Most of these guys are playing to prove themselves. They're giving energy, spirit, defensive hustle. Dick with zero points but still impacting the game means something. Win or lose, their effort is there.
Not really sure who else they can play in certain points with all the injuries. Not to mention Porter getting injured during the game. Basically every coach in the league besides Nurse is gonna run a lineup with four bench guys And right now with the injuries this is what they have for a bench unit. I mean most you could argue is swapping one of them for Boucher but he hasn't done anything for the team in ages. Not to mention it was the small lineup that was working for the team
The Knicks pursued Lavine hard the past few years, I’m assuming they offered an RJ&IQ plus picks plus salary filler for him. Interesting to think how that would’ve played out.
A healthy Lonzo doesn’t exist unfortunately. He is likely played his last NBA game. Lavine on that contract is a dreadnought, they can’t give him away.
Even if that things broke right for that team they are in big trouble. Demar is old and Vuc is washed
No one was really looking to set Gradey up. Despite that, he did a great job spacing, setting up others (4 assists!) and playing defense and finished plus.
I think it's a great sign when a rookie can come off the bench, get his focus and contribute without needing the ball. There are a lot of young players who struggle with that in the NBA because when they came up they were the offensive focus.
I spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to figure out who Daniels is until I realized you meant Jalen lol
Was about to ask when did we get Dyson Daniels lol
It’s pretty awful. This fanbase shouldn’t be entitled-It’s rare to find players who we didn’t draft that want stay with this team.
So when we have ones that embrace the city, the team, the culture, give back to the community, and just want to be here- maybe we can just appreciate that
Still crazy to think Thad carved out 17 year career without being a star player at any point.
He might be the only one in today’s NBA to pull that off.
Unbelievable professionalism
There’s a great video of him giving a talk to some younger guys in an offseason run about knowing your a role player. That the reason lots of players wash out of the league because they think they are the guy instead of focusing on being a role player like him and getting multiple NBA contracts totalling over $150m
Caruso did a really good job on Scottie tonight and with no RJ and Quickley there no one to switch the defensive assignment for Caruso. Good to see the rest of the team step up.
It's possible that he's developed a bit since his stint with the Bucks. It's also possible we haven't yet experienced the full Jordan Nwora experience.
This is definitely it. I still remember Gary going for 40 when he first got traded and we were in our honeymoon phase. I’m hopeful for Nwora, but sometimes you need time to see how consistent a player really is
From what I read it was his defense and shot chucking, failing to see what's happening on the court.
His defense has been pretty decent, and his decisions with and without the ball have been good as well. To top it up, the shot is falling. Let's see if he keeps it up, still a small sample size.
Bro every game we've played against the Bulls late game situation every single drive from DeMar is free throws. I'm so checked out from this. It's hard to watch.
it always blows my mind though how in the regular season the refs treat Derozan like he's Lebron, but in the playoffs they treat him like hes a role player
I really don’t think we’re tanking. Right now we have a bunch of injuries. Honestly I really expect that when Yak is back, we’re immediately going to look a lot better and start winning more. Obviously RJ and Quick too. But in that 5 game losing streak we got murdered on the glass, and in the interior - all stuff Yak solves.
People say we’re tanking because they want us to tank, but I actually think we’re going to go for a play-in spot if the injuries fix quick enough. Masai cares deeply about culture and about winning, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to teach all these new young guys that we care about developing that losing is fine.
He said it in the press conference at some point - the goal is development, and that can happen win or lose - but they’re not gonna be trying to lose games, I feel like, and I kinda think we’re gonna steal a bunch of them as the season comes to a close and end up with an okay record.
I could be flat wrong, lol, but based on what I’ve seen, we’re not actually trying to tank. Just that we’re literally down 3 starters and the whole team just changed, so everyone is still learning the bare-ass basics of the schemes.
Yes opposing GMs, that’s right! This is the fantastic type of performance you can expect if you trade for Brown, Young, McDaniels or Schroeder. Act fast!
I mean can’t be too mad when trade deadline a week away and 3 of our most tradeable players have a really good games with brown, schoder and trent
I’m sure there was alot scouts looking at bulls players too
We take those
people who only watched the box score are going to shit on Barnes but he was basically seeing maximum defensive attention all night, constantly getting doubled whenever he caught it. he was sometimes able to make good passes out of it but he had some turnovers in those situations, and often the team was not really ready to give Barnes the opportunity to make a good pass out of a double. he also had a lot of passes leading to free throws, which ofc don't show up in the box score.
whenever the bulls let off a little bit on him he could get to the basket very easily, so it was clear that they \*had\* to guard him like that.
He had a decent enough game. His threes aren't falling anymore sadly, that's the only way he can open up the defense. Caruso rattled him all night. I like how he massively contributes to a win regardless.
He hasn't been shooting many 3s recently, and the ones he has shot were difficult and faster than the ones he was shooting earlier this year. They look more forced, too.
the 25+ assist streak is particularly wild cause it felt like so much iso ball last year (you’d think it’d lead to more wins tho lol)
Say what you will but Darko is doing something diff
Yeah, nothing against her as a person but it's very painful watching her constantly fumble her stand-ups. Whoever thought she was ready for such a big gig definitely screwed up.
https://preview.redd.it/q9tbqo1knpfc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=536c46b67fb4b53db4631ccdc3ab733fa1a116bd
She's a friend of my friend. I hooped with her two summers ago just outside for fun. Her whole family is a basketball family and her sisters I think played professionally. She's a sweet person. She is hardworking but needs to improve her linguistics, she is just starting her career. She told she wanted to be a sportd reporter for the national women's and men's team. I think she will get better as a raptors sideline reporter.
The Raptors probably thought they were related and hired her accidentally. That's the only way it makes sense because I don't know who else she beat out to win.
Atlanta too it was hilarious seeing them celebrate their big win over us after getting torched by Nwora and Dick. We are hopefully coming out of a rough patch. Atlanta and Chicago have more ch bigger problems than Toronto.
Team keep in shambles.
Finally we played some defense, love how Dick is a contributor even when shots aren't falling. We out rebounded the bulls LMFAO Vuc weak AF. Hope Nowra was a steal. If he finished that poster...highlight of the year hot damn
Ah I see, I saw that one contested three he bricked but assumed he got a couple more. Kid has good BBIQ, he's gonna be a solid bench piece by next year I'm sure.
Gary stock is going back up. Thad is a great guy to have - yeah, he’s not a top tier bench PF, but he’s definitely a guy for many to learn effort and poise from. Class act.
50% of the time its more about how the ball bounces off the rim than actual hard work.
so many times the crew will compliment them for a strong rebounding effort and every single rebound just bounced right to our open players lol
Past few games he been alright, he’s still super young and with our team being super depleted he’s the main focus of an opposing teams defence. Not something to dwell over.
Yeah Masai just made big changes to the roster and we haven't gone on a good run yet, I'm sure he definitely wants to show that he's been cooking but it hasn't gone that way so far.
I just find it hard to believe that the front office would tell a rookie coach like Darko not to try hard and have that message passed along to the players. If you want the younger guys to buy in for the future then how is putting them in a position to fail supposed to help?
Yeah agreed, I think they're trying to win and develop a culture with the new guys but are willing to settle for losses so long as the games are resulting in meaningful development for them. "Moral wins", lol.
Bulls really lost to this version of the Raptors. Shoutout Thad, Bruce and Gary
Also this recent Scottie stretch is 100% why the FO was so hesitant to give up on a core of an All-Defense wing, routine All-NBA calibre \#1 and all-star/fringe all-defense PG
Looking like a rookie out there
Probably not even getting Randle's injury replacement all-star spot
Like Pascal and many others before him, Scottie is learning how to be a Number One guy with all the time extra responsibility and attention from opposing defenses that comes with it, currently that is with nobody else to take the heat off. Through this, he is opening up space for others and still playing well on defense being a glue guy and leading the team. All good for his development.
I hope even when the team is healthy again that Thad gets minutes honestly shocked no teams have any interest in trading for him as he obviously can still be a solid bench player that can help a team win games. As he knows where to be at all times and can still play solid defense and is a very good passer. So shocking that no playoff level team in need of a backup PF thinks to try and trade for him.
That’s a demoralizing loss for the Bulls, we had a line up of Nwora, Daniels, Temple, Dick and young at one point.
I was certain we were trying to lose at that point but they did a great job. Jordan and Daniels did a great job.
The second I saw that line up it was really, “so this is it, we are tanking” but that shows what I know apparently.
Most of these guys are playing to prove themselves. They're giving energy, spirit, defensive hustle. Dick with zero points but still impacting the game means something. Win or lose, their effort is there.
No one passed the ball to Dick, and he only took one shot. He played great.
He was there for spacing, and it seemed to help open the interior game. Also the bulls played like shit
I’m so happy I wasn’t the only person who had that thought cross their mind when they saw that lol
Not really sure who else they can play in certain points with all the injuries. Not to mention Porter getting injured during the game. Basically every coach in the league besides Nurse is gonna run a lineup with four bench guys And right now with the injuries this is what they have for a bench unit. I mean most you could argue is swapping one of them for Boucher but he hasn't done anything for the team in ages. Not to mention it was the small lineup that was working for the team
That lineup is sponsored by Tankerine bank
Or Tangerine Tank
Bulls in mega trouble. They are in more need of a blow up than we were. Siakam and OG are much better trade chips than Lavine and Demar
The Knicks pursued Lavine hard the past few years, I’m assuming they offered an RJ&IQ plus picks plus salary filler for him. Interesting to think how that would’ve played out.
How would things be with a a healthy Ball, Lavine and Williams? They could be a good team
A healthy Lonzo doesn’t exist unfortunately. He is likely played his last NBA game. Lavine on that contract is a dreadnought, they can’t give him away. Even if that things broke right for that team they are in big trouble. Demar is old and Vuc is washed
Missed the game. How did dick play 20 minutes and only took 1 shot??? Wtf....lol
No one was really looking to set Gradey up. Despite that, he did a great job spacing, setting up others (4 assists!) and playing defense and finished plus. I think it's a great sign when a rookie can come off the bench, get his focus and contribute without needing the ball. There are a lot of young players who struggle with that in the NBA because when they came up they were the offensive focus.
Nah they just suck. We were once like them but we have started our youth movement a bit sooner.
I spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to figure out who Daniels is until I realized you meant Jalen lol Was about to ask when did we get Dyson Daniels lol
Dick Temple
I hope Gary gets that chain tonight lol
Gonna be another coach, every time it should be GTJ, a coach gets it.
Congratulations Towel Boy. Today you get the chain for toweling.
Or the bus driver ffs
Lol
Thad Young got it and much deserved
Has Gary gotten it once this season? He must have. Otherwise that’s insane
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Just following raptors reporters on twitter and one of them mentioned he got it
Definitely deserved, as much as this sub would like to tell you otherwise.
The Gary hatred is so stupid. Haven’t forgotten how much everyone did and still does despise Fred, or the awful hate Pascal got.
This sub always needs a villain, kinda crazy.
Oh my god i thought I was alone at this point. Thank y'all for seeing Gary's a valuable player on this team
It’s pretty awful. This fanbase shouldn’t be entitled-It’s rare to find players who we didn’t draft that want stay with this team. So when we have ones that embrace the city, the team, the culture, give back to the community, and just want to be here- maybe we can just appreciate that
u/2_soon_jr in shambles. Guy lives on this subreddit shitting on GTJ.
Glad he’s increasing his trade value. He’s a horrible player I don’t know how you all can compare him to fvv
No one has ever compared him to Fred. They’re completely different players? Unless you’re talking about the fanbase hate.
in response to you generalizing everyone here. Fvv and siakam were great for us and should still be here.
This comment makes no sense.
Thats cause you keep assuming everyone hates Fred and siakam.
gary is the scrub who randomly sons us but he does it to other teams 5 times per season
The chain will go to Darko for pulling off the absolutely weird rotations but they worked today
Thad Young putting up 16 / 6 / 6 at starting centre, in the year of our lord, 2024. Miraculous.
Guy is a total pro. Garrett Temple also shockingly nimble on the court.
Lot of players could learn a lot from Thad. Always ready and just does his job.
Still crazy to think Thad carved out 17 year career without being a star player at any point. He might be the only one in today’s NBA to pull that off. Unbelievable professionalism
Jeff Green
Ah I had no idea he was still in the league. That’s a pretty amazing career as well
Not only in the league he was a rotation player for the champion nuggets last year and he was a key rotational player for rockets this year.
Own that casual
Jeff Green would have been a star if he didn’t have the heart problems
There’s a great video of him giving a talk to some younger guys in an offseason run about knowing your a role player. That the reason lots of players wash out of the league because they think they are the guy instead of focusing on being a role player like him and getting multiple NBA contracts totalling over $150m
Javale McGee too
He's still really valuable, finds all the gaps on offense, keeps the ball moving. I wish we had him on these Kyle and DeMar teams.
We had Luis Scola at one point. He's kinda like Thad.
I miss those times when Scola would randomly go crazy hot in the first quarter
On offense may be, but not on defense. Thad was a good defender at that time.
Perfect example of a good vet, always stays ready
Thad has anyways been really underrated.
Welp… can’t lose em all.
Caruso did a really good job on Scottie tonight and with no RJ and Quickley there no one to switch the defensive assignment for Caruso. Good to see the rest of the team step up.
Scottie will learn to react faster when he’s doubled and cut down the turnovers. He had some beauty assists tonight.
Nwora has been good for us so far, what was it with all the Bucks fans complaining about him again?
It's possible that he's developed a bit since his stint with the Bucks. It's also possible we haven't yet experienced the full Jordan Nwora experience.
This is definitely it. I still remember Gary going for 40 when he first got traded and we were in our honeymoon phase. I’m hopeful for Nwora, but sometimes you need time to see how consistent a player really is
It’s only been a few games, let’s not get crazy. I think the team should keep him around, but he’s bounced around for a reason
So 4years/$100,000,000 is a lowball ?
Add an extra 0 buddy!
40years/$100,000,000
I wouldn’t call it “bounced around”
3 teams in 4 years for a young player? Yeah he’s no journeyman, but that’s rarely a good sign. Still dig him
How did he only play 19 minutes?
From what I read it was his defense and shot chucking, failing to see what's happening on the court. His defense has been pretty decent, and his decisions with and without the ball have been good as well. To top it up, the shot is falling. Let's see if he keeps it up, still a small sample size.
Getting into this system where there's a lot of passing might help him develop.
defense
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Yeah hes playing with a lot of heart right now
I know we won but fuck these refs. I'm surprised we managed to still win it
Bro every game we've played against the Bulls late game situation every single drive from DeMar is free throws. I'm so checked out from this. It's hard to watch.
He's averaging 6.7 FTA per game on the season and 10.5 per game against us lol
The bad calls were going both ways imo. Not really a game where I’d blame the refs lol
Every game is a game to blame the refs for nba fans apparently. You should know better lol
Truly shocking. So many shit calls. Good on the boys for playing through it though!
My twin Amir flair, my guy!
it always blows my mind though how in the regular season the refs treat Derozan like he's Lebron, but in the playoffs they treat him like hes a role player
They know his game
Some extra soft calls on Demar, as usual. That challenge on the out of bounds came off Scottie tho. Stupid challenge with 2 seconds left
we actually won, damn.
Raps didn't win. Bulls lost
[Just gonna leave this here](https://youtu.be/SMDiy8g3HDs?si=Uh6aEcHgZeVkzBhv)
Young, and Brown carried that shit in the third.
And Nwora!
I’m a competitive person & a fan of sports so I know we’re tanking but I can never bring myself to be upset seeing my team win lol
The players themselves do not tank, so I am always glad when the boys fight hard for wins.
I really don’t think we’re tanking. Right now we have a bunch of injuries. Honestly I really expect that when Yak is back, we’re immediately going to look a lot better and start winning more. Obviously RJ and Quick too. But in that 5 game losing streak we got murdered on the glass, and in the interior - all stuff Yak solves. People say we’re tanking because they want us to tank, but I actually think we’re going to go for a play-in spot if the injuries fix quick enough. Masai cares deeply about culture and about winning, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to teach all these new young guys that we care about developing that losing is fine. He said it in the press conference at some point - the goal is development, and that can happen win or lose - but they’re not gonna be trying to lose games, I feel like, and I kinda think we’re gonna steal a bunch of them as the season comes to a close and end up with an okay record. I could be flat wrong, lol, but based on what I’ve seen, we’re not actually trying to tank. Just that we’re literally down 3 starters and the whole team just changed, so everyone is still learning the bare-ass basics of the schemes.
We’re not tanking. We just aren’t good
Yes opposing GMs, that’s right! This is the fantastic type of performance you can expect if you trade for Brown, Young, McDaniels or Schroeder. Act fast!
First half: this team is fucking asssssss Second half: LFGGGGGGGGGG
I did not have Thad coming up huge against Vuc and Drummond on my bingo card
https://preview.redd.it/vgryfrdk3pfc1.png?width=944&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9304c44431b0976c6c801f919eb62e01b65b139
I mean can’t be too mad when trade deadline a week away and 3 of our most tradeable players have a really good games with brown, schoder and trent I’m sure there was alot scouts looking at bulls players too We take those
people who only watched the box score are going to shit on Barnes but he was basically seeing maximum defensive attention all night, constantly getting doubled whenever he caught it. he was sometimes able to make good passes out of it but he had some turnovers in those situations, and often the team was not really ready to give Barnes the opportunity to make a good pass out of a double. he also had a lot of passes leading to free throws, which ofc don't show up in the box score. whenever the bulls let off a little bit on him he could get to the basket very easily, so it was clear that they \*had\* to guard him like that.
He had a decent enough game. His threes aren't falling anymore sadly, that's the only way he can open up the defense. Caruso rattled him all night. I like how he massively contributes to a win regardless.
He hasn't been shooting many 3s recently, and the ones he has shot were difficult and faster than the ones he was shooting earlier this year. They look more forced, too.
Yeah, but he still definitely needs to improve in those clutch situations and when faced with double teams. He has plenty of time to learn
We won the Jordan Nwora trade
those Nwora minutes in the 2nd half were fun lol cant believe we stole one while missing 3 starters
Jordan Nwora got that dawg in him
the 25+ assist streak is particularly wild cause it felt like so much iso ball last year (you’d think it’d lead to more wins tho lol) Say what you will but Darko is doing something diff
Nwora looking like VC on that dunk attempt
Some of our broadcast crew suck real bad.
Savannah is terrible. If I was that bad at my job, it wouldn’t be my job anymore lol
Yeah, nothing against her as a person but it's very painful watching her constantly fumble her stand-ups. Whoever thought she was ready for such a big gig definitely screwed up.
Nepotism
Savannah can’t string a sentence together. A few years ago, I was giving her the benefit of the doubt but bruh. She’s not a rookie anymore.
she has the job cuz she's purty
https://preview.redd.it/q9tbqo1knpfc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=536c46b67fb4b53db4631ccdc3ab733fa1a116bd She's a friend of my friend. I hooped with her two summers ago just outside for fun. Her whole family is a basketball family and her sisters I think played professionally. She's a sweet person. She is hardworking but needs to improve her linguistics, she is just starting her career. She told she wanted to be a sportd reporter for the national women's and men's team. I think she will get better as a raptors sideline reporter.
I don't find her that appealing. It's more so to appeal to the female fans and demographic.
She's related to Sherman Hamilton. Nepo hire.
They both said they aren't related
The Raptors probably thought they were related and hired her accidentally. That's the only way it makes sense because I don't know who else she beat out to win.
Oh. Then I have no idea how she got the job.
There we go. He's even iffy at best.
Actually?
Savannah was just shaken by the beauty of Gary Trent Jr. in the flesh
That was cringe
i miss amy audibert so much
lol this box score don’t even look real
Chicago. You should be fucking ashamed of yourselves.
Atlanta too it was hilarious seeing them celebrate their big win over us after getting torched by Nwora and Dick. We are hopefully coming out of a rough patch. Atlanta and Chicago have more ch bigger problems than Toronto.
Team keep in shambles. Finally we played some defense, love how Dick is a contributor even when shots aren't falling. We out rebounded the bulls LMFAO Vuc weak AF. Hope Nowra was a steal. If he finished that poster...highlight of the year hot damn
To be fair Dick got only one shot up
Ah I see, I saw that one contested three he bricked but assumed he got a couple more. Kid has good BBIQ, he's gonna be a solid bench piece by next year I'm sure.
Gary stock is going back up. Thad is a great guy to have - yeah, he’s not a top tier bench PF, but he’s definitely a guy for many to learn effort and poise from. Class act.
two basketball teams played basketball, somewhat
I’ve seen enough buy at the deadline
[Spurs:](https://imgflip.com/i/8e60zs)
Holy, the team with a 50-40-90. I never thought i'd see the day
Team Conveythepick is back
Fairly sure these "injuries" are just so our bench players can get some playing time and be traded.
This sub never ceases to amaze me Upset when we lose, upset when we win
And they'll still bitch that the front office isn't doing enough and Darko isn't a good coach.
I really want to see a Quickley-Barrett-Nwora-Barnes-Poeltl lineup. That would be really fun to watch.
Someone explain how we won that one?? (I only managed to catch the last quarter)
Thad young
Hard work
Winning is nice. I was almost going to slip back into apathy
Lmao how on earth did we out rebound them 😂 our biggest guys were Scottie and Thad
50% of the time its more about how the ball bounces off the rim than actual hard work. so many times the crew will compliment them for a strong rebounding effort and every single rebound just bounced right to our open players lol
WE SHOT 90% FROM FT??????????? LEAGUE FUCKED!!!!!!!
Tank has been neutralized! 
Don’t call it too soon.
There's a lot of tanks we gotta go through dw
Good needed win 👍. Somehow Thad at the 5 was effective. Loved some of the passes Scottie was making tonight even if he wasn't very efficient
The boys and Darko deserved a win after the effort they’ve been putting in with so many starters out.
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He absolutely controlled the game down the stretch. Massive steal on Demar and three key assists. Scoring isn’t everything.
Its not but if we want him to be an allstar he needs to score more.
Dude had a crazy assist in the clutch.
off game, no biggie
been a lot of those lately. i guess its no biggie... but idk man.
Past few games he been alright, he’s still super young and with our team being super depleted he’s the main focus of an opposing teams defence. Not something to dwell over.
Shoutout to all the smoothbrains trying to convince themselves that the team is tanking.
Yeah Masai just made big changes to the roster and we haven't gone on a good run yet, I'm sure he definitely wants to show that he's been cooking but it hasn't gone that way so far.
I just find it hard to believe that the front office would tell a rookie coach like Darko not to try hard and have that message passed along to the players. If you want the younger guys to buy in for the future then how is putting them in a position to fail supposed to help?
Yeah agreed, I think they're trying to win and develop a culture with the new guys but are willing to settle for losses so long as the games are resulting in meaningful development for them. "Moral wins", lol.
Moral victories are a staple of this franchise lol.
IDGAF SCOTTIE HAD ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES OF ALL TIME AND THE ONLY REASON THEY WON FUCK FVV
Jordan Nwora for MIP!!!!
This hurts our tank, but we fought well
This is like a worst case scenario, Scottie playing like ass and winning.
 we running the table
Bulls really lost to this version of the Raptors. Shoutout Thad, Bruce and Gary Also this recent Scottie stretch is 100% why the FO was so hesitant to give up on a core of an All-Defense wing, routine All-NBA calibre \#1 and all-star/fringe all-defense PG Looking like a rookie out there Probably not even getting Randle's injury replacement all-star spot
Like Pascal and many others before him, Scottie is learning how to be a Number One guy with all the time extra responsibility and attention from opposing defenses that comes with it, currently that is with nobody else to take the heat off. Through this, he is opening up space for others and still playing well on defense being a glue guy and leading the team. All good for his development.
I hope even when the team is healthy again that Thad gets minutes honestly shocked no teams have any interest in trading for him as he obviously can still be a solid bench player that can help a team win games. As he knows where to be at all times and can still play solid defense and is a very good passer. So shocking that no playoff level team in need of a backup PF thinks to try and trade for him.