And we turned down T.J Ford for Gerald Wallace?It was all about Gerald Wallace last night. He was scoring, rebounding, passing, blocking shots, diving for loose balls, causing steals, running the break, posting up and even picking fights in this one. There have been many who questioned his attitude and durability in the past but this season he’s been a revelation for the Bobcats and a thorn in our side. I feel like an idiot for being opposed to the Ford for Wallace swap that was apparently on the table before Colangelo got greedy and asked for their first round pick (D.J Augustin). His game tonight reflected the exact things that we’re missing: wing scoring, slashing and defense. Oh well, let’s just make ourselves feel better by reminding ourselves that earlier in the year he did say he didn’t want to play in Toronto.
Wallace had bruised his knee against Sacramento and was literally limping in the second half of that game and was at one point questionable for this game. You wouldn’t have known it. He started off scoring 8 of the Bobcats’ 12 points and had a say in almost every possession. Look at his line: 30 points, 9-13 FG, 2-2 3FG, 10-12 FT, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and a game-high +17. That line doesn’t reflect his assault on the Raptors rim, for that you have to consult the shot-chart, you see that one dot near the basket? That’s really 8 dots. But the shot-chart or the stat-line doesn’t do justice to the sheer hustle, emotion and passion he played with, for that you have to listen to Okafor:
Gerald has no regard for his body. He just doesn’t care. He sacrifices for the team and he’s clearly our energy guy. He’s out there flying and diving and doing whatever it takes to win.
His two corner-threes, three-point play, steal against Bosh and steal against Bargnani turned this game on its head. The disease that is the Raptors’ soft defense has spread to Marion, he was mentally out of it from the beginning and Wallace must’ve recognized the slowness in his step because he was taking him off the unused dribble and getting into the paint so fast that even a great NBA defense wouldn’t have time to react, let alone the Raptors’. The defense on high-screen situations with Felton seemed very unplanned and the communication between Bargnani and Calderon seemed to be minimal. Felton got his path to the rim but it wasn’t at the expense of Calderon but of Triano and his inability to shove a fundamental defensive concept in their brains. That play epitomizes the Raptors defense – no communication and no idea of rotation responsibility. Contrast this with how the Bobcats defend this exact same play – trap the PG, both arms up looking to cause a deflection and a man waiting to rotate if the PG somehow makes the pass to the pick-setter. The Bobcats were trapping early and it resulted in three turnovers because we couldn’t counter it by spacing the floor and making pressure-relieving passes. Two early Jose Calderon turnovers, a Bargnani bad pass and playing in short-clock situations resulted in a sputtering offense.
The Bobcats built up a 9 point lead at the end of the first and Triano wasn’t too pleased with the team. Juan Howard came into the game for the Bobcats and it opened up the game for Jose Calderon who looked much more comfortable turning the corner against Howard than against Wallace or Okafor. The Raptors offense didn’t look as stagnant and lethargic as it did in the first and it drew attention away from Bosh who was now being checked one-on-one by Diop, Howard and Okafor. What ensued was a Bosh that we haven’t seen since the GSW game in October, hard pump-fakes and hop-steps drew him a few fouls and enough respect from the officials that they started to call it on his fadeaways. All in all 16 points in the quarter including 14-14 FTs. With 20 points at the half you’d think he’d be owning his position but that’s where Diaw and his 16 points (30 in total, one short of career-high) come in. Diaw’s a shrewd post-up player who has the ability to use a pump-fake to extend himself through the paint and Bosh had trouble with him in the post and on the perimeter. We’re thankful for Bosh’s contribution in the half which meant the Bobcats lead was slashed from 9 to 7 but once you factor in Diaw’s 16 its not nearly as impressive.
I’m both jealous and envious of the Bobcats. They have two good PGs, a solid second-tier PF/C, a defensive minded SG who can shoot the rock, a decent enough bench and Gerald Wallace. They’re like the ball-sharing, free-flowing Raptors of 07-08 except they’ve got a true slasher. If only we had nicked a slasher like Gerald Wallace or Mikael Pietrus instead of Jason Kapono we just might be in a different position. Much like Monday, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Bobcats fight for that final playoff spot which they remain only a game back of. Their offence is primarily spawned from wing penetration, off-the-ball movement and crisp passing but they’ve got good post-up options in Okafor and Wallace. If this team would’ve found its groove earlier in the year they’d be at least three spots higher in the standings.
The third quarter remained a battle of attrition with Bosh getting his points off of jumpers and Diaw schooling him in the post on the other end. Throw in Andrea Bargnani’s commendable use of the pump-fake to get himself some open looks and you’ve got a back and forth game which stood in Charlotte’s favor at 69-66 with 2:06 left. That’s when they went on a 13-4 run to take a 12 point edge into the fourth. Wallace jammed on the break after picking off a lazy Calderon pass which Bargnani should’ve stepped in to rather than waited for, he was found by Diaw for a three off of a drive and on one possession he basically took on the entire Raptors team and finished at the rim. To top it off Felton drove ‘n kicked against Calderon to setup Raja Bell for a three. This was a game changing sequence initiated by Wallace’s aggressiveness on offense and his tenacity on defense.
Jose Calderon had 8 points, 11 assists and 5 turnovers. The drunk from Philthy’s encouraged me to count the number of passes he makes to a big on the perimeter compared to Felton or D.J Augustin. I did that for a five minute third-fourth quarter stretch and I found that about 85% of Calderon’s passes are lateral ones to Bosh or Bargani. Compare this with Felton’s who rarely passed the ball to another guy on the wing unless it was for the sole purpose of swinging it or finding a different post-entry angle. With an offense so fractured at the point-guard position is it any surprise that we lost three of the four quarters again? On a different note, it makes zero sense for Jose to play 40 minutes given his apparent injury situation. I’m not sure what’s holding Colangelo and Triano back from pulling the plug on him and giving Ukic the minutes he needs in order to come into next season with something under his belt.
The Wallace sequence just described was certainly a key one but the start of the fourth was when the hammer came. Boris Diaw basically abused Chris Bosh in the post for six straight points which stretched the lead to 18 and brought forth garbage time. This sequence saw a Chris Bosh and Jason Kapono turnover, a Chris Bosh missed three and more Shawn Marion one-on-one play which is the last thing we want to see from him. Giving the ball to Shawn Marion in a one-on-one situation is offensive suicide, he doesn’t have the touch and finesse that’s needed to see off his drives. His moves seem too quick for his own good and he ends up shooting the ball way too hard when using the glass. Right now he’s a system-guy playing in the wrong system. Bosh’s defense on Diaw was soft, he conceded position by falling for pump-fakes, didn’t try to prevent Diaw from getting the position that he himself was being denied on the other end and was a step slow to react to the Bobcats intentions of going straight at him.
The only meaningful play that came after Diaw’s mini-explosion was a Gerald Wallace post-up of Bosh which illustrated just how weak his defensive game is. Good luck to the Bobcats in their playoff run. I live through them.
Liners:
- I’ve taken the liberty of copying Jason Kapono’s line.
MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS 13 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 -15 0
He’s about as useful as a prostate infection.
- The improvement of Andrea Bargnani continues. 27 points on 10-17 and 7 rebounds. Still terrible at defending the high screen but as I already said in the post I blame most of that on the lack of a defensive system. He’s averaging close to 6 rebounds in March, not great but something of an improvement. He’s making his jumper this year which means defenses actually have to consider his pump-fake instead of just watching it and Bargnani’s done a great job of mixing the drive with the jumper and the fake-and-draw-foul move, something that is oh so useful in those tight games.
- All that Diaw and Wallace scoring led to a 62-22 PINP edge. What do you expect? Our best offensive player operates 18 feet out and our star PF first-option is a jumper. I’m not even alarmed by these alarming numbers anymore. You just accept them for what they are – a reflection of the personnel on your team.
- The Bobcats shot 50%. Our record when we allow opponents to shoot that is 1-20.
- Shawn Marion’s arrival has had a negative impact on Joey Graham. It’s somewhat to be expected since Graham’s getting fewer minutes but as a coach it’s Triano’s responsibility to make sure a player who is just starting to find his groove in the NBA doesn’t suffer a setback. Or maybe he doesn’t care because he’s been told Graham is on the outs.
- In the Marion teleconference Bryan Colangelo alluded to keeping most of this roster intact and bringing back Carlos Delfino. I don’t see it happening, this roster is too dysfunctional and too flawed to merit only a couple minor additions. Nothing short of an overhaul is needed.
- Bargnani brought down Wallace with a hard bump on the break in the fourth quarter. I’m glad he did but I thought it could’ve been called a flagrant 1 since no attempt was made at the ball. Then again I only got one look at it.
- Speaking of getting one look at things, the production on these Raptors telecasts is third rate. They never show a replay of interesting/important/questionable calls and focus on inane replays like a three-pointer going in. I thought I saw at least three travels tonight and was looking for some replay help but never got any. On one play somebody threw the ball off of Calderon as it was going out of bounds which I thought was questionable but no replay. Many other instances like these.
- Saw a bit of Roko and Jose playing together in the second half. Not sure its a good idea until Roko learns how to shoot. I do hope the Raptors have a very specific summer plan for him because if he comes into training camp next season without a tighter dribble and a much improved jumper, things aren’t going to get better for him.
- Marc Iavaroni was in the stands with a notebook, a pen and a terrible shirt. Make what you will off this, here’s my guess: Messina head coach, Iavaroni assistant, Triano assistant, Leo special consultant.
Thanks for reading. It’ll soon be over.
45 Raps
Like I have said the Bobcats are a good team they just needed time to adjust to Larry Brown and to implement Diaw and Raja Bell.
It starts with ownership/GM too. Michael Jordan.
HOF coach – Check
Tough minded players – check
Defense – Check
Next year is gonna be a struggle. Nevermind Cleveland, Miami, Orlando all future threats to us for 10 years+. But for next season how do we succeed when we have an emerging Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte, Atlanta, Detroit will retool this offseason. Can we become an elite team or even a contender? I say No.
Its pathetic that every team always improves but we stay the same for 7+ years. Just a shame Steve Stavro couldn’t sell the team to a Jim Balsillie type.
Hyperbole.
We’re a season removed of having had two straight playoff appearances; if you don’t think that’s an improvement over the previous years, you’re mental.
only to be spanked in the 1st round… keep drinkin he BC koolaid pal
LOL
Keep drinking that Colangelo Koolaid pall. He’s got you right where he wants you. Your a Sheep.
Making the playoffs in a week Eastern Conference where every star player was injured? NJ killed us by the way.
Last season we loose like 15 of 17 of our last games and enter the playoffs against Orlando. They killed in 5. What’s the incentive of making the playoffs when we have nothing to compete for?
Our GM and Ownerships goal is profits #1. Colangelo is a salesman not a general manager.
LOL @ 8 dots in 1 and kapono’s stat-line. If Leo comes back as a special assistant I’m done with team. #raptorssuck
Didn’t watch the game.
Not suprised about the outcome.
Arsenalist,
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re: The defense on high-screen situations with Felton seemed very unplanned and the communication between Bargnani and Calderon seemed to be minimal. Felton got his path to the rim but it wasn’t at the expense of Calderon but of Triano and his inability to shove a fundamental defensive concept in their brains. That play epitomizes the Raptors defense – no communication and no idea of rotation responsibility. Contrast this with how the Bobcats defend this exact same play – trap the PG, both arms up looking to cause a deflection and a man waiting to rotate if the PG somehow makes the pass to the pick-setter. The Bobcats were trapping early and it resulted in three turnovers because we couldn’t counter it by spacing the floor and making pressure-relieving passes. Two early Jose Calderon turnovers, a Bargnani bad pass and playing in short-clock situations resulted in a sputtering offense.
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This is the most accurate assessment of the Raptors’ Pick & Roll/Pop Defense which you’ve written thus far.
Kudos to you!
Random thoughts:
-Either Jose is a legit 6′3″ plus and wearing 2 inch soles or Raja Bell is 6′4 with platforms because i saw them side by side last night and Jose looked a full 2 inches taller. Now that I think of it AP and Jose side by side are look very similar in height. Euro players vs NCAA players quite often reflects the difference accurate measurements make. Does this mean Roko is as tall as Shaun Livingston?!?
-I’m not sold on Felton being anything more than a passable starter. If he was still 22 a guy could be sold on potential but….
They say pictures say 1000 words, look at the intensity in the eyes and and the face and the body language of Bosh and Wallace in that picture.
Happy Bday CB, and Happy trails.
My disappointment with every loss aside, At least the loss helps the draft and the 30 points may confuse other teams. It’s almost better in the long run imo. I’ve thought CB was too much of a wimp to lead a while ago, so for it to become so bad and obvious so quickly, rather than 1st round exit, after 1st round exit the change in direction will come sooner.
I’m not saying we make Bargs the Franchise, but i say we build one “team” as opposed to building around one guy.
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/58032/20090321/ford_jack_have_to_be_separated_in_loss/
lolers
I’m so glad you bring up Bosh’s ineptitude on the defensive end. I mean, everyone just looks at the offensive stat line, and says how good Bosh is. Take yesterday for example, Bosh scored a bunch, and was almost perfect from the FT line.
But… you look at who he was guarding –> Diaw. Diaw went off for 30 points, most of which came in the paint. I watched Bosh play defence on him. Neither outside defence nor inside defence was existent. WHAT FRANCHISE PLAYER????
Btw, Calderon’s plays are way too predictable.
Let’s get Jack Armstrong to be the coach! LOL. He will make sure there is defensive toughness.
When Chris Bosh plays Center vs the Bobcats … he is more than adequate on defense and in terms of Rebounding, especially if he doesn’t also have to work beside a totally inept defender/rebounder like Jason Kapono and with a less-than-stellar PG like Roko Ukic.
When Bosh struggles mightily is when the Raptors make the basic basketball mistake of using him as their Power Forward and then asking him to check a player like Boris Diaw, especially when he’s got a bad right wheel.
The only Charlotte player Bosh looks really good against is Alexis fucking Ajinca….
You look like a fucking cretin every time you try this pathetic “Bosh is a dominant centre” typical Raptor moron denial routine.
Charlotte is a sub .500 team and no one thinks they have a dominant front court presence, so even if you mistakenly think that Bosh is an effective centre against them, that is still damning him with faint praise.
You fucking limp dick cretins who are only now coming to recognize the damage that a chronically passive and complacent “franchise” player causes a team rather than the ineffective in terms of team success personal stats he puts up, are blind idiots…
Anyone who thinks that Armstrong should be anything other than FIRED for being a retarded fuckwit deserves to endure years of losing….these assholes on Raptors TV who are only capable of the most blatantly obvious monday morning quarterbacking….Bosh has been like this for years…there have always been excuses for him, from injuries to the fact that he personally carried the olympic team to victory and was too”tired” to be aggressive for the Raptors…that was at the beginning of the fucking year when Bosh was declaring himself potential MVP material.
You stupid Armstrong/Swirsky/Rautins/Smith fans are the cretins who help create a culture in this godforsaken fucking town that never anticipates the obvious and actually gets disappointed when the obvious happens…you’re the morons who will lead to Bosh being overpaid to stay here which will guarantee basement dwelling for the Raptors for years…
If any of these cunts on any of the broadcasts/ local media had had the balls to really call Colangelo, Bosh et al out after that first playoff run, instead of sucking up and allowing them and the team into that arrogant fucking complacency that is their comfort zone, maybe it wouldn’t have descended so far so fast…
That’s right..the Raptors force Bosh to play Power Forward, you fucking asshat, he doesn’t feel that is his natural position….he has been begging to play down low and bang with the big guys…
That’s right, you fucking asshat…it’s so unfair to expect your franchise, max deal player to play defense against the other power forward…the franchise player must always have it as easy as possible….
This is a fucking team that expected Bargnani to defend LeBron James and yet this fucking cretin thinks it’s unfair to expect Bosh to defend Boris fucking Diaw???
nunya i love you
What a long rant there, Nunya.
Firstly, I also said Bosh stinks.
Secondly, Armstrong comment was a joke.
Thirdly, stop swearing! You lose credibility that way.
We get what you are saying. I completely agree. Maybe say it in a nicer way.
oh stop it with this whole anti-swearing thing, nunya is probably he most entertaining commenters here. its better that, than spamming the whole section with 30+ posts of ridiculous theories
Bosh is not a center nor a great power forward. He’s good but far from great. He’s also the biggest hog in the world, and I’m sick of all the Rap’s announcers and their excuses for Bosh and Jose…and also the love in they always have for Parker even though he’s mostly not there.
Buddy you have some serious issues.
Defensively, the 2 worst Raptors last night were, in fact, Shawn Marion [from an Individual D standpoint] and Andrea Bargnani [from a Team D standpoint].
Those who doubt the veracity of this observation simply do not know how to watch a NBA game and assign the proper responsiblity for baskets scored to individual players on the court.
You’re an idiot
khandor … if you continue to pull out all those statistical goober-snots from yer nose, I swear somebody is gonna assault you if they ever met you..!!!
Your copious stats are meaningless in the big picture … like they say … can’t see the forest for the trees.
The sum of the parts don’t add up to squat if you look at the Ratpors !!!
lol..khandors a fucking goof.
I cannot reflect on how right or wrong Khan’s comments are regarding the game, as they are so mind-numbingly long and pointless that I never read them all the way through. His writing style is the absolute worst, and only seems to generate discussion about what a douche you are. The worst thing about an obviously intelligent person is when they are trying their best to show you how much smarter they are than you, which Khan seems to do in almost every comment/post/diatribe he makes.
He’s not smart though. His posts make no sense, literally. So he has an okay vocabulary, that doesn’t make someone smart. They can use a thesarus well.
Your an idiot. Your blog is a failure. You have no credibility to your posts.
Bosh is not now or will ever be a Center
Maybe you DONT know the game of basketball
I’ll bet every player on the Ratpor team would like to be traded to another team. As for playing defense, why bother in a losing cause? The only stat that is important is the scoring stat when your team is tanking and it’s everyone for themselves.
Bosh and Bargs are saving their energy for offensive effort and scoring … and they will snag their share of uncontested defensive rebounds anyway.
I figure it will take at lease 4 seasons before the Ratpors will be a playoff team .. maybe.
Khandor, I think you are only half right with respect to the defense played by Bosh and Bargnani. Bosh is the better team defender of the two but Bargnani is certainly the better man to man defender at his position. Bosh is a poorer man to man defender between whether at the centre or PF position.
Also,Bargnani has improved his defense this year by leaps and bounds from last year. There is every reason to believe that he will continue to improve his defense. The same can’t be said for Bosh who has improved many facets of his game over the years but has not significantly improved his defense.
Bosh is NOT A CENTRE!!!!!
Never should be, never has been, never will be.
Get your head out your ass Khandor.
I thought Wallace would kill us, I was more disappointed with Diaw continuously burning Bosh. No way Diaw should drop 30.
Franchise player Wallace kicks Ratpor butt …. while franchise player Bosh flops for foul shots .. otherwise he would be a 15-8 role player. Trade Bosh fast before somebody else realizes how ineffective he really is ..!!!
In the grand scheme of things, what position Bosh might “want” to play is quite unimportant.
The FACT IS … the Redeem Team used Chris Bosh properly, as a Center.
Those who cannot deal with THIS fact and have the need to rant, and rave, and swear, etc., are best left to their own devices. : )
Chris Bosh is a player with a solid character.
Chris Bosh is not a prime-time scorer.
Chris Bosh is a solid defender, however, and a Top Notch rebounder, when he’s used at the Center position … both offensively and defensively … with 4 smaller, strong, quick, smart and athletic players like:
e.g.
I. Jose Calderon + Anthony Parker + Morris Peterson + Jorge Garbajosa
or
II. Deron Williams + Kobe Bryant + Lebron James + Carmelo Anthony
or
III. Jose Calderon + Jamario Moon + Joey Graham + Kris Humphries.
From my personal perspective, I don’t mind at all that coaches like Mike Krzyzewski, Mike D’Antoni, and Nate McMillan actually chose to use Chris Bosh in a similar way to how I would choose to use him if he was ever under my charge … or, that certain others on this site would choose to use him differently, if they had their druthers. : )
The only reason that Bosh could play C effectively during the olympics is because none of the opposition had any big bruiser post players. You know, the type of players that every single NBA team has plenty of.
If I recall correctly, they even got away with playing Lebron at the C position a couple of times.
That kind of stuff just doesn’t fly in the NBA.
IF SHAWN MARION MISSES ONE MORE LAYUP/PUTBACK imma puke.
If the opposition had no “Big Bruisers” in the Olympic Games then a player like D12 would/should have been able to dominate inside the lane, piling up rebounds and dunks.
There are good reasons that the coaches for the Redeem Team went with Chris Bosh instead of Mr. Howard or Mr. Boozer and it doesn’t have anything to do with being a non-franchise player, or the Rupaul of the NBA, or a poor defender, or a poor rebounder, or a poor passer, or butter-fingered, or unclutch, or … etc., etc., etc. : )
Your still an idiot.
J,
If you think I might actually fit the bill as a Bryan Colangelo Kool-Aid Drinker then …
Nuff, said.
ROTFLOLWKAS : )
…whereas you fit the bill as a champion spermburper.
MoneyMike,
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re: …whereas you fit the bill as a champion spermburper. – by MoneyMike
————————————–
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Fans and internet analysts tend to revolve around their own feeelings and delusions. They will always come up with some cockamamy reason for ‘loving’ their favourite hero and condemning others. They are unable to see things clearly because of their emotional or delusional state of mind. We see that daily on this fine weblog forum. – FAQ
————————————–
Could it be that YOU actually fit into the “cockamamy” category that FAQ is speaking about?
ROTFLOLWKAS : )
buddy,no need to get analytical.you just seem like a huge cocksucker.
Friday’s game was amazing! Wallace made a full range of highlight-worthy plays.
Wallace and Diaw put on such a great performance that it was as good, if not better, than watching Kobe and Gasol.
After this game, the Bobcats are my new 2nd favorite team.
As a Raptors fanaddict, I’m so envious of the Bobcats! C-Raptors vs. ‘Cats
MoneyMike,
Trust … there’s nothing analytical there. LOL … : )
Anyone else watch Wallace play and want to thrown something at the tv because of that fucking mouth guard!? Great player, but keep that shit in your mouth already
Yea, the mouthguard was pretty annoying.
And yea, Khandor, no need to write such lengthy crap on here.