More of this to come?It’s Friday night, the team’s 20 games under .500, the Bobcats are in town and March Madness is on. This may as well be on TSN2 because its getting less viewers than a WNBA pre-season clash. You’d think there would be an element of revenge here after the Raptors got theirs handed to them in Charlotte but I doubt that’s the case since none of these guys care to take beat-downs personally. In that sense they’re a lot like that guy in high-school everyone rained insults on but never seemed to offend. You kinda just take it, you know.
Instead of droning on about matchups and strategies, let me just outline what each Raptor is playing for because it sure as hell ain’t a playoff spot.
Banks – He couldn’t care less if he gets another minute this season. He knows this is his last major NBA contract and after this it’s all about hunting for 10-days. Roko’s rightfully ahead of him in the depth chart and with some draft sites having the Raptors select a PG, I smell a buyout.
Bargnani - The only reason to watch the games. He’s looking to continue his aggressive offensive play and solid man-defense and finish the season on a high while cementing his case as the leader of this team. I focus on him on every offensive and defensive possession so I can appreciate how much he’s improved form last year.
Bosh - He’s got nothing to play for. He knows another big payday is coming in 2010 and he’s just trying to stay healthy and make sure the blame for losing is spread out evenly and not funneled towards him. Here’s some generic post-practice talk where he says they need to be more aggressive – sounds very wrong and ass-backwards.
Calderon - Trying to prove to the fans and the GM that the contract was not a mistake and that the reason he’s been crap for 90% of the season has in fact been the injury. The Detroit and Indiana games did something to help that cause but the Charlotte game canceled all that out. Not sure how much proving you can do at the tail end of a disastrous season when the games are pressure-free. Even though he’ll never admit to it, the FT thing is on his mind.
Graham - Ideally, wants to give Colangelo a reason not to re-sign Marion and hand him a contract and the starting SF minutes. Realistically, wants to showcase himself so anyone can hand him a contract in the range of what he’s making now.
Humphries - Trying to prove to the team doctor that his injury wasn’t caused by grinding with underage girls at Lobby.
Kapono - Again, nothing to prove and nothing to play for, that’s what guaranteed contracts do for you. He’s focused on not attempting any threes that might drop him out of the top 25 in 3-point shooting. He’s a conman who could be easily convicted of fraud in up to 36 countries.
Marion - Has something to play for. He knows he’s in for a massive pay cut but is trying to cut his losses by getting the Raptors to over pay or any other team to just pay.
Mensah-Bonsu - Applying for a job as the Raptors garbage-man, so far the interview’s gone well and the team is close to making an offer. The Raps are just checking references and will get back to him by the end of the week. Looking to continue the hustle on the defensive boards which looks especially great when you’re standing next to Bargnani and Bosh. Much better post-practice interview where he’s giving mad love to the fans. Marion teasing him in the background. BTW, his real name is Nana Papa Yaw Dwene Mensah-Bonsu.
O’Bryant - Can’t prove anything from the bench. We’ve got a $1,620,000 team option.
Parker - Wants to continue to prove that he can pass as a SG for 10 minutes a game and as a PG for another 5. That should be good enough to get a 1-year deal from a team that hasn’t seen him enough. The Raptor that has most benefited from this year.
Triano - Trying to show enough to get hired as an assistant next year. Post-practice interview says something about “taking it game by game” and “go over some of the things we’ve seen on tape” and “we could go on a great run” and “heart and soul” and “gritty effort” and “play every possession”. Yaaawwwnnn.
Ukic - Looking to crack the 30 minute mark in a game and why not? Let’s make the NBA initiation official and give him five straight starts just so opposing team’s can say they heard of this guy before the game. Too bad the the D-League season ends in April.
Voskuhl - Sad situation. Obviously he’s not coming back (he better not) but he’s not getting the playing time to show anyone else what he might be able to bring (which is nothing). Look for him in a Sobey’s near you.
Talisa :)Quick injury report. Marcus Banks is questionable with a toe injury and Humphries is out. Gerald Wallace bruised a knee against the Kings but the MRI was negative and is expected to play.
Quick game talk. We got killed in Charlotte and it would be nice to get some revenge until you think in pragmatic terms. We are tied for the 7th worst record in the league with Golden State and are 4 games ahead of Minnesota for 6th worst. A loss isn’t all that bad. That’s really all I can force myself to write about this one.
The Raptors are favored by a point and I’d put 20 bucks on them, if for nothing else so that if they win you’ll feel a little good about them. If they lose you’ll be out 20 bucks but at least you can call yourself a “gambling man” at cool parties.
Time to check out something easy on the eyes and we have Talisa from the Raptors Dance Pak who makes her second appearance on RR and that should tell you something. She’s attending the International Academy of Design and Technology and is into Grey’s Anatomy.
See if you can find the name of a popular Toronto sports personality in the RR March Madness Pool (must have Yahoo account). We’ll be at Philthy McNasty’s tonight and for once, I’ll understand if you won’t be showing up.
46 Raps
O’Bryant’s contract only gaurantees something like $600,000 for next year which makes him an easy drop/buyout. I still think he could grow into a 7th or 8th man on a good team.
thats not really elliotte is it?
Sell this franchise .. This team sucks ass.. Bring back the Grizzlies !!!
Have Bryan Colangelo admit he was out to ruin Canada’s only NBA team by his father giving him step by step order’s (reminds me of someone who basically ruined the world)
Have Chris Bosh star his new tv show.. Cock Block (how to play defense like Ru Paul (hey!)
Have Jose Calderon be a broadcaster .. Team look good we getting closer and closer every day yes!
Have Anthony Parker coach his sister’s team..
Have Shawn Marion be observed for traces of cro magnon man..
Have Kapono have seminars and write a book in how to make millions withought doing anything..
Have Kris Humphries have an online trivia game which players guess if he is black or white ..??
Trade Bargnani to a decent team
“Have Kris Humphries have an online trivia game which players guess if he is black or white ..??”
STFU
By the way no one cares anymore.. Close this site down and make it a children’s dinosaur page..
Albert, that is so funny. How do you come up with something like this…he-he..you brightened up my day.
The problem with the raptors, the amount of hair per person average on the team is far too high. JK, Bosh, Bargs, Jose (although his will be gone soon) and Jake. Think about it, Pops has no hair therefore is AWESOME. Wade, Lebron, Kobe, Dwight, Chris Paul all have little or no hair. If Bosh wants to be a max player, then he better SHAVE HIS FUCKING DREADS.
at first I thought “hair per person” was supposed to symbolically stand for something….guess not!
Can someone explain the kris humphries/underagegirls jokes from the last couple of days?
yeah, I don’t get them either.
Arse?
http://raptorsrepublic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kris-humphries-lobby.jpg
still don’t get it.
Arsenalist,
Clicking on the link you provided doesn’t take you to the “RR March Madness Pool”, if you’re not a “member” in the contest already.
Hopefully you had Western Kentucky in your bracket. : )
Yeah – you got to join the group even though you’re not playing. That’s how Yahoo works.
3 losses, by a total of 8 pts.
f$^&#%g clemson.
woohoo, WKU!
I think Hoopshype has the Patrick O’Bryant contract wrong. I think he’s on the books for roughly half that amount next year, something around $800k.
Also, I do not think it’s a team option, but a partially guaranteed contract — like TauEpilsonNu said, except I think the figure is far lower than $600k, more in the $100-250k bracket.
It’s hard to say for certain though, because the figures have been mis-reported so many times in the press. But that’s my understanding of the situation.
d. smith reported that there’s only around half-a-mil or so guaranteed (can’t remember the exact amount), which the raps will gladly pay to rid themselves of him. supposedly, his source is rock-solid. i’m not sure, however, if that source was the one who told him that smitch wasn’t going to be fired, 2 days before the deed was done.
Pre-call?
imitation is what…is what…?
Can you just imagine how demotivating it would be for a top draft pick to be dropped into the Raptor roster pit?
The glaring fact is this team is non-NBA non-athletic … and that makes it difficult to trade off the scrubs for decent athletes.
Maybe an uber-basketball-wise coach can make something out of this melange of misery.
i know i’m just a lowly THF, but there are worse situations a rook could find himself in. no, the roster ain’t great, but there aren’t many lottery teams who’s rosters are overwhelmingly better (ok, the thunder’s is pretty damn good), or else they wouldn’t be in the lottery.
BTW, tonight’s RFF post-game party is at Revival (College/Shaw) for our montly “Hip-Hop Karaoke” night!!
Additionally, tonight we’ll be celebrating of Colin Allshotz’ Dirty-30 birthday!! (BOH!!) Big’up rudebwoy!!! :D
I think I’ve already exhausted my luck in the college pickem. It’s a lot of fun to play though.
Bargnani – The only reason to watch the games.
That pretty much says it all for me. I didn’t realize that, until I found myself fast-forwarding on the PVR (taped games), whenever AB was off the court.
Bosh – He’s got nothing to play for.
That’s the disappointing part of watching him play. My frustration peaks when I see him dribble / hold / stall / waste time / whatever … while in a post position (with his back is to the basket).
Marion – Has something to play for.
A Conspiracy’s theory might be, that BC has instructed Jay to minimize the number of plays run for SM, so that contract time becomes more favourable to the Raps.
D-League – Should it play beyond April?
Can’t figure out why this minor league operation isn’t more in tune with what other Pro leagues offer. It would certainly give more opportunity to low round draft picks, and the ability to showcase their talent.
If numbers don’t lie, and they normally don’t, tonight Raps are going to wipe out the Bobcats by 15+.Probably more. Unfotunatly I can’t bet online on it.
Well,they will win if they aren’t in a full tank mode yet.
I will watch because I want to understand if the 0,9991 harmstring was the real issue or not and I want to see if Matrix can bring something on the table against a half court team like the Cats.
Just because we suck doesnt mean we have to be bitter fans. Watch the game casually or for entertainment purposes (like watching a nba game where you dont have drastic favorite) and if we win it is something for the boys to learn from and draw from next season and if we lose its a better draft pick. Winning all 75% or losing 75% of our remaining games doesnt move us more than one spot either way in the draft standings and then the lotto occurs and really shuffles the deck, so for better or for worse what occurs in the last 14 games really doesnt change squat. Mark it up as pre-training camp experience for the guys they do decide to keep around.
Good points….
To each his own, buddy – maybe sucking is acceptable and/or easily brushed off, to you. But it’s that sort of attitude that confirms to BC and Co. that no matter what product is put on the floor and no matter what the results, Raptor fans are a loyal submissive bunch, that will fork over its hard earned money simply to say “Oh, well at least we have a team in TO.” THAT is why things will never change.
not sure about that. There is a difference between being bitter and being disappointed.
I didn’t walk away from my season tickets because I was bitter. Far from it. If I was bitter, I wouldn’t have continued with the Altraps website and then also agree to help the gang out here. Was I disappointed? Absolutely.
I think you can be a supporter of a franchise and not suffer from blind optimism. Hell, if I were like that, I never would have pegged this team as concocted by BC as I did, much like you, of not enough quality to make the playoffs. Doesn’t mean I hate them, just means I can step back and take an honest look.
I am also beginning to think that the tide is turning with respect to people paying to see the product. May not be happening as quickly as you and I would hope, but it has started.
I hear ya, Alt. Thing is tho, it’s disappointment that leads to bitterness, no? I think it’s ok to be bitter, and it’s even more so when the team puts forth the effort it does (a large percentage of the time). Like Arse always says, and many of us agree, it’s not so much the losing, it’s the effort.
Yes, you can be a supporter of a franchise and not be a homer. But, let’s face it, a HUGE percentage of the people that support this team is always in excuse mode, lowering the bar of expectations with each game, while consistently proclaiming: “Oh well, there is always next year”. As you can see, that talk has been going on for the past few weeks.
Also, being bitter doesn’t mean I hate them. It’s a two fold situation really. Bitter at BC for trying to sell this team for what it was not (insulting many a peoples intelligence) and bitter vs a team that basically mailed it in sometime in December. When the going got tough…. this group folded (weaaaaaah, weaaaah… we have a tough schedule). Other teams have tough schedules, other teams had coaching changes, other teams had roster changes, other teams had injuries…yet, the all seemed to put more effort in then this bunch of yahoos. And chemistry be damned..there are plenty of guys that play/ed together and cannot stand each other, but when it’s time to step onto that court, it’s all out war for each other.
As far as the tide turning, I politely disagree. I am more then willing to bet that the vast majority of the “fans” are people 25 and under. The optimism has no limits with them, while those between 8-18 are either getting money from their parents or spending what they earn mindlessly. Hard earned is not a concept to them. It’s them that BC and Co. prays on -you know: Enter the Driveway Challenge, Nicklodeon Night, Monster vs Aliens ads…etc. GET EM WHILE THEY’RE YOUNG BC! GET’EM!
At the end of the day, people that are bitter reserve the right to be so, just like the “always wearing pink glasses” ones reserve theirs. Each party has valid reasons for their approach, IMO.
Flux,
IMO, it’s an even bigger indictment of the Raptors’ management team if you realize that the individual players on this year’s team DID NOT “just mail it in” from sometime in January.
* Bosh has played injured and he’s played hard.
* Calderon has played injured and he’s played hard.
* Graham is much better than many unsophisticated Raptors fans realized prior to Dec 3, 2008. He has played hard; he’s just not THAT good.
* Parker can indeed function as an adequate PG. He has played hard, too. He has never been a high calibre OG.
* Bargnani has gotten back to where he was in his rookie season. He has played hard. He’s just not THAT good.
* Mensah-Bonsu plays HARD. He has a future with the team.
* O’Neal played hard. He just isn’t THAT good any more.
* Marion has played hard. He was just never THAT good.
* Moon played hard. He just did it with a smile that looked “silly”.
* Kapono has played hard. He’s just not THAT good.
* Ukic has played hard. He’s just not THAT good.
* Will Solomon played hard. He’s just not THAT good.
* Voskuhl has played hard. He’s just not THAT good.
* Banks has played hard. He’s just not THAT good.
* Jawai has dressed hard. He’s just not THAT good.
The problems with the team have been rooted in the generally poor decisions that have been made consistently since Glen Grunwald was fired, which have included a whole series of Smoke & Mirrors manoeuvres and regular Kool-Aid distribution, while the profits have continue to roll in.
This season has been a mess … and, hopefully, Bryan Colangelo doesn’t make it worse, by continuing his efforts to find quick fixes for what ails the team.
Pick a quality player in the 2009 NBA Draft.
Keep building around Bosh [C] and Calderon [PG].
Sign a quality Back-up PG.
Trade Bargnani [C] for other assets of = or > value to THIS team.
Resign Marion [#4/PF] to a reasonable contract or renounce his rights.
Resign Parker [Back-up] to a reasonable contract or renounce his rights.
Resign Graham [Back-up] to a reasonable contract or renounce his rights.
Renounce the rights to Delfino.
Trade Kapono.
Keep Ukic as a 3rd-string PG.
Keep Mensah-Bonsu [as a Back-up #4].
Make a decision about Triano.
etc.
The ball is in Colangelo’s court, and the shot clock is counting down.
Khandor,
I guess we just have a different perception of playing HARD. Just like we do about the team chemistry. There have been many a games where I didn’t see players playing hard. Moping around, heads hung down, not communicating, flailing arms like chickens, taking 45 minutes to cross halfcourt, blowing defensive assignments, rotating 30 minutes late on D, (nothing I enjoy more then a player taking a shot and a Raptor coming into his vicinity after the shot relese), repeatedly blowing leads during the 2nd or 4th q, coming out completely flat like “Oh, we are playing a game here?”. Unprofessional and deeply infuriating.
I am not arguing that the talent depth is not great, but hard work trumps talent, no? IMO, these guys mailed it in and hardly played hard. But yeah, Nathan dressed hard, G*d bless his heart!
I know you are the last to criticize players and it all starts at the top, but when the whistle blows, it’s on those guys to come out and play with 110% effort. Something, IMO, they have not done.
Quick fixes will undoubtedly lead to another disastrous season.
Flux,
I’m quite sure we both have a similar definition of what it means to play hard.
1. Sometimes someone who isn’t very good can fool you into thinking that they are putting in hard work when they really aren’t.
2. Sometimes someone who is working hard can fool you into thinking that they are a good player when they really aren’t.
Conversely, the players who are the easiest to evaluate accurately are the ones who:
3. Do not work hard and are not very good;
and,
4. Do work hard and are very good.
1st quarter
Bargnani scored 9 points … and was personally responsible for giving up at least that many in return.
Beginning the 2nd quarter …
Charlotte 33
Toronto 24
Chris Bosh starts at Center in place of Bargnani.
unfortunately … Ukic is his Point Guard.
and Kapono is his Off Guard.
exscuses, exscuses.
Just putting this out there;
This site is extremely biased towards certain posters. If your name is not AltRaps, Rapsfan, Fluxland, or Khandor you will not ever get recogontion that you deserve on this site. Truthfully they are yes men, just as Maurizio and Jim Kelly and the rest of the saps in MLSE are. (as the latter do in MLSE, these pretenders only try to make Daddy Arsenalist happy!)
To be quite honest most of their posts/articles are saturated with suppostions based on biased opions and as such should be taken just as that-hersey and speculation, any inference on their part is pure dribble. For the most part they are a bunch of wannabe journalists. Take what you will from their spurious comments, but I for one will not take kindly to their mockery. The trickery and tomfoolery has got to come to a halt. These fascitist pigs will eventually come down from their high horse, it is only a matter of time.
Since when does haveing a website allow people to act like self-righteous pricks? Well I suppose one could argue-this day and age. I however would like to prose this quarry; is it not time that we question everything that is thrown at us? Should we allow two bit, elementary school level cretins to govern what knwoledagable people (or educated society for that matter) deems acceptable train of thought on the state of basketball or the Raptors for that matter? I say yes and I say not. I say we take some of that power back. Just because a few middle age(afraid to grow up, scared because they still dream about mommy tucking them in) simpletons infer to us what they wholeheartedly expect us to believe as the truth and nothing but the truth, does not for one second mean that I will sit here and take the shit that they shovel lightly.
Second thing;
This site needs to grow some balls, and stop trying to ass kiss for more viewership/readership. While there is still a decent product here, I fully believe that they try to please too many people-hence the yes men mentality. Allow people to be upset. Allow for heated debates/arguments. Most of all DON’T delete others comments. EVER. People should be allowed to say whatever they want. It is called FREEDOM of speech-look it up.
And I’m done.
The combo of Calderon and Bargnani vs Picks is a defensive nightmare for the Raptors.
Bargnani needs to keep scoring in order to compensate for his atrocious defense.
Having Juwon Howard in the game right now is really helping the Raptors hang in there.
Charlotte 49
Toronto 43
Marion is no longer sleep-walking through the game.
2nd half just started.
So far, when there’s no pick being set, Calderon is doing a good job of keeping Felton in front of him.
Bosh and Bargnani are playing well together on offense [i.e. Bargnani is hitting his shots] and playing poorly on defense.
Bosh just cannot handle Diaw on the defensive end of the floor.
Bosh is killing Diop [or Howard] at the other end.
When Diop sets that 5-1 pick, Jack Armstrong’s observation is correct:
Felton is killing Bargnani right now … either as the help or at the rim.
Caldron got beat off the bounce for the 1st time this half by Felton … who promptly missed his layup attempt.