Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose join Mike Greenberg to react to the Toronto Raptors succumbing a 19-point lead to lose 109-105 to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament and what the playoff elimination means for Nick Nurse and the Raptors going forward.
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50 Comments
demars daughter was the mvp!!!!! she was jokes. demar dedaughter!!
How does Miami Heat get another game but Toronto doesn’t?
Gimme a break, Stephen A. “I knew DeRozen and Lavinia would be the best two players on the floor, and they were.” Lavine went off for 39, yes, but how many rebounds and assists? Pascal went for 32/9/7. He missed his free throws, which turned the game. But don’t tell me they’re both better players than Siakam.
Not on Coach Nurse Jalen!!!! WTH?!?
Players laid an egg in the clutch, it happens, unfortunately this time at the worst time.
I'm agreeing with Chris Broussard that Memphis is going to beat the Lakers. Memphis is going to get them. I did not like the Lakers' last 5 games at all. They won 4 of those 5 but were still struggling to beat bad teams.
I would prefer Lakers winning because I'm more invested in them than Memphis. But I'm seeing a lot of red flags from them as of late. If they play suffocating defense, their offense is going to suffer since most of their energy is being spent on defense.
If DLo struggles in these playoffs, Lakers will likely go after Kyrie which isn't exactly a great backup plan. There's a reason teams like the Nets, Warriors, and TWolves didn't want DLo. It showed against his former team who dumped him because they didn't want to re-sign him. He disappears in big games.
A little bit of an upset alert with Sacramento. Look at the current odds. Vegas is giving more of a chance with Kings beating the Warriors than Clippers beating the Suns. Wouldn't it be crazy if all the underdogs in the West win their series?
The 4th vs. 5th matchup tends to be a pick 'em. It's because their records are so close. So 5th seeds upsetting 4th seeds is fairly common. But this isn't common with 6th beating 3rd and 7th beating 7th. Hence, why the Grizz are slightly favored and the Kings-Warriors is a little bit closer.
The thing that kinda makes the Kings dangerous is they don't know any better. Ignorance is bliss. If they never felt that pressure before, sometimes that's a benefit. They'll play loose since Vegas is favoring Golden State. They won't feel the pressure. They may just run the Warriors out of the building in Game 1.
Gut feeling tells me Clippers and Kings will win their Game 1. Sixers can lose Game 1 but they'll eventually win the series. That Game 1 is a feel out game. Don't panic. Celtics win their Game 1. Hawks are awful. Cavs-Knicks Game 1 feels Iike another pick 'em. Then I believe Grizzlies will win their Game 1 since LeBron tends to lose Game 1s like he did in 2020. The inexperienced role players that the Lakers have will disappear on the road.
Upset alert with the 5th seeds beating the 4th seeds. Then we could be underestimating the Kings big time. Charles Barkley guaranteed a Kings' 1st round win. He may be a moron with his picks most of the time but he was right in 2021 with the Bucks and way back in 2011 (Year of the Rabbit) picking 8th seed Grizzlies over Spurs.
Barkley will get lucky sometimes. He's a rabbit like Jordan and 2023 is Year of the Rabbit since they're 60 (every 12-year cycles). I think everyone is dismissing the Kings so easily. Could be a longer series than what most people expect it would be.
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Toronto will go through a major change. Too many young talent to not even make it to the playoffs.
I hate us
Not devastated at all actually. I am actually happy they lost. With how the Raptors have been playing all season long, they had no business being in the playoffs. Raptors fans are some of the most delusional fans in NBA. Raptors were stomping on tanking teams or subpar teams and Raptors fans thought they can compete with Boston, Philly and Milwaukee… The Raptors were 28th in 3 point shooting, the worst halfcourt offense in the league and 27th in FG%. No team putting up these numbers is successful in the post-season. They had absolutely no business being in the playoffs, let alone the play-in. What they should have done was trade and tank at the deadline to get the highest pick possible to pair with Scottie. Tanking just this year can bring the team back up to speed in the next 2 years or so. Now that they ended up being buyers and their lottery odds are not good at all, and with 3 UFA coming up who all may leave for nothing, the Raptors will be set back another 3 to 5 years. It will be even worse if OG ends up leaving as those rumors regarding his role were most likely true. Masai and Bobby really dropped the ball on this season and set back this organization another few years.
The most exciting playoff series in the 1st round will be Suns-Clippers and Cavs-Knicks. They each can go 7. Paul George is seen practice shooting. You never know. He may just return. He shouldn't let the guy who called him a b*tch azz n*gga eliminate him in the playoffs a second time.
Clippers must hate the Suns far more than the Lakers. They punked us 2 years ago. Can't let that happen again. Son these Suns from sun up to sundown. Clippers do not want CP3 and KD to eliminate us again. Paul George needs to destroy Devin Booker if he returns in this series. PG locking up Book. Then Kawhi vs. KD wild, wild shootout.
Westbrick will cover CP3. Watch 2014 Clippers vs. Thunder Game 5. My Clippers were up 7 with a minute to go. We still lost the game. Guess who forced a CP3 turnover? Westbrick. He also drew a foul from a 3-pt attempt. Then CP3 lost the ball in the very last play.
For that final minute in 2014, CP3 became Westbrick and Westbrick became CP3. CP3 is too short. Lacks athleticism. He's very easy to lock down and make him look useless. And if Russ blows right by CP3, then CP3 becomes a huge liability on defense.
Skip Bayless betrayed Kawhi for a snake 🐍 . Like what Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman: BIG MISTAKE. BIG MISTAKE. HUGE. Prove the whole world wrong, Russ.
"Whoever gets Milwaukee in the first Round they going home early anyway" lmao😂
Championship, eliminated by Celtics 2nd round, Florida season, eliminated by 76ers first round, eliminated in play-in by bulls. Not a good looking trend here
Demar’s daughter is the mvp of this game lol
It’s probably time for the Raptors to blow it up. Nurse, FVV will leave. Trade pascal.
Jaylen's hairline looks sus.
A case of " If the teams wins, players are good but if the team loses, the coach is bad."
Its a play in game. Nothings is devastating or disappointing. Its a money grabbing fake playoff game. Stop the sensationalism.
Brutal loss and embarrassing foe the raptors but also the nba and demar. I think the nba should not allow family to behave like that at games it is poor sportsmanship and sets a dangerous precedent.
The BALL doesn't lie. He never should've gotten that call. It was a desperate stunt. The basketball gods intervened.
"I get where you're coming from. But…" -Stephen A.
Got eliminated by the other player’s daughter 😂 She definitely getting double allowance
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Demar Daughter MVP 😂
i been saying this since the bubble. that was his ONLY chance at a chip….as long as jimmy is the best player they arent going anywhere
if the Bulls would . . Stop the BS . . and play Drummond 👈 at least 20 to 25 mins . . like they should . . any game they could beat the bucks or whoever . . and go to the finals 💥
Bulls will beat Miami 🤣 But them BUCKS! 💪🏾😭😊
Raptors lose to a 9 year old girl
How is Jalen's line up super crispy but his goatee isn't? 😂😂
Someone lynch that disgusting annoying black nigglet thing that kept screaming
Jaylen. Ever heard of a haircut? Maybe that’s why Molly left.
Jalen w/ that hair is d real deal. 😉
Missing 18 FT’s has nothing to do with coaching.
When toronto won the chip, we thought siakam hadnt hit his ceiling. he hasnt improved at all.
I knew it this Raptors team will not make the playoffs. Nick Nurse needs to go, he lost control of this team months ago.
Y’all talking about Break them to 🆙 you better add to it💯💯💯💯💯💯
Both teams were so bad. It just shows some teams shouldn't try and just tank
Great game! It was nice to see Chicago fight and claw back into the game! Plus watching DeRozan’s daughter screaming Toronto into missing 20 FTs was hilarious
Jalen needs to hold back on the paint on his forehead and sides of his head. Sheesh, give it up man! The forehead line ain't even straight for fracks sake! Lol.
Thank you Chicago Bulls
After witnessing things with their own eyes they still want to doubt the man. It took him a min to get his knee right but ever since then in feb he’s been the best player in the league. The world is about to realize that Zach LaVine is 🪣im‼️
FINE DAMAR AND HIS DAUGHTER
That’s what you get for talking 💩 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
A strategy deployed???? I'm sure Billy Donovan didn't give her a pep talk before the game
Nick Nurse is so outta here. The collapse after Kawhi left has been steep.
Toronto fell way off in the East picture
Might've been the last game for Fred, Pascal, Chris Boucher and Coach Nurse
The coach might be gone even though he won a chip a few years ago 😅
shoutout Diar for this win
Hope NN is not coming back in raptors
They won me a 1,000 last night so I’m cool lol