What do I want out of Marco Belinelli? Nothing spectacular. Like some, I’m not expecting him to be the super-sub off the bench who comes in when the offense isn’t clicking and lights it up through sheer scoring prowess. The only reason his game is being analyzed to death is because we couldn’t get our hands on our preferable option as the first wing off the bench – Delfino. We got him as a secondary measure for practically nothing and that’s the best thing we can say about him for now. All we know for sure is that at 40% he’s a good three point shooter and that he can potentially score in bunches. We also know that he can miss in bunches. An NBA team that hopes to still be playing in May should not be relying on Marco Belinelli for much.
But that’s my take, a far more meaningful one is provided by Comcast Sports reporter Matt Steinmetz who has covered the Warriors throughout Belinelli’s time with the team and spoke to me last night.
I think Belinelli is a rotation player, but I’m not sure if he’s a starter. I think he’s going to help the Raptors, if for no other reason, than it’s a position with minutes available.
He knows how to play, can be clever and has some creativity to his game. He can get his own shot off at times, even though it means some fadeaways and leaners. He’s a player who if you give him a role will likely have effective stretches, and maybe even lengthy stretches of effectiveness.
I sometimes wonder if he can be a consistent outside shooter and yet when he came into the league that was supposed to be the thing he could do best. He can be streaky, for sure. But he certainly hasn’t proven he can be a knock-down type of shooter.
He can play a little bit of one, if he has to, and did in emergency for Golden State last year.
He didn’t play more for the Warriors for a number of reasons. One was he happened to be a rookie two years ago when the Warriors were trying to win every game and make the playoffs. Remember, they won 48 games.
Last year, he was banged up a little, but in fairness he wasn’t one of Don Nelson’s favorites, either. Nelson really used to get on Belinelli about his defense, and Belinelli ended up taking that challenge some. When he got playing time last year, he showed himself to be a pest defensively, trying to draw charges — a little Vujacic-like, not that I’m praising that necessarily. Point is, he definitely became a better defender between Year No. 1 and Year No. 2.
Lastly, I’d be shocked if Devean George had more of an impact for the Warriors than Marco Belinelli will have for the Raps.
Thanks to Matt for exclusively giving us his take. His blog should be regular reading for NBA fans; his latest post is about one of my favorite NBA players of all time.
All this doesn’t change the fact that if Antoine Wright is our backup small forward, it makes Belinelli our backup shooting guard to rookie DeMar DeRozan. I don’t want to say our depth issues at off guard remain unaddressed but really, other than athleticism, how much have we improved from the Parker/Kapono combo? This team as it stands right now is very Hedo-centric, as in we’re looking at the Turk to be the remedy for a lot of problem areas including scoring, defense and play-making. He’s the experienced wing who can create his own shot but find me a wishful contender not having at least two of those types of players. Lebron/Mo Will, Pierce/Allen, Granger/Dunleavy, Hamilton/Prince, Iguodala/Lou Will, Johnson/Crawford/Williams etc. Fact of the matter is that we’re thin at the off-guard and are desperately trying to plug that hole with Belinelli with little insurance.
It’s one thing to hope that he’s a diamond in the rough, another to expect it which is what Colangelo appears to be doing when he says that Belinelli could easily be in the running for most improved player based on increased minutes. He’s going to crack the rotation no problem and his playing time will depend on how DeRozan fares, but it’s hard to see him playing more than 25-27 minutes a game which is going to be 4-6 more than last year. Not that big of a difference really. The X-Factor that will determine his improvement will be whether he’s going to have a well-defined role in Toronto, something I’m sure Triano will at least try to start with, if for nothing than to appease his GM. The good part about our insane schedule to start the season is that we’ll find out exactly what our wings are made up of which will be enough for Colangelo to evaluate just exactly what he has.
Some quotes by Belinelli from the other day.
“I come to a nice city like Toronto, a good team like that, a young team, European team, so it’s a really great opportunity for me.”
I cringed when I read that. I’m far from being a xenophobe but seeing the Raptors officially being referred to as “European team” doesn’t feel right, mainly because no matter how far the international game has come along, every other country still sucks when compared to the USA. 3/5ths of our starting lineup is European and if you figure Triano going with a 10-man rotation with Jack, Belinelli, Wright and Rasho, it means 50% of our main players are European. Never has such an experiment been done in the NBA and the Raptors are about to find out firsthand whether it’ll work or spectacularly fail. The common theme among successful European teams has always been teamwork, ball-movement, zone defense and cohesion. Three things that are born of good coaching, effective sets, player discipline and execution. It’s a massive understatement to say that Triano’s job is cut out for him. Asking a rookie coach to be the mad scientist behind an experiment like this is almost unfair.
The best part about him is that he’s very motivated and wants to showcase his talents.
“…this is a good spot for me because I can have a lot of opportunity to play. Now is my time to see what I can do and I want to be ready for that. I’m a guard who can shoot, but at the same time I can create for my teammates. I practice every day for myself to be the best. It is my job and I can help this team, I think.”
Other than the ‘I think’ at the end you have to like this quote. He doesn’t have the overconfidence that Jermaine O’Neal had but instead feels the need to prove himself – I like. The good part about not having enough depth is that a player like Belinelli will have a chance to play through his mistakes simply because there’s nobody who is outright better than him on the team. Even if he jacks up three bad shots in a row who’s Triano going to go to? Antoine Wright at the off guard? We’re all expecting feast or famine from him on any given night, but if Triano can squeeze something resembling consistency and discipline from him, he could be good. Otherwise, he’s a more athletic Jason Kapono 2.0. But hey, at least he has potential to be good which Kapono just didn’t have, the silly little twat.
I firmly believe that 80% of defense is effort. If you’ve ever even played pick-up ball you’ll agree with this statement and I’m sure you’ll remember Sam Mitchell moaning about that for the last couple years. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that Belinelli will be 100% committed to playing defense, factor in his athleticism and you’ve got the makings of an above-average defender. His three-point shooting skill is unmistakable but we’ll be asking more of him than just to park himself in the corner and spread the floor. Like most three point shooters (including Bargnani), the ultimate question becomes whether he’ll have the stamina and conditioning to do all the things we’re asking (score, defend, slash) while still have the legs to knock that three-point shot. Take for example Anthony Parker who shot 44% in the first quarter but only 37% in the fourth.
So my keys to Belinelli having success with the Raptors are as following, in this order:
- Conditioning: Come ready to compete on the defensive end and still have enough to contribute on offense.
- A Consistent Role: There is nothing a player likes more than to know when he’s going to play and when he’s not. We can’t be jerking his chain around by tinkering too much with how much he plays, when he comes into the game, and what we ask of him. I understand that responsibilities are based on matchups and those changes on a game-by-game basis, but there’s something to be said for predictability and if Belinelli knows exactly what’s asked of him and when, you increase the chance of success. See Joey Graham and Andrea Bargnani, similar issues last couple years.
- Coaching: He’s European and needs direction. If you throw him out there and ask him to freestyle you’ll get the Belinelli Don Nelson benched. Channel his ability, don’t just expect it to show up.
- Practice: He’ll be going up against DeMar DeRozan in practice and these two have to challenge each other. Something told me that never happened last year with Kapono and Parker. These two need to be pitted against each other all season long to the point where they get on each others’ nerves. Ideally for us the minutes at SG would be split 50/50 with these two playing tug-of-war. Approximately 24-28 minutes for each of them means they don’t get burned out and have something left for the post-season, and we avoid DeRozan hitting the inevitable rookie wall.
Thoughts?
42 Raps
Great post, I have been wondering what Belinelli has in store for us, because I have never really watched him play, to be honest. So thanks for the insight.
I do think he has potential, but I agree that he needs to be coached well and directed on the floor. Here’s hoping he breaks out a bit this year…
A hope and a prayer …. hoping that DeDe is in the running for ROY … and praying that MarcoB will suddenly become as great as he was hyped up to be when he was drafted by GS.
Triano believes that DeDe can start, a rookie with freshman college experience .. and Gherardini was in love with Belinelli when he came into the league and even tried to get MarcoB last season.
Do either of these players have NBA bodies …?????
Have you SEEN DeDe’s body?
Steve Nash doesn’t have an NBA body and he’s done well for himself.
Sometimes you have to get lucky and find that diamond in the rough. Like San Antonio did with Manu and Parker. You don’t need to look like LeBron James to be a good basketball player. You just need the basketball IQ.
What kind of body does Tashun Prince have? What kind of body did Joey Grahm have? Or Jawai?
Screw, the body, I want game.
Me too, effort and IQ…no good looking players that don’t know to execute a play…:/
totally agree its all about the effort that is consitently put in and belinelli knows that its his time to prove it. hes not in the doghouse like he was the last two seasons so there will be no excuses as he will know exactly whats expected of him.
having watched him quite a bit last season i can tell you he is an underated defender and can (at times) get on other players nerves and throw them off their game. i agree with sam mitchell that its all about effort on the defensive end and with marcos athleticism he could be ready to turn some heads this season.
could also look at chris paul being considered as “undersized” for the NBA but his determination to play 100% while leaving everything on the court does way more then having an “nba body” ever could which is the mindset every raptor needs coming in to this season
I have to say in short that Belinelli is a MUCH cheaper in price Kapono that has more athleticism to show and has more tools, but like you I feel he has not yet “established” himself to the NBA yet, and yes I did not mention defense at all for a reason. First thing we all want to know about this guy in the first 10 games of the season is how mentally sturdy he is because if we bench him for 2 games straight and then give him 15 minutes on the court, can he nail 3-4 3pt buckets at that time?…which might tell us that this guy always stays ready and credit our coaching staff to keep his spirits high?
Xenophobia? nahhh lol, but hearing “Euro-team” for our team kinda gave you a 5 second-coma flash of white dudes who flop, flap their arms, and chuck-up shots am I right? I hope he meant Euro as in team Argentina because that team is rough and smart like a team of Garbos.
No matter what, Belinelli can’t possibly play worse defense than Kapono, so it seems our rotation wins regardless.
Although this team has alot of Europeans on it… do all those players necessarily have that “Euro feel” to there game?
Take Rasho for instances….. he is European, but he game is more of a classic, if unathletic center, than say a Vladi Divac or a Sabonis. Jose is European, but again has a simple pg feel to his game much like Mark Price. (then again most European pgs seem to be pass first anyways).
Players like Andrea and Hedo definetely have the versatility you seem to get with Euro players, and Marco may fit into this category as well, but outside that I don’t see this team as “European” except in heritage.
I don’t like how you keep comparing Belinelli to Kapono. They’re two very different players. Kapono is “meant to be” (i.e. see Miami) a spot up shooter that gets the ball when he is in good position for a quick release. Belinelli does not have the lackluster handle that Kapono has, nor does he have the efficient 3pt shot. Belinelli can actually slash to the rim without travelling. He has a much more complete game.
The article you quoted states that he can play the one, do you think Kapono could do that if he were more athletic? It takes court vision and ball handling skills, as well as the ability to create. After watching Kapono try to create last season, I’m glad we have Belinelli instead.
So is DeRozan/Belinelli better than Parker/Kapono? Maybe not right away, but they certainly have the potential to be much better. And with Hedo Turkoglu beside them instead of Jamario Moon, I don’t think the growing pains will be nearly as noticeable as last season.
Re: this year’s wings versus last year’s…
I agree. I think its erroneous to ask about the 2 spot separately from the 3 spot.
Last year we really had a ‘wing’ rotation of Parker/Kapono/Moon(Marion, later)/Graham.
This year we have Turkoglu/Wright/DD/Belinelli/Jack. I would say in terms of the number of players I would actually be glad to see come into the game, we’ve got 3, maybe 4 this year, and had only one or two (when Marion was here) last year.
Seriously – which of our wings this year will encite the painful reaction so many of us experienced last year when Kapono or Moon would check into a game?
Oh God, I’m gonna have nightmares about J-Killa playing PG now.
That’d be like the Titanic, the Hindenburg, the Challenger space shuttle, Pompeii, Mt. St. Helens, Katrina, the Halifax explosion AND Chernobyl put together.
Rap of the day imo.
When I looked at the 20 game stretch that Belinelli actually got to play consistent minutes under Nellie last season, he showed the potential that he was credited with when drafted. It’s a small sample size but Belinelli gives the impression that if he’s given a chance he’ll prove he deserves to be here.
When I heard Belinelli say “European team” it shocked me too, but then I put it into context remembering that english is a second language to a lot of our players so you can’t read into them using certain vocabulary or having poor grammar. Even saying things like “I think” … could just be the way he’s going about expressing himself so he doesn’t sound cocky. Probably should have said “I think” at the beginning of his sentence!
Not a knock on the article or on Belinelli, but just making a point.
I agree in that Belinelli has a higher upside than Kapono and Moon – definitely comes with a good price tag. I think the English is always something that takes more than a couple years to get a handle on, and that could spark big improvement.
I’m expecting nothing of Belinelli and was a bit scared this article would upset me. Didn’t happen, though – very nice and fair.
IF you expect nothing from Belinelli, you don’t know very much about him…….
I remind you Colangelo is not a dumb cookie, he knows what he’s talking about, when he states his feelings on a player publicly in the media. He would have credibility issues, if he said last year Joey Graham is going to be the most improved player in the league, and Joey took a dive!
You Tube Belinilli the guy is a fantastic player!!! Expect him to play and be a very serious contributor…
Delfino wasn’t the first option for BC. He had wanted bellinelli for a while and since he’s a young asset he grabbed him. Delfino may have only played one more season for the raptors had BC been interested. But after acquiring Marco, he had no reason to go use his rights to delfino. Belinelli may be a solid rotation player for years, so it was in their best interest to opt for a guy who could help them long-term
Good call Evan. A lot of the flaws that describe Belinelli are quite similar to Delfino’s (streaky shooting, not a starter, needs direction), except one difference: we didn’t have to over pay to get him! In fact we got rid of some over the hill dead weight in a straight up one for one trade and got a young player with some potential. Sure, if I had to place money I wouldn’t bet on him cracking the starting 5, but he’s a much nicer option then some of the other flawed players that were out there and would have cost more.
Iguodala/Lou Will, Johnson/Crawford/Williams etc…..none of these groups overly scare anyone
most of the posts about the raps display so much angst. Relax dude!! Belinelli will be an improvement over Kapono and a great rotational player. Plus we’re getting him with enough time in the pre-season to integrate him into the team.
worst case scenario belinelli is a cheaper yet more complete version of kapono.
best case scenario he shows hes capable of being/developing into that ginobliish, most improved player.
probably somewhere in between. need to remember kapono turned into evans. the other more expensive option delfino with some help from ukic turned into johnson. and all belinelli cost was essentially nothing in george. moving forward even if belinelli takes the worst case scenario course, it is an improvement to build upon. however, he seems more than capable of proving himself as being a solid back up sg for a vast majority of teams in the nba.
I agree with your assessment, the question isn’t really about Belinelli’s talents. It’s whether the Raptors’ expectations of him are inline with what he can deliver and whether it’s risky business as having him as the first or second wing off the bench – for a team looking to contend.
i think the questions are:
can derozan and belinelli be good enough come down the stretch and playoff time to represent a team considered certainly capable of beating anyone in the east other than the big three? (at the same time giving bosh a legitimate chance at proving himself as a max player) i can see this a good goal/checkpoint.
following that can derozan and belinelli become a legitimate top duo of sg’s to contend with the best? they are both now young so who knows, but i think as long as they are showing the realistic potential to develop into this, by the time the rest of the team has evolved into a serious contender, they should be given their chance.
To put the Belinelli’s “European team” quote in context, the US and European media have been constantly playing up the European aspect of the Raptors for the past few seasons. MB most likely meant this description as a complement and likely was just repeating the “conventional wisdom” anyway.
If I were to compare MB to anyone on last year’s squad it would be to a Anthony Parker. He has similar attributes : good ball-handling, good outside shot, some ability to create. I’d be surprised if his defence or consistency were at AP’s level, but then again those started to decline last year.
Hi everyone that’s the first time I write here, anyway, I’m sure Marco will be a great revelation for many reason: he can shoot, he can attack the rim, pass the ball, and his defence is not so bad like don nelson said. I believe that like Dave says he’s a sort of 23 years-old Anthony Parker and in my opinion he could be easily a starter since both BC and Murizio Gherardini believe in him and know him better than anyone else…
In sum, we got a great talent and hope he’ll show it all.
Sorry for my bad english cause I’m Italian
BIASED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Articale Arse. My thoughts on Marco are similar to some, great talent, good ball handler, decent/above average shooter, play maker, average defender who wants to be better, slasher, great free throw shooter. The potential he has is quite high, and I (like some) see him as a poor mans Manu Ginoblli who has potential to be as good as Manu. Whether he reaches that potential is ofcourse another story however he’s got a great opportunity here. I think we need to hold off on the comparisons to Jason Kapono for even in passing, as he is much more versitile (as many have mentioned).
The biggest question I think will be how Triano juggles the minutes between him and Derozan. The beauty of it all is the versitility. I can envison some nights where, if both Derozan and Bellineli happen to be hot, that Triano rests Turk for most of the game, saving him more for the fourth quarter.
All in all, go marco..go raptors!!
Why would it be insulting to be called a European team? All that means is a more team-oriented, ball moving style as opposed to one-on-one.
Yes, the U.S. is the best in the world, but that is dependent more on talent than style. Take two equally talented teams and have them play either “European” ball or “American” ball, and the European team will win most of the time.
How do you explain teams like Serbia, Slovenia and Greece being so consistently excellent on the FIBA stage?
Euroball allows teams with marginal talent to compete with more naturally talented players. Isn’t that a good thing? Why are people so opposed to this?
And if your argument is that Euro teams just shoot, that’s entirely erroneous. Euro teams still work inside out if they have a post-presence, and if they take a lot of threes you can bet it’s because they’re all good open looks.
Case in point: Pau Gasol, MVP 2009 FIBA Eurobasket — championship team captain.
When I go to the ACC I take one look around and know immediately that the Raps are a European team. The food is better. The beer is better. And everyone is so good looking.
Well said simon, that’s what i was thinking when arse said thata beig called an euro team is a bad thing, i don’t think that way. Euro ball may not be fun to watch for most of the fans, but i think is the bes way to play basketball. With the american style of play, the US needed to bring the best talent in the entire country to win it all. US has the best players in the world, no question about it, the most talented players are americans, but with players like baron davids and paul pierce, the US team failed in international competiton.
Another teams, with less talent but with an euro style of play managed to beat the US in a few oportunities.
One last thing, the last team i remembered to be called a euro team or an international team, was the spurs, so apparently, it’s not such a bad thing
I’d like to tackle the U.S./European debate. I watched World Championships, U.S. did did not dominate the top tier teams e.g. Spain, Greece. I’m sure everybody watched those games wondering if the U.S. would win?
It was not a slam dunk for sure, and the worst part is that the U.S. Team was made up of the NBA’s best…
This is not like the late 80s with Jordan and Magic, where every game was won by 50, the europeans gave the americans a run for their money and the result could have went either way.
I’ll leave it at that…. I don’t mind being called a European team!
MARCO WILL PRODUCE BETTER NUMBERS THEN ANTHONY PARKER . IF GIVEN THE SAME MINUTES
Good article, particularly the research and the seeking of the Steinmetz contribution. I question your math here though:
“3/5ths of our starting lineup is European and if you figure Triano going with a 10-man rotation with Jack, Belinelli, Wright and Rasho, it means 50% of our main players are European.”
I only count 9 players. Who else are you counting in the 10-man rotation? I’m guessing Evans, but I’d pick Amir to push for a spot before the season is half over.
If it makes people feel any better, Hedo was born in Istanbul, which is the only metropolis that is in situated on two continents, so he’s half Asian.
Belinelli will have a breakout year.
Oh!! !! and Spain’s starting guard was all of 16yrs old ..
Marco does not need any direction on the floor, especially because he’s European, thus he has a very high basketball-IQ and a great technique of passing, dribbling, ans shooting, not like DeRozan, who is a rookie who comes from US-college basketball, thus very physical but also very raw, both technically and tactically. Plus Marco can be an excellent back-up for Calderon at point, so I really don’t understand you guys…