Iz miiiineWith the next four games (after tonight’s) against the elite of the league, the time is now for the Raptors to win their 4th game in a row for the first time this season. The Bucks are clinging onto the 8th spot for dear life now that Redd is lost for the season with a torn ACL. A big game with playoff implications as the Raptors can come with a game of the 8th spot with a win tonight.
The Bucks are 4-6 in their last 10, and currently on a two game losing streak dropping Wednesdays game against the pacers 107-99 off the heels of a monstrous game by TJ Ford (34 points). Unfortunately for the Bucks, again, both Luke Ridnour and Andrew Bogut are expected to miss tonight’s game with injuries. Tough to lose three starters, be on the road and facing a team that is starting to feel good about themselves after stringing together three wins in a row.
Redd dropped 34 on the Raptors last time out, and those shots/points need to go somewhere. Look for Jefferson, Villanueva and Sessions/Bell to be leading the charge. Frankly, Jefferson scares me. The guy has been a Raptor killer for years now, and will be looking for redemption from the last time they played the Raptors. Even though the Bucks took the game, RJ contributed 6 points; we can expect Raptor killa RJ tonight, the one who dropped 19 on Indiana, so Moon beware, no falling asleep or going for the pump fakes, otherwise you will be sharing vegemite/grits recipes with Jawai while Graham takes your place.
It just dawned on me, we essentially traded Villanueva for O’Neal (no need to get too technical, they were the principals of all the deals). It hurt me then, and it hurts me now. Although Villanueva plays defense like the girls at rail when AltRaps walks in (when they find out he has no money in his pocket), the kid can score and he hits the glass. He is a career 15pt 7reb player against the Raptors, so I know I’m not alone sighing when he nails a three, or glides through the paint with relative ease.
Hola!An important game for Barney, as we get to see what VL is made off coming off that abysmal game against the Nets; 8pts 1reb 1ast. I normally would be very skeptical, but I truly believe he has turned the corner and will respond in kind. That, and the Bucks really have no nobody that can pose VL any sort of problem. With Bogut expected to miss tonight’s game, VL wont be matched up with anyone who can hurt him on the defensive end. Sure Gadzuric, Allen and Elson are big dudes, but come on, even by committee they don’t add up to a single serving of VL.
Unsurprisingly, Bosh was named to the All-Star game as a reserve. Toss up on whether he should be a starter with how well KG and the Celtics are doing, but will have his time shortly. This will mark the fourth time he will be representing the Raps at the mid-season yawn-athon. Not to be a buzz kill, being an All-Star in this league is tainted when you put the decision of who should be starting in the fans hands. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather see Iverson playing then say…Jameer Nelson, but is Iverson still an All-Star?
Something that has been concerning me of late is his rebounding. In the last three games, he has grabbed only 19 boards for a 6.3 clip per game. That’s about 3.4 less then his season average (almost a third). He really needs to make a commitment to rebounding tonight, the points will come, but rebounding has to improve.
Err, to the right is Kayla. You don’t know how hard it was to the pic the Bucks best cheerleader (they are known as the Energee dance pak), bunch of butter-faces (everything but her face). What do you expect from a team that is owned by a US Senator, and is in the mid-west? Kayla is the best of the lot.
The Injury Report
Toronto
Kris Humphries
Milwaukee
Michael Redd
Andrew Bogut – questionable
Luke Ridnour – questionable
The Match-Ups
Calderon vs Sessions
The Edge: Calderon - This is contingent on whether Ridnour plays, but even then, JC gets the nod. Sessions is a pretty good defender, so JC wont be getting many cheap baskets. Look for the high pick n roll, if you don’t know what that is, just watch, every time the Raptors will be offense, they will go to the pick n roll tonight…
Parker vs Bell
The Edge: Parker – Bell was a thorn in our side the last two times out, but he is far more effective coming off the bench as a spark then as a starter, IMHO. He can hit open jumpers, unfortunately for him, there isn’t anyone Parker needs to double, so he will be all up in Bell’s grill. I think this will be a match-up to keep your eye on.
Moon vs Jefferson (Updated, thanks yertu)
The Edge: Jefferson - Pump fake city! If Moon can minimize his going after a pump-fake to about once a quarter, and keep RJ out of the paint, and stay at home regardless of what happens (no need to double anyone since Redd, Ridnour and Bogut are out), then RJ will have to fight for every point he scores. On the offensive end, Moon needs to make RJ work by cutting through the paint and running around the perimeter, no plays off.
Bosh vs Villanueva
The Edge: Bosh - CV is gonna have a huge game, I can feel it, but Bosh will prevail. He just got the All-Star nod, so adrenaline is pumping, andwill pace Charlie’s offense, and out-pace his rebounding and defense.
Bargnani vs Gadzuric
The Edge: VL - Statement game for VL. I get the sense that this will be a committee job for the Bucks defending VL. Fortunately, they don’t have anyone to throw at Barney that will bother him too much. 21/8 tonight, book it.
The Line
No line was posted at the time of publishing, but I’ll give a spread of -5.5, Raptors ;)
The Prediction
Raptors by 5, could get ugly for the Bucks if Bargnani gets off early.
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100 Raps
But, but what about Tisiphani???! (Energee girl) lmao. Thanks for adding daily humour to my mornings. Let’s get er done tonight in a big way.
uh, what about JR (in the ‘Match-Ups’)?
i get worried whenever the raps are either a) on a run, or b) have a ‘must-win’ game, or c) when both a) & b) apply, and they’re playing at home. aren’t they due for stinker?
tonight is JO bobblehead night…please tell me they didn’t delay trading him just to avoid the embarassment of having a bobblehead night for a guy who was just dealt.
i’m leary of sessions…he’s legit, i can’t see jose containing him, but he’s a good defender…AP will need to step up. CV v. the raps is always interesting. it’s too bad he can’t get up for all his games the way he does against us, or he’d be a borderline allstar.
with the injuries to the bucks, i really can’t see how they pull this one out (the bucks, that is)…of course, one can never count out our raps. they have a knack for snatching defeat from the hands of victory.
oops, RJ. let my dyslexia show on that one.
There’s still a warehouse full of Frank Thomas bobble heads sitting somewhere in this city…
FREE UKIC, COMRADE!
Yeah, the energee dancepak? I think I wouldve picked Samantha or Tiffany over Kayla but the rest of those… um… women? Hughbluergh. No wonder Milwaukee plays such uninspired basketball.
Vis a vis tanking, I don’t want us to lose our lottery location in favour of getting blown out in the first round. Nothx.jpg
lol…they all aren’t up to par, i took the sl*ttiest pic i could find…lol
I think Arizona or Miami have the best looking overall DPs. Hawt.
I said it last summer and I’ll say it again: we should make a play for RJ. Last time I checked we needed a slashing SF who could hit the outside jumper and doesn’t suck at D. He makes 14 and 15 million for the next two years, I don’t think that’s unreasonable for a guy who could nicely complement Bosh and Bargnani.
Arse,
I’d rather go after Hedo. A year older but slightly better on the glass and a better passer. Not sure you’re going to get either, but if I had a choice.
plus hedu would be in line with bc’s euroball vision.
Ron Artest would look nice beside Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.. not to mention add a dimension of toughness (and craziness) not seen on the Raptors since Oak.
The Raptors need help on defense, remember?
sign me up for artest…love that sociopath.
And you’ll love his inevitably inflated salary in the summer of 2010 after he’s played 50 games the previous year, played 3 of the 6 games of the 1st round series in which the Raps were elimated and jacked up more shots than Jumpshotio
Ariza/Childress ‘09 – Yes We Can!
DG!!! A sighting!! Must be busy filing the lawsuit. :P
omg…sorry guys, i wrote this is a daze this morning, i was reading about mbah a moute starting and i got confused…
the matchups would change to:
Moon vs Jefferson
The Edge: Jefferon – Pump fake city! If Moon can minimize his going after a pump-fake to about once a quarter, and keep RJ out of the paint, and stay at home regardless of what happens (no need to double anyone since Redd, Ridnour and Bogut are out), then RJ will have to fight for every point he scores. On the offensive end, Moon needs to make RJ work by cutting through the paint and running around the perimeter, no plays off.
dude, milwaukee girls are underrated
Yeah, and everyone there has a “glandular problem”.
Why VL? I assume you’re talking about Bargnani but I have no clue what VL is in reference to. Little help?
we started calling bargnani vl (vegetable lasagna) when he was stinking the joint up. it is a reference to a seinfeld episode.
i said i would stop calling him that after 20 games of consistent play, but now i feel that if i stop calling him that, the pressure will be off and he will go back to stinking it up.
Clever. Incredibly abstrac, but clever. I’m just relieved it wasn’t something obvious i couldn’t figure out.
Here’s hoping they win tonight. I’ve got the best tickets i’ve ever had in 13 years of Raptor Basketball for tonights game. 102 section row D!
Go Raps!
take some pictures, send it to us and we will make a post out of it. have fun at the game.
I was wondering about the whole VL thing too. I just discovered this blog last week from the Truehoop network on ESPN.com
Welcome aboard blaxx
I said it before i dont think this team can string together 5 straight W’s, and usually when a team cant do that in an 82-game season it means lottery picks.
agreed, they have been able to win 3 in a row, tonight is a real opportunity at 4, but looking ahead, unless there is divine intervention, 5 wont happen this season.
Anyone else NOT want to see Marion on Toronto as much as me? I’ve just got a gut feeling it’ll turn into Zo part 2.
i don’t mind actually. marion can’t afford to screw up his next contract, so he will play hard.
That is true. I get nervous everytime there’s a big trade in the works. Alonzo just soured me on the hopes bigger name players WANTING to play for Toronto. You’re right about needing to impress for his next contract, who ever it with. Money’s always the deciding factor. I will miss the additude that JO brought out in this team, though.
If it happens, that is.
Here is nice breakdown of Marion’s game. Besides the contract and his personal impetus to play hard, I think he will be a good fit with JC’s game.
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=512
I’m holding out for the tiger. If the Wizards are getting a lion, I want a tiger.
I agree, i don’t want marion here although it will be for just a couple of month because he’ll not re-sign with us. I like a lot the idea of bringing hedo, he’s a very complete player, he makes everyone around him better, just like jose. But i don’t see him leaving orlando, they’re a title contender there ad he’s more interested in winning than in making money (like most of the euro players)
Kirilenko will be a great adition too but i don’t see that hapening either
I still hoping we bring Nocioni and Sefolosha in a deal with Chicago and maybe another team so we can avoid larry hughes contract
Anyone else want to see Messina in Toronto next year as much as me? Better head coach than 80% of NBA coaches. Phil Jackson, Popovich, Sloan, Larry Brown and maybe Doc rivers and Stan Van Gundy are above him
quite the euro heavy post…not down for nocioni or sefolosha…and is kirilenko like most euros ive recently heard about in that he wants to win so bad?
passsport.
but i am way down for messina…he’d certainly be better than doc rivers.
Sorry? How’s that? What makes you think Messina is better then those guys you mentioned? How many Finals and Chips between those guys?
The biggest knock on Messina, as far as I am reading, is how will he handle the NBA egos with his total control and zero non sense approach?
This ain’t Russia! He’s gotta answer to BC and MLSE here.. not just run his own show.
What makes yo think that he wasn’t answering anyone in the CSKA? Euro teams have GM just like in the NBA.
About the first question, i said that those head coaches are better than Messina.
You have to see his teams before throwing a question like that. the CSKA has much less talent that last season (in wich they won the Euroleague) and they’re still playing excelent team basketball. He’s by far the best coach in Europe and one of the best in the world. You’ve got to open your mind and start thinking that there’s life beyond the NBA. Players like Papaloukas or diamantidis or jasikevicius are on the same level that nba superstars.
Intenational basketball has gorwn a lot and in FIBA championships they proved that. I’m hoping that Toronto become a team where international players give NBA players a class of what basketball realy is and with Calderon (and Ukic development)Bargnani, Messina and BC they are on the right diretion.
To bearvon: Khandor has been asking for Rodney Carney all season long, what’s the problem with me asking for nocioni? it’s just an opinion
Uhhh…. yeah, a lil pressed for time earlier. Read it wrong.
Anywho, I am fairly familiar with what’s going on across the pond. Still, this guy has zero experience with the NBA and its better players. I suppose what MAY, big MAY..help is if BC keeps a collection of these sub par players around. Also, sure he had a GM there, but the issue I see is that both Messina and BC like to be in total control. (It’s why BC left PHX and Messina likes to control the players to the point where they have to ask what they are allowed to eat and/or drink)
I really hope BC doesn’t put together any combination of Euro players, they wouldn’t have a chance in a 7 gamer vs any US born combination of players, IMO, I suppose.
Jasikevicius??? HUH?? The same guy that played for the Pacers? Umm… no.
About that possible relation between messina and BC, i don’t agree with you, to me Messina is the first coach in BC’s mind right and gerardini will be a great bond between both if etore signs with the raps.
About the experience with NBA players you should see the articule in today’s linkage about Messina and read what manu ginobili has to say about him, i mean not just an average, sub par nba player, but manu ginobili. In his teams he has deal with a lot of very good and nba level players.
Anthony Paker, Andrea Bargnani and Jose calderon are not sub par players like you say and they’ll probably help in messina’s transition from europe beacuse of their euroleague experience
Sorry Raul, gonna have to disagree here. No comparison between Euro and NBA. It’s like a doctor coming over here from over there. Guess what? Your credentials mean NOTHING. I am very open minded. I just think you are over estimating their abilities. Manu just go luck to play for Paps.
Anthony Parker Jose Calderon and Andrea have done NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING in the NBA. You seem to be running on a lot of hope and optimism IMO. Nothing wrong with that, just believe, those guys will accomplish nothing in the NBA.
But at least we can agree on BC trying to turn the Raps into an Euro farm team for the NBA or collect revenues from the Toronto multicultural public.
Get your head examined, ASAP
Messina has proved fuck all in this League. And you think he’s better then 80% ?
Anyone can teach a group of players In Europe who have 0 talent.
What superstars in Europe?
Milt Palacio. Anthony Parker – Michael Jordan of Europe. Will Solomon.
IMO its very easy to coach players liek that because they have 0 ego and 0 talent. But put Messina in a situation where he has egos to deal with and has players with great talent, I think he will be a failure
Maybe Roko? lol.. And agree with all of above.
Hey Joey Crap, what was the score in last olympics final? USA dream team (meaning the cream of NBA not just Lebron or Kobe + scrubs) and Spain (basically no-names euroleaguers besides Gasol / Calderon didnt play)
Also how did US fare last couple of World Championships?
Even Puerto-Rico beat US..
You gotta realize that basketball is a global sport nowadays, everyone can play, especially europe and that american domination is over.
-1 talent and 1000 ego for this kid from canada.
MoneyCrapo, no one cares about. Ask any NBA player what they want: an NBA ring or Olympic medal? Then ask the Euros. You get the point.
Sure the playing field has leveled, but lets not get carried away here. The American domination has not ended, just went thru an adjustment period. It will be a long time before the rest of the world wins anything again.
fluxland of diarea, sure, no one cares about Iverson, Lebron, kobe and company losing constantly to some “shitty” euros in front of the world. Especially not americans.
u forget theyr not canadians.
LOL!.. Constantly? What are you talking about, guy? All I am saying is these guys are only worried about “being the guy that brought the US back to respectability”. They are not like Euros and their commie ways of “WE the team won who cares about individuals”
FIBA.. lol.. what, where Zimbabwe or Angola is ranked 1oth? Like, who cares? And in the Olyimpcs the US has won the gold what like 90 percent of the time? The domination is over? Hardly.
All these guys care about is NBA chips.
so what r u sayin?
and what is your point? that there is nobody that can play ball but black americans?
what makes you think that the players in europe have 0 talent? That way of thinking has put the US in embarrasing situations in the international competitions in the past, they put good players in the US team but not superstars and finished 7 or 8 in indianapolis 2002, and third in the 2004 olimpcs and in the 2006 world championship. They have to put the best talent in the league to win in beijing and it was a very close one against spain in the final game. So if you think that there’s not talent in europe you are the one who has to make his head examined. Basketball is game played globaly and there’re great players all over the world not just in the US. Stop thinking about waht is around you and open your head to the rest of the world
By the way, if you have talent you don’t have the right to have a big ego. I can name a lot of extreamly talented players and very humble persons like Ray Allen or Grant Hill or Allan Houston and Anthony parker too
And by superstar i mean, Manu Ginobili (MVP of the euroleague and gold medal winner in ‘04), Nowitzky, pau and marc gasol (both gold medal winners in the 06 world championship and marc MVP of the spain league), jose calderon, theodoros papaloukas, dejan bodiroga (a legend of basketball -recently retired-, watch him in you tube and he’ll blow your mind) luis scola, all extreamly talented players and true winners who don’t get the credit just beacause they aren’t konwn,and the list continues.
In two years in the league calderon become one of the best point guards in the league. In his sophmore year scola is putting 15 and 10 numbers, that is the talent that the euroleague had developed, not the nba!
Just for the record, right now NBA teams are full of european young players and all have proven to be very talented players who will become solid NBA players in the future and some of them, true stars, let me give you some names:
-Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez (Portland)
-Marc Gasol (Memphis)
-Goran Dragic (Phoenix)
-Roko ukic and Andrea Bargnani (Raps)
-Marco Bellinelli (Golden State)
-Thabo Sefolosha (chicago)
-Danilo Gallinari (NYK)
And don’t forget Peteri Koponen who will sign with portland next year and of course Ricky Rubio who is expected to be a high draft pick in the 09 draft. That kid will be a superstar.
The list of great talent in europe continues and belive me, it’s very long but you don’t know them so, it makes no sense to name them
thanks Money Carlo. that’s just what i meant
thanks Money Carlo, that was just what i was saying. A guy saying that there’s not talent in europe and in the rest of the world makes me sick, they don’t realized that there’s a world around them
Raul, sorry, no one is arguing that the talent is there. Point is it doesn’t translate well in the NBA. All the players you mentioned have come over and survived; and lots have not and gone back, don’t forget for every player you mention.. i can name 5 that were a waste of space. Plus out of all that you have mentioned.. who has accomplished anything significant? I am very familiar with Bodiroga… seen him play in Trieste. Then again he chose not to come here.. why? All these players you are naming.. are not stars.. not here anyway. Be realistic.
*sorry , talent’s isn’t there.
fluxland, you make me sick, in the last 10 years, TEN years!!!!! the US team has won only ONE gold medal and they were embarrased in their own country, remember indianapolis 2002, Baron DAvids, paul pierce, ben wallace were playing, remember? they finished what, seventh? but you’re right, who cares?
Plus, look at the Fiba rankings, i see argentina first and US second, wait, Argentina? yes, the same team that beat US twice in consecutive tournaments
They have to bring Lebron and Kobe and Carmelo and Kidd and Howard and bosh and wade and chirs paul and deron williams and they almost lost it against a Calderon-less Spain— A 17 year old kid was the point guard!!!!!, but that’s true, there’s not talent in europe…
You are missing the point, guy. And you are arguing two different things. Sure, in international play the US has dropped off, and the world has caught up. No one is arguing that. Things is, ultimately the players don’t really care, unless it bringing them some individual lime light.
The blame here is really on the fact those US team were not playing as teams, and the world was. Face it, when the US plays as a team, no one has a chance. Those guys were worried about individual glory not team glory. So the argument is not really about talent, but better team play.
The argument I am making is that very very very very few Euro so called “stars” have come to the NBA and stayed stars. They haven’t, and they can’t compete with the Americans. They talent in the US is still superior, whether you like it or not.
Maybe you see the difference, maybe you don’t. Whatever.
Bodiroga did’t play in the nba because he was earing a lot more than a rookie contract will give him in the nba.
What do you mean that they have not accomplished anything significant? Manu has 3 NBA rings, Nowitzky was a MVP, Gasol was rookie of the year and is a superstar in the league.
On the other side I have to admit that i agree with you in “don’t forget for every player you mention.. i can name 5 that were a waste of space” but that’s because in some point the nba strated to bring tons of euro players without realy scouting him carefuly. I that time apear players like Thikilivishy or whatever his name was, or Darko or Markota or Fran Vazques. In other cases NBA teams just didn’t have patience and wanted more that the kid could give in that moment.
Right now, NBA GM are being more carefull with the talent they import and the players they are bringing are very talent.
raul.there is a small % of idiots that are raptor fans that unfortunately as a fellow raptor fan you will have to come in contact with…..have you ever tried to reason with a moron?its impossible….i know,we know,people with a brain know there is a plethora of talent in europe and worldwide.so dont get frustrated, just ignore the ignoramus.
OK, but Manu’s success is a result of being on the Spurs, no? I mean, the team was not built around him and he didn’t carry it to victory on his own, you know. Put Manu on any other team, and I argue the results.
Dirk did win the MVP… and then choked in the 1st round. Pau is not a superstar, in my opinion. I mean, c’mon he needed Kobe to achieve any team success, no?
Also, that’s 3 players.. out of how many that have come over here. Again, the point is, yes, these guys are talented and play well internationally, where they also have the luxury of playing together for many many years on the club and international level. The US doesn’t really work that way. However, when they come over here, a very large number or the struggles and is very average. The talent here is much superior and you really can’t rely on your team mates to make you look good, you have to have the skills first.
I totaly agree with your last commet. If the US team played like a team all the time, there’ll be no competition, but what i’m saying is that nba players are indiviudalist and only think in theirselves because that’s the way that basketball is teach in america, very individualist, one-on-one game.
The talent in the US is still superior, no doubt on that but you said that in europe there was 0 talent and that’s not true, there’s talent and some of them can compete at the same level that the US.
What i was saying is that basketball in the US is very selfish while in europe is more team-oriented, and basketball is a team sport and it’s beautiful when it’s played like a team. That’s why i love the spurs and hate teams like, the cavs or the nuggets when iverson was there
The point about Bodiroga.. aka Black Magic… was that the NBA or an NBA championship is not as important to them as the European titles or the Olympics. There is just a difference in priorities.
to me pau is a superstar and by the way, kobe needed him to make something, by himself, the lakers were beat in the first round twice.
Manu was the best player in the spurs last seasom and realy caried the team in the 2005 championship against cleveland, that was just for the record.
On the other side, i’m not saying that you need to bet in youg euro talent, i’m asking to bring players like nocioni, or hedo in the best case, they’re talented, they’re humble and they’re winners. Messina can handle guys like that
OK, now see.. that’s what worries me about Messina.. which is what really started this. I think he relies on the fact those players have that mentality..team play… and those that don’t, well you should know how we deals with players who put themselves first, if you read his blog.
I just wonder how he deals with what the NBA is like, where you have to make sure you keep everyone happy, because egos come 1st. It is just not the same beast. As a I said before, if BC keeps a lot of Euro player, he MAY get the team to play better, but at that point you are still left with playing better talented US players, who are now playing for what THEY want the most.. an NBA ring. When they play as a team, in a 7 game series, I don’t see how an Euro team beats them for what they want the most.
I never said Europe has 0 talent.
Agreed about Kobe/Pau, but I would still call Kobe the superstar, not Pau. And yes, Manu was a big key with the Spurs, but does he win, without Duncan and Parker, the Finals MVP. Manu doesn’t win a ring without Paps and those two.
And yes, Messina can handle Euros, no arguments there, but how will he handle someone like JO, who will more then likely not go by his strict rules of when to eat, when to sleep, and what to do with your time off.
agreed about the JO thing but i don’t see BC puting that kind of players on messina’s team. We were talking about the orientation colangelo is giving to toronto so, i see more calderon’s and parker’s on this team and less oneals and moons. Like i said before, i see the raps becoming a team playing team basketball and with low egos. I see colangelo puting players more interested in winning than in getting payed big contracts (like AP or JC). So if the messina’s rutine is necessary to win a championship, they’ll do it
About the spurs, no one of their big three can win a title by themselves (even duncan needed robinson in his first title) but to be honest, no one can win a title by himself, Lebron tried it in 2005 and he lost 4-0 in the finals, even jordan needed pipen rodman and phil jackson.
PS: Please watch nocioni play for the NT in argentina and you will fall in love with him. You’ll want him to play for the raps so bad that this conversation will be over inmediatly
Let me just run some history names by you:
the true ball superstars who initiated european flux to NBA(all in hall of fame) when you had to work twice as hard to prove yourself (jordan, magic and bird’s time):
Croatians:
Drazen Petrovic (the best european player ever. period/ died 1993 in a car crash – if not he’d be minimum top 5 players if not the best in the league right now)
Toni Kukoc
Dino Radja
Kresimir Cosic
Croatian descent:
Pistol Pete
George Mikan
Serbs too:
Divac, Stojakovic – extra players
Raul, I just don’t think an ALL Euro team wins a Chip in the NBA. I really don’t care if teams win 60 games a season, if they get bounced out of the playoffs in the 1st round or never win anything.
Money, I am the last guy that needs a lesson on any of those guys, if you knew anything about me, you would know this. Or if you were on the old Arsenalist blog, where I would post Drazen clips. Those Jugoplastika teams were my favourites. Don’t assume that just because I disagree with the impact Euros have on the NBA, I know nothing about European players, current and past.
Cosic never played in the NBA, and Dino played what like 2 years or something? You are letting your Croatian pride blind you from the reality, that in fact, the NBA is superior and American players are superior in every way to the Euros.
nba is the best league in the world and all the great talents from all over the world aspire to go there. U cant compare NBA and any other league because its just like comparing college and the NBA.
You got a right to your own opinion ill respect it.
I happen to think otherwise which will show anytime soon.
Rigt now, I’d take a this starting five:
Tony parker, Manu Ginobili, Pedja Stojakovic, Dirk Nowitzki and Gasol/big Z over any team comprised of americans.
I’ve been to Milwaukee (”the good land”) over a dozen times, and not once have I seen a hot broad.
Unless you’re into whatever it is they’re into.
I think it’s cheese. I kid you not. It’s EVERYWHERE there.
Actually on my last trip through milwaukee we stopped at a coffee shop in the middle of nowhere and the most beautiful girl was working there and we thought it would make her day if we told her she was beautiful (not in a creepy way, in one of those “aim for the stars, get out of this janky town and join top model!” kinda way). I don’t think she heard us say it cause she didn’t respond.
Her loss. We just wanted to save you.
Go raps!
Been there too and the women that I saw are certainly no better than the Bucks dancepak. I was there for a Packers game at Lambeau Field. A few thousand people (no exaggeration) were wearing cheeseheads. Fucking crazy people… but it was the best place that I have ever been to for an NFL game. The tailgate party was unreal… the women however…
Milwaukee is known for cheese, beer, sausage, bikers (and the TV show ‘Happy Days’)
That said, Milwaukee does not raise beautiful women!
Help me out guys
i have a small wager on the raptors tonight over the bucks.
whos going to prevail?
It’s not about the money it’s about a co-worker who thinks toronto is garbage.
last time i bet him….. WAS THE OKC GAME.
Thanks.
OH man… are you ever going to live that down??
Raptors tonight is a safe bet victor. i wouldn’t bet large sums of money, but a lot is riding on villanueva, sessions, bell and jefferson to deliver. tall order as they aren’t main go-to guys (jefferson excepted of course).
Thanks for your thoughts. appreciate it!
I doubled the bet so i can gain a profit and shut him up if the raptors win. i bet 20 bucks with him. last time vs okc i put down 10
so if the raptors lose(knock on wood) i ll be down 30!! thats a lot of chicken wings and a pint of beer @ philthy Mcnasty lol
Dang fellas, not good ha?
Yeah… bad news…
No Redd.
Possibly no Bogut and no Ridnour.
Raps at home.
Good odds for a Raps win!!
Also, just a reminder that RR is hosting our weekly RAPTOR FAN FRIDAY game party tonight at downtown Philthy McNasty’s (276 King St. W., Toronto)!!
Our RFF events are organized to unify the Raps fan community, celebrate our passion for our team and bring the ACC upper-bowl crowd energy to our weekly Raps fans hangout.
If you guys are trying to predict the outcome of tonight’s game, you might as well know that I’m going to the game. The Raptors have won something like 5-6 games over the past 30 games that I’ve attended.
Ebrian,
don’t worry. after tonight your record will be 6-7 over the past 31 games.
wrong. they lost. as expected.
as a bonus, i got to see Calderon break his streak too.
yay me!
The Raps shouldn’t have a problem. I just hope they don’t play down to the Bucks level and CV doesn’t get hot on the Raps which he does sometimes.
I also want to make mention of a funny quote from Raps Fan’s pre-game analysis:
“Although Villanueva plays defense like the girls at rail when AltRaps walks in (when they find out he has no money in his pocket)”
If I may… I remember when MoP used to roll into the Rail with AltRaps after home games, the ‘rippers taught them both how to be aggressive on offence.
hopefully altraps didn’t catch anything like mop did ;) lol
RR should hold their next event at the Brass Rail, you guys give them enough pub, they’d probably throw a round of free beers for everyone.
To the guy who’s betting, the Raptors will cruise. But play moneyline just to be safe, never trust the spread.
WJ, our RFF post-game parties are at the Rail!! ;)
“far more effective coming off the bench as a spark then as a starter”
THAN as a starter. Not then.
Messina:
From the videos I have seen, he looks like some strict disciplinarian. His teachings are legitimate but I don’t know how his success will translate into the NBA- a completely different world dominated by the players.
I read somewhere that he has his players in Europe on a strict diet and curfew of 8pm during the season and no alcohol and clubbing was allowed.
That shit would not fly in the NBA.
Overrated. Popovich and Brown game him props so not to look bad, you know. I doubt they would let him run a team in this L.
Joey, I was saying that above. Agreed. No way he’s pulling this “I tell you how to live your life” crap in the NBA.. unless its the Euros. JO is not trying to hear that.. that’s for sure.
coaches like Popovic and Tomjanovic are pure americans eh?
Why cuz of their last names? LOL.. you are hilarious! How many games have they coached overseas?
2nd generation “Euros” from Croatia and Serbia.
Maybe european coaches dont have the NBA experience but there is some damn good coaches over there and they deserves a chance. For example, D’antoni learned everything he knows from european coaches.
No argument there, again tho.. its all about results. You really think his style will ever win anything in the NBA?
Are you a gipsy? do you have a magic ball? can you see the future?
You think Barack would be US president right now if people had the same line of thought like you?
I’d give Messina a chance any day over Triano at least for half a season. If he cant deliver, ta ta.
I’ll gladly say sorry. BTW, I’m not necessarily lobbying for Messina as head coach of Raptors – but just dont think its about “europeans and americans” and dat its such a stretch to adjust to basically the same game. euro coaches deserve a chance just like any other coaches.
Dont forget-Not that long ago there was no black coaches in the league.
Raptors style of play blows with this starting 5, so slow and lethargic, no penetration, no fast-break, no1 breaks a sweat. Its plain Ooogly.
Plus Joses streak came to an end making it official that you wont see ESPN or US media following the raptors anymore this season.
If they only started Roko, eh? They’d be 82-0 this season.
I’d even take you as the starting PG at this point of the season.
I normally try to keep it clean and try my best to come up with what I think are intelligent points to add to the dialogue. This time……..
FUCK THAT NOISE
Raptors fucking suck shit, they are worthless pieces of trash choke artist fruitcakes.
FUCK THEM
Someone is upset…
He bet his dog on the raptors tonight.
Team with big injury losses and wounded starter and not taking advantage of it + “Franchise” player trying to draw fouls on his jumper when the person is not touching him (coughBOSHcough)….that was tonight.
Now that I think most people are with me thinking that this season is over, what is our best option? If we trade Bosh we likely won’t get anyone in return that could help this team now, it would consist of a bunch of first rounders and young players with promise. But how many times can we go through this kind of rebuild?
Keys for the future
#1 Keep Bosh:
Our best bet is to use Bosh’s presence as a reason to attract other players here, coupled with a willingness to spend money. In the quest to keep LeBron the Cavs are spending such a stupid amount of money it is crazy. I am not suggesting we do that, but next year, we need to make some real investments on our wings and at the back-up pg position. And we need Bosh to do that. I think the only reason someone would consider coming here is because of Bosh. I don’t think that Bosh is the kind of player that because of his talent, can win us ball games alone. But i do think that he is enough of an incentive to attract a decent wing player. We talk about #1 or #2 scoring options on a team. This is not a good way to look at it. Rather, Bosh is the kind of player that offences can run through – WHEN he is on his game, AND trying, Bosh can attract the double-team and pass off to cutting wings or open three shooters.
#2 If we keep Bargnani, he needs to be better on D:
In the off-season Bargnani needs to develop into the kind of defensive player that Jermaine was brought in to be. We need that kind of rebounding presence in the paint in order to succeed. Maybe get him on some plyometrics to increase his jumping height. If he can’t do this, then I don’t think that Raps can be a contender.
#3 Get a back-up pg:
If Roko works out, then great. But what I think this team needs is a solid defensive minded point guard. If we keep AP at this position, I am okay with that, as long as this is the ONLY position he plays. No more of this switching him from 1 to 2. He is on the floor way too long and he either needs to be the point guard, or not be the point guard.
I think Calderon is a very good point guard. And I think that he will be plagued by hamstring issues all season which will throw off his shot and prevent him from driving to the hoop. And we will all call for his head as a result. He has habits we do not like, like pulling back when he reaches the 3 point line on a break, and passing, but even this I could live with if I saw that he looked sure footed as I have not seen since last season.
#4 Get a star wing player:
No team that wants to be a contender can have only one star. This relates to the comment about a #1 or #2 scoring option above. We need a star-quality player that can handle the ball, create shots and collapse defences. I would like Joe Johnson – but, I am not a GM, and I have really no clue how player-deals are negotiated, if this is even reasonable.
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By the way, Tim Chisolm’s article in the Web Articles section is awesome – check it out.