playoff team that got worse is Washington.
I’m trying not to read anything into one game. There were a lot of times they showed heart to and went to the basket again and again but just couldn’t get the points. That seems like it could improve. They also lost a lot of points by fouling much more than the opposition. That has to improve.
I’d be surprised if they made the playoffs, despite annihilating Boston. The over under is 36.5 wins, which seems reasonable, and if they badly underperform that I won’t be shocked.
As great a coach as Nick Nurse can be, there’s a LOT of guys on this team who don’t yet know how to play NBA basketball. The only player on the roster with more than 5 years of NBA service time is Goran Dragic, who has looked bad so far. There’s a lot of “who the hell’s that guy-s” on this team.
Barnes and Trent Jr. got a lot of baskets against Boston, in addition to VanVleet playing well. It’s far too early to prognosticate playoffs but if anyone can turn water into wins, it’s Nurse, no?
Struggling first half against Chicago - strong start and weak last couple minutes, though officiating sometimes spotty. However, I see better things coming next half. Go Raptors!
Meh. If only they played the first three like like last quarter. Showed the potential they have, though.
Only caught the last half of the Raptors versus Pacers. But they looked really good. As a welcome change, they forced turnovers rather than suffering from. Lots of players who had previously looked anemic suddenly looked pretty amazing.
One cannot read too much into this. Not one of the strongest teams. But to me it showed considerable potential untapped in previous home games. Nurse may or may not be able to work miracles, but his group has proven perceptive picking positively profession players previously, perhaps. I think the squad is playoff material.
Looked good yesterday in a tight win over the Magic. I think they are a playoff team.
And beat the Pacers today. Granted, these are weak teams, but they’re games ya gotta win.
Scottie Barnes jammed his thumb and is unlikely to play against the Knicks tonight.
Yikes. Listed as doubtful. Hopefully he and Siakam recover quickly. Barnes did not impress me the first few games but that changed a lot more recently.
Tuned in late when the Raptors were down 50-35 near the end of the half. But then they exploded, winning 113-104. We’ll see if they can extend their winning streak to five on Wednesday. Birch played great, but the big story was Anunoby with a career high of 36. Shades of 2019 when Boucher and the bench won game after game with three injured stars?
Raptors looked better than the Wizards and are now 6-3. Seem to have found sone focus and success on the road.
Still early in the season, but great seeing the start from Scott Barnes, who’s first among rookies in points per game (18.1), rebounds (8.1), and field goal % (55.1%).
Of course it is early. I’m happy the Raptors are doing better, and struggling to understand why Boston struggles so. The Raptors schedule will get much tougher and I’m looking forward to seeing how they’ll do. It is a pleasure to see the team back even if they are in building mode.
Thanks for the corroboration.
Glad to help.
Tough loss to the Cavs, they outplayed them but lost. Good news, however, with Siakam’s Sunday start slated, should start spontaneously supercharging Six’s squad, so…
Gah. Looked awful yesterday against the Celtics who won their first home game. And have a very tough schedule rest of November playing good teams on the road. This month will make them or break them.