NBA 2018-2019

[Jay]

Hey Zan. I’m actually rooting for the Raptors this season. Bulls are still my team but we are beyond fucked lol. Kawhi Leonard is probably my favorite player in the league and this season he’s looking kinda Jordan-ish.

[Zanchief]

Yea this season is nuts. The team looks so good, even the roleplayers are playing really well. I feel a bit like I dont deserve this. No worries though, the team can always disappoint in May.

You catch the Rose career high game. I was never a huge fan of his back in the day as a player. Always found his MVP season to be a bit of a stretch but that was such an awesome night. Must have been cool for a Bulls fan.

[Jay]

Yea this season is nuts. The team looks so good, even the roleplayers are playing really well. I feel a bit like I dont deserve this. No worries though, the team can always disappoint in May.

You catch the Rose career high game. I was never a huge fan of his back in the day as a player. Always found his MVP season to be a bit of a stretch but that was such an awesome night. Must have been cool for a Bulls fan.

Yes I did and I caught some feelings too. Was great to see D Rose looking like the MVP again.

I don't think Toronto the organization deserves it after what they did to Derozan but the fans deserve it and Kawhi deserves it. He's the among most complete players in the NBA imo.

Also Steph Curry continues to be game breaking. He's looking like an MVP so far.

You have an opinion on the Lakers? I'm getting kinda tired of all the Lebron coverage even when other teams and players outshine him in the moment like in that game vs Portland.

[Zanchief]

Ok, a few things about the Derozan thing. The team has been behind him for a long time. He's disappointed in big games for a while, and the team still stuck by him. The team gave him a huge conrtact twice and both times they were more generous then the market dictated because we wanted to keep him and because the team saw the potential future gains (which he more or less delivered on). But this narrative that the Raptors screwed him over is american media bullshit. Derozan is a sensitive dude, and he was pissed he got traded. This stuff happens all the time, he just too it poorly. Don't blame him, but the team didn't do anything wrong.

Plus the american media has either been ignoring Derozan or straight up trashing him for the last 10 years, and now their upset for him? Yea a little late to the party boys. I love the kid though, and I'm glad he's doing well with the Spurs. If they had a bit more balance that team could be really good.

LeBron. I like him, but i can't bring myself to really care for these Lakers. Because of my loathing for the Celtics, I've become a Lakers fan by accident, but I have no love for this team. I'm sure they'll sneak into the playoffs but then what?

[Jay]

Do you think Boogie will be able to recover from the achilles?

[Zanchief]

I don't think it really matters. He'll be useful for destroying second unit bigs, but the team doesn't need him. I haven't been following his progress though.

[Jay]

GSW looking quite mortal w/o Steph.

[Zanchief]

What is going on in the west? Clippers, Nuggets, Grizz in the top 4 and the Warriors slipping? I don't know what to think. I don't follow the west as closely as the East. I'll see the Grizz tonight. Hope the Raps pull it out. Raptors with the best record in the league. What a world we live in.

[vonkaar]

Would it be incredibly mean spirited for me to show up to the Dec 8 Dal/Hou game with a poster that said something like:

"CP3:
$160m
<insert boat-anchor clipart>"


Also, I got this on draft night. I work from home these days, so this basically only ever sees the light of day when I go to games

[Tossica]

Would it be incredibly mean spirited for me to show up to the Dec 8 Dal/Hou game with a poster that said something like:

"CP3:
$160m
<insert boat-anchor clipart>"


Also, I got this on draft night. I work from home these days, so this basically only ever sees the light of day when I go to games

Vonkaar just casually shows up after being MIA for years. Sup?

[Zanchief]

Sup Vonkaar! You still in the Portland area? Love Luka's game. Imagine how good he'd be if actually had an athletes body~

[Zanchief]

Hey Guys,

What's going on with Basketball?

Sincerely
Happy Raptors Fan

[leah]

HA. i don't give two shits about basketball but it's been kind of fun to loosely follow the raptors. canadians do everything better. :P

[Jay]

Grats Zan!

[vonkaar]

Congrats Raptors! Exciting game, awesome series, and a completely memorable playoffs this year. So many Eastern super teams were assembled to try and fill the void that James left, and it's Toronto that comes out on top; with the (relatively speaking) least amount of work. Here's hoping that this is the end of the GSW hegemony. I didn't hate them. I mean, outside of Draymond it's basically a bunch of flawless boy scouts. But it sure made the West really freaking boring. Hopefully it'll be much more competitive and we'll get back to the days of 6-8 teams realistically having a shot.

Toronto earned this. Dallas had to deal with a shitload of media casting doubt on the Mavs accomplishment in 2011, with the often repeated theme of, "Miami lost this, Dallas didn't win it." Screw that. Tonight, JVG said it best in, "injuries happen, it's a part of the game." Let no one try and tarnish what Toronto achieved tonight. Outside of the Kawhi "mercenary" role, the Raptors reminded me a lot of our team in 2011. A bunch of cast-offs and supposedly past-their-prime players winning through great coaching (outside of The Timeout©) and perfect teamwork. VanVleet in Q4 - holy shit. Clutch.

Someone needs to give Pascal Siakam a freaking raise.

[Zanchief]

Congrats Raptors! Exciting game, awesome series, and a completely memorable playoffs this year.

Thanks, bud!

So many Eastern super teams were assembled to try and fill the void that James left, and it's Toronto that comes out on top; with the (relatively speaking) least amount of work. Here's hoping that this is the end of the GSW hegemony.

Well I think most people see this team as being completely different from the one in years past, because of the success they had, because their best player changed, and because they succeeded so fast. I don't see it that way though. This team has been very close for a number of years. It's (mostly) the same team. Obviously Leonard was the difference for us. Just a God here in Toronto. But the road didn't start in July of 2018. It started when we drafted Derozan and traded for Lowry.

I read something about the death of the super team. I don't know, maybe. I think Toronto did show that you can with toughness and defense. We already knew this (Detroit / Boston / Dallas), but we forget sometimes. At least it shows another way then tanking and accumulating assets. Toronto did it with ZERO lottery picks. That's the Masai way.

I didn't hate them. I mean, outside of Draymond it's basically a bunch of flawless boy scouts. But it sure made the West really freaking boring. Hopefully it'll be much more competitive and we'll get back to the days of 6-8 teams realistically having a shot.

Maybe it's just the way the series played out, but I love the Warriors. Maybe it would be different if Toronto lost, but even guys like Draymond won me over. They are likable minus the "ruining the parity of the league" thing.

Toronto earned this. Dallas had to deal with a shitload of media casting doubt on the Mavs accomplishment in 2011, with the often repeated theme of, "Miami lost this, Dallas didn't win it." Screw that. Tonight, JVG said it best in, "injuries happen, it's a part of the game." Let no one try and tarnish what Toronto achieved tonight. Outside of the Kawhi "mercenary" role, the Raptors reminded me a lot of our team in 2011. A bunch of cast-offs and supposedly past-their-prime players winning through great coaching (outside of The Timeout©) and perfect teamwork. VanVleet in Q4 - holy shit. Clutch.

I think Cuban pretty much killed that argument on First Take. I think a lot of casual fans watched box scores and think that tells you the picture of the game. Dallas earned that shit. So did Toronto. Sure, the series would have been different with Durant, but Toronto controlled this series. We don't know what would have happened. That's just the nature of the game. I feel terrible for Klay and KD though. That really stinks.

Someone needs to give Pascal Siakam a freaking raise.

Oh he will.

Final notes.

This has been a surreal journey. Like, I know people who don't care about basketball will just be like whatever, big black dude dunks ball. But I've never in the 25 years of this teams existence ever really thought that Toronto could win. That's just not the way the league is made. We were always an afterthought. Always the lesser team in the foreign market. This win is beyond my expectations as a fan. The Toronto Raptors are NBA champions? Fuck man, only 16 teams in the league can say their franchise has won. That's how much parity there is in the league.

I think Leonard will leave. I've come to terms with that. Not in a battered wife way, but just as a dude who got to witness greatness first hand. This run was intimate for us Raptors fans, and we'll always share that with this dude. And honestly, I think this team is able to move on without him. Maybe not win another championship, but stranger things have happened...Remember that time the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship?