The screen network is part of a massive $50 million facelift to the landmark facility. It now has more than 320 HD-quality video display monitors installed in a wide variety of configurations in the public areas. The screens serve several purposes, but many are replacing traditional backlit poster advertising boards, enabling MLSE to change messaging by event and on very short notice. Network digital screens give MLSE’s media department the ability to tailor advertisers and schedules by event and target audience.
Marco Belinelli never really hit his stride in Golden State, but things may be different in Toronto. He did shoot nearly 40% from beyond the arc last year, which is sure to fit nicely with the Raptors.
Playing alongside countryman Andrea Bargnani won’t hurt, but the best thing about Belinelli’s arrival in Toronto is the opportunity to slow down. Golden State’s 101 possessions per 48 minutes is pretty fast. Toronto ranked 14th in the NBA last year in pace and Belinelli might become more efficient offensively if he had more looks in the half-court.
The Raptors, on the other hand, brought in an additional playmaker in Hedo Turkoglu and committed to Andrea Bargnani as their starting center. Bosh was the first and second option on offense last season in Toronto and opponents knew it. With Turkoglu in town and Bargnani developing, teams will no longer be able to consistently double-team the Georgia Tech product. Also, Bargnani is a perimeter player, allowing Bosh to pile up the boards underneath the basket. A second straight season of double-digit rebounds is a given.
This is certainly a close call. I think these two will score a similar amount of points while Bosh will hold a significant edge in rebounds and Nowitzki will get the nod in three-pointers. The decision-breaker for me is this – Bosh is eligible at center while Nowitzki is not. The winner here is Bosh.
43 Raps
Let’s Go Raptors! VC Sucks!
BEAT! THE MAGIC!
BEAT-BEAT THE MAGIC!!
(WHAT?)
BEAT! THE MAGIC!!
BEAT-BEAT THE MAGIC!!
(YEAH!!)
Tribal honkers carousing … sooo obvious
Hahahahahaha… that’s funny because it’s true!
But hey, even the level headed fans should be allowed to be tribal honking SOMETIMES. Why not? What is the point of following a sport if you don’t even have a team you like/love?
Why did the second article mention nowitzki? Did it confuse him with Bargs?
The third article?
It was a comparison of Bosh and Nowitzki.
You should read the whole thing.
It’s a fantasy ball article, that’s why it makes reference to Bosh being eligible as a centre (even though he wasn’t last year in my league).
Jose jose jose jose jose jose.
So whatever happened to Marcus Banks?
Doesn’t anyone want a 4th string point guard?
I believe the goal is Beat Boston!
Can’t get swept again.
Really, beating the Magic, aside from the win, is for sentimental reasons. You know the VC sucks thingy. But we should be thanking VC for playing for the Magic – it’s only way Hedo could have got here.
Dirk – Bargs what’s the diff? Oh, about 7 years.
Looks like unofficial training camp is starting – things are going way to slow!
We should trade Banks to Minny and satisfy David Khan’s point guard fetish. After all he did just trade for Antonio Daniels.
“..satify David Khan’s point guard fetish” LOL
Best Raptors Poll…today it should be
Vince Carter
vs
Those who hate Vince Carter
Hedo was the third option on the Magic last year. And even then he wan’t efficient. Why do people all of a sudden think that acquiring him means Bosh will no longer be the first and second option?..
Because a lot of the media is perpetuating this notion that Turkoglu is not only a great shooter, but a clutch performer. It’s easy to be clutch when you’re not the focal point of the offense.. just ask Robert Horry. Turk has never been a great shooter nor a great shot selector. His versatility will be a nice addition to the Raptors, but let’s stop lauding him as a player that he is not.
Oops.. I misread the comment I replied to. I definitely think Bosh will no longer be the 1st and 2nd option. I’m pretty sure Bargs and/or Turk can step into the 2nd option rather easily. I was referring more to how overrated Turk is.
Really, Turk overrated? This guy has been underrated for nearly his entire NBA career…. people finally notice him after last years playoffs and he can be called overrated all of a sudden?
Turk does not shoot a great % (his shot selection is poor at times, but he also had the ball in his hands at the end of the shot clock regularily forcing him to take poor shots), he will turn the ball over as much as others who handle the ball regularily (2+ a game). But he is so much more than just that. He can handle, pass and make decisions with the ball like a pg. He can and will drive to the hoop. He can hit his shots when he is open. He is a solid rebounder and defender (alot of this due to his height at his position). And he proved last year (to all those who did not watch/pay attention to him in previous years) that he can make important shots.
Hedo, for as much as I like him, is not going to be the focal point of our offense. That will be Bosh, Bargs through Jose. Hedo is just a facilitator and another threat… he will, as he was in Orlando, be the third option (although this will be game dependent as he will likely be, or atleast should be, a top option when he has a serious mismatch)
“Hedo, for as much as I like him, is not going to be the focal point of our offense.”
I don’t think this is true. In Jay’s interview with Chisholm he said Jose would have to learn to play off the ball a lot more because Turk will be a primary initiator of pick and roll offenses.
“He can handle, pass and make decisions with the ball like a pg. He can and will drive to the hoop. He can hit his shots when he is open.”
If he was particularly great at doing any of the above, he wouldn’t have shot 41% from the field. This isn’t rocket science. Turkoglu had the second most shot attempts out of the starting five, but shot the poorest. Just to give you an idea — he shot as poorly as Rafer Alston (41.3%), and we all have first-hand experience of how great of a shooter/decision-maker Rafer Alston is.
I’m not exactly sure what option he was in the Orlando offense. Although he attempted the 2nd most shots, he was only 3rd in scoring and if Jameer Nelson had stayed healthy, he very well could have been 4th in scoring. Regardless, when you’re 3rd or 4th option, chances are you’re open often and yet there it is again, he shot 41%.
Turkoglu is not the first player who performed beyond expectations in the playoffs. Get over it. He very likely will be the team’s 2nd or 3rd option this year. At $10M per, you would hope he is better than a 4th option. Yes, he is capable of doing things that Bosh cannot, so he will be called upon for those types of skills, but let’s kid ourselves into thinking he’ll be particularly great at them.
“If he was particularly great at doing any of the above, he wouldn’t have shot 41% from the field”
I guess you missed the part of… “his shot selection is poor at times, but he also had the ball in his hands at the end of the shot clock regularily forcing him to take poor shots” Alot of players that play PG or steady ball handling are in this situation. Its because they are forced to take poor shots (at the end of quarters, shot clock etc.)
I guess I should clarify… I’m not saying this is the only reason why his % is low.. it just adds to it.
People are not exited about Hedo being a primary option, at least I am not. I am exited because I think he is a smart player that makes the right decisions in key situations. I like his smarts.
Smarts add a lot to a roster, they don’t always show in the stat line. (Garbo is an good example, not overwhelming statistically, but did the right things to win.) Hedo plays smart, and makes the guys around him better.
I disagree
fantastic insight
legit lol
Tribal honkers shitchatting … sooo obvious
retard trolling… soooo obvious
Chris Bosh is still the first option as he is the only one that can consitantly demand a double team. As stated in other posts Hedo will have the ball in his hands a lot when the first option doesn’t work and the clock is running down. Like Kobe and many others this definitely hurts his FG% but stats aren’t what he is about. I wouldn’t say that he is underrated as most of his career he wasn’t a focal point but he won the MIP 2 years ago so I think he gets his due. He isn’t a star anyway you slice it but he is a great complementary guy who can change his role from night to night depending on the match ups and how he’s shooting it as he is streaky. I think 16 pt. 5 asst 4 reb is about what we can expect but the abilities he has should make others around him better. Especially Bosh.
The Raptors can now put 4 legitimate 3 point shooters on the court along with Bosh. When Bosh goes down low the the opponents will either have to play him stright up 1 on 1 or leave a 3 point shooter wide open.
However the unit with CB, Bargnani, Turkoglu, Belinelli and Calderon is not going to be one that will shut their opponets down.
It will be exciting that is for sure.
When does Bosh go down low?
Oh man, Raptors are now pursuing Juan Carlos Navarro
where did you hear that?
Just a quick site note. We’ve added a feature which distinguishes read comments from unread ones. Hopefully this makes things a little easier.
I haven’t really seen how it works yet, but +500,000 for the effort.
When you visit a page for the first time, all current posts have a gold square beside them. That mean you have not read any of them.
Suppose you come back to this page 4 hours later, and there are 17 new posts. These 17 posts will have gold squares, the others will have silver squares (showing that they have been “read”).
This should make it easier to see posts in the threaded format, yet quickly see where there might be new posts from your last visit to a page.
BTW, I am hypothesizing on how this works, based on a quick look at it just now (corrections are welcome).
AMAZING
amazing job! great idea man.
Tribal honkers and shitchatters will really appreciate that … whatever it is ….
Did you just add a new ego-stroking term to your vocab?
Tribal honkers, shitchatters, ratpors… I think I’m missing a few here.
Bring back “beep beep” — it made you a lot cuter.
Great addition! Will make it a lot easier to find what changed between “76 Raps” and “81 Raps”.
Agreed. Very convient!
I’m really happy you’ve done this. It’s a definite improvement.
Just a suggestion: over at Raptors HQ, the new posts are coloured with a pale yellow background. That scheme makes it easier to spot the new ones than a little yellow square you have here. You may want to think about something similar or perhaps have have the header of the new comments stand out more.
Now all you need is a function to allow us to ignore posts by particular authors such as FAQ.
+1