Series Thread: 1) Toronto Raptors vs 4) Cleveland Cavs

[WiggyRuss]

"I was in the gym when I watched him on the floor against Toronto tell Patrick Patterson where he was supposed to go on the play they had called out of a timeout late in the fourth quarter," Griffin said. "He was like 'no Pat, you're supposed to stand over there and set a pin down for DeMar (DeRozan) over here.'"

Ex-Cavs GM David Griffin: LeBron James Told Raptors How to Run Plays in 2017

basketball genius.

any team that would take the ball out of his hands would be insane...it would be like running the ball every play with Tom Brady, or having Randy Johnson become a DH instead of a pitcher or having Elon Musk run a Burger King or have Tom Hanks do Verizon commercials.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

 

[tlance]

So one bad pick and they are terrible? You really are dumb.

What about Bron and Kyrie? Hahaha they won Cleveland a ship. Are you 5 years old?

No, 1 bad pick does not erase the good.

But, it wasn't just one bad pick. Bennett was IMO the worst draft pick of all time and it isn't close. It wasn't just his production, that was non-existent. IT was the fact that literally nobody had Bennett ranked at the top of the draft class. It was a major reach. If you reach for your guy at 1, you better not miss that badly.

When you have 5 top 4 picks with 3 #1 overall within a 4 year span, you should do pretty damn well.

 

[WiggyRuss]

No, 1 bad pick does not erase the good.

But, it wasn't just one bad pick. Bennett was IMO the worst draft pick of all time and it isn't close. It wasn't just his production, that was non-existent. IT was the fact that literally nobody had Bennett ranked at the top of the draft class. It was a major reach. If you reach for your guy at 1, you better not miss that badly.

When you have 5 top 4 picks with 3 #1 overall within a 4 year span, you should do pretty damn well.

Bennett was in that group of 7 guys at the top of the draft- was first a surprise? sure- but the rest of the "top tier" was very very underwhelming especially because of Noel's injury -McLemore, Noel (since he was hurt), Len, Porter, Oladipo, Bennett, .....hmmmm...im trying to think of the 7th....i remember it was 7 guys in the top tier....Cody Zeller- Cody Zeller was the 7th.

Oladipo was probably the right pick- but up until his junior year at Indiana he was not considered anything but a toolsy 2nd round pick. A guy that was older (a third year college player) who all of a sudden becomes good was not high on their radar- esp. since they already had Kyrie and Waiters--- although supposedly Gilbert wanted Oladipo and Chris Grant wanted Bennett.

Of course it took Oladipo till his 3rd team and his 2nd contract to ever be an impact guy- and the rest of the guys Porter has been decent (but sucked his first couple years) and the rest have been pretty bad

there is a reason the 2013 draft is considered one of the worst in NBA history. Without Giannis and Gobert redeeming it somewhat outside the top 10 it would be without a doubt the worst draft in NBA history.

 

[WiggyRuss]

As for the Waiters draft---- the CAvs had the #3 slot in the lotto and were jumped--- and got the 4th pick in what at the time had 3 for sure guys going in the top 3---- Davis at 1, MKG and Beale at either 2 or 3.

After that- I ahve to say the guy I wanted was Harrison Barnes. Apparently Byron Scott loved Waiters. Lillard was not an option as he was a small PG and they had Irving and Waiters.

Drummond was on their radar- but teams were wary of him since he udneracheived his final year at UConn and teams were nervous after the drafting of that one stiff center from UConn ibelieve a few years before that- cant remember off the top of my head.

I know the Cavs obviously wanted Davis- but there #2 was MKG. they really liked him. It was no surprise he went #2 to Charlotte at the time.

There were 4 all stars in that top 10-- DAvis, Beal, Lillard, Drummond- and a whole lot of mediocre--- MKG, Waiters, Thomas Robinson was terrible, Barnes was mediocre, Ross was meidocre and Austin Rivers was mediocre..... I remember kidn of liking Jeremy Lamb but he never amounted to anything either. Another pretty mediocre draft class but obviously Davis and Lillard prop it up quite a bit.

honestly i think one of the worst draft picks of all time was by the Wiz in 2011 taking Jan Vesely 6th overall. Say what you will about TT in that draft but he has at least been a solid NBA player and contributed big time in some playoff series. That 2011 draft has gone onto become a very very solid class and it was not highly looked on at the time. Kyrie, Kemba, Klay, KAwhi, Butler,---and of course IT going last--- have all been all stars but there have been a lot of solid dudes from that draft too------ TT, Valunciunas, Knight, the morris twins, Vucevic, Tobias harris, Mirotic, Cory Joseph, Chandler Parsons, Kenneth Faried, iman Shumpert, Jon leuer, --- def one of the deepest and most talented drafts in recent memory

The 2014 draft was hyped as one of the best in recent memory, and it has been good, but injuries to Parker and Embiid have dampened the strength at the top. Wiggins, Parker, Embiid were all obviously extremely, extremely highly rated prospects

but there was a pretty robust 2nd tier as well and some of those guys have gone onto become solid NBA starters- if not even a little better than that....Gordon, Smart, Randle, Saric, LaVine, Warren, Nurkic, Harris, Hood, Capela, Clarkson all have had their moments......Jokic was a 2nd round steal obviously. I even like joe Harris to become a poor mans Kyle Korver for the next 10 years in the NBA.....Miami took Napier right in between Hood and Capela- kind of brutal.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Bennett was in that group of 7 guys at the top of the draft- was first a surprise? sure- but the rest of the "top tier" was very very underwhelming especially because of Noel's injury -McLemore, Noel (since he was hurt), Len, Porter, Oladipo, Bennett, .....hmmmm...im trying to think of the 7th....i remember it was 7 guys in the top tier....Cody Zeller- Cody Zeller was the 7th.

Oladipo was probably the right pick- but up until his junior year at Indiana he was not considered anything but a toolsy 2nd round pick. A guy that was older (a third year college player) who all of a sudden becomes good was not high on their radar- esp. since they already had Kyrie and Waiters--- although supposedly Gilbert wanted Oladipo and Chris Grant wanted Bennett.

Of course it took Oladipo till his 3rd team and his 2nd contract to ever be an impact guy- and the rest of the guys Porter has been decent (but sucked his first couple years) and the rest have been pretty bad

there is a reason the 2013 draft is considered one of the worst in NBA history. Without Giannis and Gobert redeeming it somewhat outside the top 10 it would be without a doubt the worst draft in NBA history.

That draft sucked. There was no consensus. Bennett was a surprise but not a shock. Also, if I remember correctly, Griffin didn't even want him but was convinced by his head of scouting.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

.....hmmmm...im trying to think of the 7th....i remember it was 7 guys in the top tier....Cody Zeller- Cody Zeller was the 7th.
.

Who the hell types like this?

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

why not on the Celtics or Sixers? too scared? Not getting good enough odds? lol.

@WiggyRuss
Is this offer still on the table?

 

[larryjohn]

Wiggy:
why not on the Celtics or Sixers? too scared? Not getting good enough o dds? lol.

@WiggyRuss
Is this offer still on the table?

Wiggy -- I recommend you pass on the Sixers bet.

 

[WiggyRuss]

@WiggyRuss
Is this offer still on the table?

give me 2-1 and ill do it!

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

give me 2-1 and ill do it!

You never gave me 2-1 on our bet.

 

[Raw_Bee808]

DeMar DeRozan has fans worried about his mental health once again.

The Toronto Raptors star, who features in the NBA’s mental health PSA, posted on his Instagram story “Dark days, darker nights . . .” early Tuesday morning.

The words, set in type so tiny it was almost unreadable, against a black background, are also the title of a 2014 song by American hip-hop artist Tedashii.

“Could this be a reference to his mental health, or is this just something completely unrelated,” a Raptors fan asked on Reddit. “I hope he’s just enjoying a song but man, hope it’s not him going through something.”

DeRozan first hinted about his depression in a February tweet, writing “This depression get the best of me...” which were also song lyrics, before opening up about his mental health issues.DeRozan’s candid talk then prompted Cleveland forward Kevin Love to open up about his episodes of anxiety in an article he wrote for The Players Tribune.

DeRozan and Love star in the NBA’s campaign which is airing during the playoffs. DeRozan says in the ad: “We all go through it . . . Don’t be ashamed of wanting to be a better you.”

The 28-year-old DeRozan spoke during the Raptors’ second-round playoff series against the Cavaliers about the importance of being open about mental health.

“When we get to speak out against something that’s bigger than basketball — something outside of the conversation of basketball — it’s important, man,” DeRozan said. “A lot of people suffer from a lot of things. They’re afraid to share, they’re afraid to bring to the light and be better. It starts very young. It goes a long way. So anything that’s beneficial to (bringing) this to light and being happier, that’s what it’s all about.”

The Raptors said neither DeRozan nor the team would be commenting on the Instagram post.

Toronto was swept in the playoffs in four games by Cleveland, costing coach Dwane Casey his job.

WTF is this shit? @DorianRo (I think you're a Raptor fan, if not, my bad) I don't know what to make of this but it sure looks like DeMar needs some serious help.