Would the real Andrea Bargnani please stand up?For some reason hearing the guy yell Canada Sucks in this video always gets me pumped up for the Wizards. You might even call it pride, and pride is what the Wizards aren’t showing these days. Ed Tapscott tried to motivate his players for the game by promising them a day off practice if they won. Didn’t work. The Raptors’ blistering shooting and aggressive defense had them up 21 in the second quarter and by the time Washington decided to play hard, the game was out of reach. A couple Washington runs sparked by unforced turnovers saw them cut the lead dangerously close, but in the end they didn’t have a answer for Bargnani or Bosh, the latter earning a reprieve through some good fourth quarter play. There were some nervous fourth quarter possessions but the Raptors managed to beat the worst team in the East by leading wire-to-wire.
Andrea, please don’t stop now. 25 points on 9 shots including 4-5 threes? You put up those kind of numbers and nobody will care that you only grabbed 4 rebounds in 35 minutes, if you keep this up we might actually be able to ask for TWO quality players in a trade. Seriously, his confidence is sky high and he’s extremely sure of himself on the court. There’s no hesitation in his moves, he’s sizing up what the defense is giving him and making a decision to drive, shoot or pass within 2 seconds (contrast this with the 7 seconds it takes Bosh). He’s spacing out the floor beautifully and is fighting for the boards if not getting them. I think we all agree that it’s feast or famine with this guy, I’m still not sure what to expect from him over the next week but if this is the sign of the real Bargnani, welcome! If he’s going to go back to deer-staring-in-headlights mode, it was nice knowing you. One thing is for sure, trading him right now is either the smartest move Colangelo will make or the dumbest.
Or perhaps he should trade O’Neal? As much as you or I would like to deny that O’Neal being out is not the reason why Bargnani is playing well, Bargnani’s consistently great play over the last week and a half suggests otherwise. Can the two coexist? Is there a coaching tweak that will allow them to be on the same team with Bosh and be effective? Bargnani’s touches have naturally increased with O’Neal out and you can argue that he’s the type of player that thrives on touches more than shots. He only hoisted up 9 shots today but was much more involved in the game than when O’Neal is out there. O’Neal isn’t a black hole by any means but he does force Bargnani to play the SF and when the ball does get kicked out to Bargnani at the wing against a quicker SF, he will naturally struggle to use his quickness. Today against Blatche he was able to use his natural advantage over other players at his logical position much more easily than say, against Stephen Jackson.
On with the recap, Calderon was out with the hammy, O’Neal was out with…er…knee? And Jamario Moon had a little baby girl. Raptors Republic congratulates him. Seriously, we do, it’s one of the few things he’s done right this year. Since Ha-Ha-Hassan got traded (partly thanks to ex-Raptor Fred Jones) and released within 20 minutes, our roster was down to 9 men and on any other night it would’ve been a straight-up L but these are the Wizards.
Bargnani and Solomon led the Raptors with 7 and 6 as they shot 12-17 (71%) in the first quarter and opened up a 27-16 lead. Anthony Parker was matched up with Caron Butler which left Andray Blatche guarding Bargnani who showed no hesitation in putting the ball on the floor against Blatche whose defense reminded me of one John Wallace. There was a first quarter play which showed the difference in attitude and intensity between the two players: Bargnani caught the ball on the corner and drove the baseline, easily going past Blatche. Instead of moving his feet to defend, Blatche blatantly grabbed Bargnani from behind to get the foul. Prior to that, Bargnani had gotten a dunk by making a solid cut right down the heart of the paint, Bosh made the quick-hit pass as he was sizing up on the left-block. It was plays like these, some great inside-out ball-movement, efficient swing passes and error-free point-guard play from Will Solomon that had the Raptors out in front. Washington was doubling Bosh and he managed to properly pass it out for 4 first quarter assists including three to open shooters (Parker, Graham, Solomon). The drive ‘n kick was working for Solomon (Jose, take note) and the defense was keeping Caron Butler and Mike James on the perimeter – Will Solomon doing an excellent job of digging in against James.
The second quarter was a more competitive affair. Jason Kapono came off the bench to guard Nick Young and you’re immediately thinking bad matchup for the Raptors. Instead of letting Young punish him off the bounce, Kapono took it to the slasher by hitting two quick-fire threes setup nicely by Roko and Parker. Of course he followed it up by throwing the most nonchalant pass to Solomon in the backcourt which got picked off and returned for two. Given how bad he’s been playing of late his 12 points on 5-8 shooting can be considered a phenomenal game which should up his trade value. Jamison’s inside/outside game makes him a very tough matchup for anyone, after scoring only 2 in the first quater he exploded for 11 points in 5:34 and gave the Wizards the belief that they could hang with the Raptors if they crashed the offensive boards and tried to initiate their offense through early drive ‘n kick plays instead of isolation sets. Nick Young might have only had three points in the frame but he had an impact in the quarter – his activity against Kapono threw the Raptors defensive positions off as they conceded 5 offensive rebounds. What was once a 21 point lead had been sliced to 12 and the get-lead-blow-lead pattern was being followed yet again.
A note about Antawn Jamison, I liked the guy but he refuses to give the Raptors any credit thus changing my opinion of him from good guy to prick:
It’s a step back, not because of who wasn’t on the court for them, but just the way we played. We didn’t play good basketball at all. We didn’t get effort. We got outrebounded by one of the worst teams in the NBA. We thought the outcome should have been different.
Voskuhl got the call ahead of Humphries and did a nice job of throwing his weight around and playing big. Humphries got into the game in the second quarter looking really anxious and picked up a foul within 14 seconds. After that he conceded a bad offensive rebound to Caron Butler who made him pay with 2 FTs. We’ve seen how Bargnani and Graham have struggled in the past whenever they’re looking over their shoulder and it’s safe to say that Humphries is falling into that trap. He’s playing like his sole goal is to win his job back, not do what’s right on the court. He can be a valuable asset to this team and Triano’s got to keep him in the regular rotation. True to “Hump Jordan”, he later drove the ball for a great dunk. Hopefully that does something for him.
A Wizards 7-0 early third quarter run sparked cut the lead down to 7 making this a whole new ball-game. The Raptors affinity towards turning the ball over had kept the Wizards in the game and now they were ready to pounc on us. We committed 20 turnovers which led to 21 Wizard points. and if it weren’t for us shooting 54% for the game this would’ve been the main reason we would’ve lost. The 35 people in the crowd felt the momentum shift to the home side as the Wizards started to get some defensive stops thanks to 6 Raptors turnovers in 5:23 seconds. Jamison, Butler and Blatche got scores and it looked like their offense had woken up. That’s when the most important run of the game happened.
The lead was at 8 and Chris Bosh drove the ball aggressively at Jamison for a score, on the ensuing possession Bargnani came up with a big block to Jamison which sparked the fastbreak and Bargnani dished it off to Will Solomon who banked in a short jumper. The Wizards go back to Jamison who gets blocked again – this time by Bargnani – and Parker pushes the break to find Bargnani who was ran a nice channel for two more. The lead was back up to 14 and momentum was back with the Raptors. Key defensive plays had sparked the offense and the Raptors were once again firmly in control. We went -1 for the remaining 5:13 of the quarter and took a 13 point lead into the final frame. We bended but didn’t break.
The lineup of Ukic, Graham, Voskuhl, Kapono and Bargnani started the fourth. Triano elected to rest Bosh and those pesky Wizards immediately went to Jamison and he got two scors as part of a 8-2 run against Bargnani. Bosh returned when the lead was at 7 and the Raptors went to him as the double came leaving Bargnani open for three as the Wizards rotated – big splash! The lead was back to 10 but the danger wasn’t over, Jamison and Songalio hit jumpers to cut the lead down to 5 with 7:20 left. Jamison was being a problem, he had 32 on 23 shots but probably should’ve taken about 35 for them to have a chance. This was the closest the Wizards had been since the first quarter and it meant that the Raptor would have to execute down the stretch, albeit against the East’s worst team.
Bosh then put his aggressive hat on and traded punches with the Wizards at the FT line for 9 points, the Wizards (like many teams) can’t counter his quickness and when the referees are obliging, it’s gravy train for CB4. After much bally-hoo including two questionable Chris Bosh jumpers (why even take those when they’ve shown they can’t stop you) we had a 6 point lead with 2:20 left and that’s when the most important play of the game happened: Bosh doubled, kicks it out to Bargnani for 3. 9 point lead with 2 minutes left, when’s the charter home?
Anthony Parker deserves a lot of credit for forcing Caron Butler into 6-18 shooting while himself netting 15 point and 7 rebounds on 6-9 FG. Maybe he’s caught his second wind, whatever it is he’s playing with more energy and was able to keep Caron Butler from attracting multiple defenders in the paint. After him and Moon got lit up by on Monday he came back and put in a professional performance against an All-Star caliber player. I know its pathetic to be talking in these terms but a game like this has to increased his trade value and perhaps tell other GMs that he’s got more in the tank than what some might’ve thought.
Mike James was probably licking his chops after he did a double-take on Will and Roko’s names in the game program. Little did he know that Solomon was going to outplay him on both ends. Aside from a couple forced shots he ran the team flawlessly in the halfcourt by giving the ball up to Bosh, making the swing pass instead of taking a semi-contested jumper and by driving to the rim whenever James was struggling through a screen (Voskuhl and Bargnani with good ones). Roko came in and played well, nothing spectacular but he hit a long jumper and a driving layup and only had one turnover. He obviously needs playing time to hone his skill and get used to NBA defenses. With Solomon being the better shooter and evidently higher in Triano’s depth chart, he’s not going to get those 20-30 minutes a game he needs to get better and that is the ONLY case to be made for him to be sent to the D-League. Personally, I think he’s an asset to this team the way he is but if you’re looking out for his long-term future, it might be the better thing to do.
We lost the PINP battle 42-24 but that’s OK when you shoot 54% and go +10 on the boards. Let’s not get to excited, it’s the Wizards after all. They might’ve beaten Cleveland but they are the worst in the East. We got another easy one coming up on Friday against Memphis and after that is a true test – a home-and-home against the Celtics who lost to Houston last night. For now let’s just look forward to having a chance of coming within 5 games of .500, the same it was before we started that 6-game Western trip.
Don’t forget to check out Hassan Adams’ final appearance in the Roll Call.
58 Raps
Anyone else find it funny watching Mike James starting against Will Solomon? That being said Solomon played a lot better than I expected, I was half-expecting a mike james vs mike james type match up.
Bravo will solomon! the best player on this team rite now, great great player who really “stepped up” … come on, raptors won vs a pathetic wizards team, not thanks to solomon but bargnani and bosh who btw had more assists tonite than both PGs. defense on perimeter was once again 0, so many open looks, only wiz cant shoot 3s.
Roko needs a chance but if he continues like this he will get it very soon.
MoneyCarlo – praise for Will Solomon does not mean Roko is being dissed. I like Roko, much more than Solomon but you have to give credit where credit is due. Ideally, I want to see Roko get 25 minutes of playing time at PG/SG but its not happening with Triano and I think that’s slowing down his development. Maybe once AP is traded it’ll increase, if we tank then it’ll definitely increase but right now the bottom line is that he needs more playing time. I’d like to see him more get more burn with the Raptors but if it ain’t happening here, maybe the D-League is an option for a month or two. Keep in mind that it’s not a demotion by any means.
man…fuck antwan…..good report again arse.the ball movement has gotten better each game as opposed to the good ol sammy go to pnr.were competing and even though we lost a heartbreaker against the bucks this team is really coming together.im starting to think the best thing to ever happen to this squad was jo and caldy gettin hurt for a bit,its allowed valuable minutes to guys who needed it to get their confidence back and realize they can ball in this l.once we phase in caldy and jo into a much better environment and a more confident squad,who knows.maybe we can go off for a 16-6 spurt and get up into the 5th spot………….also,why do i feel like puking every time i see parker at the free throw line late in ball games.is it me or does this guy always miss one or both since he’s been a raptor?
Arse, the problem is Will needs to play because we need shooters who can space the floor more than a floor general. We run a motion offence anyway, which allows for some freelancing but basically it’s get the ball to bosh (but with better spacing than Mitchell’s options–it’s a little more Princeton offence)
We run a few more plays for bargs and parker early to get them off and force the d to move, and then it’s Bosh time.
With Roko, the d can get set easier because he can’t shoot. You also have to remember that Will does have a year’s experience on roko, having played for the Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies earlier in his career.
Thus, he’s the spacing and seniority pick. They guy can hit an open three and that makes the defence move. It’s why he’ll continue to get fourth quarter looks even though he’s not a “point” per say. They need someone who’ll pull the trigger so Bosh can get a little more space in crunch time. he almost hit that dagger three against the Bucks–it was in and out.
frankly, what we need to do is trade kapono’s ass so we can play Solomon at the two, where, IMO, he is best suited. Roko and will should be playing together. He’d at least push the tempo for the bench guys to dunk alot and Roko can run pick and roll with bargs and solomon in the half court. he can also defend twos ALOT better despite his slight height disadvantage.
Roko
Will
Joey
Humps
Bargs/Bosh/Scrub center/Jawai
Strikes me as a useful bench.
David Moro said it well. And Arse, I think you’ve got to be a little more patient when it comes to player development. If Roko has a season full of ups and downs but comes into next year with a reasonable facsimile of a jump shot then PG is one position the Raptors don’t have to worry about in 2009-10 – the Season of Hope! (Again). The jump shot is a practice thing and who knows when (or if) it comes around. Games are important but so is giving this year’s players a hope of winning a few.
Bargs’ resurgence (surgence?) looks good. JO needs to show some real professionalism and leadership when he is ready to return because it’s on him and Triano to figure out how to preserve one of the relative bright spots of this season. And I bet Chicago is interested in him if the Raptors are willing to take back Larry Hughes – a deal I might do if a young wing and maybe a draft pick were coming back as well.
Hey Raps fan! Rashad Mobley was at the game last night in Washington with media credentials for Hoops Addict and got the scoop on the Raps. He has a great joke from Triano on Moon’s new child, insight in the Hassan Adams trade, praise for Bargs and a ton of other stuff you’ll like to read.
You can check it out here: http://www.hoopsaddict.com/2009/01/08/game-notes-toronto-vs-washington/
(s)will CAN hit 3’s…it’d be nice if he could figure out where the 3-pt line was and actually stand BEHIND it once in a while. i’ve lost count of how many near-3’s he’s hit (with a toe on the line) over the last few games.
JK – amazing how hitting some shats changes things. he didn’t play any better last night than he has been, but his shats were falling, and since he only has value as a shat maker (or a shat-making threat), if he’s not hitting shats, then he has no real value.
bargs/VL – another impressive outing. i hope i’ll be excused for not getting overly excited about his recent run of good games, it’s not the first time he’s had such a streak (take a look at last year’s game stats). the only thing that’s got me the slightest bit optimistic is that he’s playing good D, and is at least trying to rebound.
i hope jose’s been watching the games, and noticing how both will & roko go to outlet spots on the floor when the raps grab defensive rebounds, as opposed to circling back behind the rebounder to be handed the ball. pushing the pace doesn’t mean running around or forcing breaks that aren’t there, it simply means putting pressure on the D to react to what you’re doing, as opposed to allowing them the time to set up (& forcing the offense to react to what they’re doing defensively). the spacing/movement on offense still isn’t great, but it’s getting better, and i’m thinking that part of that is a result of forcing the D back on their heels just a bit.
robo-joe/hump?
hmm…with Z out, would the cavs consider using wally’s expiring contract for JO?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2172~831~615&teams=28~28~5&te=&cash=
why would cleveland do it? shore up the 4/5 (esp. w/ Z out), defense (thoretically), better offensive option in the post than AV & ben (but a guy who’s better as a 2nd/3rd option), playoff experience, deal expires in ‘10.
why would TO do it? get rid of JO, allowing VL to start at the 5, get back a decent 2 in wally with an expiring deal & a shitty guy in sasha who could be a decent bench guy/spot up shooter with a better contract than JK. frees up (somewhat) the raps to move both AP & JK for a wing.
While I too am brimming with trade ideas maybe Raptors fans should get a sense of priorities. Improving the team is all well and good but there is more important work to do first. With the season circling the drain it’s time to unite around 2 important issues: 1) getting rid of thunderstix – they are a blight upon the NBA landscape and the people of Toronto can lead the herd out of the wilderness by getting rid of them; and 2) the return of mop girl – maybe this has been discussed in the past but what happened to her?
yertu – we already have a Wally on this team, his name’s Anthony Parker.
Sam – here’s an RR exclusive. We don’t have access to the players but we do have the mop girl. She’s working on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and will be back in Toronto by April or so. As for getting rid of the thunder sticks, I’m all for it as long as we find another way of distracting FTs. I suggest this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHB6W_r9ag
David Moro – As I said in the post, I understand why Will is playing more, he’s got a better shot. But I was hoping that he could be brought along the same pace as Jose, or even faster. Right now he’s playing 11 MPG, Jose played 23 his first year.
Arse, all you guys need is some RR-embossed speedos (I’m thinking silver lame with red accents and make sure to emphasize the crotchal area), the right seats and someone to do it. I think Colangelo would be great for this. It’s crunch time Bryan and everyone has to sacrifice. I’ve spent enough to buy you a few custom shirts. The least you could do is tear one of them off while Dwight Howard is at the line.
sometimes, a trade isn’t necessarily about what players you get back, but what the removal of a player (and/or their contract) does for the team, as a whole.
i’m not advocating that wally or sasha are answers to the raps problems, by any stretch of the imagination. but the facts seem to be that bargs, er, VL, isn’t going to be traded, & AP & JK, while appealing to some on a certain level, aren’t going to bring much of anything back, at least not enough to make them better this year. while adding wally & sasha to this lineup doesn’t make them (significantly) better either, it doesn’t make them worse; as has been shown over the last few games, they seem to be playing better w/o JO anyway. what happens when he’s healthy? does he willingly go to the bench, or does he go back to starting, forcing VL to the bench & possibly throwing a wrench into what he’s got going on? does he bitch & moan, decreasing his value on the market (if that’s possible)?
to me, this year’s a lost cause. they need to refocus attention to THIS offseason by starting to put the pieces in place that will allow them to make moves that will improve the team next year & that will also allow them to retain bosh.
Those thundersticks are retarded – the crowd need to wave them like in the youtube link.
I hate Duke, but Duke fans are the best. I loved how they’d scream out exactly what the opposing player was doing i.e. BOUNCE! BOUNCE! BOUNCE! PASS! as it happened.
I have to say,
I will give up J.Killa’s offence,for someone who can defend anybody !!!just brutal.
I would think that if JK is on the floor,its because Moon is having his headband surgically attached to his head.
Andiamo,in regards to the VL coments,I’m an Italian Canadian and I thought it was pretty funny…but I have to say that after reading your comments,I almost pissed myself.
Arse,
Pretty good summary, interesting take on everyone’s play and how it relates to their respective trade value. I think league wide, Kapono is a pretty well known quantity, and nothing he does is going to radically change his value, he’s a shooter, and one of the best in the L… Parker on the other hand has shown that he’s not done yet… which may have improved his value.
I really think that the team’s play with O’Neal out has been interesting, to say the least. The key question to be asked to me is:
Is it the practice time that’s got the ball movement going, or is O’Neal just a bad fit for the new system and this team? If it’s the latter, they should move O’Neal ASAP. I personally don’t particularly care if it’s for Marbury who we immediately buy out and maybe a pick….
and BTW, I think you mean that Bosh had the first big block, followed by the Bargnani block….
TORONTO.. IN MY BASKETBALL?!?!
GO RAPTORS
The litmus test for AB is going to be the Boston series. If he can hold his own after getting beat up up against a cadre of KG, Baby and Perk, I would re-consider this VL moniker.
Once JO and JC gets back, and assuming no one is traded, how about a two shift lineup as in hockey – have the run and gun fast paced squad with AB, Hump, Moon, JG and Ukic getting 15 minute burn versus the half court line up with the post guys surrounded by 3 pt shooters – Bosh, JO, JK, AP and JC for 30 mins..
rinse and repeat..
I don’t think you have to be really worried about Barg’s rebounding numbers. A lot of the ‘easy’ rebounds (one and dones for the other teams with no one crashing the boards) were picked up by graham and voshkul. I dont mind if bargs gets four, and doesnt fight his own team for rebounds. WHat I really like about Bargs performance besides the consistent scoring ability is the fact that he plays good defense and even if he doesn’t get the rebound, his man doesnt. These ‘checks’ or box-outs are nearly as important as securing the rebound itself.
My opinion has swayed considerably on Bargnani, and I think we should keep him. If we can peddle O’neal and Kapono one quality wing and some depth, this team will be sitting pretty entering the off-season
Dino,
I’m with you on your rebounding perspective. As much as I realize Rebounds are an important stat (from a team perspective), one has to wonder when this stat is artificially padded.
Take Moon for example. When the opposition has bailed, and there are 3 or 4 Raps hanging around the basket, Moon has been known to climb over his fellow Raps, snaring the rebound as if it was a competition.
I guess that’s why they say Stats only go so far. And why certain sports media types think Moon is the best thing since sliced bread (relatively speaking). Even perusing other team’s blog sites, you have to wonder when they say they’d love to get Moon in a trade. Good thing they’re not the GM.
Actually, it’s too bad they’re not.
to avoid the playing time debate and potential team chemistry issues, i’d really like Colangelo to make this trade (which makes sense for both teams):
Jermaine O’Neal
Jason Kapono
to the NY Knicks for
Stephon Marbury
David Lee
imo, for the sake of Bargnani’s development the Raptors have to let him start for the rest of the season.. no question about it.
that does not make sense for NY. They do not want salaries past 2010 and Kapono is on the hook for 6 million.
Dino: both O’Neal and Kapono’s contracts expire in 2010, so no worries in that regard. the thinking is that the Knicks would get a quality big man in O’Neal for a talented guard (Marbury) who is sitting at home. d’antoni could probably do wonders with Kapono and the raptors would get a solid player in Lee to back up Bosh and Bargnani.
pugalug, Kaps goes till 2011. Its a good trade in prinicple if kapono went till 2010, but i think the extra year would make the knicks hestitate on taking the deal. Personally, as a raps fan, I like the deal
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/toronto.htm
Dino: i stand corrected. espn trade machine has it wrong, but i dug up a press release of the Jason Kapono signing and confirmed that the Raptors have him guaranteed to the end of the 2010/11 season.
would the Knicks be interested in Anthony Parker alonside Jermaine O’Neal?
On another note, I also saw the Miami/Denver Game. First, I hate Dick Vitale, I know why he went 23 years between announcing NBA game. He makes Chuck sound like a bored Matt Devlin. Also you could clearly see Marion trying to pad his stats. Chasing free throw miss rebounds and fighting for them against his own teammates. I would HATE if we have players like that on own team.
i am honoured to be Rap of the day – thanks guys.
Vegetable Mago, at this point in his career (3 years in the league…should be blossoming) needs to get some serious minutes on the floor. And, it has also been proven, I think, that he is not a player like Manu that can be an integral part of the team AND come off the bench. Come to think of it, I am not sure that there are many players that like coming off the bench when they believe they are good enough to start. It is a completely different mindset coming from the bench. All of a sudden you are the energy guy that has to come in and get hot quickly, or coach is gonna sit your ass down. My concern with him starting: rebounds, toughness, and rebounds. Solution? Tough rebounding #3? I dunno.
I think that O’Neal has the mental toughness, if he chooses, to come off the bench. If he chooses not to bitch and moan, which he might, then he would be a good energy guy. But remember, this is a guy who, in his prime, is accustomed to 40 mins a game, and 20 and 10. Coming off the bench, and as a sub for Bosh no less, means a serious minute decrease. Would you accept that?
Peacedog: I think that lineup with AB, Hump, Moon, JG and Ukic is a recipe for disaster. There is no offensive threat whatsoever if the opposing team simply clogs the paint. As for the other lineup, it is what we tried basically, before JO hurt is back/knee/shoulder/ego. I don’t think the results were what we thought they should be.
oh, and i hear Hassan got waived…poor guy…maybe we can bring him back as our own personal speedo guy?
If we move O’Neal won’t we essentially be last year’s team and idn’t we hate last year’s team and how they got owned by the Magic? We had some nice wins last year too but overall the year was crappy, just cuz Bargs is tearing it up for a few games doesn’t change the fact that even with him playing at this current level, we’re still getting bounced in the first round.
BC’s got to strike while the iron is hot and if he’s not going to trade Bargnani, he should atleast shop him around. Monta Ellis anyone?
Somebody said that the Boston games will show how good we are without O’Neal. I agree. I hope he doesn’t come back till that home and home is over.
No, they have a new coach. They had a different look starting with the Denver game. I mean it could be Jose too, and he is deficient in several areas, or just injured.
Raptors fans everywhere, including those on Arsenalist’s old site, AltRaps.com, Raptorstalk.com, and From Deep, etc., were told during the off-season and, then, throughout the pre-season:
* Exactly what would happen with this team had Jermaine O’Neal not been brought to this team, in the first place … i.e. see how much better the mice ‘run’, when he’s NOWHERE to be found;
* What would happen to the team’s Rebounding Differential if he was the only addition to the core rotation and the appropriate adjustments were not made with the role of other Raptors, as well, e.g. Moon, Graham, Humphries, Parker, Kapono and Bargnani;
* Who exactly Andrea Bargnani is, as a Perimeter Big, who can shoot the 3, defend an opponent’s Power-based Big on the block, keep his own check off the offensive boards, and has a highly serviceable physical/mean/remorseless streak to his personality/individual game [ala Bill Laimbeer];
and,
* Who exactly Chris Bosh is, as Low-Mid Post Big, who can abuse his check when he faces up in the post, create open shots for his teammates … if the team’s offense is allowed to run THROUGH him in this Central Hub location, is a solid interior defender … if he’s allowed to play behind his check on the block without having to a Half or Full Front position [only being asked to occupy his check from behind by rooting him off his desired sweet spot and then providing interior HELP & Shot-blocking elsewhere for his teammates [ala The Great Man, himself, Mr. Russell] … and a terrific REBOUNDER, when he FOCUSES his energy on this specific aspect of the game and uses his length and quickness to maximum advantage … AND is a character guy upon whom a NBA franchise CAN BE BUILT, Steadfast and Mature beyond his years.
- Moving TJ Ford was excellent.
- Acquiring Jermaine O’Neal, in return, was not.
- Losing Rasho Nesterovic, as a highly professionl back-up Big, was unnecessary.
- Losing the 2008 No. 17 [overall] Draft Pick was unnecessary.
- Keeping Jason Kapono while allowing Carlos Delfino to leave, even temporarily, was not a sound move.
- Adding Roko Ukic was a sound move.
- Adding Will Solomon was cost effective.
- Adding Jake Voskuhl is a sound move.
- Moving Hassan Adams for a 2nd Rd Pick is a sound move.
Under either Sam Mitchell or Jay Triano, as is, the Raptors are a Middle-of-the-Pack team in the Eastern Conference. There are a whole bunch of these, in this conference, at the moment.
Where the Raptors go from here will be determined by the commitment of MLSE to do what’s necessary to build a high calibre NBA team in Toronto and the Basketball Acumen of the President/GM, Bryan Colangelo.
The pieces have been in place in Toronto for many moons now … they have just been wasted, to this point, that’s all, largely by mediocre/”average” management of the available resources.
Let’s sincerely hope that this changes, moving forward here.
Keep Bosh, Calderon, and Bargnani together … add other solid, young, athletic, under-the-radar but great character guys, like Rodney Carney and Chris Douglas-Roberts, or Luc Richard Mbah A Moute or Joey Dorsey or Roy Hibbert, etc., gradually through the draft, and by the time Bosh is in HIS prime years [i.e. 27/28-35, or so] … there is no reason whatsoever this team SHOULD BE anything but an Upper Echelon outfit in the NBA.
Just because they blew the chance they had to get it right, back in Feb/2006 … doesn’t mean they HAVE to blow it again.
ARSE!
Gotta give me credit for being the first for using HA-HA-HAssan ADams!
Overall, well good post.
You did? I thought Dinosty came up with that one.
http://raptorsrepublic.com/blog/2008/12/22/still-a-few-stickers-short-of-an-album/
Settle this right now boys. If you do win Victor, we owe you a Rap of the Day.
Victor – if you steal my line, it’s only fair that I can steal one of yours.
Let me know which “Victorism” you’re comfortable with me claiming, and we can call it a clean swap.
Blaming Raps playing well on O’neal being out, is no different than saying Jose plays bad D and dribbles too much, so we’re better of with will solomon. Puh-lease. A good coach should be able to use players individual talents buy defining roles to make the team better. O’neal has many great skills. All of which would make the Raptors better. There has to be a way to get that out of him without disrupting Bargnani. That’s what coaches are paid to do. Only if it turns out that a player refuses that role, do you talk trade. Which works out fine since O’neal’s market value will be highest at NEXT YEAR’s trade deadline.
Voskul is a hilariously bad offensive player, but I actually put a great deal of the raptors recent resurgence on his arrival. Throughout the season, the raptors never seemed to actually like each other. They rarely congratulated one another after baskets, and helped each other up only out of obligation. JV’s really brought about a whole new attitude. It’s hard to have a sour puss face (bosh) when this big white guy keeps coming up and high fiving you and congratulating you. He adds energy and I think helps create an environment where guys feel okay about doing teammate things, a standard bosh I don’t think was able to set. On top of that he’s extremely physical, something the raps were missing, and something that makes him not just a clown (adams). So I can see why triano was so set on adding him.
When is JO coming back? Calderon?
Wouldn’t Hassan’s towel-waving cheerleader = Voskuhl’s goofy white-guy high 5s? Is there some metric for distinguishing between the two?
there is jd, when voshkul plays well enough in practice to burn, adams just keeps the gatorade flowing and towels nicely folded.
Ah, actual contributions on the court, of course that should be taken into account. How could I have missed that??
this would be nice…
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=356~2456~615&teams=28~28~4&te=&cash=
or this…
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2010~635~2006&teams=6~6~28&te=&cash=
I was always cold on Larry Hughes because of his shooting percentage and shot selection, its so bad that its funny:
http://heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com/2008/01/09/game-35-36/
He’s a good defender only when he wants to be and the fact that he keeps getting traded tells me there’s something wrong with him. Nocioni on the other hand is an unknown quantity to me because I don’t see the Bulls nearly enough he’s a gritty player that plays both ends hard, lord knows we need that.
or this one…
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2981~2987~1977~2806~2759~2433~3441~2010~3249~615~635~1023~2790~2802~3187~981~2816~294~3058~366~2769~2775~1724~3458~3235~883&teams=8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~28~28~28~28~28~28~28~28~28~28~28~28~28&te=&cash=
LOL
Hahaha….that was awesome.
AP 7 boards —- NICE
Since we’re posting links, here’s one where TJ Ford’s the only guy to stand up for the team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRuHXkWpdJ0
Andiamo – eat your heart out.
look at the midget sticking up for his teammate.tj made me proud that game.im slowly getting a loving feeling for jake.anytime one of the boys does good,jakes huggin em up or fist pumpin.he appears to be bargs #1 fan.shit like that makes a baller feel good.feeling good = better play.take a hint creampuffs.
Raptors fans are amazing… mood swings after each new game…couple of games ago = trade bosh, overpaid fragile not a franchise player, now= bosh is the shh, then, bargnani blows trade him, now hes the shh.
o’neal has a 30 pt game= he’s a monster, now = trade him…
PATHETIC
Anyone who thinks the game last night showed that Bosh is a player who can lead a team to a championship is a cretin.
Anyone who still thinks the O’Neal trade was a good move is an idiot.
I have not wavered on either of those views, ever…
Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong about either of those things, because then I could stop being so angry…..but the only thing that would indicate it to me is if this team gets to the second round of the playoffs as was the arrogant assertion going into this year…
nunya,
When the Spurs won their 1st NBA title, who do you think was the Leader of that team? [David Robinson, Sean Elliot, Avery Johnson or Tim Duncan]
Before the Spurs won that year … Did you know/believe/think/suspect that that player had the capacity for Leadership to THAT degree? … or, Were you even just a little bit surprised by the manner in which THAT specific was able to dictate the Terms of Engagement for THAT team, that season, all the way to winning the League championship?
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Not many people really understand what effective leadership entails … even though they might be fond of telling others who it is they think a good leader is and who is not.
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Failing to waiver on a point … can be problematic if your perspective is not the correct one, in the first place … and is nothing to be proud of.
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That assertion might be properly associated with any number of Raptors fans AND Bryan Colangelo … but, as best as I can recall, not with anything said by Chris Bosh.
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It’s important to get the facts straight when you’re someone who speaks with an authorative voice. : )
I think what nunya meant was that Bosh can’t lead a team statistically deep in the playoffs. Bosh cant be a first option and lead a team like Bron, Wade or Iverson. Bottom line is that the Raps will never be good with Bosh as our main player.
There are two groups I will use as an example to try to illustrate what I mean:
1: Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade
2: Tracy McGrady, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson.
The players in the first group, based on not just talent, but on personality, grit, intestinal fortitude, ability to defend…the whole package…are players I never doubt can/will/have lead a team to a championship.
The players in the second group are all perennial stars who I don’t think will ever win a championship without major (crucial) help beside them. This is a list of players who have been MVP, scoring champion, franchise player…
I have no doubt LeBron and Paul will win championships because they make WHOEVER they play with better and they have proven they will come up with a huge play in the crunch in a playoff type situation.
It is subtle and it requires not looking at the obvious and I wouldn’t expect anyone here to get what I’m talking about but until I am proven wrong, I will continue to believe it
You put any of the second group players with any of the first group players and that changes the game.
It’s waver, not waiver.
Bosh said HIMSELF that he was aiming at MVP and that getting past where they were last year was the whole point and there was no reason why they couldn’t contend. He said it many times and even said it after Mitchell was fired when asked if his hopes for the season were dashed. If you somehow missed him saying it, that is your problem.
…and I didn’t claim that never wavering made it true… I was referring to the post by the guy who said Raptor fans changed their minds after every win or loss.
When they get a couple good pieces to go with the BB, it’s pretty obvious they could go far.
From Feschuk’s column today …
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Still, on a night when all-star Chris Bosh was hard to recognize for long stretches – he missed nine of his first 12 shots – Toronto made good on 54 per cent from the field, including 8 of 9 by Andrea Bargnani, who scored a team-high 25 points.
“I never shot with a defender on me,” said Bargnani. “(Bosh) just passed me the ball when he was (double-teamed).”
Said Bosh of Bargnani: “He’s been real good. I don’t know what switched him on, but he got some confidence somewhere, or he got his confidence back, I should say.”
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Nuff … said.
Shaq is one FUNNY dude
Re: is he going to make the all-star game?
O’Neal said he should be an All-Star on his home floor but said “I’m not going to be doing e-mail campaigns and putting on cowboys hats.”
i think everyone in the Republic needs to vote for Shaq. How much more entertaining would it be.
Jamison meant to say “one of the worst rebounding teams” in the league, but failed to qualify it again after already making mention of it 3 seconds before.
Either way, the Raptors ARE one of the worst teams in the league! They’re in the bottom 1/3 in terms of overall record, and are a home loss to the Grizzlies away from affirming their weak standing.
I hope BC can finally get his head out his a$$, and see that he’s put a flawed product out on the court, and it’s just not good enough. In a market the size of Toronto, and repping the only team in the entire country, we deserve better than seeing names like Will Solomon logging major minutes. Or guys like Hassan Adams even being signed to ANY type of contract with the Raptors name on it!!!
Wake up BC, and get some true NBA talent in here! Enough with waiting on guys like Humphries, Graham or Kapono to turn into “players”. It’s time BC turns chicken-s*t into chicken salad! That’s the true mark of a good GM.