FIRE DARKO!! - 2025/26 Official Toronto Rangers (Raptors) Thread

[Miggs]

Hope RJ’s right knee sprain injury is not that serious . More fear than harm, I hope. We need contribution from everyone if we want to win, we are not that deep imo. It will be tougher to win games without him in the lineup

Sounds like just a mild sprain out a few games and you can now see what a starting 5 might be with more shooting and defense IE Shead/Walter...

 

[Miggs]

Masais vision finally materializes the summer after he loses his job. Cold game.

Masai wanted Maluach fukk his cot damn vision...

 

[thatrapsfan]

Masai wanted Maluach fukk his cot damn vision...

Still made the crucial call on moving Pascal and OG and refusing to pay either the max. Ingram signing also looks like a bargain now.

 

[OGBobbyJohnson]

 

[EarlyEarly]

Ingram popping off today.

 

[genesis09]

Boys we got something here

 

[Auger]

Is this the truth?

 

[jdubnyce]

Glad to see early season success
But
We need depth
Fool me once

 

[Soldier]

Glad to see early season success
But
We need depth
Fool me once

In an ideal world, Ingram is our third scoring option. We need more talent, defense, grit and depth at all positions. There’s always room for improvement

 

[genesis09]

In an ideal world, Ingram is our third scoring option. We need more talent, defense, grit and depth at all positions. There’s always room for improvement

No faith ? I’m not saying we are championship ready or anything like a deep playoff squad but we definitely have some great building blocks. If you look at the east we are young and don’t have many questionable or bad contracts maybe Poetl but that’s it. I think last years playoffs showed us team chemistry >> marquee names and stars. Look at OKC and Indiana. If Gradey and some of the bench develop that could yield better than a big name to throw off chemistry.

 

[Soldier]

 

[Soldier]

It really feels like we've entered a new era of NBA basketball. There's more talent in the league than ever, but it's spread out much more evenly. Who would have thought a year ago that the Pacers had what it takes to make it in the Finals, and come within half a game from winning it all? Conventional wisdom says you need a top-five superstar or two on your team to get that far, but that doesn’t appear to be the rule anymore

Pacers were a wake-up call for sure, and yet people should’ve been woke to it when Miami did the same ish 2-years prior. If you got enough shooters and defenders, you just need a star player (not necessarily a top 5 player) who can cause enough disruption ala Hali and a prime Jimmy.

Hell, the top-5 players are as likely to get packed up in the 1st or 2nd round as they are to make a conference finals.

i.e. Giannis won a title then became a 1st rd exit. Jokic won a title then became a 2nd rd exit. Luka in 4-years: WCFs, 38-win season, NBA Finals, 1st rd exit.

The Recent Parity (7 different champs since the Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Raps 2019, lakers 2020, bucks 2021, warriors 2022, nuggets 2023, Celtics 2024, thunder 2025 ) 7 different champs, 7 different teams, 7 different ways to execute and win. 7 different blueprints. 7 different core/group of star players. 7 different team philosophies/systems/strategies. 7 different teams with their unique strengths and weaknesses. Since the new CBA became effective two years ago on July 1, 2023, other teams in the league can’t copy the blueprint of championship squads anymore because the next champ will come up with a new way of playing the game successfully. Trends and eras change. So title teams can’t rest on their Laurels anymore, instead they have to innovate, find new ways to win and stay multiple steps ahead of the competition if they want to remain on top. They cant Run the same plays, put the same rosters and expect to win anyway because other teams will adjust and adapt to them and find ways to counter them.



Also the new CBA ratified by the owners and players two years ago caused this shift. I don’t think we will have a repeat champion for the rest of the decade. Remember when people thought Boston would start a dynasty run and win the 2-3 next chips last year…

In retrospect, it was much needed , the second Apron rule gives other teams a chance to win

The Warriors used to have a 400-500 mil payroll…. it was fukking ridiculous ...Dodgers/yankees like

No faith ? I’m not saying we are championship ready or anything like a deep playoff squad but we definitely have some great building blocks. If you look at the east we are young and don’t have many questionable or bad contracts maybe Poetl but that’s it. I think last years playoffs showed us team chemistry >> marquee names and stars. Look at OKC and Indiana. If Gradey and some of the bench develop that could yield better than a big name to throw off chemistry.

I already agree with you on this. The east is much more wide open than usual this season , we can make a run this year. If the pacers went all the way to the finals on great team chemistry/execution, why can’t we do the same thing again ?

I know we have a good up and coming young team with upside and good building block pieces. But yeah we have a long ways to go before we become a legit championship team with elite depth at all positions. We’re still lacking experience, depth, size, grit, shooters perimeter/rim defense and talent. At least this year is a good start towards the right direction though. I’m just greedy and impatient and expect more for the raps because I want to win right here and right now lol.

 

[Soldier]

But one thing you can’t deny, is that 2-3 years ago, We had lots of ugly possessions on offense. Our ball movement was limited, boring and ugly to watch. this year it looks much more better than it was in 2022-23 or 2023-24 for example .

Back then We ran mostly ugly and selfish isolation schemes/plays on offense. Very little collective and cohesive team offense/ball movement. Very short term/tactical coded. We never had a long term offensive strategy and identity a few years ago. It was boring, inefficient, and ugly to watch. Bad form, bad function. Ugly execution and aesthetics
.

 

[Soldier]

 

[VegetasHairline]