Michael Grange was in Detroit for Game #44 against the Pistons tonight and he took some time out to talk Raptors ball. He gave us his take on what Colangelo should do and his thoughts on Bosh’s fourth quarter play, our wing situation, Jason Kapono’s unfortunate signing, Jermaine O’Neal not being on the bench, and tons of other stuff. I also asked him about Jamario Moon’s Atlanta debacle.
You can have a listen by clicking on the play button below or directly in iTunes. You can also download the file here.
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Many thanks to Michael Grange whose blog From Deep remains one of the best.
A quick note about the ESPN affiliation. We’ve very excited to be part of Henry Abbott’s True Hoop Blog network and hope that this affiliation will lead to better content for the readers of this site. For now we’ve just added the ESPN Video Player which contains stuff like the Daily Dime and other NBA highlights which you probably check out anyway. We’d like to thank all the readers of the site who have made it a success in a relatively short time. An extra thanks to the commenters who keep the discussion going despite mounting losses and continued frustrations. Everyone at RR is committed to working hard to keep this thing going and need your continued support. Thanks again for making this part of your daily reading.
36 Raps
chris bosh is similar to pau gasol or shareef abdur-rahim in that their games resembled a 4 with some attributes of a 3 and a 5.
all three players were solid & level-headed professionals who played at a high (but not max level) and who were presented as franchise players while “leading” their losing teams.
take a look and compare the 3 players stats:
shareef:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3098/career;_ylt=A0wNdbqdkXZJIKMAcgAXPKB4
pau:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3513/career;_ylt=Avdu..SzLaIbkmriNYD3GV.OPKB4
chris:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3707/career;_ylt=Avdu..SzLaIbkmriNYD3GV.MRgU6
the resemblance is uncanny…
bottom line is that chris bosh is not a franchise player or a player that you build a team around.
sweet
chris bosh is similar to pau gasol or shareef abdur-rahim in that their
games resembled a 4 with some attributes of a 3 and a 5.
all three players were solid & level-headed professionals who played at
a high (but not max level) and who were presented as franchise players
while “leading” their losing teams.
compare tho 3 players individual and team stats, you’ll see that the
resemblance is uncanny…
bottom line is that chris bosh is not a franchise player or a player
that you build a team around.
Great job, Arse. Thanks for asking the bench question. Good response from MG.
good stuff arse.
..and you can’t tell me his pro-Bosh responses didn’t get you going just a little bit…
Well, I do want him to come back. I can’t just start debating the guy on one issue and piss him off, he is in the US incurring roaming charges, gotta be considerate.
Well played, sir, well played.
and, of course, the G&M can’t afford those roaming charges on phones they get for free via contra, so I get your point. :)
Allen Iverson, what a guy..I can totally see him doing that.
Love the intro, job well done as usual.
I love Grange man, he’s a billion times better Smith in every regard. Too bad the Globe doesn’t promote his blog the way the Star does Smith’s.
I’m surprised at how realistic this guy is about the rest of the season and how he admits that BC should heavily retool even if it means risking losing Bosh.
Also, I just read his awesome post from a couple days back:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090119.WBwbbasketball20090119112718/WBStory/WBwbbasketball/
you’re a pretty hyper guy eh?
hahaha!!!
I actually thought my online player was speeding this up.
Michael Grange is a class act.
I agree.
I think both he and Doug Smith are class acts and do a very good job – not a great job, but that’s due to being censored by their editors – covering the team.
That was a very enjoyable interview to listen to. Good work.
Ah come on guys, give me a break. I talk fast in real life and I was a little excited about this interview and had no time to prep. I knew about this an hour before it happened, seriously. And I know its cliche but I actually was in the middle of a third cup of coffee when AltRaps setup the interview.
I’ll try to sound less worked up next time. Hopefully he’ll come back.
If you can do us all a favor, post on his blog and thank him :)
HA!! I thought maybe you just didn’t want to miss Desperate Housewives at 7pm.
I can vouch for the fact that it was done in haste and both Arse and Michael should be applauded for doing it so quickly, with not much notice.
Not buying the coffee thing.
Hey Arse, you may have caught this (but you may not have).
Fairview4Life on RealGM made a constructive comment about your interview style:
[quote]Over time the style of interview is going to have to change. It’s something [Bill] Simmons learned early with his podcast; stop interrupting the guest unless there is a clear pause and room to interject. Maybe a little less leading with the questions too.[/quote]
I have to agree.
On a positive note, you asked all of the tough questions I would have asked too!! (Is JO not on the bench bad for the team? What did Hump say/do to get into JT’s doghouse?)
Great job!! (BOH!!)
I really enjoyed listening to you get Grange to open up, as he does not pull any punches. I have pretty much had it with this disfunctional team, and you can only blame so much on injuries, as every team goes through it in the course of the long NBA season, and this team lacked depth from Day 1, starting with not even coming close to using all of the roster positions, although why bother with the scrubs we have I guess?
Colangelo has been a colossal failure and we have been sold a bill of goods. I am not sure if since he does not have his Dad to fall back on anymore and has to stand on his own has exposed his faults, but man, are we in brutal shape now. There are more holes on this roster than swiss cheese, and if I had confidence that even if we end up with a Top 7 pick that it would not be wasted by Colangelo, then I would say it would not be the end of the world, even in a projected weak draft year. The NCAA is an afterthought for our powers at be, and I have no doubt that a Euro would be picked regardless. All I ask is that we draft the player with the best talent period, and hopefully it will be for a position of need, and I do not care if that will come from the NCAA, Italy, or Spain.
Bosh is likely not going to re-up with us IMO, as the direction we are going and his lack of confidence in his teamates is obvious, and it will only get worse as we play meaningless games the rest of the way. #1 on the list, should be to shop Bosh around, or risk losing him, as we just can’t risk getting nothing for him and being in complete rebuild mode in 2010. I was open minded and gave Colangelo a free pass when he came here, but I am no longer drinking his Kool-Aid anymore.
what a crock of shit.this isnt a fantasy league…yeah,blame colangelo for bosh dribbling balls off his leg,blame colangelo for jo hurting his good knees,blame colangelo for caldys hammy,blame colangelo for kapono thinking he’s a slasher.blame colangelo for all these putrid euros he drafted when stellar american ballers like moon,joey and hump shine,blame colangelo for jawai’s heart ailment….lets mock colangelo with taunts that he isnt as good as his daddy.lets forget that colangelo has surrounded himself with some of the best basketball minds on the planet.lets be paranoid and insecure and fear that cb4 is going to leave(im so scared)…a colossal failure?…lmao.get a grip buddy,we’re so thankful that you gave him a “free pass” but your koolaid tastes more like pisswater.
Hey Arsenalist, I just posted on his site as per below – Good job, hyper or not, it was still well worth listening too.
You (Brian Gerstein, from Thornhill, Canada) wrote: Michael, I just spent over half an hour listening to the Arsenalist (Raptors Republic) interview you, and appreciate you taking the time to do so. His site always posts timely and breaks down the game in a way that the mainstream media would never dare to, due to the relationships you rely on with the players/MLSE.
Having said that, you are by far the most out there of the mainstream in calling it like it is, and I know you push the envelope as far as you can. Your competitor in the mainstream media is more an apologist than anything, and I have pretty much tuned him out as of late. You also have an appreciation and cooperate with the hardcore Raptor blogs and that is something you should be proud of and gives you tons of credibilty with true Raptor fans. Do not think that we do not notice this, and I hope you continue in this vain.
Posted 21/01/09 at 9:46 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment
nice interview
I second that.
The motion has now been approved.
how about a digest/transcript?
so we can read it at work
Yes that would be a fantastic idea, as I already push the limits at work and cannot listen to it!
Great idea DP!!!
Brian G,
IMO, that’s a first-class comment you posted on From Deep.
Grange and Feschuk both do a solid job of covering the Raptors.
look at this ass kisser…does khandor work here?
I agree (again!)
Brian G. and Khandor, both of you have just WON a free beer on my tab courtesy of me at our Raptor Fan Fridays (RFF) weekly game parties. :D
I hope both of you can make it out to one of our events at some point this season to redeem your beer and allow me to make your acquaintance.
You both seem like good peeps. For real. :)
I love how it sounds like Arsenalist is on another speed mode than MG, and how he’s ready to move on to the next topic when MG is still trying to polish off the last one.
It’s like talking to my parents….never get done a thought before they ask me another question.
If I were Grange, I would have lost it just based on all my years of never getting a complete thought ou…
Good interview Arsenalist! Keep em comin!
Alright, I just exchanged an email with Grange and he’s willing to do another so its not a lost cause.
AltRaps – Taster’s Choice baby.
Going for an image make-over in the blogosphere? Should be interesting. What’s the over-under on the Khanplosion.
RR – I’ve been critical at times (mostly due to the “big disturbance” who clogs the comment section) but big props for taking Raps content to another level. I’ll try to get some feedback from Grange at our Sunday league, his comments about an admirer of his were hilarious, gotta love that guy.
James,
Thanks for your kind offer. If I’m ever able to attend, I’ll be sure to let you know first and foremost. In general, though, I prefer to watch the Raptors play [i] live and in-person, or [ii] Far From the Madding Crowd.
You are one of several here who also seem like “good folk”, from MPOV. For real[izar]. : )
James, thanks as well for the very generous offer. Where do your Raptor parties take place? I will see if I can swing it. All the better if it is on TSN2, as I am on Rogers and am reduced to watching the games on an internet stream.
Another classic pick on the song!
Bubble Bubble Bubble….
I’m not sayin’ the Raptors can go anywhere this year but… I heard the draft was shit this year? So why tank? To have a chance at a OK seed in a shitty draft? We should go out ‘Guns a Blazing’! Get some more MUCH NEEDED playoff experience, even if we get spanked! And we’d still get a OK pick in a shitty draft.
Eazy-E said it best.
“Only if ya Want it.”
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=2×1fIX5mTCs