DeRozan, Weems and Johnson. Twitter’s good for something.Jay Triano doesn’t care about winning any of these games. Most coaches only say that but this one here, he really, really doesn’t put any weight in them. He’s instead continuing his experiments of putting out scrubby lineups and having them deal with the pressure of closing games. He’s determined to have Jose and Jack on the floor at the same time. He’s evaluating Belinelli’s scoring, ball-handling and potential as a go-to scorer off the bench. He’s even looking for Patrick O’Bryant to show him something that’ll keep him in his mind when Bargnani, Evans, Johnson and Rasho have all fouled out. He’s giving Jack the reigns at the point and trusting him to call plays. He’s doing everything pre-season was originally created for and it’s resulted in the fans getting a much truer glimpse of what the pieces on this team are capable of. I’m just waiting for the 70 minutes of Bosh and Turkoglu to get into the lineup so we can start making some proper evaluations.
Tonight it’s Minny and there’s no TV in Toronto, Devlin’s not even making the trip. I’m sure we’ll get game-reports, or if lucky, a stream from somewhere. Whether we see this game or not, I want to see some things happen in it.
Jose Calderon – Wake up.
And by wake up I mean WAKE THE &^%$ UP! I know it’s only pre-season but he’s been the worst Raptor so far. He actually looks slower than last year which I thought wasn’t possible, especially considering that he’s injury-free and fresh. As I was watching him labour against Philly my mind was racing to find an excuse for his play and I couldn’t come up with anything. The best I could do was tell myself that he needs time to figure out his new teammates but that’s a lie. Both games against Philly were open court games with Belinelli, Weems and DeRozan running the lanes very aggressively and it was Jose that was failing them. Even Banks and Douby made some plays with those athletes on their side, the only one who didn’t perform was Jose. Is he really that dependent on playing with Bosh? We haven’t been running the PNR much and have instead relied on the offense being initiated from the high-post, maybe Jose’s so used to that play that it’ll take him some time to adapt? I got nothing. He needs to show something to make everyone feel better, some drive ‘n kicks, bursts of quickness for layups, confident step-back jumpers, something.
Tonight I want to see him look for his shot. Early and often. He’ll be going up against rookie Jonny Flynn so there is no excuse here, not that there was against Lou Williams either.
Marco Belinelli – A little control, please.
OK, so this guy has a mid-range game, likes to take it to the rim, thinks he’s the second coming of Manu Ginobili and has zero confidence issues. Good, but can he put a solid game together? So far he’s gone 2-8 and 4-11, what metric am I supposed to use in evaluating a shooting guard if not FG percentage and points? I can already see the discipline issues everybody talked about (still can’t see why Don Nelson didn’t like him, he seems perfect for they got going there) and usually when you have discipline issues, you have consistency issues which happened to be the main reason why we fired Anthony Parker. So Marco, slow it down and let the game come to you. I know it sounds cliche but it’s true. He’s going to get minutes on this team, he doesn’t need to “beat” anyone nor does he need to “prove” anything at this early stage. Without Bosh and Turkoglu in there, the offense needs a little stability and composure, Belinelli’s got to embrace that and play with a lot more craft and tact. Side note, much like how Belinelli’s trying to resurrect his NBA career, Sasha Pavlovic is doing the same in Minny.
Amir Johnson – Who are you?
I can’t figure him out. I know he’s go the potential to have a Campy-type impact but he could also be one of those guys that has “moments of brilliance” and then goes in the tank for three games. Just like Belinelli, the question here is the degree of consistency. When good teams go to their bench they know exactly what to expect have a very good idea of what the second unit’s capacity is to hold things together. Right now Triano is trying to figure out what that is and Johnson’s the biggest X-factor in that equation. Right now he’s averaging about 24 minutes and in both games it’s took him some time to get warmed up. When Bosh returns, he’ll be expected have an instant impact in limited minutes without the luxury of getting used to the flow of the game. That’s a trait that separates a great sixth man from an average second unit player. He’s netting 9 RPG so far but that number is inflated because of all the terrible shots being taken in the last two games. I don’t put much value on PFs being able to run the floor because face it, PFs aren’t supposed to run the floor. I’ve been more impressed with the potential he’s shown as a help defender and shot-blocker. I’d like to see him finish in the low-block against guys like Love and Jefferson.
Andrea Bargnani – Assert yourself!
Quite simple really. You’ve looked good whenever you’ve had the ball so why not have more of the ball? I’d like to see him take 18 shots which is at least what his volume should be during the season. Also, five rebounds in two games is pathetic, it doesn’t matter if rebounding isn’t your strength. He at least has to make an effort to be active on the boards and dare I say it, he’s ball-watching already. But see, you can’t fix that, it’s part of who you are. Some people go for the ball when it’s bouncing on the rim, others like to watch it bounce as they extend their toes while thinking about jumping. There’s no gentle way of putting this but Bargnani needs to put up 17-20ppg on 50% shooting (TS% of around 58%) to make up for what he’s going to concede defensively. Last year he was at 45% and 56%, respectively. When you measure a player’s impact on a game you consider both sides of the ball, when talking Bargnani you ask for average to slightly below average defense and hope he makes it up at the other end. It’s a dangerous game to play.
DeMar DeRozan
He’s a tight handle away from being an effective player. John Hollinger’s BS about him not being able to shoot was just that. For a rookie he’s already got great shot selection and that’s only going to get better as he finds his spots. I raved about his composure and confidence in isolation situations over the summer and he continues to show that, only now in a team setting. He’s getting used to the size and length of NBA defenders and was caught by surprise when a couple of his passes were deflected for steals. That’s just inexperience, though, he’s taking it slowly and my money’s on him carving out a niche on this team. Although DeRozan’s a couple inches shorter, I liken him to Travis Outlaw. AltRaps and A-Dub think he needs to be more aggressive with his shot, I disagree. He can hoist a shot any time he wants, but learning the offense inside-out are finding his points through there is where he’ll really be an asset, not to mention it’ll allow him to shoot a much higher FG% than if he went rogue. It’s only a matter of time when he recognize exactly where his game fits so there’s no reason to force anything. I know I sound like a broken record but I’d like him to work on his dribble because teams will be trapping him on the high-screen mercilessly, he’s got to minimize turnovers and make them pay for the double.
–
Back to the game tonight. Triano says that Bosh will travel and he might play but if he does, it’ll be very limited minutes, about seven. Hedo will not play due to fatigue. I’m never heard of a guy sit out training camp for that reason and for this long. I know this happens a lot in soccer once players come back from international duty but even that lasts at most a few days and that’s it.
Bosh says that Triano hasn’t put that many new sets in and it’s nothing he can’t handle. He says that the high screen ‘n roll will be one of their main sets but not the only one (shot at Mitchell!). He also says his injury is nothing like the ones he’s had in the past and nobody should be worried. Like, nobody. He feels he might even be ready now and would like to play more than 7 minutes but will defer to the coaches because they obviously have an “agenda”. He’s also appreciating that even though they struggled to score last couple nights, their defense kept them in the game.
Hedo Turkoglu hopes to start practicing next week.
Here are some quotes from T’Wolves coach Kurt Rambis.
On Al Jefferson
He has a tremendous knack for getting his defender out of position and working his way around them, whether it’s one defender or two defenders he can just fit himself in little gaps and find a way to score. He’s doing a great job in camp just playing through fouls, he just keeps playing, keeps rebound and just keeps going at it.
On bringing the triangle over from the Lakers.
“[The triangle offense is] just a format to play out of, it gives everybody a sense of where everybody else is on the floor, where there teammates are so they can hit them with passes, keeps their spacing so they can read the defense and just play out of it. As they grow and develop, there is just a multitude of things that they can do once they get comfortable with how to play out of it.”
On rookie Jonny Flynn
[Flynn] is trying to learn the most difficult position in the NBA to learn. Offensively and defensively it’s going to be tough for him. I keep encouraging him to execute our offense. That’s the initial phase of our offensive thrust is to get us organized so everybody knows how we are playing and spots on the floor. I need him to be a leader on the floor and to show his team how to play and how to execute and how to play together, that’s part of his role as a leader and an orchestrator out there.
Join us for the live chat, who knows, there might even be a stream. Finally, I know this is totally out of the blue, but I like Matt Devlin.
48 Raps
I’d be giving Jose a bit of a break.
He didn’t work out all summer. Between the finger surgery and the hammy I doubt he even picked up a ball until camp. All through August his posts were saying that he still wasn’t 100%. And the guy has dropped 15 lbs, it will take most of the preseason for Jose to get into decent shape.
But I think we’ll see a new and improved Jose by the 28th. At least that’s how I’m reading it at the moment.
You nailed Triano’s view of preseason games – he could care less who won. He’s got his clip board, his minutes and his ideas – doesn’t really care about much else right now. I tend to agree with him, preseason is a practice scrimmage against different guys. Exercise and teaching tool only.
For some unknowable reason, I’d actually like to watch the preseason game Friday – hopefully someone streams it – post a link if you can find one!
And Matt is a great announcer! Doing some good stuff on RapsTV too!
brothersteve …..Jose is listed as 210 lbs and 6′3″ .. and if he lost 15 lbs, he’s down to 195 lbs. By losing weight, Jose has also lost muscle, and you don’t want to lose muscle playing in the NBA. In his two appearances so far, he looked like a high schooler playing in the NBA .. he was flopping all over .. pathetic.
I have this suspicion that Jose will not be up to performance and will not see many minutes .. forcing JT to use Jack and Banks as his main PGs early in the season. I further suspect that Banks is aware of Jose’s fragile condition and is trying his utmost to show what he’s got to crack the lineup and rescue his NBA career.
If Jose became sedentary and soft during the off-season, that would be unforgivable. Even with a recovering hammy, he could have worked on upper body and core strengthening so that at least he looked ripped in his shoulders and arms … but he looks smooth and weak and his face looks gaunt. I hope his health is okay …
maybe jose was simply following POB’s offseason workout ‘regimen.’
Cocaine and cigarettes?
I call bullshit here on the Jose analysis. His hammy was healed a month before the regular season ended and finger surgery heals the fastest. Not being 100% is August doesn’t mean you don’t touch a ball. Why has he dropped 15lbs? That has nothing to do with his injury. He’s playing poorly, that’s it. Simple.
I am dissapointed in Chris in this interview, he said he loves London Ontario! there are times where you can lie and people will still believe you (”I know where Peterborough is”) and there are times where you should just say London Ontario is a dirty smelly pit because anything more then that is just streching the truth (no offence to those live in London but at least be thanks that you don’t live near Burlington street in Hamilton now that’s nasty).
Hey .. the only ’smells’ in London ON are the Labatt’s brewery and the Kellogg’s Corn Flake factory in the east end … and with prevailing winds mostly from the West to SW, the ’smells’ are wafted to the East end where the poor live …!!!
Obviously you’ve never lived EOA
I imagine Chris knows maybe 3 things about London: 1. How long it took to get there, 2. It has a pretty decent downtown arena, 3. There was a decent crowd there for an NBA preseason game.
Sounds like enough for a pro athlete to say he “loves” it.
To make it worst, Beach Road. lol
Don’t know why Chris said he loves London but – London has a huge University campus at one side of the city and a huge College campus on the other side.
That’s reason enough for young NBA players to love a city like London. Great bars, great night life – at least that what I figured from when my son was there! lol
-you secretly love twitter.
-someone ask Gasol how he’s feeling after winning an NBA championship and leading Spain to the championship as well. is hedo only tired cause he lost?
-hollinger’s a jackass.
-someone ask Gasol how he’s feeling after winning an NBA championship and leading Spain to the championship as well. is hedo only tired cause he lost?
holy shit thats so true .
anon. your a genius
true say.
Arse … Triano’s post-game words are still ringing in my cranium, namely:
1. The players can’t take the time to “think” on the floor, they must “react”. That tells me the benchers are slow thinkers and poor reacters. The gaggle of new faces on the roster will have to be vetted for their ability to play the game automatically and not scratching their balls wondering “what should I do next”.
2. “We must play as a team and that means passing the ball!”.. or something to that extent. What I saw in these two games was a lot of passing and less dribbling … but when it broke down the guys resorted to dribbling against stronger defences. Also when Demar took long shots early in the clock in the last game, JT benched him fast for disobeying orders.
If you think about it, the Raptors that were playing were not that ‘athletic’ by NBA standards and Triano did say he wanted to see what this bunch could do so he could include them in the rotations.
Also if you don’t have outstanding athletes who can break down their man one-on-one, then what do you do? The only thing you can do is run and pass so that by the third or fourth pass, you have a high percentage shot. No dribbling, no hero heaves … passing and running a lot … European-style… ya think ..??!!!
‘euro’ style in that the offense doesn’t seem predicated on an individual’s ability to go one-on-five. yeah, multiple passes, movement on offense, run-outs, etc., with the overall intent to create high-percentage shots. that’ll never work.
“Jay Triano doesn’t care about winning any of these games.”
I think this is overstating it. I think winning the games isn’t priority one, but he still cares about winning them, and will more and more as the preseason goes on, especially with Bosh and Hedo out there.
agreed…how else do we explain subbing Bargs in with 20 seconds to go on Wednesday? I know I am harping on this, but I cant really think of any real reason for doing it
“and usually when you have discipline issues, you have consistency issues which happened to be the main reason why we fired Anthony Parker.”
..What?:S
The point being made is that the reason there wasnt a rush to resign Parker was because he wasnt consistent any more…
The line about him being “fired” may have been a little harsh as I am certain we would have taken him back as a backup if the timing/financials were a little different
Um… BC didn’t rush to resign Parker because he didn’t know that he wouldn’t have to renounce his rights. Once he did learn of the sign-and-trade deal for Hedo, he DID try to sign Anthony Parker but it was too late. I don’t know where this whole “he got fired” crap came from.
I specifically remember someone asking Colangelo about AP and him saying he wanted to resign him but was too late.
“Once he did learn of the sign-and-trade deal for Hedo, he DID try to sign Anthony Parker but it was too late.”….or at least thats the story we were led to believe…I am certain that if BC wanted him back bad enough, he could have gotten him here…pre or post trade
Obviously, nobody is saying BC wanted Parker more than Turkoglu, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have wanted him back after the trade. Think about it.
Pre-trade: Signing Parker means goodbye Turkoglu – no ifs, ands or buts.
Post-trade: Parker already reached an agreement, at least verbally, with Cleveland, and isn’t the type to go back on his word (like Turkoglu, ironically). Plus, how do you think he felt about not being a priority for the Raps, whereas Cleveland went out hard (relatively speaking) to get him.
I remember as … Parker didn’t make up his mind until after the Hedo Turkoglu situation was resolved. He wanted to wait and talk to Colangelo about what type offer was on the table (role + money). Parker was underwhelmed by his conversation with BC. A few days later, Parker gave a verbal commitment to the Cavaliers.
He wanted minutes and we weren’t going to give him those minutes.
He always seemed to me like the rare kind of player who didn’t give a shit about a paycheck, he just wanted to play (and hopefully win).
I’d say if Parker was more consistent in his offense he’s still be with the Raptors. But the guy had four high scoring games last year and went an anonymous 3-10 too many times to be seriously considered an option, even as a backup. Belinelli’s advantage so far has been that he’s younger, more athletic and more potential, but if his offense struggles he’s practically of no use to us.
Ohhh and god I hate devlin…I really do long for the days Swirsk was here…I may be in the minority, but his energy and passion is far more tolerable than Devlins crappy nicknames and stupid one liners
Not a Devlin fan either. I lived in the States for three years, met a lot of great people and then every now and then you’d meet the stereotype. The obnoxious American. The person who only seems to care about the things that directly effect him. And every country he visits is not quite American enough…whether it’s superior or not.
Devlin just gets under my skin because he seems like one of those.
Matt Devlin — I can’t stand the guy. I all too often turn off the volume when watching Raptors games. He makes my head hurt.
Chuck Swirsky — I liked Chuck. He wasn’t great or anything, but he was solid. He was a habitually happy guy who was always upbeat and excited to talk about the Raptors. You don’t want a debbie-downer (commentators who criticize their own team’s players are highly over-rated in my eyes) … or some dull personality who drowns the fun out of everything (Devlin!!) … commentating on games.
Chuck wasn’t the too good on the basketball side of things, but at least he was positive in the other two areas, which made him a solid commentator in my eyes. Just couple him with someone better than Leo or Jack and things would have been very good.
Could we start a campaign to get him to stop saying “Let’s NBA”. If I hear him say it again I’m going to throw my remote right at the screen and I really don’t want to have to buy a new TV.
a) the usual suspect seem to have a link available, unfortunatly there will be no torrent
b)You are bang on with Triano.
c) Jose? I don’t know,. I don’t really know. I hope he has enough IQ to develop his game beyong PnR. Right now he seem to run on a lower gear than the other.
you say the usual suspect wil have a link…will you be able to assist in directing me to the correct location to watch said game tonight?
atdhe net claim to have a link, I don’t know how as I don’t think its on tv in Minnesota but…
Man, I listen to a lot of these critiques…yeah I’m looking at you FAQ…and I see a lot of unrealistic expectations and paranoia. I’m on the same page as brothersteve, even though the Calderon/Turk stuff is flagable and concerning, it’s a little early for the condemnations.
When I see Bellineli I completely see a young Ginobili. A YOUNG Ginobli who didn’t come in to his own until later than 23. We have to be careful not to decontextualize moments in the interest of sounding cool. How many players are truly consistent before the age of 23? Especially, like in this case, when he was being coached by someone more famous for destroying rookies than drugs and women combined. The things you watch for…is he learning. Is their progression in the game, as they learn the sets and get acclimatized to this completely new group of players, new city, new offensive schemes, new defensive identity…get my drift?
Otherwise you just sound like your crazy…it’d be like your sister brings home a guy she’s serious about, you all go out to dinner, and at the end he doesn’t immediately reach for the check. Half an hour after he leaves, your bitching at everybody about how he’s cheap, does he even have a job, he may even beat some future kids that the two of them don’t have yet…
Yikes…
Gman … Well somebody “sounds .. crazy”, because what we are looking at in these two Raptor games is the bench players showing us what they don’t have .. and why their previous teams let them go. These scrubs are not top quality NBA bball players because they have glaring deficiencies.
To be subjected to watching this assortment of scrubs and backup to the starters, we can understand why JT is searching for players who can crack the rotation lineup. It’s amazing how poor the role players are when compared to the starters and stars .. almost half-players if that.
When you compare Belinelli to Ginobli, not only is that’s insulting to Ginobli that ignores the fact that Belinelli is very inconsistent. In the NBA, you don’t “get a chance” to work out your weaknesses on the floor during game time .. unless your a physical specimen like a rookie Vince or Chris and possess at least one outstanding ability. That’s well invested development .. but for most of the other players, they must raise their game on their own during the offseason and in practice, because they ain’t gonna get it with game minutes.
Tribal honkers look at the Raptors through rose-coloured glasses … I look at them in the cold light of reality … as does JT and BC.
Yeah you’re absolutely right FAQ, it’s totally reasonable to expect 9 new players with a new system, a new coach and new teammates to go out and perform as if they’re fresh off the end of last season, in full game shape and have their timing and feel for the game in place AFTER 2 FREAKING PRESEASON GAMES.
This isn’t a case of looking at the team through the cold light of reality, it’s projecting pessimism far, far too early in the year to make any actual assessment of the team. THAT’S the cold reality of the preseason; as much as fans want to make something out of nothing, neither the positives nor the negatives count for a damned thing until the games count.
It’s training camp. Put the crazy down, wait a month, bring it back when appropriate.
And as an aside, this league has a long, long history of guys coming out of nowhere and making the most of their minutes due to injuries to teammates, etc. Most of the time it’s about their fit in the team’s system and their ability to fit into a role that suits them, not some cache of talent waiting to be unleashed. Sometimes I wonder if you fans watch any games aside from those of the home team.
Well said I couldn’t agree more. Having to listen to these pessimistic, jaded Raptors fans scream everyday about how bad this team is gonna be, is making me a little angry.
“I look at them in the cold light of reality … as does JT and BC.”
LOL. Just like when you said other people speculate, but you strategize right? Funny thing is, it seems you’re hedging your bet right now when you associate your “superiority” with JT and BC, except BC was the one who put together this team and it’d be farfetched to say he has as little faith as you do regarding this new assortment of players. Yeah, yeah, they’re not “players” and they’re not a “team”, but they’re also not going to need the years that you predict before they become a .500 team (unless Bosh leaves, then yeah, I’ll agree). More important than “will they gel” are 1) is Calderon going to perform closer to his half season as a starter two years ago, or his current preseason play; 2) will DeRozan’s defense be at an acceptable level; and 3) good Bargnani or bad Bargnani? If the answer to those 3 are on the positive side, then this team will do fine. Swapping in DeRozan and Turkoglu isn’t much different from the swingman-by-committee approach the last couple of years, nor is it different from having to adapt to O’Neal and Marion. Even if the rest of the bench is entirely new, they’re also entirely superior to last year’s allotment.
P.S. You keep mentioning that all our new players are retreads, and while that is true, don’t forget that all our old players were retreads too — we just couldn’t find teams to take them!
Really the cold light of reality…GTFOOH!!! Man if you have one foot in reality and aren’t just there drinking orange pop through a straw in your nose I would be surprised. Have you checked what Ginobli’s stats were in his first few years in the league. He was still the gangly off balanced spitfire but no where near the accuracy or CONSISTENCY!!!
I don’t know. Maybe most of the people in your life tell you your crap and that’s the cold light of reality in your world…if it is…sorry about that but don’t go wearing your damage like a sign you know more than you know.
At no point has JT or BC sounded anywhere near as Hannibal Lector as you have. Look man, you can call me a tribal honker all you want, but I’m not the Priestess sitting in the dark with the voodoo dolls pricking them one by one.
So why did Sonny Weems team let him go? For the role he’s going to play he looks pretty good to me. How about Amir Johnson? Flashes of potential as he gets himself acclimated to the different sets and personalities…
I get it…your the joke on RR aren’t you. The guy who’s supposed to fluster the new guy logging on. Talking unsubstantiated crap while everybody else giggles…
If not? Wow…
people gotta chill out with calderon man.buddy who said jarret jack is gonna take over for him and then even said marcus banks will play more then him? are you serious haha. I mean its possible jarret jack takes over cause of the defensive factor but i highly doubt thats gonna happen either.This was the first time in 14 summers he didnt play so its probably gonna take a while for him to back into the swing of things.Trust me i know hes looked like ass but hes gonna be fine its not like hes just gonna die or something.
My girlfriend got me watching the office and I gotta say, Matt Devlin is a real life Michael Scott, only without the endearing side. Lovin Sherm in Leos place, man was Leo done or what? Sherm is no Marv Albert but at least he won’t bite anyone. Even though it’s preseason he seems a little surprised at some of Dev’s more inane comments, though I’d like to see him step up and correct Devlin when he starts freelancing on players names (like Ty-reese Thomas and Roy-al Ivey..wtf?)
As for the games and players? one of this means anything, it’s preseason without the main focal points of the ‘O’ on the court so is really just an extended look at the end of the bench. José is just outta shape, he looked better last night than the night before and it’s obvious he’s listening to the coaches as he’s already attempted more alleys (3 by my count) than all of last season. It’ll be a rough start to the real season but whatever, this team is going to be fun to watch.
I just learned that the Raptors play the Wolves on Oct 23rd at Sioux Falls ND.
Ordinarily there wouldn’t be any side story to this.
However, Johnson played 2 years with Sioux Falls in the D-League. During last season Johnson was voted to the all time Sioux Falls starting five. I don’t recall if he was also voted their best player ever.
In any case he should get a pretty good ovation when he enters the game there.
You people are all CRAZY as Raptors FANATICS. This is after 2 glorified 48 minute scrimages by 9 new players, mostly back-up,end of the bench, suit wearers being given a chance to play, due to the missing players, being incorperated into a new offensive (non PNR),and defensive system without Bosh, Turk, & Wright.
These are not games, trying to win, only scrimages trying to get defensive/offensive principles installed. PRESEASON ! TRAINING ! GETTING IN GAME SHAPE ! GETTING TO KNOW PLAYER ABILITIES VS OPPONENTS RATHER THAN TEAM MEMBERS ! GETTING TO KNOW HOW JT WANTS TO PLAY !
Real NBA life begins OCTOBER 28th. Until then nothing is REAL NBA life, only practice/training.
Re the games vs Philly, take Iggy and Brand (to equal CB & Turk) out of those games and what do you think the results may have been ??
Regarding Calderon he had 6 assists, 0 turnovers in 12 mins, in the 1st quarter and the Team scored 27 points in 12 mins. I consider that good progress !!! If you think Jack and Banks will take over for JC you do not watch Raptors basketball.
As for Matt, he is a professional announcer, vs the tricks by the Swirsk, who was OK and served a purpose in his day when the Raps needed the entertainment factor. If you think Matt is bad, listen to some of the other teams guys.
devlin was such a chucklehead when he was interviewing gherardini last game that i had to turn the volume off. hyuck hyuck hyuck…
Matt’s a good guy, but he grates on my nerves. His phrases just seem so awkward. At least with Swirsky, you knew you were getting cheesy, and he hammed it up for full effect. But Matt seems like he’s trying to be “down” but he completely misses the mark.
Agreed. I think Damper Dev reads too many blogs and is trying to cater to the Rapfanatics who long for some sick, wicked and nasty isms. When he calls games for the playoffs (neutral teams) he’s quite good…when he does Raps games it seems forced and awkward. He needs to chill and just call the games.
I’ll give him another season before I start calling for this head (a new hair stylist would be a good start) but those interviews on RapsTV are a painfully bad start (”yo sonny what is up my man” lol)…leave the hip-hop to the hip I say.
Like Matt’s style of game calling.
But he does seem to have become a bit corrupted by his color guys since coming to Toronto! Don’t play along with Jack & Leo – do your own thing Matt!
TOO bad Chuck did a Antone Davis on us