How big of a gap is there between the Raptors and Magic?

[Scase]

Would you rather have Marcus smart or Ja Morant?

That’s my point.

Are you trying to suggest that the gap between Scottie and suggs is morant to smart lmao?

I think it was a comparison of Suggs to IQ. So defensive guard to offensive guard.

Ah gotcha, honestly, in that case I would take Smart. Granted this takes into account all of Jas stupidity as of late. But you can easily argue a DPOY award winning guard (deserved or not) is more than Ja has accomplished.

[JB7]

Are you trying to suggest that the gap between Scottie and suggs is morant to smart lmao?

I think it was a comparison of Suggs to IQ. So defensive guard to offensive guard.

Ah gotcha, honestly, in that case I would take Smart. Granted this takes into account all of Jas stupidity as of late. But you can easily argue a DPOY award winning guard (deserved or not) is more than Ja has accomplished.

Setting aside past discretions and accomplishments, if you had to pick between Smart and Ja, who would you pick.

Ja is out pretty much all season, and they end up with the 7th worst record, compared to the previous season, where they were #2 in the West, with Ja missing some of the season.

[Scase]

I think it was a comparison of Suggs to IQ. So defensive guard to offensive guard.

Ah gotcha, honestly, in that case I would take Smart. Granted this takes into account all of Jas stupidity as of late. But you can easily argue a DPOY award winning guard (deserved or not) is more than Ja has accomplished.

Setting aside past discretions and accomplishments, if you had to pick between Smart and Ja, who would you pick.

Ja is out pretty much all season, and they end up with the 7th worst record, compared to the previous season, where they were #2 in the West, with Ja missing some of the season.

Attributing that record solely to Ja is disingenuous AF. They put out the most unique 5 man lineups in the league, and had 207 more man games lost than the team with the 2nd most. Not to mention setting aside past accomplishments is kinda dumb, then you cant judge either player lol.

in 99% of the cases yeah, you're picking Ja. But the gap between Suggs and IQ is not even remotely close to a Ja vs Smart gap. Ja is one of the best scorers in the NBA, Suggs is closer to Smart, than IQ is to Ja.

[JB7]

Ah gotcha, honestly, in that case I would take Smart. Granted this takes into account all of Jas stupidity as of late. But you can easily argue a DPOY award winning guard (deserved or not) is more than Ja has accomplished.

Setting aside past discretions and accomplishments, if you had to pick between Smart and Ja, who would you pick.

Ja is out pretty much all season, and they end up with the 7th worst record, compared to the previous season, where they were #2 in the West, with Ja missing some of the season.

Attributing that record solely to Ja is disingenuous AF. They put out the most unique 5 man lineups in the league, and had 207 more man games lost than the team with the 2nd most. Not to mention setting aside past accomplishments is kinda dumb, then you cant judge either player lol.

in 99% of the cases yeah, you're picking Ja. But the gap between Suggs and IQ is not even remotely close to a Ja vs Smart gap. Ja is one of the best scorers in the NBA, Suggs is closer to Smart, than IQ is to Ja.

I agree that Suggs is closer to Smart than IQ to Ja, but scoring is just so important. The Knicks without Brunson are nothing, even with all the tough minded D.

I would still take IQ over Suggs.

Everything in Memphis is built around Ja's offensive abilities. Even if all the other players on the team were healthy, without Ja, they are probably a play-in team at best.

Smart could not carry that team like Ja could.

Same issue with Suggs. For as great the D he brings is, at the end of the day, when the team needs a bucket he can't be relied on.

[Vampirate]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

[LoveMyRaps]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

Barnes > Banchero

Stats back that up.

[HumbleRen]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

I can’t put Barnes ahead of Banchero until Barnes shows me consistency in his aggression.

[Los_29]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

I can’t put Barnes ahead of Banchero until Barnes shows me consistency in his aggression.

You should look at who the better player is. That’s what this is about.

[HumbleRen]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

I can’t put Barnes ahead of Banchero until Barnes shows me consistency in his aggression.

You should look at who the better player is. That’s what this is about.

That’s subjective but we just saw Banchero put up numbers in his first time in a playoff series that even Siakam has never reached himself.

I don’t see Scottie averaging 27/9/4 in a playoffs series any time soon, hence I have to go with Banchero until I see Scottie in a playoff setting.

[OakleyDokely]

Scottie was in the playoffs, but he was a rookie and he got hurt during it. But the results were pretty positive when you put it into context.

Game 1: 15 PTS / 10 REB / 8 AST / 4-6 FG
Game 2: Hurt
Game 3: Hurt
Game 4: 6 PTS / 11 REBS / 2 AST / 1-6 FG
Game 5: 12 PTS / 8 REBS / 4 AST / 5-10 FG
Game 6: 18 PTS / 7 REB / 3 AST / 8-20 FG

[Wise80]

For some reason, a few people like to discredit young guys and act like this is it for them. We saw it with Maxey, Booker, and now we're seeing it with Banchero.

I think they end up 2 different kind of players and you won't be able to compare them.

It's really close and you can't go wrong with either.

[Psubs]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

Barnes > Banchero

Stats back that up.

I would say that Scottie is the better defender while Banchero has more tools on offense.

Really there is no gap between the Raptors and Magic and I would say that barring a huge signing like Paul George to Orlando, Toronto would be higher ranked than Orlando.

Orlando is really still just Banchero and Franz. If one of them goes down, they are a bottom 5 team again.

[Scase]

Setting aside past discretions and accomplishments, if you had to pick between Smart and Ja, who would you pick.

Ja is out pretty much all season, and they end up with the 7th worst record, compared to the previous season, where they were #2 in the West, with Ja missing some of the season.

Attributing that record solely to Ja is disingenuous AF. They put out the most unique 5 man lineups in the league, and had 207 more man games lost than the team with the 2nd most. Not to mention setting aside past accomplishments is kinda dumb, then you cant judge either player lol.

in 99% of the cases yeah, you're picking Ja. But the gap between Suggs and IQ is not even remotely close to a Ja vs Smart gap. Ja is one of the best scorers in the NBA, Suggs is closer to Smart, than IQ is to Ja.

I agree that Suggs is closer to Smart than IQ to Ja, but scoring is just so important. The Knicks without Brunson are nothing, even with all the tough minded D.

I would still take IQ over Suggs.

Everything in Memphis is built around Ja's offensive abilities. Even if all the other players on the team were healthy, without Ja, they are probably a play-in team at best.

Smart could not carry that team like Ja could.

Same issue with Suggs. For as great the D he brings is, at the end of the day, when the team needs a bucket he can't be relied on.

Different players have different roles and different impacts on the game. The knicks are nothing without brunson? Take a look at the pacers, all offence and no defence gets you just as far.

It is, however, objectively harder to find an all defence calibre player, than one that can hit the 3 at a high rate. IQ isn't some masterful offensive player, he is a great 3pt shooter who can break down defences at an average level. I like IQ, I'm happy we have him, he was who I was excited that we brought back in the trade. But if you're going to ask me to put a player on this team between an all defence level guard who is 22 and has upped his 3 point shooting by 17% in 2 years, and a really good 3pt shooter with really not as much play making as I would like, I'm taking the former.

[Shakril]

This question depends on where you rank Barnes vs Banchero.

Banchero over Barnes. he proved this Playoffs that he can lead a team.

Barnes hasnt done that, also it doesnt help that he only shows up for 1 or 2 Quarters every game. Until he fixes that attitude it wont get better.

[Merit]

Are you trying to suggest that the gap between Scottie and suggs is morant to smart lmao?

I think it was a comparison of Suggs to IQ. So defensive guard to offensive guard.

Ah gotcha, honestly, in that case I would take Smart. Granted this takes into account all of Jas stupidity as of late. But you can easily argue a DPOY award winning guard (deserved or not) is more than Ja has accomplished.

And this has reached its illogical end. I would take Ja over Smart every single time. At least you’re consistent, I’ll give you that.

[Merit]

First people saying they'd rather RJ than Franz, now this lol. IO swear 90% of the people on this board just flat out dont watch any ball besides raptor games.

Just so we’re clear, I would rather have Franz than RJ on this team based on our current team needs. We need a big shooting wing. Hopefully Gradey develops into that.

Also, given that RJ is locked in at a reasonable amount given the increasing cap, and he’s also young enough to improve and Canadian to boot - I’m more than happy to have him on our team. Franz is due for a raise.

Additionally, our system benefits RJ. He would play as a forward on offense and a guard on defense. For that reason, I’m optimistic. I don’t think Franz can stay in front of guards the way RJ can. Also, we still haven’t really seen BBQ for more than a few short stretches. Consider me optimistic.

After seeing how RJ performed on the Raps, I actually think I prefer him over Franz. I kind of think of RJ as a poor man's Jimmy Butler. Kind of that bull dog attitude. Again, 'poor man's Jimmy Butler'. He is not Jimmy Butler. Just has some essence of his game.

What would Franz's comparator be in the NBA? Would Pascal kind of be a comparator? Both lengthy wings who can score, shoot decently, and play alright D.

Pascal is better than Franz overall but Franz is a better shooter.

[Merit]

Would you rather have Marcus smart or Ja Morant?

That’s my point.

Are you trying to suggest that the gap between Scottie and suggs is morant to smart lmao?

I think it was a comparison of Suggs to IQ. So defensive guard to offensive guard.

Thank you for clarifying on my behalf. You are correct, this is exactly what I was trying to say.