This game was definitely worth staying up to watch. The Warriors play exciting ball even without Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette. What are you going to do right? At least this road-trip is over, with the Raptors going 2-4. Could be worse, I had them pegged at finishing this road swing 1-5.
Arse made a good point tonight, that the Raptors are too concerned about protecting the paint, and their perimeter rotation is late weak sucks. Triano needs to think about this, since it is great to protect your paint, but until the ball is back in your hands, you need to keep rotating and defending. That means switching, closing out, and generally communicating with the rest of the team. Things the Raptors are weak suck at.
The Raptors were gunning offensively, but playing the Warriors means you have to make defensive stops, and the Raptors didn’t. The Raptors got good looks down the stretch to tie the score or take the lead, they got really good looks, but both Calderon, Kapono and Parker missed their opportunities. Dribble penetration reared its ugly head again with the Warriors hitting their key shots. Golden State
Sadly, defense wasn’t the reason the Raptors lost…it was offense. The Raptors out-rebounded the Warriors 49 (20 offensive boards) to 37, got 27 assists, and protected the ball reasonably well(13 turnovers), which led to 17 more possessions, but they couldn’t knock down a shot to save their life. Down the stretch, and down 2, the Raptors had 5 possessions to tie or take the lead; they got good looks (Calderon, Kapono and Parker) but just couldn’t hit THAT shot. Again, not because of anything the Warriors did, the Raptors just chocked, game over…
Calderon came out very aggressive offensively, hitting 3s, jumpers off the screen, driving, and finding open shooters. Logging 44mins, he put up 21pts 16asts 6rebs, but his poor defense on Watson late in the game really put a damper on a fine performance. Bosh had another monster game, doing whatever he wanted (30pts 14rebs), not much else to say about him…
Triano employed some very questionable lineups, and substitutions that left me scratching my head:
- To start the 2nd, both Bosh and Calderon were sitting, which really killed the rhythm and momentum the Raptors were building in the first quarter.
- Still in the 2nd, Voshkul got the call, and in a span of 4 minutes, he amassed 4 fouls that put the Warriors in the bonus with 9.5 minutes left in the quarter. With a lineup of Solomon, Voshkul, Bargnani, Moon and Graham, the Warriors go on an 8-2 run. No energy…why Humphries wasn’t in is beyond me. Just a thought, how did Hump fall to 4th/5th in the depth chart at forward? I’m not his biggest fan, but the guy is athletic, gets out there, makes things happen, is aggressive on offense and grabs boards…Voshkul isn’t.
- In the dyeing moments of the game, the Raptors employed a lineup of Calderon/Bosh/Parker/Kapono/Graham…didn’t work out as we know. Parker/Kapono couldn’t hit a shot for their life, Graham penetrates the lane and throws it away, while the Warriors stayed at home with Bosh and Calderon. never thought I would say this, but Moon should have been in for Parker s he is playing better defense, and was shooting reasonably well from the perimeter (3-4 form beyond the arc).
I appreciated O’Neal giving it a go with the flu, and had he not banged his knee when getting all tangled up, he would have finished the game. But I thought it a blessing in disguise that he couldn’t go tonight. To start the game, he really forced things in the paint, going 1-4 in the paint. I thought it a blessing because Nellie plays small-ball, and O’Neal would have slowed things down for the Raptors, and taken shots at the expense of the perimeter players. Triano couldn’t take this blessing in disguise and turn it into an advantage by giving Hump more burn. 10 minutes in a game like this? I just can’t get over it. Kris didn’t see the floor till the 3rd, and what did he do? Get 10pts and grab 4rebs…again, I’m at a loss here.
On the Bargnani front, this was exactly the type of game where he could have exerted himself, and really made an impact with the lack of defense and up-tempo style of play. He showed a couple flashes; grabbing an offensive board and aggressively putting back a dunk; stepping inside the arc and hitting jumpers; grabbing some boards; some decent defense on Jackson…but just couldn’t put it together. With all of Italy watching, Belinelli came out the prodigal son.
Irregardless of all that, the Warriors won this game in the second quarter during two key stretches:
- Start of the 2nd Quarter – Voshkul’s meltdown and weak perimeter defense that allowed a three by Jackson, 4 free throws by CJ Watson, Azabuike dunk on the break off of Bosh’s turnover, and a Jackson jumper created by bad perimeter defense by Moon.
- 3:15 left in the 2nd Quarter – Turiaf blocks Bosh in the paint, which leads to a Watson trey in transition; next possession-Turiaf blocks Calderon which leads to an Azabuike trey in transition; Turiaf gets the ball at the top of the key, swings it to an open Belinelli who sticks an open trey; Jackson nails an open jumper inside the arc.
It all comes down to a personnel issue, the Raptors don’t have the players to really make a stand on the perimeter. Man defense…nothing. Zone defense…zilch. Divine intervention….zero. This team, as currently constructed, and contrary to any suggested lineups, can’t win big games against talented teams. A shake-up is needed and the clock is ticking.
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Free Ukic!
65 Raps
When we get an NBA coach who knows how to use the talent we have, wins will come. BC hasn’t convince me he is “the GM”.
We suck now, so just play Hump for fuck sakes…play him for 25 mins a night, and who gives a flippin’ shit if he takes “his shots”!!! he jumps in there and grabs O-rebs (like Turiaf blocks and dances), or just does those things to energize a team, energize your home team, and shit in an opposing crowds tea cup. I don’t care if we win only 20 games this season, just play Hump now and throw in Graham for 25 mins also, and waive Soloman for another D-Leaguer on a 10-Day contract. That’s called rebuilding for the future, and seeing if Colangelo is not super-retarded in extending their contracts!
http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/getty/9c/fullj.db706e5a8590cd9e6d2095d6989f35d8/db706e5a8590cd9e6d2095d6989f35d8-getty-83005935rw010_warriors_raptors.jpg
re: comment #2
There has been at least one veteran NBA observer calling for the Raptors to use a line-up like this:
STARTERS: 1/Calderon, 2/Moon, 3/Graham, 4/Humphries & 5/Bosh
KEY BENCH SUBS: 1-2/Parker & 4/Bargnani
SITUATIONAL SUBS: 2/Kapono & 5/O’Neal
RESERVES: 1/Ukic, 1-2/Solomon & 4-5/Voskuhl
EXTRAS: Adams & Jawai
with this specific collection of players stretching back for a long period of time.
Although others might not have been able to see and understand the appropriateness of that line-up months ago … sometimes, over the course of time, people can [in fact] change their mind, if they’re open-minded to suggestions in the first place.
Time is what separates Right ideas from Wrong ones. : )
Nothing more and nothing less.
3 more losses at home … to the Nuggets, Rockets and Magic … will put the Raptors at 12-23/.343, 35 games into the 2008-2009 regular season schedule.
Perhaps at that point, Bryan Colangelo will at last begin to realize the incorrectness of the following statement:
“This is the most talented team we’ve had in Toronto yet, on paper.”
Perhaps, then, the Raptors will be able to turn the page and start re-building their franchise once again from the top down.
[although everything I've seen from MLSE to this point says that they are, in fact, incapable of doing this precise thing over an extended period of time]
Raps Fan,
re: Sadly, defense wasn’t the reason the Raptors lost…it was offense. The Raptors out-rebounded the Warriors 49 (20 offensive boards) to 37, got 27 assists, and protected the ball reasonably well(13 turnovers), which led to 17 more possessions, but they couldn’t knock down a shot to save their life. Down the stretch, and down 2, the Raptors had 5 possessions to tie or take the lead; they got good looks (Calderon, Kapono and Parker) but just couldn’t hit THAT shot. Again, not because of anything the Warriors did, the Raptors just chocked, game over…
Although it may have looked like that’s what happened in last night’s game … IMO, that description there ^^^ isn’t completely accurate.
It was not the fact that the Raptors just couldn’t hit THAT shot which did them in coming down the stretch last night.
It was more a case of what TYPE of shot THAT specific shot was at THAT critical juncture of the game.
Just like the key basket which Biedrins hit, following up on a missed driving layup by Watson for a put-back … when Bosh came to help deter the initial shot attempt and then could not recover quickly enough to also stop Biedrins from getting his own layup … what the Raptors NEEDED most at that specific moment in the game was an offensive rebound put-back, which they might have gotten from a line-up with Calderon + Moon + Graham + Humphries + Bosh on the floor together, at crunch time, rather than the TYPE of shots they got exclusively which were 4 consecutive missed 3’s by Parker, Kapono, Calderon, Kapono, Kapono:
Full Play-By-Play
Bosh Made J3 – 03:29 … Tor 104, GSW 106
Parker Missed J3 – 03:09
Kapono Missed J3 – 02:37
Calderom Missed J3 – 02:24
Kapono Missed J3 – 01:51
Graham Missed J2 – 01:48
Kapono Missed J3 – 01:42
Kapono Made Running J2 – 01:10 … Tor 106, GSW 108
IMO, the best shot the Raptors got, coming down the stretch last night was at the 04:55 mark of the 4th, when they isolated Chris Bosh on the Right Block vs Captain Jack, cleared the right side of the floor, and allowed CB4 to get his jump-hook off in the lane.
[Hopefully, HG was watching and saw them cut their perimeter players to the weak side of the floor!]
If they finish last night’s game with …
Calderon-Moon-Graham-Hump-Bosh
on the floor together, IMO … the Raptors would have closed the deal on the Warriors, in what was a highly entertain ball-game.
Khandor-I completely agree. Kapono is such a liability out there. In addition, when you put a lineup out there with Kap and Parker, you are inviting three point shots to be taken. Not enough defence and rebounding out there during crunch time. I wouldn’t mind your lineup during crunch time, but maybe with Parker at the SG position instead of Moon.
IMO-Calderon needed to take over a bit more in the 4th, as he was scoring easily with high percentage shots off the PNR. The Raps problem during crunch time was that they had no second scoring option on the floor. Calderon needed to be that guy last night.
Khandor,is this your new site ?
khan: i totally agree with your assessment of not getting the ‘right’ shot. i would have liked it go into bosh in the post, since he would have been able to get to rack and draw a foul or finish the layup myself, but a putback would have been nice too.
the one thing about the putback was that the raptors kept getting offensive rebounds in that last couple minutes off the continual three point shots. so a putback shot may not have been the right way to go.
that being said, parker/kapono/calderon all had great looks with minimal coverage and still all missed what would have been the go ahead basket.
as for your comment # 3, although i agree that is a better lineup (although i would probably replace bargnani with o’neal), i am not convinced it will be the type of lineup to win this team big games against quality opponents.
as for your comment # 5, i am pretty sure he was already regretting making that statement in the summer ;)
So lets keep Calderon and Bosh and move errrybody else. Another one that slipped thru the cracks. Calderon won the pg match up, but Rocky aka Bellenili did his thang. BTW, i thought we were a jump shooting team?
Calderon and Bosh are the only players with any value dummy….rotating Craptor scrubs with other team scrubs isn’t going to help this team.
Why do idiot Raptor fans still think that any other teams are as fucking stupid as the Raptor organization is?
‘Why do idiot Raptor fans still think that any other teams are as fucking stupid as the Raptor organization is?’
well, a myriad of ‘questionable’ trades, FA signings & draft picks that happen every year, with a solid majority of teams? even the elite teams have signings/trades/picks they’d rather have do-overs on. the raps ’simply’ need to find a trading partner (or two) who’s having good success with a set rotation that doesn’t include (or isn’t dependent upon) a guy (or two) that could help the raps, and try to work something benefits both. it’s not easy, but it’s also not impossible. of course no team is going to give up an impact player for our scrubs, but it’s entirely conceivable that another team would give up one of their ’scrubs’ who could turn out to be a contributor for the raps.
i mean, jeebuz f’ing, we’re starting JASON KAPONO! AND MOON! how much more shitty of a player or group of players would we have to get back for the situation to actually be worse?
bargnani/kapono/parker have some value, depending on who is trying to make a run, and what their needs are.
the rest are just fodder.
could get some value for o’neal, but that would be a bad pr move by bc (bring the guy in, ship him out within 6 months)
Man Stephen Jackson would look good wearing a raps jersey no?!
Shogunn, yes he would look great…along with Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade. Keep dreaming man and let us know when you get back to reality!
Bring Back Delfino!!!
BBD – is pining for a return of CD any more realistic?
Thx yertu for the back ups… But isn’t Stephen Jackson unhappy with the warriors and doesn’t he want out? Also wasn’t there a rumor floatin around a few weeks back that g-state and the raps were abt to make a huge trade? Something along the lines of barge and kappno for bellinelli, wright and a d-leaguer?
Yertu- fair point…BUT
I pine not so much for a return of Delfino, rather, I pine for a return to the grit and hard work the guy put in defensively, especially his ability to actually box out his man when another player shoots the ball. I pine for a team whose guards actually rebound the ball, so as not to give up so many 2nd chance points. Delfino was nowhere near a supreme athlete, yet HE was able to keep his freaking man in front of him on defence. WHY? Commitment, hard work, sheer drive to win?
I MISS THAT…and I think everyone here on RR does too!
Sorry for the Sarcasm Shogunn, but it’s unrealistic that the Warriors will give up the one guy that allows them to play small ball so successfully. It’s Jackson that allows them to play small because he is able to defend (reasonably well) the opposing teams PF. This is similar to how The Matrix allowed the Suns to play small. Plus, after last night, I doubt the Warriors are feeling that our scrubs are worth anything.
Colangelo has really screwed up our team. I never would have predicted it would be this bad. Our wings are complete dog shit and do nothing but shoot 3’s. We don’t have 1 winner on this team. I rather have Wayne Embry running things full time.
BUT WAIT!!!!!
Messina will surely fix things. You wait and see.
I do not trust our GM. This team is in big trouble
how can anyone say Moon played great defence out there last night. The headband was jumping into the third row on like every pump fake.
Joe u forgot to mention… “… Our wings are complete dogshit and do nothing but shoot threes…” and MISS THEM!!! As evidenced in the last 2-3 min vs g-state!!!
Please for the love of evrything holy can we please get a wing that can shoot and MAKE shots!!!
i’d rather have a wing who can defend and penetrate shogunn.
Agreed Raps Fan…a wing who can create a shot for his teammates and make them better vis a vis some dribble penetration.
penetrate? what’s that mean?
BBD – i miss CD as well, but don’t let the positive memories cloud your overall judgement of him. he was prone to long periods of disappearing on both ends, going hot/cold with his shot, being trigger-happy, etc. yup, he did play good D, and he did rebound some – at the very least, considerably better than what they’ve gotten out of the 2 spot so far. but it wasn’t all roses & bluejays with CD either. on a team like this, with a shorter bench (read: everyone else kinda sucks), perhaps he’d be given more opportunity, and perhaps he’d be the ‘it’ guy that fills the holes. or perhaps not. fact is, you’ve gotta remember what it would have taken to re-sign him during the summer (even w/o factoring in the JO trade).
As I’ve said before … this was/is an example of the type of under-the-radar young wing player who I thought could have really helped the Raptors this past off-season [in contrast to adding someone like Hassan Adams].
Yertu – you are completely right, Delfino was no all star, and all of the feedback you have provided is correct. It just bothers me that the guy was not really athletically gifted, yet he played WAY BETTER DEFENCE then any Raptor wings, who ARE more athletically gifted. It’s frustrating to watch guys like Moon and Graham totally lost on defence half the time. If Barg’s could go to big man camp and learn how to keep HIS feet on the ground and still play D, why can’t Moon? Because he was too busy f-ing off and probably getting high all summer.
When I say Bring Back Delfino, I am referring more to the grit, hard work and determination that, IMO, he represented and brought to this team. Garbo was another fantastic example of these characteristics. That’s what I THINK BC was trying to accomplish by bringing in the European players.
d279, if you’re interested then just click on the name. : )
BBD – i’m all for it…bring back the spirit. and while they’re at it, maybe they can recreate a little bit of whatever it was that made the team actually enjoyable to watch. that year they ‘won’ the atlantic, they played a very entertaining brand of ball. it would be one thing to play ugly & win, but this is just embarassing. no more complaining about not being shown on TV in the states, i’m starting to hope we’d see less of them up here.
khan – i know you like RC, and i know that you can’t really extrapolate how one would fare in a different environment, but c’mon, man. i’d have an easier time getting behind the idea that he’d actually be a difference-maker if he could get some PT in minne-freaking-sota. would he ‘fit’ with TO? absolutely, why not. how would he have gotten here? a straight up trade for ford was what i believe you proposed before, right? let’s pretend a sane GM would trade a legit starting PG for a scrub wing with potential…even if that were the case, the salaries wouldn’t match, so it couldn’t have been a 1-for-1 deal. even in fantasyland, there have to be rules.
OKAY … let’s all stop the whining, bitching and generally destructive criticisms and just convert this forum into a positive place where bball aficionados can logically and lovingly discuss how the Raptors can be improved.
For one, I believe that Bosh has already made up his mind to dump the lugubrious Raptors and hustle back down to Texas, even for less money.
Given that reality, how many decent players and draft picks could we get for Bosh .. and whoever else you can throw into the trade bundle??
Remember … no more shitchatting … just constructive discussion.
We will not trade Bosh for anything. We will let him walk for nothing. We will get something for JO’s expiring though. MSLE wouldn’t allow for Bosh to be traded.
right now, i’m thinking they could get either a 1st rounder, 2nd rounder (futures?) or both, a legit 3 (read: not superstar, or perhaps even allstar calibre, just a legit starting 3 who can hit a bit from outside, defend his position, rebound, & force the D to pay attention to him – think outlaw…drool. or fernandez…double drool) & a back-up big or back-up PG.
am i underestimating bosh’s perceived value around the league, or overestimating?
This has to be the lineup of the year, for the worst ever to play, to start the 2nd quarter by Triano, the next head coach that needs not to be:
Solomon
Parker
Graham
Bargnani
Voskuhl
What the hell did he expect from this group? He had to play Calderon for the entire 2nd half because he was afraid to play Solomon or Ukic, a good signal to BC of their ineptness.
This team is going nowhere until BC finds a back-up PG who can pass and score, and a SG/SF who can play/pass/score 20pts on any given night, and get to the line for FT’s.
It’s downright embarising to play teams with players like Watson, Bellineli, Azubuike, who actually contribute to wins.
BC’s comments about the quality of this team are the stupidest thing he has ever said, and have created unreasonable expectations, that have so far cost a coaching change, that has so far made matters worse, with no improvement on the horizon.
sorry Johnn19 but Im pretty sure that the contribution for GS from those guys isnt helping very much- they are 10-23 and have an even worse record than the raps.
yertu,
If you think that deal wouldn’t have matched up last season financially then you need to brush up on how the NBA’s arcane Salary Cap Rules actually work. : )
——————————–
Succeeding in the NBA game for players like the one I’ve suggested could have helped the Raptors last summer and, say, someone like Marco Belinelli, for example … who couldn’t even get off the bench in San Fransico for the last 12 months … is a case of finding a good fit for the talents you have, in the first place, when you’re someone who’s got legit skills like each of these respective players actually have.
——————————–
If I’m not mistaken the “legit starting PG” you’re referring to has HIS team even further down the standings in the EC this season, at least at the moment, than the Raptors are right now.
While you may think that he fits into the legit starting PG category, at this stage of his career, it’s a fact that, I do not … which is why, in part, I would have made THAT specific 1-for-1 trade in a heart-beat, had the 76ers been willing, i.e. dealing an overpaid back-up PG with a congential spine column defect for a cost-effective young, athletic, under-the-radar wing who can rebound, get to the rim in transition, finish, and defend multiple G/F positions with a decent assist:turnover [for a player who doesn't get to play a lot].
FAQ- Im with you on Bosh- but I think what is actually happening is that he is protesting the firing of SMITCH and replacing him with Triano. Im pretty sure if you brought in a real coach and tweaked this roster, you’d see him playing a little differently.
Also, I dont think its Bosh’s “play” that is the problem. I think it is more his body language – especially after games, or iin time outs. Thats the part that signals to me that he is mailing it in. Its hard to argue with the effort of a guy who puts up 20-10 every night.
re: comment #31
If you’re going to suggest being constructive going forward from here …
For one, I believe that Bosh has already made up his mind to dump the lugubrious Raptors and hustle back down to Texas, even for less money.
Given that reality, how many decent players and draft picks could we get for Bosh .. and whoever else you can throw into the trade bundle??
Remember … no more shitchatting … just constructive discussion.
then, I’d also suggest that the first thing YOU do is stop referring to the stuff I’ve bolded in what you wrote above as some type of given reality … when, the simple FACT IS that it is no such thing.
IMO, that, right there, would be actually be positive, constructive place for YOU to start … if you’re so inclined to engage in THAT type of discussion, exclusively. : )
‘For one, I believe that Bosh has already made up his mind to dump the lugubrious Raptors and hustle back down to Texas, even for less money.’
‘I BELIEVE.’ as in, it’s an opinion. whether it’s ‘factual’ or not is irrelevant, it’s an opinion.
like, when you state that the raps would be a better team with jose starting with moon at the 2, joey at 3, hump at 4 & bosh at 5. that’s an opinion, it’s something you believe…it’s not fact unless/until it can be proven.
Dont worry guys, Ive started reading coaching books and in 7-8 years I should be ready to lead the Raptors to victory. Just be patient.
Khandor were talking about the Raptors, not your views on life. Stop spewing garbage
for someone who routinely complains about others misreading what you’ve written, you seem to do a fair bit of the same yourself.
and that, right there, is why, IMO, it, in the NBA, right there, is why, some, will see, and others, will, not < SeE tHe liGhT.
phd,
IMO, you are totally mis-reading the body language and post-game comments you are seeing/hearing from Chris Bosh these days, if you think that he is just “mailing it in”, working under Jay Triano.
In contrast to that perspective, what I see from Chris, in these specific circumstances, is an amazing sense of growing maturity, re: the elements of his life and his game which are totally within his own control, and his willingness/ability to adapt to a changing environment around him.
Although he might not be acting/re-acting in the way you personally would prefer to see from him, from a leadership standpoint, IMO, it is not because Chris Bosh is failing as a still young leader for this team.
—————
The person who has failed, in that regard, re: team leadership, in this specific situation, thus far, has been Bryan Colangelo … who had no business firing Sam Mitchell when he did, other than “that’s how this man usually conducts his business, as a GM in the NBA.”
The problem with Triano is he isn’t a leader like the great head coaches, Phil or Greg or Sloan. He has the charisma of a plastic plant. No NBA experience to speak of unless being Sam’s yes man counts. Media won’t bury him because he’s a Canadian boy.
But the worst of the bunch has got to be our scouts. Horrible. MLSE keeps them because there cheap. It’s too $$ to being in the best, remember.
scouting
coaching
assistant coaching
doctors
shooting coaches
owners
president
GM
assistant GM
All of the above must be disposed of before we can even discuss who to play along side of Bosh.
and that, right there, is why, IMO, it, in the NBA, right there, is why, some, will see, and others, will, not < SeE tHe liGhT. – Yertu
Hahahahaha!
Imagine if we ALL wrote like that!
yertu,
The problematic words were … “given that reality” … and, then, suggesting that others go forward from there with constructive discussions.
Me never ever have a problem with the giving of opinions. : )
Or, for that matter, staying within the parameters of artificial constructs, e.g. If Chris was to leave the Raptors, then what would your suggestions be for this team to improve going forward from there?
Joe,
re: comment #41
The FACT IS … at least, for some of us … they are intertwined.
Joe,
——————————–
scouting
coaching
assistant coaching
doctors
shooting coaches
owners
president
GM
assistant GM
All of the above must be disposed of before we can even discuss who to play along side of Bosh.
——————————–
I agree with what you wrote right there.
khandor
Dec 30, 2008 2:40 pm | Permalink
yertu,
The problematic words were … “given that reality” … and, then, suggesting that others go forward from there with constructive discussions.
Me never ever have a problem with the giving of opinions. : )
Or, for that matter, staying within the parameters of artificial constructs, e.g. If Chris was to leave the Raptors, then what would your suggestions be for this team to improve going forward from there?
————–
Just because you have a good vocabulary doesn’t mean your smart. 2 very seperate things. Your posts lack meaning, substance and make no sense at all. It’s as if you have no clue what your talking about really. None of your posts make any sense yet you still go on and on and on. Just shut up for a bit, please.
A minor trade will not fix anything. Joey, Hump, AP or Kapono will not return anything of any substance, certainly nothing that will fix the various problems we have (perimeter D, rebounding, lack of drive ‘n kick, slasher). We can’t even trade Calderon because there’s nobody who can step in and come close to his level of play. BC needs to make a decision: can this team compete (win playoff series)? If yes, then make the tweaks, if not, then blow this up and put everyone on the trading block and start from scratch. This mediocre BS of losing to half-decent teams and beating only bad ones is fools gold.
agreed.
Westender, I couldnt have said it any better-
fools gold.
Yertu, if in the other post you asked “really?” regarding JO and Bird making stuff up to deflect attention from his knee. Here you go:
“Because neither O’Neal nor the Pacers wanted to further diminish his trade value, “we didn’t really want to speak much about my injuries,” he said. “Whenever it got to the point where I had to sit out, we just had to call it something else. But over the last 2½ years, that knee was the issue.”
Flu like symptoms, my you know what. Here’s one for ya.. check out his production after back to back games or after he plays major minutes in a game. Now he goes out and plays major minutes in a back to back for the 1st time this year and then has flu like symptoms? His knee is bunko, period.
How come this site never has a discussion on how messed up and bi-polar Raptors fans are? Honestly, probably the most cynical and bandwagon jumping NBA fans there are.
Most teams cheer for their teams when they’re down to encourage them to get back in the game. Raps fans seem to only cheer when they are either a) within two points down and have the ball, or b) have 99 points and are going for free pizza.
I’ve been to games where the team is down by like 6 points and everyone starts booing, or where they’re crushing a team up by 11, and everyone is sitting on their hands disinterested.
What is up with Toronto fans? Honestly, it’s not normal. I’m not blaming them for the team’s sucking, but I mean as a completely independent topic, please travel to another NBA arena and check it out. We are not normal.
Maybe you just don’t visit this site often enough, Simon. The topic has been discussed and is discussed frequently. Look in the archives.
And you are off base with this “we are not normal” talk. Other fans are pretty much the same (or would be if their team played like the Raps)
The Lakers and Celtics have been booed by their fans a few times this year…and look at their records. Is that normal to you?
As far as the Raps. People boo because this team cannot comeback and because they play with zero energy when they are down. And what’s the point in cheering when you know this team will blow the lead? Please, spare me the crowd is the 6th man crap.
Philly is also notorious for booing at times you would consider not normal. Think you better slow down on the not normal talk, not everyone cheers the same way you do or for that matter has to. It’s a free country after all.
Hi Everyone,
First time blogging on RR but have been reading posts from this site thoughout the last couple of weeks. (Been dead at the office) I wanted to wish everyone a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Don’t have anything new to add but I can’t believe I’m following them so much this year when their blow arse.
Love this site BTW GJ guys!
Victor
welcome aboard victor
Simon, you are right, we are a bit bi-polar.
Actually, no were not! how dare you accuse us.
Sorry, you were right, yes we are.
ugh.
To be fair, no I don’t visit that often.
Anyways, it’s one thing to boo a lack of effort. Every city does that.
I’m referring more to how short a leash Toronto fans give their team. Did you check out the Warriors fans during that past game? They’re incredibly loud, and despite the team squandering a lot of leads and being pretty horrible in general this year, they still provide support instead of just sitting on their hands waiting to be impressed.
The first reaction for many Raptors fans is that our team sucks. Not “that was a bad call” or “that was a fluke shot” or “insert common fan speak here”.
I’ve watched NBA games in a handful of cities, and in terms of fan vibe, there definitely is a difference here. (Except maybe in Atlanta. Back when I went, it was basically like a library there.)
Again, this is unrelated to the teams performance woes. I mean in general, it’s more of a mass fan psyche topic. It’s interesting — as a lot of it seems to have been caused by cheering for a hockey team through childhood until eventually that team makes you so cynical you almost give up on sports hope.
a team like the warriors, although having worse record than the raptors and less of a hope of even making the playoffs, can surprise the league and its fans at times by beating teams like the celtics. A team like the warriors is playing up to the par and can be fun to watch with realistic expections. THe raptors, however, are playing complete dogshit more talented players, more all stars, and more expectations. AND its not even REALISTIC to expect the raptors to SURPRISE, because they fucking will NOT, they ll never beat teams like the celtics or even any other half-decent team. we cannot even EXPECT them to beat team like the FUCKING thunder for god’s sake and this is a team that was supposed to win 48-52 games r u fucking kidding me? Just imagine how disappointed fans like me are.
the fucking soft marshmallow attitude the raptors bring and their fucking soft oncourt manuevers totally fucking disgust me. no fucking WILL whatsoever. they never have the TOUGH mentality to FIGHT thru games. NEVER SURPRISE. NO EXPECTATIONS WHATFUCKINGSOEVER.
I stopped watching raptors 4-5 games ago…. triano is a stupid nerd.
I dont get why he benched Ukic? whats so wrong that he did? the guy is the only bright spot on this shitty team anyways.
Is it premature to declare the Raptor’s hopes of reaching the playoffs are next to nil ??
Surely it must be concluded now that this team has gaping deficiencies that cannot be mitigated with time .. only by trades.
This team has not improved so far and it’s doubtful they can jell as a team. It seems doubtful they can improve much by the trading deadline in February.
Triano is giving playing time to players that BC wants to trade and is hoping to make them look good. Sort of advertising them while trying to look respectable. Maybe Ukic is not being played because BC wants to keep him in Toronto, and doesn’t want anybody to ask for him.
Bosh is most likely aware of what has to happen, and he must be preparing for his future too.
I think we can all agree Salmon is useless & has LITTLE or NO value.
Salmon is probably getting court time to showcase his…ahhh… skills (Did I just put Salmon & Skills in same sentence???). Hopefully he’ll have a good stretch of games & he might gain SOME value for some Trade Bait.
Plus the Raptors are going through a major slump. Put Salmon in control of the Train Wreak. Let him be the Fall Guy. Once the Raptors get through the next couple games, hopefully the DUST settles, Salmon will ShowCase his MAX value….$-.01, and Roko will get finally get PlayTime again. He’s still learning American Style Basketball. The current Train Wreak Style would probably ‘Taint’ Poor Roko The Euro Rookie. “ROKO GOT GAME”
Why does it Hurt Being A Raptor Fan? Maybe I can bum some Asprain off O’Neal…
FAQ… missed your post… I’m with ya on the BC trying to add value to players. Didn’t refresh screen. Just seen Boston go down to Portland without Roy.
Wow.
Well well well:
Portland gives Boston a beating without Brandon. Nice to have a team with a winning mentality from each player. 1 to 15, those guys are studs. They’re all mentally tough as you can see as well as character guys. Any one player from that team is better then any one of our players.
mental toughness -check
defense – check
rebounding – check
3 point – check
mid range game- check
shot blocking – check
ownership – check
gm – check
scouting – check
fans – check
We have complete dog shit on our team and they have gold coins