Yeah the 9th seeded Pistons with a losing 29-36 record are the true measure of competition. Hit me up when DeRozan goes off against the Celtics defense or LeBron in the playoffs.
Raptors didn't look exactly great to me tonight tbh, we basically gifted them 20 points in the first quarter playing no defense, Paul probably played his worst game in a Rockets uniform, Lowry literally scored every shot and we were still right there to win it.
The Raptors are the Rockets in the East. But they are one season behind us. They have been good in the regular season and couldn't put it together in the playoffs, or couldn't overcome LeBron in the playoffs. So were the Rockets in the past two seasons. The difference is that they were in the weaker conference. The Rockets have been ignored mostly because we couldn't get over the hump in the playoffs. This year is different. People started to take note. I think the Raptors are still one more year away from being truly elite. They need one of Lowry and DeRozan to raise his game to MVP level like Harden did to be able to hang with the Warriors and the Rockets.
They are being ignored, they have a strong team. Kudos to them hope they come out of the east. Nice team and nice fans.
Talk about being dissed. They have won 16 out of the last 17 and beat the Rockets and they are still 3rd on most power rankings.
I wouldn't be surprised if they made the finals, even going as far as winning it all. But then again we shall just see what happens in the playoffs, just like Houston
Raptors have a history of coming up short. Their best lineup involves their bench against other team's benches. In the playoffs that bench is going to be going up against Starters(better players) more often. I don't think they get out of the East. I see Boston as being a better playoff team in the long term.
How about the first round first? They were ignored because of last year, out of first round if I am not mistaken. Was pretty hyped before playoffs too but melted under the pressure.
Their biggest competition in their conference is an over-achieving Celtics team currently missing half their rotation. Raptors practically locked the first seed with a month left in the regular season. Meanwhile Rockets have to hold off the "greatest team in NBA history" for the best record in the NBA. Raptors are playing relatively stress/pressure free basketball right now. Meanwhile the Rockets are having to look over the shoulder constantly. We'll see how the Raptors react when their is true pressure applied. And I'm not talking about a tired Rockets team at home during a regular season game.
Nah they lost to the Cavs in the second round. but then again they only won 51 games last season. The previous season they lost in the ECF to the season.
Yep, that “raptors always choke” narrativr is as dumb as the “rockets always choke” narrative. Rockets and raptors have both made the conference finals in recent memory. I swear the media and casual fans say everybody except lebron + warriors are chokers
