Throw it down Big Man! Throw it down!Before getting into it (not much to get into really…sadly…), my disgust for this TSN2 situation came full circle tonight. I live up in North York, no Philthy’s in site, and after stumbling from bar to bar with nothing but the leafs playing, I find a joint that has the Raptors playing nestled between two TV’s blasting the Leafs game. Not a great environment to watch a Raptor game, but on a plus side, the wings were great. Something needs to be done ASAP, I can’t go on like this, if a mediator is needed to get TSN2 on Rogers, I volunteer my services, I’ll get it done.
…these post-game’s are getting infinitely harder to write. Seriously, just pick a random post-game from before, and do the following:
- replace the team name with Detroit Pistons
- replace the Raptor killer of the night with Tayshaun Prince
- replace the bench spark with Jason Maxieill
No seriously, it will be about the same…
As per usual, the Raptors got out to an early lead off the back of some good work on the boards by Bosh. He grabbed 3 rebounds early in the 1st, all three were offensive rebounds that translated into 4 points. The best part; he opened things up with a drive and not a jumper, 13 seconds into the game. I can’t even remember the last time his first shot wasn’t a jumper. With the Raptors up 10-2, the Pistons took a full time-out, and brought in Maxiell, who got dunk after dunk (4 in the first quarter – 4 monstrous ones, I actually lost a wing cause I reacted to one, pissed me off).
For the second time this season, O’Neal has come off the bench, and he looked none-too pleased. Sure he was smiling early in the game, but you could just see in his face that he and his agent were going to work the phones aggressively later to talk Riley into pulling the trigger – might as well be warm right? The Pistons have a plethora of forwards who are pretty much interchangeable. They are all high-energy, move well and make you pay for your mistakes. Not exactly the type of the team you can effectively gauge O’Neal’s effectiveness against a the second unit. I thought he did a good job of getting to the line, that’s about it, his touch around the rim was rusty again, he air-balled a turn around jumper from the left block, he doesn’t lean into his shots and sadly, he had 1 rebound in 20 minutes of play…ONE REBOUND.
Speaking of rebounds, the Raptors as a team had 28, lol. 12 of which came in the first quarter. The Raptors got 16 rebounds the rest of the game. To put this in perspective, Maxieill got 11 rebounds in about 25 minutes, 5 of which were offensive (compared to 8 total for the game for the Raps); and McDyess, off the bench, grabbed more rebounds then any Raptor player AND out-rebounded the entire Raptor bench single-handedly. So much for improved rebounding huh BC?
The game was effectively over at the 7min mark of the second, with Prince giving the Pistons the go ahead popping a J and giving the them their first lead of the game. Once they sink their teeth in, and taste some blood, they are relentless.
That’s his natural position and he’s just a really good player, said Toronto’s Chris Bosh, who scored 19 points. It’s always tough to match up with him whether he’s at (small forward) or (power forward) because he’s so versatile.
He plays great defense, and he was knocking down his jumper today. He did a fantastic job.
If only Bosh would have encouraged Moon in such a manner, he might have been motivated to you know, play harder. I dunno, just putting it out there. Kapono should never, never ever-ever!, cover anyone who is good. His wing defense has regressed as much as his wife’s love for him has. The guy has no lateral quickness; he doesn’t force his check into a waiting defender; he doesn’t rebound well; and lately, even if he doesn’t travel, he can’t hit a jumper. I know BC is talking him up, but this may be too tall an order. Who the hell is going to give up anything but crap for Kap?
There are a couple positives though, mostly individual play, but at this point, I’m grasping at anything that will deter me from heading down to the ACC and making the front page of The Star:
Anthony Parker
In the mold of Ron Harper, Parker is reinventing himself as a point guard in the NBA, and a capable one at that. He’s not flashy, and he doesn’t have that break-down speed to get in the lane, but what he does do is run the offense: make sound plays; shoot over his check and play solid defense at the 1. He haven’t missed Calderon all that much, although I welcome his return eagerly.
Andrea Bargnani
I will continue calling him VL for one reason: since we started calling that, he has gone off, and I don’t want him to let up if we retire the moniker. Not the greatest game offensively, but he did a bang up job on Wallace, keeping Sheed out of the game, and off the boxscore. A small win, but a win none-the-less.
Err…that’s about it, two good things. They lost again, next up is Chicago on Friday in Chi-Town…not much hope there. Frankly, at this point, tank…get us a young player and do something with the O’Neal contract.
85 Raps
who would have guessed that JO ($20M) and Voskuhl ($500K) would be completely interchangeble off the bench.
The 5 Steps of Grieving:
1-Denial (this isn’t happening to me!)
2-Anger (why is this happening to me?)
3-Bargaining (I promise I’ll be a better person if…)
4-Depression (I don’t care anymore)
5-Acceptance (I’m ready for whatever comes)
With this loss, I think the Raps just went from #3 (trying to make a trade) to #4 (f**k this season, where’s my money). And I think we’re about 3 losses away to #5.
deals done!
and that would be???
wake up yetu damstoopid!
didn’t realize you cared that much about zo…
way after the announcement…nice! Your a trooper!
I’m new here. What does VL mean?
VL = Vegetable Lasagna (a reference from Seinfeld) lol
Ya okay the Raptors lost again. I’m not happy at all but I’m happy to be rutting for a bunch of guy’s that play very well together as a team. Did we forget about Mr. Ford (ball hog) and his style of play? Watching those games drove me to a place in my minde that I didn’t want to be….arrrrr… the Leaf’s. THANK THE MAN FORD IS GONE! I’ve rather lose a game knowing we played hard and played together as a team rather than loseing because one guy thinks he could win the game himself! I believe that in life YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. The Raptor’s team now have a positive bunch of guy’s who connect well with each other on the court and this is what keep’s me coming back. THE RAPTORS R MY THERAPY!!! See you all at the game on the 25th!
uh, really? i guess there’s a lot of synchronicity to the mess…
We play together as a team? Am I watching the same games?
ABSOLUTELY! they all share in the suckage! it’s like equal-opportunity shittiness, they all get a fair crack to f%^&-up.
LOL.. good point.. they do work well together while throwing games. An art form, really.
Seriously, it’s painfully obvious how much they hate playing with each other. I have no idea what this guy is talking about.
Raps Fan,
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re: There are a couple positives though, mostly individual play, but at this point, I’m grasping at anything that will deter me from heading down to the ACC and making the front page of The Star:
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Straight-up … Made me laugh out LOUD. : )
lol, glad to be of service.
can’t wait to see marion bring us to the playoffs
would be a tall order, getting a marion wouldn’t put the raptors over the top, but would improve the team, that is for sure. not sure if i want to make the playoffs tho, 1st round sweep might be devestating for my psyche, lol.
true i think my gf’s dad would take his frustration out on me like he did last year lol.
lol
Victor, tell your g/f’s dad that our Raptor Fan Friday game parties are now ‘Raps Fanaddicts Group Therapy Sessions – Open Meetings’ for the remainder of the season.
since we need a small forward. who’s available for us to sign after marion’s contract expires.
ron artest will be available…it’s a gamble cause the guy is nuts, but we need a player with a mean streak badly. he does a lot of things we need as well:
- low post scoring
- perimeter defense
- rebounding on the wing
- good jump shooter
just his attitude…hopefully he has turned the corner, seems so with the rockets.
Wasn’t JO touted as being ‘that player with a mean streak we’ve wanted since Oak’, as well as the low post scoring threat, interior defender?
Also, JO’s current season here has completely mimicked his last 4 seasons with the Pacers. (Another resounding dissapointing year in the JO camp – 5 in a row and counting.)
Guys, I need a stiff drink! (BC, put the phone on speaker and pour me double-double shots of Jager & JD. Thx! And I don’t care what the fans say, you’re still the man – behind the bar.)
I like Artest, a little consistent but still a vast upgrade on what we currently got going. I don’t want to acquire him in a trade though, get him in the off-season and even if we have to overpay, I’d sign him to a 3-4 year deal.
My gut however tells me that he’d be a bandaid fix and that even if we make a play for him, we should still draft our SF of the future so he can grow with the Raptors.
I think he’d have quite a big impact on this team if his head is right.
I have said this before but if we are considering personalities like Ron Artest, why not take a flyer on Bonzi Wells. He was a tough player who would have instantly upgraded our wing position. He would be really cheap too, probably the veteran’s minimum.
Then again, there is no point signing him this year considering how far we have fallen. Maybe a possibility for next year?
Bonzi is not playing this season, you know what that means: He’s prolly gained 20 lbs of pure flap-jacking flab, ewwww.
I’ve been playing well in my men’s league lately, although I have to admit, I’m a little undersized as normally I play PG, but a lack of size has moved me. And I’m not that much of a slasher. Or defender…. Hmm…I think they already have a few players like that. But I would come cheap!
James,
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re: With this loss, I think the Raps just went from #3 (trying to make a trade) to #4 (f**k this season, where’s my money). And I think we’re about 3 losses away to #5.
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Straight-up … Made me laugh out LOUD, Part II. : )
[Note: Fellas are definitely bringing their "A" Game today. Humour is such a good tonic for whatever ailments one might have. Kudos all around.]
Khandy, I hope you join us for double-digit rounds of drinks tmr night!! (The first one’s on me!)
Zo,just announced his retirement.
Someone should bitch slap him for getting out hopes up…
Someone (R.Babcock) should steal his 2006 championship ring.
If O’Neal can play half decent for the next 6/7 games up till Feb 19th the Marion trade may still happen.
The knee injury that has shelved him is a fluke thing that could have happened to anyone and is not related to his knee operations.
While not the answer long term Marion is definately an upgrade on Moonman, and non SG Joey, and Banks as a back-up PG can’t be any worse than Roko/Solomon. He at least has 4/5 yrs NBA experience.
The deal buys BC time for this year and frees up $14/15 mil for next year with Marions expiring.
So you believe that this season can still be salvaged if we get Marion?
I do. (I’M A BELIEEEEEEVVVVVEEEERRR!!!!) lol
Seriously, we’re only 4.5 games out of the 8th seed with 38 games remaining. Something resembling a 12-2 run to end the season (a la 2002-03) is always a possibility.
Appreciate your optimism and the exclamation marks but let’s not lose our minds.
Keep in mind there are 5 teams between us and that 8th spot. It’s like reaching for something that’s just on the other side of the river and you don’t have a boat and happen to be shit swimmer.
I’m an optimistic realist.
If… if…. if… IF, we find ourselves 2-3 games back with 20 games left in the season, we’d be a 6-7 game winning streak away from closing the gap.
Chances are we’ll miss the playoffs, but hope is more fun than hate. (Unless you’re an overweight 18 yr old with bad acne scars and no social skills to play the dating game; than hate is all you have to draw from).
Flux,
I’m not getting that specific vibe from the players on this team at all.
Damn, I though ZO was going to came back so he could be included in the Marion/JO trade to make the numbers work and then refuse to play and go back to Miami in a month…wait…this kinda sounds familiar?
I would really love if he came, nutmeged Moon then threatened to retire.
Sorry, should have wrote, obvious to me. Bosh not joining huddles, Bosh screaming at Moon, no communication on D, staring at the floor after the opposite team schools them on any given play, not looking at each other, needing to bring in J.V. to act as cheerleader and be a glue guy. I know, it’s just me. I’m sure to others those are just signs of …”a positive bunch of guy’s who connect well with each other on the court”. To each his own.
Neither would I suggest that specific observations which you outlined there haven’t happened to this point in time … only that what they indicate might be something slightly different than “this group of employees does not like/enjoy playing basketball with one another”.
As in “currently frustrated with the work (jelling) in process” stage? Or “team with no direction, action plan or leader”?
You know the thing that bugs me about people that say “Oh, Bosh is not Kobe, LeBron, Wade, CP3, D12 so we shouldn’t expect him to be like them” is: then why are we treating him like he is? When did this become the CB4 Raptors? Those are all players you build teams around, and if he is not them, why are we so bent on building a team around him? They are hanging onto some dream that includes him, as the end all and be all with this team. The reason he is sought after in 2010 is not because people want to build around him, they want him to be a complimentary player to LeBron, Wade, Dirk, or on a team, not THE guy. I think this is the fundamental problem with this franchise. You will never attract big name free agents when you insist on calling CB4 THE franchise, when really, he is a great complimentary player, nothing more.
How about a three team trade:
To Raptors: Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse
To Heat: O’Neal
To Dallas: Shawn Marion & Chris Humphries (Or another bench player)
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2006~802~2433~615~510&teams=28~28~6~14~6&te=&cash=
I read today that the Mav’s are publicly saying they won’t trade Josh, but closer to the trade deadline they’ll be move willing to make a move.
Nice trade which I’d do in a heartbeat but I’m guessing you missed Cuban’s quote which said, “I’m not trading Josh Howard”. It was linked from the Web Articles.
Grab the twitter:
http://twitter.com/raptorsrepublic
the raptors are playing like a team waiting for the season to end. JO looks like he could give a shit and bosh looks like he was auditioning last night. over all, this team is awful with no heart, drive or intensity as 6 guys on this roster will probably NOT be in the nba next season. welcome to the 2008/09 Raptors, the greatest Raptors team ever assembled! well called BC!
Flux,
* Even though I know you don’t like what Jose Calderon brings to the table, as a PG in the NBA, in the way that I do …
IMO, this team, right now, is really missing:
1. Jose’s temperment;
2. The strong personality of Sam Mitchell; and,
3. The how-to-win experience of Carlos Delfino, Jorge Garbajosa and Rasho Nesterovic.
* Please recall that Sam Smith once characterized Jermaine O’Neal as a type of De-energizer Bunny for the team that he’s on.
When I watch this team play I see several players who look to me as though they get along with one another well enough and enjoy hooping together, including, at least, Calderon, Moon, Graham, Bargnani, Bosh, Parker, Ukic, Humprhies, Voskuhl and Jawai.
What’s the collective salary of that group of players right there?
A TOP NOTCH GM should be able to construct a solid squad moving forward from there.
Can’t really argue with those intangibles. As I am willing to bet Sam would have produced more wins, since his firing, then “I am everybody’s BFF” Triano.
But, 5 of those players are happy to be in the NBA right now, and would be happy playing along anyone. So, meh…
“no heart, drive or intensity” as the good man said. This is what is repulsive about the team, regardless of who’s on the floor. (not to mention the inability to deal with adversity.. well, consistently anyway)
To me, not one of them looks like they want to be there, on the floor.It’s infuriating.
Khandor,
I’m actually afraid of where this is going to go, but…
this may be the most concise, most ‘readable’ (for lack of a better word) post I have ever read from you. Perhaps, you are hearing the criticisms of your posts, and improving how well you communicate your thoughts. I agree 100% with that analysis. That is exactly what I was thinking in a very short post. Well done.
As poorly as Jose has defended this year, he is the floor leader of this team. Not saying he is perfect, far from it, but he is a very solid NBA point guard.
Sam Mitchell was fired at the worst possible time this season. I agree that his time here was done, and he needed to go, but why during the toughest stretch of the season? For an assistant. Doesn’t make much sense. He is an NBA guy, and he’s been around a long long time. He is a strong personality, something this team really lacks. Jose might be the only strong man on this team, the rest of the guys are the type that would follow. CB is trying to become a leader, but its not something that comes naturally for him. Leaders are born. Not made. I think Sam was the leader of this team. Now, during this tough stretch they don’t know who to turn to. If Sam was here, CB would have never called out Moon. Sam would have done it before CB even got the chance. I’m not saying we need him back, but going forward we need to add some solid vets around CB4 to compete. Or wait until our core develops to that point. Either way, this team is too inexperienced to handle this type of adversity.
and man I miss Rasho!
Happy 3 year anniversary to Kobe and the micro-chasm of the raptors defensive woes.
how bout we dont do anything.you dont sell low and buy high.it makes no sense.the allstar game will give these guys a lil break and hopefully they come out second half fresh.the problem isnt coaching,the gm or personel(well to a degree),its confidence.with confidence you can achieve anything.they have 0….somehow,someway if they manage to get a couple wins and some good vibes i think they can get into a playoff spot.were only 4.5 games out.thats nothing.
Yeah. But who signs the players who have the confidence? Not 1 player on this team besides Bosh was wanted by anyone in the Association. They went, undrafted, were stranded in Europe or were not wanted by anyone in the NBA.
Moon, Parker, Kapono, Oneil, Graham, Vaskuhl, Ukic,
These are not the kind of players who exude confidence. These are paycheck players hoping to stay alive. We cannot build a team with dog shit such as the above.
Who is this Screwed guy? This is what I was saying a while back. With the exception of Kapono (maybe) not one, single, solitary team in the NBA wanted anything to do with these guys. Not one. Don’t forget Will. In BC we trust, baby!! How did people predict a 50 win season..a 2nd round battle, is incomprehensible. And.. even today with the Magic at top of the EC, at 33 – 8 with a 7 game win streak, while the Raps are 6 – 1000 or something, with a 70 game losing streak.. they are saying.. oh man, if we just make the playoffs and get Orlando, we have a chance. That’s a good matchup for us.
Arse,
I love your articles. They are both hilarious and sad at the same time. Your tone kind of reminds me of the guy who writes basketbawful.com and I love it! Keep it coming!
Question: why do you waste your time looking for bars showing the Toronto Raptors games carried on TSN2 when you can just:
a) stream the game off the internet (not the best quality but still works well)
b) switch to Bell ExpressVu
c) switch to American DirecTV (this is what I have done)
Pike…I wrote this one :P
as for your questions:
a) streams suck and frustrate me
b) hate bell expressvu, used to work there
c) live in a condo, can’t get a dish up
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re: the problem isnt coaching,the gm or personel(well to a degree),its confidence.with confidence you can achieve anything. – by andiamo
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1. A main problem has most definitely been the job that the GM has done.
2. FYI … The Source of Confidence.
lmfao…spammer.
Flux,
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re: To me, not one of them looks like they want to be there, on the floor.It’s infuriating.
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Losing a lot of games can have that disastrous effect.
It can make one give off the impression that one does not want to be there … when that is not the case at all.
i.e. it’s just the cumulative result of all the losses.
khandor, this comment confuses the hell out of me.
You say in your first line that losing has the effect described by fluxland (your quote). You then say that losing gives the impression of ‘not wanting to be there’ but it is acutally not the case. But then you say the reaction of the player is an example of the cumulative result of all the losses.
1. Losing has the effect of players not wanting to be there
2. Losing gives the impression of people not wanting to be there, but that is not the case
3. The reaction is simply the example of the cumulative result of all the losses.
The cumulative losses give ME the impression that the players don’t want to be there. In turn giving me the infuriating feeling.
Just some food for thought. Charlie Villanueva got us TJ Ford who gave us a couple of seasons of blazing speed. He was flipped into Jermaine O’Neal. Each one of those trades on their own could have been defensible in some way, but if you were to offer Jermaine O’Neal to Milwaukee for Charlie Villanueva, the Bucks GM would laugh at you. Trading for 80 cents on the dollar twice leaves you with a lot less than a dollar.
Well, that’s just the thing… if they were losing, but leaving their heart and souls out there, I would have something to lean on. This way, I have to tag the losses on (amongst other things) desire and effort. They are just going thru the motions out there, IMO. If it works, they keep doing it, if it don’t, it’s: “Well, it was a learning experince, gotta keep moving forward, look to the next game” Do they have a learning disability? Because to me it looks like the same thing game after game after game after game after….
out rebounded 40 – 28… bosh 5 boards in 3 qs??
HA! Just read this… and it touches on my feelings with a little bit of contrast.
“It’s no wonder he dropped 18 on the Raptors Sunday. The Suns have something the Raptors don’t. Regardless of records, the Suns have chemistry. They have comfort on the court and they have each other. While they’ve had their struggles to start the season with a new coach, new philosophy and new offence, you step into the Suns locker room and they are together. New guys (Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley), old guys (Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa) and young guys (Alando Tucker, Goran Dragic, Robin Lopez), combined, you feel like they are a team.”
‘team?’ WTF’s that?
And Khandor, it’s not just me whom the losses SEEM to be affecting…
“As the losses seem to multiply with each passing day, the locker room feels like it gets heavier with each one. I don’t know how to make the Raptors woes stop and it’s not my job to. What I do know is, when you can feel the tension hit you as you round the corner to step on the plush Raptors mat while waiting for guys to be ready for their closeups, that is not where things will get better.”
Tension is not something I would associate with people who enjoy being around each other. Then again, life is all about perceptions. Again, to each his own.
on a positive note, only ONE other team got the same grade as the raps in mista assburners midseason grades.
unfortunately, that grade was a big ole F (appropriate…), and the other team…the clippers.
and now, in tribute to simmons, i will now light myself on fire.
at least VL’s rounding into form. that’s something…right?
The TimberClips ride!!!
You people need to realize, as I have come to accept that we are not playoff bound, we will not win games and we will continue to regress as a franchise with MLSE being the parent company for the Raptors and Leafs, Toronto FC.
Bryan is one of those phony corporate business man that are born liars and con artists. His charisma and well spoken persona blinds a lot of people. This guy is hired to put asses in the seats and increase profit and for that he gets a passing grade.
The 2006-2007 season was something IMO that was planned
all along by Peddie and Bryan. Sign cheap Euro vets that have won oversees and sort of give the fans some new found hope and excitement. We need people to have faith in the team again and Bryan can con the casual fan into believing that were building a contender
BOOM!!!. 47 wins, atlantic division,playoffs. Now they have fans in the palm of there hands and all home games are sold out. Faith has been restored and the Raptors are the talk of the town.
So now I ask you guys – Why do we have to make the playoffs when were selling out each home game? Bryan was hired to get the team rolling again financially.
IMO, we will become the Leafs of the last 5 years and not make the playoffs for the forseable future.
Preach, brotha… preach!
Although, I might add.. I be willing to speculate this season is part of the plan as well. Let’s mess this year up as bad as we can…bring down the expectations to a whole new low, and then next year when we win 36 games we can call it an epic success. Faith will be restored, they look like saviours, the suckers keep on buying tickets and we will be 4 years away from contending. Which, we are every year. It’s the neverending 4 year plan. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.
CHA CHING! CHA CHACHING! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXQg7Oir1Bg&feature=related
The Spurs would not have won 4 titles
The 90’s Bulls
08 Celtics
04 Pistons
2000’s Lakers
Current Cavs
current Magic
Current Lakers
They would be lottery bound with MLSE running there team.
Colangelo = James Dolan / Donald Sterling / JP Riccardi
If you say it, it must be true. Or Colangelo and MLSE could be mediocre management whose luck has gone south which happens when you gamble sometimes. But the whole evil, corporate conspiracy is way more exciting and makes people think they’re in the know.
You guys are the tribal honking Raptors fans you denigrate.
Gamble? What gamble has MLSE taken in a financial sense? There is not correlation between wins/losses and profits for them.. so what gambles are we talking about here?
Denigrate? Really? Am I sensing a little implication of racism there or is that another developing conspiracy of mine?
If denigrate has racist connotations I was unaware but if it does, I won’t use it again.
My point is 2-fold: 1) if MLSE is as bad as you and others say it is there is no point at all in supporting the Raptors, ever, because nothing can be done about the problem their money-grubbing ways represent. I don’t think MLSE is good management but it is simply incompetent, there is no master plan for mediocrity. They aren’t that smart. 2) In the games I’ve been to this year, I hear as much frustration with the team – players, coaches and beyond – as I do on this or any other fan site. The impatience and disgust is pretty prevalent. The team gets booed regularly (sometimes justly and sometimes not) and I believe AltRaps when he says ticket sales are down and will be for next year even more. There are a lot of basketball fans in Toronto, casual though they may be. But there aren’t enough that MLSE can casually alienate them and sell a lot of tickets.
So that’s my 2-cents. But it’s just basketball and there’s 29 other teams to watch, even if they’re not your first choice. I’m going to call Raptors TV and demand they air the Bucks-Atlanta game tomorrow so I have something to watch besides Raptors-Bulls. That might be a way of getting the message across.
Sam, I never bought into any of the conspiracies about the MLSE wanting to be mediocre. Of course, no management wants that. But, at the same time, an organization that boasts the most profitable NHL franchise is no mean feat. Incompetent, they are not.
The accusation of fans such as myself, with regards to the leafs and increasingly with the raptors, is that the organization is content to lose as long as the team profits. As long as seats are selling, there is no incentive to get legitimately better. If it happens, without spending too much money, that a championship team is formed, then the MLSE would love it. More games to sell tickets for.
The exact kind of move that is typical of the leafs, may very well happen here. Toronto almost picked up Damon Stoudamire last year, a player the team did not really need at the time. Basically, this is so that fans will come to the games to see him. It is not about winning, it is about profit. The Leafs did it when they brought back Clark, for example.
So, the organization hires a new GM, but all the while puts restrictions on exactly what he can do. To a very real extent, all teams thrive because they make profit, and so they can continue in the future. However, there is very little risk taken by a Toronto team, because in general, they just don’t need to.
If ticket sales are down, I hope it sparks a revival, but fear that it will lead to an even bigger budget cut of the team, and even more mediocre results. Basketball, I do not think, is ingrained enough in the Toronto psyche to withstand this over a long period of time, and the team may be in a worse situation than Phoenix in the NHL.
In a market like Toronto you don’t have to be remotely competent to make money off a hockey team. I think baseball and basketball are a slightly different story. And if there isn’t enough support here to make a real basketball team profitable then I’ll live with it moving to a market where it can be. Frankly, I think Stern or his successor would step in to keep basketball in Toronto so there would have to be a cock up of monumental proportions for the team to leave town. Of course, some might have said that about Seatle but Toronto is an international outpost and a significantly larger market.
From Khandors Blog:
“True Confidence comes but from one place … prior Accomplishment.
It is understated, not brash … and, knows internally that it can get the job done, in a specific situation, because it’s been done before, under similar conditions.
An individual or a team that gets the job done properly, repeatedly … first, in practice, then in games and, finally, in the playoffs … develops an Internal Compass which is pointed, continually, in one direction, towards Winning.
“Graduated Task Accomplishment” is the powerful biofeedback ‘Learning Loop’ which conditions the performer(s) to believe whole-heartedly in the inate quality of his/her own performance, within a specific environment.
True Confidence is not bragadocious, cocky or pretentious.
It is silent, resolved and grounded, firmly, in unrelenting Hard Work, Unselfishness and Grit.
It’s The Stuff of which Champions are made.”
You realize that you are talking about the Celtics right? The biggest assholes in the leaugue then and now!
You should consider thinking before typing, it helps.
hey guys, how bout a rebuild for next year with a slight chance at the playoffs this year
we could trade Jose to the Grizz who are lacking a quality point:
Jose, Moon, Kapono – to Grizz
Gay, Jaric, Warrick – to Raps
then have jaric, parker and rokoman play the point the rest of the way, with Gay as a slasher and Warrick to help on the glass.
THen trade JO to New York to Marbury, and just wait to Marbury’s contract to run out.
In the summer, sign a PG, ie. Mike Bibby?
or
Draft a PG, ie. Johnny Flynn, Brandon Jennings?
the griz wouldnt make that trade.
Dino Gunner,
The disasterous effect is that losing a lot of games can make it seem to others as though you don’t want to be there … when, in fact, you don’t mind being where you are.
If anything, what you mind is the losing, in and of itself, not the people with whom you happen to be losing.
The cumulative effect of all the losses, however, can be twofold:
i. It can effect the perception observers have of you;
and,
ii. Eventually, it can also effect your perception of those with whom you happen to be losing, i.e. over time you can then begin to think that you dislike them, as well, when in fact it’s just the repeated losing which you really dislike.
[if I've only confused you even more then that is my fault, as I haven't done a good job with my explanation]
Your an idiot. Why do you make things so hard for yourself with your responses? You get all philisophical. They make no sense and are hard to grasp. This is not a smart thing too do.
FrankWhite,
While you are certainly entitled to think that the 2007-2008 Boston Celtics are something else entirely different, in my book … what their team is today is the reigning NBA Champion.
pakmacman,
——————————-
re: Perhaps, you are hearing the criticisms of your posts, and improving how well you communicate your thoughts.
——————————-
… or, perhaps, some here are beginning to see what I write, from time to time, through a different lens than they were using before.
NO.
That lens shatters
Stern needs Toronto to keep his Euro/Intl expansion dreams alive…I believe Colangelo is on Daddy and Sterns orders to not only turn this into a successful “International” franchise but to do so while creating mass appeal to the European market (hence his love affair with Euroleague and International players)…we are the gate way to the International market and it’s on Colangelo’s shoulders to make it work….and frankly, based on the general attitude of American-breed players towards Toronto and Canada, it may be the best strategy for long term (keeping players we develop long term).
I don’t think that EURO/Intl expansion that you named is an financial or economic need. I really admire BC cause he’s very different to others NBA GM who think that european basketball is below the NBA and so their players. Our record doesn’t said so but i think it’s the right thing to do. Most of the American players, like you said preffer to play in a US NBA team, so the raptors are not and will never be an attration to free agents. On the other side, the Euroleague and the others leagues in europe such as the spanish ACB or the italian and even the Greek league, developed young players that are current NBA all-stars and franchise players (Ginobili, Calderon, Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Hedo Turkoglu) and other solid NBA players like Anthony Parker, Rudy Fernandez, Mickael Pietrus, Andres Nocioni, Carlos delfino, luis scola, anderson varejao, nene hilario, and the list is long. Plus, in the international competition, the euroleague players prove to be in the same level that most of the overhyped NBA players. US won the gold, it’s true but did it with the second best team in history, and with the best players avaliable right now. Don’t forget Spain lost the final in a close game and Argentina is the number 1 in the FIBA ranking, not the US. So, we don’t need unproven american players who do not want to play in Canada and are there just to make a name for theirself. We can have a great team (not just individual players, but a team) with solid international players developed in the euroleague
Sory for my English