90 points-in-the-paint. That’s what the Raptors gave up to the Suns on Friday. Fortunately for them, the Mavs are far more perimeter oriented. Dampier isn’t the threat that Shaq is in the paint, and the rest of the guys work outside in. Not that it matters, because ultimately the Mavs are playing for a playoff birth while the Raptors are playing for…uhm…errr….they are just playing some basketball to pass the time till golf season.
The Mavs are an interesting team. I wonder how Cuban wakes up every morning after pulling that trade last season for Kidd. He got a lifeline the first time around when Stackhouse opened his big stupid mouth, but he failed to see it as a sign, and mortgaged the future for no real good reason (it’s not like they are a contender anymore).
Dallas is coming off a pretty solid win over the Thunder, where Nowitzki dropped 41. They hold a 2 game lead for the 8th spot in the West (ahead of the Suns no less). Seems like they win the privilege of meeting the Lakers in the 1st round as Stoudemire has been lost for the season with a detached retina. They are 6-4 in their last 10, but sport a 21-8 home record.
I couldn’t decide between the 4 of them.The Raptors just ended a two game winning streak with a drubbing at the hands of Shaq and Amundson. Uhm, this is the 2nd game of a possible 6-8 game losing streak for the Raptors which will all but drop their 2% chance of making the playoffs to 0% and we can look ahead to next year for yet another season of resentment, second guessing and wasted time.
On the bright side, the Mavericks cheerleaders are damn hot. The first thing we all notice is that they are all well endowed, I assume we probably have Cuban to thank for that. Thanks man. It was a hard choice, and I couldn’t commit to only one girl here, they are both high quality babies. May I introduce to you Jody and Jessica. Jody (the one on the left) is a rookie dancer who wants to one day own her own cajun restaurant and boasts Jason Terry as her favourite Mav. Jessica on the other hand is an Oasis fan, and loves her some Manicotti, interesting Stackhouse is her favourite Mav.
Injury Report
Raptors
Kris Humphries
Joey Graham – questionable
Mavericks
Jerry Stackhouse
Jason Terry
Shawne Williams
Match-ups
Calderon vs Kidd
The Edge: Kidd - Calderon sucks. Kidd is old and slow, but he is a warrior. I have been taking this match-up for a couple years now.
Parker vs Wright
The Edge: Parker - Parker was luke-warm last night, so it can swing either way, but Wright sucks and is only getting burn because Terry and Stackhouse are out of commission.
Marion vs Howard
The Edge: Marion - This is going to be a nice match-up. Both are premiere 3’s in the league, and will be trying to bring it. Marion has been a beast for us on the boards and in the paint. His perimeter defense has been solid as well, which will come in handy as Howard likes to pop J’s from 15ft out.
Bosh vs Nowitzki
The Edge: Nowitzki - The guy is a Raptor killer he put up 27pts and 10rebs the last time around, and I don’t see it going down much differently, especially with most of the offensive load being on his capable shoulders with Terry out. Bosh will have a big game, 23pts 9rebs, but Nowitzki gets the nod here.
Bargnani vs Dampier
The Edge: VL - VL had a pretty solid showing against Shaq last night, and Dampier is a super watered down version.
The Line
VegasInsider.com has the Mavs at -6.5.
Prediction
The Mavs don’t need Terry and Stackhouse to beat the Raptors, they will protect home court and win by 9.
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50 Raps
Who should guard Nowitzki ??? …. Bosh, Bargs or Marion ??? … hmmmmm
This will be another ‘developmental’ game for the bball-challenged Ratpors … and their rookie-canuck-interim coach … hopefully they can produce 3 quarters of decent bball.
This might be another loss, but i’m still hoping for a win. we missed joey last night. He could have prevented that kid Amonsot from having a career night. That kid also killed us, we had a slight chance, if we could have let Shaq scored but shut down the rest of the team, and connected on our offense, Just like what we did when we beat Orlando at the ACC.
Bargnani is our GO TO GUY. He is becoming what bosh used to be. I say we trade Bosh in the offseason. Then resign Marion and Joey. And sign a hardnosed, rebounding power forward to help shawn and bargs on the boards (David Lee). The Knicks can’t afford to keep both Nate and David coz they’re saving money to get Lebron in 2010. Although David is not a great post defender and shot blocker, he hustles, grabs offensive boards, scores inside and plays the pick and roll quite well. We lost toughness since we traded JO, Marion can’t do all the rebounding by himself. Getting Lee, will improve our rebounding, (we’re one of the worst rebounding teams this season).
Calderon is just a backup point guard, not fit to be starter for a mediocre team. Colangelo made a big mistake of signing him to a long, expensive contract. I say we trade him for a player with a shorter contract plus a first rounder. He clearly does not fit the run and gun system that colangelo wants, and he is overrated. I like to trade him to the lakers, since they need a point guard to succeed the aging derek fisher. Plus Pau’s there. Phil jack’s coached point guards of the jose calderon shooter type (john paxson, bj armstrong, steve kerr, derek fisher). The Lakers may not afford it, but they surpised everyone last season by getting pau gasol. The point guard we need
I’m not that convinced that we should spend money hire a high profile coach next season. The problem is not the coach, it’s the team itself. It’s hard to admit it, but our team sucks.
actually, Colangelo signed Calderon to a very reasonable contract.. any number of teams would trade their older PG for a younger and much more affordable Calderon, including:
Phoenix Suns – Steve Nash
Atlanta Hawks – Mike Bibby
Philadephia 76ers – Andre Miller
LA Clippers – Baron Davis
all i want is someone who can throw an alley-oop pass and lead the fast break.. is that too much to ask?
is a 5 year, $7+ million contract reasonable after a season of being a productive “BACKUP”???
I always wanted to get steve nash. i thought we could have gotten him, barbosa, barnes, robin lopez, for caldero, kapono, parker, and moon. steve may be a liability in the defense but he makes up in the offense by leading the charge, finding open teammates, hitting jumpshots. and he loves playing for jay triano. with nash on our team, there is no necessity for us to hire a high profile coach.
j: he may be a backup in your eyes, and i don’t disagree, but to the rest of the nba.. he’s a starting PG with a PER of 19.0 and a reasonable contract at $7+ million/year. don’t scream too loud, we don’t want the rest of the league to know that Calderon isn’t a starter =)
LOL… exactly why i want to trade him! unfortunately, he is included in colangelo’s untouchables which comprises of him, bargs and bosh.
the whole league does not know that the reason for jose’s “impressive” stat of a high assist to turnover ratio is due to his fear of driving to the basket which results in a 2/3-on-1 fast break that he chooses to pullup for a jumper than to dish or take inside for a layup. shhhh… be quiet about that ok. XD
I’ve been genuinely impressed by Jose’s willingness to push the ball up the floor and making teams respect our new-found transition game. Even if he never finishes the break himself, he seems to be buying into the idea. Call me crazy but his defense has seemingly improved also, but then again maybe my standards have been lowered.
his defense just seems to be improved because he always claps his hands to get the team pump up as they get back on D ala KG. not impressive.
nothing against jose personally. i admire his attitude, his recent unsuccessful tries to drive to the basket which most of the time results in turnovers. he may be the team’s true vocal leader but he just couldn’t back it up with good play. like i said he can be starter for great teams like the lakers, but not for mediocre teams like the raptors, because it’s just too much for him to handle and his body can’t handle it.
i wish they just trade him. the lakers i really believe is the best fit for him. he does not have to wear his body all the time, he’s not the main offense guy because they have a TRUE franchise player and superstar in Kobe and a decent all star in pau gasol, plus the others. he may even thrive in phil jack’s triangle offense. we need a point guard who could orchestrate and lead the offense to push the ball.
So Arse, whos ur fav raptors cheerleader?
Rationale?
gotta go with jess. last line in jodi’s bio was a buzzkill.
Hey i thought the VL moniker after he’s practically averaged Chamberlain numbers as of late…
Man the more I look at this team the more draft picks we need… the best players in the league today are with the team that drafted them and the draft is much like the lotto… only 3 million per ticket.
Edgar: I just felt like bringing VL back. Not a knock on his play of late at all
looks like it (VL) will be around a bit longer…
No mention of how last time around Bosh refused to drive on Dirk? Arse’s post-game about it was epic.
doesn’t need to be said since bosh refuses to drive most of the time anyways.
You were joking when you said Bargnani had a pretty good showing against Shaq, right?…
it wasn’t bad. shaq had one of those games, but i didn’t mind bargnani on the defensive end so much. i would have liked if he attacked shaq early and tried to get him out of the game, but bosh didn’t do that either.
MIAMI – 120 …. KNICKS – 115
MOON – 39 minutes .. 17 points .. 7 for 14 .. 3 for 6 three-pointers .. 3 offensive, 9 defensive rebounds …. and a starter too …!!!!
O’NEAL – 37 minutes .. 18 points .. 9 for 16 .. 2 offensive, 5 defensive rebounds …. starting centre …!!!
So it was Moon who was doing a “vince” on the Raptors … because he was totally demotivated by MLSE for not renegotiating his measly $700,000+ contract after giving the Ratpors a great first season. Now Moon is pulling out all the stops and showing Miami what he can really do … and they even made him a starter in the Knicks game ….LOL
So who stole whom in that trade ….????!!!!!
It’s one game… against the Knicks…
they “stole” moon and they can keep him.
i thought we would never bring this guy up again?
i dont care if he ends up averaging 12 pts a game for the heat (he wont)…the guy makes me want to vomit.
It’s called playing for a contract – look it up. Some poor team will give him 3 mill contract and spend the next few years trying to trade him…
Moon and O’Neal totalled 35 points of production as starters, and have posted high numbers in other games for the Heat.
What have Marion, Banks and O’Bryant produced for the Ratpors this season ??? … not much …!!!!
The Ratpor coaching staff and MLSE executives have demotivated the team this season, virtually guaranteeing Bosh’s departure … and an even worse reputation in the NBA after the Vince Debacle … and now this …!!!!
The Ratpors will not attract any decent FA’s in 2010, and of that you can be certain … they are the dregs of the NBA as far as player preference .. other than Euro players.
It’s gonna be a long and lonely existence in the basement of the NBA for the Ratpors in the next decade .. believe it ..!!!!
“The Ratpors will not attract any decent FA’s in 2010, and of that you can be certain … they are the dregs of the NBA as far as player preference .. other than Euro players.
It’s gonna be a long and lonely existence in the basement of the NBA for the Ratpors in the next decade .. believe it ..!!!!”
Don’t agree with that at all. I’ve lived in different cities, both here and there (U.S.) and Toronto is preferable to MANY other places to where else an NBA player can play. And the team isn’t all THAT far from being good … imo.
JO and moon being “stolen” from us is the equivalent of someone coming to your house and stealing your old beat up toothbrush (JO) that you were gonna throw away anyways because the bristles were broken and there were left over poop particles on it (moon) because you always kept it uncovered and close to the toilet.
so not only are you glad its been stolen….but the thief left their wallet on your bathroom sink.
granted the only thing in the wallet is an expiring bus pass…but you still get a few rides and you can renew it cheaper because the signup fees have already been paid…oh and an old condom…it hasnt been used…but its prolly been in the wallet for like 3 years…you can break it out in case of an emergency…but youre risking an std or even worse…fatherhood.
Well to be fair, Marion has been playing well for us so far. He’s only had one “low” scoring game, but produced in other categories. Moon and JO have had their downs for Miami too.
costello says: Mar 1, 2009 at 3:15 pm
“Don’t agree with that at all. I’ve lived in different cities, both here and there (U.S.) and Toronto is preferable to MANY other places to where else an NBA player can play. And the team isn’t all THAT far from being good … imo.”
But you are not an American NBA player with deep, newly-found nationalistic and cultural preferences. There is a community of U.S. bball players who find no satisfaction playing for a losing team, particularly in cold, strange, Toronto Canada. I believe this is a proven trait that exists within NBA players. Canada is just not in the U.S. bball market nor sphere of interest … it’s way up there in the sticks … a frozen backwater.
As for the Ratpors being not “all THAT far from being good” … please define “far” in the context of the future Ratpors, and explain what you mean by “good”.
……………………………………………………….
bearvon says: – Mar 1, 2009 at 4:32 pm
“JO and moon being “stolen” from us is ……… so not only are you glad its been stolen….but the thief left their wallet on your bathroom sink.”
Regardless of your many nonsensical hyperboles, come Summer 2009, you will most likely see the Ratpors losing not only Bosh, but also Marion, Parker and possibly even Graham … leaving a core of players not worth snot. These USians will be jumping off the sinking Canadian barge so fast your head will spin … as the remnants of the Ratpors get flushed down the crapper as tribal honking fans finally realize they have nothing to delude about …. nada zilch … believe it …!!!
so dont cheer for the team….you seem to have made up your mind that it doesnt work…that toronto will never work…you offer no real solutions…
dont cheer for the team.
how about the miami heat?…after referencing ONE of their games…you seem to really be into what they can do…theyre in the US…americans with money love miami (not me personally…but im also not an NBA player…and you know seem to know what THEY prefer)…
and i dont think what i had typed was nonsensical…im pretty sure people could make sense of it..
jamario moon is shit on a toothbrush….
how is that for nonsensical?
i believe this team (like many teams before them…and not just canadian teams) had a bad season, mainly due to its subpar talent and an overconfident GM….
i think they will try to fix those problems (like most NBA teams do)…
and sometimes it works…and sometimes it doesnt.
is that plain enough for you to understand or is there a miami heat game on that you need to be watching?
FAQ – I don’t have a short answer for you (off the top of my head) and I’m not inclined to write an essay on the whole thing … though if I did, it might be along the lines of ‘what exactly does it take, for a team to play good basketball’. The dynamics of each individual player (I tend to believe) changes the chemistry of the team on the floor (with every player change) … sometimes, profoundly … or very near it. We’ve seen what Marion alone, has brought to the Raps and some games, and we’ll see more of the affect at some times than at others, for sure. Had the Raps won against the Suns the other night (I wonder), would you be even feeling the way you are, today? (It could’ve happened, cuz [again], they weren’t that far from winning.) Maybe you would, but I dunno. Thing is, the Suns beat the Lakers today, in a similar fashion as how they beat the Raps. Both games were without Nash … and it seems obvious that the Suns are playing a different game without him. Most hoops fans probably wouldn’t have thought that the Suns would seem to be MORE effective without Nash … but all things considered, it’d be hard to argue otherwise, for these last two games of theirs. The point? The Raptors might be one or (maybe) two starters and one or two bench players from being what I might call a ‘good’ team; a team that’d be in the playoffs, with a fair chance to upset a top team in an early round and then … maybe make some magic happen. Then again, they might already have some of those parts right there … just not firing together as synchronized as they might … and as they might with (maybe) Bosh playing like he was early in the season? … or Calderon playing at full speed (like we haven’t really seen at all this year)? … or Parker playing (maybe) his best games, 2 out of 3 games, instead of 1 out of every five or 6? I dunno and the game against the Mavs is about to start (it’s started), so that’s all I have for ya, at this moment. If you really wanted a reply. Enjoy the game. ( I would’ve made this shorter, but I didn’t have the time.)
that one above should be from ‘costello’. wrote that last from a different computer with an old setting that I didn’t notice.
WSG(aka costello) says: Mar 1, 2009 at 9:17 pm
FAQ – I don’t have a short answer for you (off the top of my head) and I’m not inclined to write an essay on the whole thing … though if I did, it might be along the lines of ‘what exactly does it take, for a team to play good basketball’. ……………..
It must be obvious to you and all other Ratpor observers that this team is just coasting to the end of the season and then calling it quits. Just look at all the lost games against superior teams … they collapse going into halftime .. and for the middling teams they might extend them into the third quarter and then they tank … confusion, low bball IQ, get run over offensively and defensively … the same pattern over and over again.
This is not a viable NBA team, and a major overhaul of personnel must be done over the summer. Some of the players will ask to be traded or will not extend or renew their contracts … they have had enough of the Ratpor debacle.
By retaining Triano as interim head coach, BC has essentially conceded the season … and that should be obvious to all.
Whatever dude. At the end of the day, all that stuff you hurl around makes it sound like you lost a little (or a lot of) dough betting on this team … and if that’s the way it is, well … what are ya gonna do? I’m just a fan. I’d rather them win, but win or lose, I’m a fan … and if they don’t pull it out this year (probably not likely), I’ll still root for them and hope that they make the right kind of moves so that next year, they can play good hoops, win more games and get lined up to make a little noise in the playoffs. If what looks like what’s gonna happen, does happen (not make the playoffs), I’ve got a couple other teams that I find easy to like and I’ll follow them, until they’re out … and that’ll continue until there’s a new NBA Champion. As well as being a Raptors fan, I like the game. I like to watch good basketball and that’s pretty much all there is to it.
All that crap you talk, about players not wanting to come here (Toronto) is just that: crap. Doesn’t matter how many times you repeat crap – it’s still gonna be crap. You sound like a lot of ‘commenters’ or posters, mostly elsewhere, who may or may not know what they’re talking about, but whose main pleasure that’s enjoyed from this game is to just tear down whatever they think they can get a toe-hold on, especially if they think that they can piss someone off, good and proper. Personally, I don’t really get it … but I don’t waste my time trying to battle it. People have the right to act like a dick I guess, or an asshole or whatever else might fit whoever it might be.
Cheer up, faq. Then again, your handle kind of suits ya if you pronounce it the way I’d imagine you do – Fa-Q. (Right?)
*In the interest of ‘full disclosure’, it’s true that I posted half a dozen times, a while back, as WSG. Not a bfd. But after an exchange with a writer here that I later felt a-holish about … I’d come by to read, but I held off posting. I like to comment on occasion though, so I decided I’d post under a nick-name (Costello) that I’m known by, to a certain group I hang out with sometimes. (I’m a very big Elvis fan.) Wasn’t necessary I know … but I like the name, anyway. That’s all.
what does VL stand for? Vegetable Lasagna?
Yes.
Bearvon you speak the truth…
Some good shit up there…
This just in. Nathan Jawai just went 2 for 7 in his first 31 minutes of D-League action. He was also a Bosh like 8 of 11 from the free throw line. In his post-game quote he apparently said, “Bring on Louis Amundson. The French are all assholes…”
I’ll update you on his upcoming stay at Tony Parker’s house and his status with the Idaho Stampede as the year progresses. You’ll have to decide whether you want to turn to me or the Dino Nation Blogger on this critical issue.
bearvon says: Mar 1, 2009 at 6:31 pm
“so dont cheer for the team….you seem to have made up your mind that it doesnt work…that toronto will never work…you offer no real solutions… dont cheer for the team.”
“Cheering” is for childish tribal honking fans who live their lives through their team and their heroes … definitely not how intelligent observers of the game of bball do it. The first thing you must do is face up to reality, and only then can you isolate the problems requiring solutions. Unfortunately, the Ratpors will soon be engulfed with problems that will tank the team for the next season … to many decent players leaving the sinking ship.
i believe this team (like many teams before them…and not just canadian teams) had a bad season, mainly due to its subpar talent and an overconfident GM….
i think they will try to fix those problems (like most NBA teams do)… and sometimes it works…and sometimes it doesnt.
Come next summer when things go from bad to worse for the Ratpors, I trust you will change your mind. Btw .. what are your solutions to the Ratpor’s problems after Bosh, Marion, Parker and Graham leave for greener and better pastures in the U.S.A. ..??!!!!
Hey cocksucker we have cap space most teams don’t players will come here… players will always come if we have 65-71 million to spend you will find players at all skill levels who want to get paid….
Its not as black and white as we suck its cold….
We have cap space and some good players to build around or trade for assets a high pick and money….
Yes were fans thats why were here not to pass time to death which what you sound like your doing we actually cheer for the team….
Shocking I know
I don’t suck ‘cocks’ … you faggot ….!!!!
“tribal honking”? i dont know what that means…so i google searched it…and youre the only person ever to use such a term (again, and again, and again…its just not gonna catch on guy)…so forgive me if im reading what youre saying as “nonsensical”
maybe you can keep trying to explain…i would LOVE to hear from you and your self proclaimed “intelligent” observations.
Re: bearvon says: Mar 1, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Re: “tribal honking fans”…….
Recommend you read and study this Raptors Republic archived thread to help you learn all about “tribal honking fans” (which incidentally I googled up). Study my comments made last November when Smitch was still the Ratpor’s coach … here it is:
http://raptorsrepublic.com/blog/2008/11/23/roll-call-nov-23-vs-celtics/
Agreed man. Toronto is used as a farm system I would think and once players get established here they go off too a great team and break out.
Examples???? And how many champions between them???
Stoudamire, camby, carter…hoisting that hardware!!
All those post raptors all star games between them!!
I keep saying it over and over.
No sports team on Planter Earth can win a championship or compete for the top dog in the league when you have a teachers pension group as a majority owner. It’s just not possible too have 20 + different owners having a piece of the pie. You cannot win like that. There needs to be “one” face and stability.
When you have been rebuilding for the past 10 years and nothing too show for it, you have issues.
When you raise ticket prices every year and yet,refuse go into the Luxury tax and sign/trade for some superstars, you have issues.
When your ownership signs a general manager who hasn’t won anything in his career and is better known for turning the Suns into a top 6 profitable franchise and making money first and foremost, you have issues.
When your ownership knows full well that their basketball games cannot be broadcast anywhere in Toronto yet they do nothing about it, you have issues. ( This is criminal and would not happen with any other owner in any sport in any country on the planet )
BTW, who owns the Maple Leafs and Toronto FC ? Funny thing that both are the worst in the League in there respective sport and they are owned by the same Teachers pension group. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Bryan Colangelo and Brian Burke will fail.
stfu u dumb fuck.
arn’t you the guy always bashing the team? Dont type, wheelchair boy before I break your other leg.
anytime you wanna try faggot.set it up.
The flip side of that is if the Raptors continue to stink, wouldn’t the fanbase dwindle? A quick google search shows that from 03/04 to 04/05 Rap attendance fell approximately 9% though it did only taper off another 1% in 05/06.
So Maybe crap teams = lower attendance = less profitablity (or incurring a loss) = bye bye Moron Colangelo, hello renewed hope.
Now on too Chris Bosh.
My take is he is not a winner and cannot win unless he has a superstar at every position on his team. ( Olympics )
Anyone here thinks he can win a game 7 in the playoffs at home, let alone Away? Keep dreaming.
Notice What Wade is doing with the same if not less talented players? They’re making noise in the East. We’re the worse team in the League no question about it. ( Oklahoma would kill us in a playoff round )
Bosh – In 2010 your worth the MLE for 6 years at $5 million/year. Nothing more then that as you are nothing but a glorified Jump shooter who adds nothing else to the game. Take it or leave it.
I know some like to scoff at the use of statistics, but I think if Colangelo had read Wages of Wins, knew what PER is, and subscribed to basketball prospectus, maybe he wouldn’t have used his entire mid-level exception on Jason Kapono.
The guy’s highest PER was 13.8 (average is 15) and that is when he was playing with Shaq and Wade. Before that the guy averaged a freaking 10.3! It is simply ignorant and moronic of Colangelo to spend that much money on a guy who hadn’t even produced at a close to average level in his best year.
Jeez.