The “holy crap, we swept the Kings!!!” edition
Bargnani – time to harness his great play and better attitude of late and see if he can’t add a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to his D. Still, his standing up to Garcia shouldn’t be of any surprise since Bargs has always had a chip on his shoulder. Beautiful game tonight.
Bosh – we ever going to have an all-star here who doesn’t make googlie eyes to a family member sitting courtside? Made the Kings pay tonight, but his slipping rebound numbers are a bit of a concern. Nice job talking stuff out on the floor tonight, though.
Calderon – nice game, good calming influence. Have to wonder how long it will be until teams double Bosh in the halfcourt since Jose’s first pass still seems to go to him 80% of the time. At times he is as predictable as snow in January.
Graham – anybody get the impression Joey has been watching some hockey in his years in the TDot? One of his better games of the season, in my opinion. He was as active and physical as a male dog let loose in a kennel full of bitches in heat.
Humphries – even hurt, he probably played as many minutes as Triano would have given him had he been healthy.
Jawai – think his heart was beating just a bit? Got in during garbage time and took what could only be described as a shot that had the same probability of going in as I have of achieving a place of honour on the bedpost of Salma Hayek. (well, again. Once was great, but twice is probably asking too much)
Kapono – to this day it shocks me when I don’t see him at least attempt a 3. Then I get over it and it just pisses me off. Bringing him in as a shooter and then having him not attempt a 3 is like being a newspaper executive who hires a new food critic who then immediately goes on the Zone diet.
Moon – nice to see Jay have the guts to sit this guy down for most of the game. He brought as much gusto to this game as a fireman showing up with a bucket of water at an inferno. We were playing the Kings…he should have been all over this opportunity like all his other teammates were. Pathetic and it was nice to see that it was handled accordingly.
O’Neal – great game from the HO. Still looks for his own shot a little too much for my liking, but he was hitting them tonight and was much more active in the paint than he has been over the past month. Oh..wait…right. Anyway, his game is far away from being worth his paycheque, but if he played like this consistently, he would have my support. Too bad we don’t play the Kings again.
Parker – remember earlier in the year we were bemoaning his disappearance? Guess he just needed to play 2 positions. 11pts, 7 boards, 7 assists. What’s next, a try-out for the Jays? Nice to see him enjoying playing again.
Solomon – you think he is calling Hassan Adams wondering if he can get in on some of the pickup games at the Y? I think Will has as much of a shot at consistent floor time now as I do have at consistently not having coffee in the morning and at passing the Brass Rail without going in.
Ukic – your team wins going away and you show a –10. In 7 minutes. And you fist pump after hitting a 3? Nice. Enjoy your time, son. Stuff like that will get you in good with other teams. That and your girly stance with your hands on your hips.
Voskuhl – Jake and Nate. Nate and Jake. Devlin should have a field day with that lineup moving forward. What is kind of sad is you know if he saw a few more minutes a game, the locals would fall in love with the guy. Wonder what he would be doing right now had BC not made a phone call.
Driving The Bus: Jose Calderon
Under The Bus: Jamario Moon
Game Theme: Life as a Kings fan…if you were a Giants fan (note: some NSFW language)
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39 Raps
It seems all that awkwardness Andrea showed in the last 2 years at the offensive end is melting (albiet slowly) away. I wonder sometimes how his offensive effciency has gone up since he became the starter and his Blocks per game has regressed so much.
Does the fact he is focusing on the offense now take away from defensive concentration? Are teams cluing in that hes a half decent shotblocker with + defensive instincts? Is he simply in a slump? Whatever the case mabey right now the tradeoff for his offense is much more needed.
Does anyone else here think in favor of Graham being a starter and Moon comming of the bench. Sure we lose some defensive presence, but we could try and take advantage of agressive Joey while we could. Agressive, though, is almost the opposite of what Moon is right now. Plus as much as Moon does on defense, his extremely poor defensive awareness has cost the Raptors dearly
I may be mistaken, but I think the reason his blocks went down is because he is playing other centres now as opposed to SF-types, where he just needed to be long to block the shot. Also, he isn’t a good help defender
Given those two factors, I think his good showing blocking wise in the beginning of the year will disappear.
Tarun, never satisfied !!!have to find something to bitch about .Bargs in a slump?….I hope the “slump” continues !!!
d279 satisfaction is something i dont have too much of as a Raptors fan whos team is the 3rd worst team in the East and 10 games under .500. But Bargnani is turning out to be a true silver lining in this miserable season.
But like any good coach I always am looking to see where a player can improve, how they can reach their potential.
I am very satisfied with Bargs over the last 14 games, I do think if he blocks shots like he did in the beginning of the year though it would make him a legitimate 2 way player and it would place his stock in the fringe all star reserve possibility prehaps 2 years down the road.
I do think the blocked shots degression though, like Statement says, is partially due to the fact that he has to defend centers. Still Bargnani’s shot blocking instincts are off the charts for an international player who is just in his 3rd year
Leon Wood must have bet money on the game tonight. It seemed every whistle (loose ball, foul, out of bounds) that was questionable/marginal went to the Kings. Anyways, hopefully he took the over.
Big Mans Night, Bosh, Bargnani & O’Neal 66pts, 25rbs, 18ft’s, with a masterful game by Calderon/Parker feeding the beasts.
Calderon looks like he can score as much as he wants, or needs to.
Triano again with excellent PG rotations, keeping Calderon to only 27 efficient minutes. Looks like he has found an excellent option with AP.
TRiano, excellent benching of Moon, everyone in the ACC, watching TV/Streams, and a monkey picking its ass can see how bad his defense was!
are you retarded??? bargnani in a slump?? his rebounds are up and the only reason his blocks are down is because he doesnt bite on fakes anymore and just plays solid D which makes people miss. i’ll take fewer blocks for fewer fouls and more consistant D.. allways hating its pathetic bargs is a stud.
Listen idiot when I said “slump” i Meant SHOT BLOCKING slump…which is partially true since hes had only 8 blocks in total all of January including 1 in the last 7 games..But i also gave my reasons why they regressed
Dem’s fightin werds…
‘Are you ready?, Are you ready?…. Let’s get it on!’
Andrea bargnani has tucked me in every night in 09. I have never slept better.
My only complaint is that he isn’t as agro rebounding the ball as he should be.
Did anyone see him toying with sactown in the 4th? His arrogance, as long as it’s there, will always lead to a raptors win.
Give the dude 2 offseasons and he will be a top 10 player (!!!!!!!!). I’m calling it now. He will own this team and all of their fans. I love seeing him have a great time with the other clowns on his team.
Speaking of which…I never liked joey until a few weeks ago. And the more I see him the more I think he will be a staple (albeit a tiny one) on this team for however long they keep him around. He comes off the bench and does everything that the rest of the team only talks about doing in pregame. And even if he doesn’t do it well he still does it.
I give all the credit for Bargs’ emergence to coach Triano. Mitchell may have had a hand in Bosh’s development, but Bargs’ development is entirely due to Triano.
Big’up Andrea Bargnani & Jay Triano!!!
no more getting yanked and forgotten.
This should be the rap of the day:
Bearvon says:
Jan 26, 2009 at 12:09 am
Andrea bargnani has tucked me in every night in 09. I have never slept better.
oh and lets go top 25 player…i might have been a little too drunk/happy about this one.
After losing 7 in row, it obvious now that the streak was due entirely to missing Jose AND O’Neil. Now that they’re back in the rotation, I’m really liking what I’m seeing.
Parker backing up Jose is also a new found change worthy of keeping.
I think having a healthy roster for a while will improve our team’s win/loss record (as well as JT’s).
Next up: The Nets! Hope we beat the snot out of them (again!)
Nothing is “obvious”. Let’s see how they perform against NJ, Cleveland, LA, Orlando and New Orleans. Don’t lose sight that we’re 10 games under .500 and still only 14-20 even when Calderon is healthy. It’ll be a dogfight to make the playoffs.
as for Cleveland, we got to go against Verajao (anti-Bosh) for 30+ mins due to the fact that Z. Ilgauskaus is out…Bosh will have 4 pts in that game….
O’Neal, man, what a cancer to this team:
“O’Neal said he doesn’t mind playing the role of sixth man, as long as the Raptors keep winning.
“If this is the lineup that’s good for our team, that’s what we’re going to do,” said O’Neal. “I told (Triano) ‘don’t even drain your brain about who’s going to be the starter and who’s not.’”
We better get rid of him as fast as we can, because his negative attitude is affecting everyone! I know, he can talk his way about anything and sounds convincing. But, if he plays like he did tonight, limited minutes, efficient, then I believe that he is okay coming off the bench.
I am not saying we shouldn’t trade him, just don’t give me the ‘he’s bad for the team’ argument. There have been no indications of that. I am willing to forgive him not being on the bench – I just don’t think it is something he does when he is injured.
Look, if he isn’t getting good minutes, and deserves more, then it is perfectly within his and the team’s interest to trade him for a player that will get more burn on this team. But don’t bring out the personality argument. I think he has been nothing but positive for Bargnani and the locker room. Trade O’Neal because he is not the right fit for team on the court.
And, I still like the idea of all that money freeing up right at 2010…if we let go of O’Neal, I still want Colangelo to save some money for then to sign a second star with CB4, Bargnani and Calderon (i.e. JJ)
Cancer or no cancer at least JO didn’t pull a retarded TJ Ford and bitched he wanted to be a starter to the public media.
like pat riley said,”this game is morphing into a 6′5 league,i dont believe that wins championships”….what he means is that,that type of ball is good for the regular season,but during the playoffs,its war,not run n gun,fancy 6′5 sg/sf play.what did that get the suns?nothing but a dismantling…..in that i hope we continue to play to our capabilities as our record betrays our talent level and keep jo and do some damage in the playoffs where its war.
Building a playoff team requires taking care of your own end. You can’t give up 2nd chance offensive opportunities.
Hence, my only reservation about having Bosh and Bargnani on the floor at the same time as the future of this team:
One of them needs to step up and be that paint defender and rebounder. On offence, both Bosh and Bargnani need to learn some post moves. In fact, i used to see Bosh do a lightning fast turnaround drive to the basket while posting up. Haven’t seen that in a while. Bargnani needs to bulk up even more, I think, and try to establish himself in the middle. He needs post-up moves to compliment his shooting – that requires more mass.
Look at the Lakers: they have Bynum who is that beast on the inside altering shots, and you have Gasol who compliments that inside presence with his outside drive/shot capability. Look at san Antonio. They always had Duncan who could post up and clog the middle, then they had Oberto, or now Matt the Red Rocket Bonner to compliment his post up. The Celtics have a guy in Garnett that is capable of picking up 20 boards a game on any given night, and big guy who clogs up the paint as well.
So, for the future of this team, if Bosh and Bargnani are going to make it work, I really think Bargnani needs to establish himself as a beast in the middle who will take down anyone who comes in the paint, and work on his post-up. Basically, I want him to become what Jermaine promised to be, but with a perimiter game as well. Can it be done? Only time will tell. I think they can do it. I have said it earlier, I think if after 2010 Bosh can get a 2nd all-star on the team (i.e. JJ) things will go very well.
The alternative, is of course, as some of you are already advocating, to get rid of Bosh. I would suggest replacing him with a player like Bynum – big, and post-up.
I think Triano’s (or the next coach’s) biggest task is to convince Bosh to focus on the defensive end more. Bargs can handle a big like Howard one on one (to a degree) but is still a bit weak off the ball. Bosh is quick enough, long enough and smart enough to be an excellent help defender and he’s a much better rebounder than Bargs. So if he was a bit less of a focus on O but went after every rebound and locked in on D while Bargs picked up the slack he left on the offensive end I think the Raptors big man pairing really works. Add a better veteran SF and add some youth on the wings through the draft and there’s hope. But I think that’s hope for next year not this. So trade JO for Marion if you can BC.
we have approximately 21 winnable games over jan, feb, mar, apr. that would put us at 39 wins for the season. is this enough to get into the post season?
i’m thinking our pick might be between 11-16 anyway, so i don’t mind making the 8th seed.
39 wins will get you into the playoffs as long as all the teams in between play the same percentage ball as they’re playing now. Milwaukee lost Redd so I’m guessing they’ll fall off unless RJ picks it up. That leaves NJ, NY, Charlotte and Chicago.
a 10 game streak might convince us that they are trying to be serious about this season….
bargs to the line 10 times tonight hitting 8/10.his blocks are down because opponents are backing out more often then not and pass off when hes on them.sure he gets burnt occasionally as do all ballers but when bargs sets himself on d,he stays on his toes and shuffles his feet,opposing bigs rarely go at him anymore.he gets low,spreads his legs out,makes himself real big and they get scurred.hid d has been unreal this year and will only get better…..the boys are finally coming together and having collective good games which equals w’s.
yeah but your reasons are wrong newmarket..and you’re so long winded i cant even finish reading what you wrote. stick to cow tipping sweet pea cause bargs is the don of ball and you need to reckognize succawooood
go raps
its an odd year, Spurs win the west due to the laker’s being upset by a team in the second or first round… since by the beginning of this year everyone including (myself) said LAKERS will make the finals and get their “revenge”.. that is what DAVID STERN WANTS.. lolll its only meant to be.. but SPURS WILL WILL THE WEST, this is just a reply to the person who said Suns get dismantled in the playoffs.. loll 6′5 run and gun offense doesnt win. your right, pat riley is right…
Raptors cannot afford to loose J’O, he is the Play OFF type player the raptors need.. and trading him for marion is a NO BRAINER of a deal, but lets just say.. i feel more comfortable going into the playoffs (IF WE DO) with lets say 8th or 7th spot with J.O healthy and ready to go.. then to have Marion; even tho MArion is that DEFENSIVE ACE and slasher we neeeeeeed.. J’O is just as good as Stopping other BIG MEN and altering Shots whenever he in the paint.. rather then Marion getting beat.. and Marion’s offense COMES in a FAST PACED OFFENSE/TRANSISTION/FAST BREAKs and BASKET CUTS.. which we see.. JOSE DOES NOT FEED MOOON WHEN HE CUTS TO THE RIM.. so eventually.. us TORONTO FANS will NOT be happy with MARION’s offensive contributions and blame him.. even tho.. he has nothing to do with it.. he cant create his own shot all the time like the T’macs, vinces, kobe’s etc..
lol you guys already know, im going to finish this segment off by saying.. Tj ford is a better point gaurd for our TEAM if we want Marion to play offensively like he used to on our team.
TJ – marion isn’t so much a slasher as he is a finisher. he isn’t good (at all) at creating off the dribble in the half-court – he excels at finishing on the break, where he only needs to catch & go to the rim, or catch and take a dribble or two. he simply doesn’t have the handle to beat guys 1-on-1 in the halfcourt.
that being said…if they could get him moving off the ball, back-door cuts, oops, etc., then he beomes a valuable part of the equation. since the raps haven’t shown a tendency to want to run, i wonder how much of an impact he’d have…of course, having him around to finish would, no doubt, make running a more attractive options.
At even at his lockeroom-let-down worst I bet his perimeter defence is significantly better than Jamario Moon’s. Moon is a homeless man’s Marion. Getting the genuine article on rental strikes me as a good deal. Hope Riley saw last night’s game so he could compare JO to Brad Miller. JO might be the best available big out there.
like he used to on our team. = like he used to on the SUNS.
its pretty late sorry for the typo’s fellas
I’m sure if this has been discussed in this thread or elsewhere. Am I the only one who thinks Jamario Moon shouldn’t be starting anymore. His defence has been horrible. Joey Graham maybe should get a chance to start, he’s earned with how he’s played all season.
whoever started that ‘LET’S GO VOSKUHL’ chant in the first…great stuff
The Raps beat the worst team in the league. Let`s see how they do against some of the tougher match-ups coming up in the next ten days.
Don`t let a win get to your head or a loss to your heart.
-Public Enemy
looks like its only fair that all NBA players and athletes be “evaluated” after each game in a roll call by this basement freak who’s knowledge of the game comes from playing atari basketball or world of warcraft.
we ever gonna see an accurate subjective evaluation of someone’s play without the gay input about googly eyes, stances?
place of honour on the bedpost of Salma Hayek? your moms bedpost upstairs with that photo of you in a pink rabbit outfit?
seriously? its their website…they can write whatever they want and you dont have to read it (!!!)
i will.
Ya bro, if I want to know just stats, there’s other sites for that. I appreciate the objective evaluation for the same reason I now enjoy watching streamed games – I like to hear other people’s opinion. Its easy to break a game down by looking at stats or some analyst’s take, but to hear other (knowledgeable) fans and announcers take on the game and players.
Keep it up!
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