Hedo’s the worst interviewee ever, it was a real test of my patience to get through 4+ minutes of that but I did it so you don’t have to. All you need to know is that he expects to get some minutes against Boston on Wednesday and that his physical and mental fatigue is wearing off and he’s thankful for Triano and Colangelo to helping him get through this. He’s looking forward to finally being part of the team in earnest. He actually mumbles “Hopefully I’ll do my best” which I thought was a little funny.
You can add Amir Johnson to the “you know” crowd. Get him and Quincy Douby in a conversation and you got yourself a sitcom. Johnson’s saying that he can also guard threes and re-iterates that he was shocked to get traded to Milwaukee but not so much to Toronto. The questions being asked aren’t exactly great which means the interview doesn’t say much. One of the questions actually asked, “Do you think the Raptors know what they were getting when they acquired you?”
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the active nature of his play and what he might bring to the regular rotation. At the same time Reggie Evans has also been impressive with his hustle and rebounding while guarding his position – he had the most success guarding Jamison who is exactly the type of player than can give him fits. The question is with Bosh playing 35-40 minutes, where will these two play? The answer might come at the expense of Rasho who, save for the first game against Philly, has been very unimpressive. His weight loss surprised me because I thought it took away from his main strength – the wide body which clogs up space. Maybe he became more agile in order to extend his career, but so far it’s only meant that he’s not impacting the game with his defensive positioning like we’re used to seeing. What’s also making him look worse is that he can’t knock a single jumpshot down (25% shooting). As with all games, it’ll come down to matchups but you can already see that there are two positions (backup PF and backup C) with three candidates vying for major minutes. Sorry Patrick, but you’re not even close to coming into this discussion.
Triano’s saying Hedo went hard in practice today and could play on Wednesday. He’s praising DeRozan for having a good ear and taking in what he learns and then applying it the next day. He says that the learning curve for him is much steeper than it has ever been and that a lot of his “mistakes” can be attributed to playing the game in a setting he just isn’t used to. You know, rookie mistakes. A-Dub and myself were having a conversation and we decided that DeRozan’s like a sponge – he absorbs everything. He paces his game and doesn’t try to do too much, he takes it one step at a time. If he had to read a book, he’d read a page a day, write a 20 page report about that page the next day and finish the whole thing off in two years. But after those two years you wouldn’t find a guy on this planet who knows that book like he does. Yeah.
The team will be flying to Hartford, Connecticut today and will play the C**tics at the XL Center tomorrow. The game is not on TV or radio in Toronto but we’ll try to get something for you.
Let’s talk about Jose Calderon’s play which is the elephant in the room right now.
Facts that cannot be disputed: He’s been terrible so far. I know its only pre-season but he’s shooting 44%, has an AST/TO ratio of 2.5:1, is getting exploited on defense exactly – if not worse – than last year and has shown zero bounce in his step on offense. He’s been very easy to guard and has not come close to threatening any defense so far this pre-season.
What we’re hoping the case is: He’s pacing himself secure in the knowledge that he’s got the starting job all sewn up. He doesn’t want to expend energy in these meaningless games and is reserving it for later in the pre-season when Turkoglu and Bosh are around so he can play with a truer unit. He’s saving himself for the regular season and is focused right now on learning Triano’s offense rather than proving to his detractors that he indeed is back.
What some are fearing the case is: He’s a great backup but can’t handle playing against starting caliber NBA PGs. Even though Jack is putting up worse numbers (35% shooting, 1.5:1 AST/TO), he’s still looked more in control of the offense than Jose who is simply passing the ball to the first guard who shows himself on the wing, or to the big man who pops out after the high screen. Triano earlier alluded to the competition at the PG driving these two players to greater limits but so far it’s only resulted in us seeing the worst of Calderon. Is Jack actually more capable than Calderon? For the sake of the contract we just handed Jose, I sure hope not.
What is actually the case: I don’t know. He’s obviously better than what he’s shown and I can’t see why he wouldn’t want to get himself off to a flying start, if for no other reason than to quickly erase the memory of last year. At the same time it’s better to pace yourself in these matters, but that’s not an excuse to play like you’ve got wooden shoes on. It’s one thing to pace yourself by going hard for the first 5 minutes and then taking it easy for the next 15, another to appear disoriented for the full 20. Jose’s throwing me a curveball but I can make one statement with relative confidence: his conditioning isn’t anywhere close to where it needs to be. You can see it in the jumper, the man-defense, the way he’s negotiating screens out there and the way he’s struggling to create.
That’s that. Recently we added this Twitter page to the site which shows all the tweets of all relevant Raptors-related tweeters.
55 Raps
You know, any time I can remember a player being out with injury so that they don’t play any games, something has consistently happened. I’ve seen it happen with Bosh, repeatedly; I saw it last year with JO, we saw it with Ford. It’s that they play bad for a while when they come back. We know Jose took the entire summer off, and didn’t play basketball before training camp.
So why is this not discussed at all? Why is the speculation that he’s ’saving himself’. Isn’t the OBVIOUS explanation completely consistent with what we’ve seen so far? Is there some reason you don’t buy it?
It’s kind of funny to me, because even after the first game, I was hearing “I know he hasn’t played all summer, but you know he really sucked.” Well, yeah, duh. Isn’t that basically saying “Well, I have every reason to expect him to play bad, and boy, am I SHOCKED at his bad play!”. Where’s the surprise? He’s STILL played better than Jack — maybe it’s your impression Jack is ‘more in control of the offense’ but Jack has shot terrible and turned the ball over way more than I want.
But even with Jack, I don’t care that much yet. Why? There’s ANOTHER explanation for why Calderon (and Jack) might be playing bad: we’ve talked a lot about how this is a team of totally new guys who have no idea how to play together. How is that going to come out? Is it going to affect rebounding? Athleticism? Or is it going to show up with PG’s turning over the ball and getting crappy statlines because nobody is comfortable with the offense yet?
So seriously, with Jose and Jack I’ll be concerned exactly when the regular season starts.
its science
dude, you really are good at how you just explain it, I, and most people, would not have thought about that, and instead just panic….thank you for opening our eyes a little bit, after all, we are pessimistic raptors fan.
I agree with what you are saying about Jose.
But at the same time – if you take a look at the flipside – all the competitive teams out there, the ones that actually are aiming for a championship: they’re all ready to go.
I find it rather strange that a team with seemingly less talent is less prepared than teams that have more talent to begin with.
I’m not sure if it’s poor planning (because Colangelo/Triano didn’t want to tell Turkoglu to sit out of the Euro ball, or tell Jose to practice and be ready for the season) but regardless, as a fan I’m kind of disappointed.
It’s almost as if we cut our team too much slack, rather than holding them accountable to the highest standard. If we’re serious about wanting a championship one day, we should constantly be comparing our team to the best teams out there. But for some reason we don’t.
And no offense to Doug Smith, but I’m with Arsenalist here – the media needs to start asking better questions; questions that prompt a little bit of pressure on the management, coaches and players.
But hey, maybe it’s just the MLSE jinx. Maybe teams in Toronto can’t win championships. The only thing that truly keeps me going as a fan is remembering that not too long ago the Blue Jays brought 2 back to back World Series Championships to this city. I’m hoping that Colangelo can change the culture of this entire organization, not just the Raptors locker room.
One little thing to remember, Raptors are a team that won 33 games last year, going thru training camp with a new coaching staff, 12 new players that have not gone thru the routine together. Would not like to compare them to a competitive team, and their conditions.
P.S. Arsenalist – Just thought I’d ask you to try something lol: next time you listen to Hedo Turkoglu in an interview, constantly try and remind yourself that he showed up in this league as a 19 year old who couldn’t speak a proper sentence in English. Then put yourself in his shoes (being interviewed in a foreign language, not even SLIGHTLY close to your mother tongue). Trust me, you won’t think he’s thaaaat bad of an interviewee. Just thought I’d try helping you get through the rest of the season listening to his interviews lol
You’re right but I wasn’t ripping on his English, just his delivery and how he’s half asleep.
I was a 19 yrs old who couldn’t speak a single sentence of English. Being in an environment where everyone around me spoke English, I have been able to learn without any problem. Now my English is as good as the next person. It took me only 6 years. So thats not an excuse. If i live in Turkey as long as Hedo as lived in USA and spoke Turkish everyday, i would be rapping in Turkish by now.
Hedo was not a 40 year old guy whose personality was set. 19 yrs is a pretty malleable age.
Maybe, he just likes to talk like that. There are lots of people who are born and brought up in Canada and people have hard time making out what they are saying in English.
It seems like you are hell bent on riding Jose,lets give him the benefit of the doubt,after the first 10 regular season games….if Jose doesn’t show up ,then we can throw him under the bus.
In regards to Rasho,I can honesly say that POB has been better !!! wow,ya POB is a little off with the timing,but he can alter shots,and with him and Amir they seem to play off each other.
Like you ,I miss the wide body Rasho,the new look Rasho needs to eat a meal .
I love the competition for playing time…
Rasho has been playing against starters/2nd unit guys…. POB has been (rightfully) playing against the garbage units. POB sucks. He doesn’t try.
Lets say you played ball against NBAers who would (likely) beat you. I play against 5 year olds and (hopefully) beat them. I guarantee my stats/play look better… doesn’t in anyway mean I’m a better player.
POB would have played against Andray Blatche or JaVale McGee on Sunday and fared well for himself. POB doesn’t prance around the court like some (e.g., POPS, Reggie Evans, etc.), but his effort seemed adequate on Sunday.
‘adquate?’ i guess that’s just it…for a guy on a rebuilding team with a derth of front court depth, he should be busting his ass trying to earn a spot. anything else sends the simple message that he’s content being a 13th man, sitting on the bench & collecting a hefty paycheque.
POB is a POS. He’s got all the tools and just doesn’t even come close to trying. He’s not unathletic, he’s not short or stumpy, he isn’t an unskilled shooter he just doesn’t care. Put Alvins heart in POBs body and you’d have a perennial all star.
Dude is a wasye of air worse than Loren Woods.
Well, at least POB’s head isn’t nearly as rectangular
I dont know if it was just me, but I think Jose showed some improvement in the last game. He had couple of drives and few quick passes up the court. Of course still not where he needs to be, but after the first game, he has improved a lot.
Also I’m not expecting him to be a big scorer this season. He needs to drive couple of times a game and hit his shots to keep the defense honest, but as we have so much scoring with AB, CB, and Hedo on the floor, its more important that he can be that trustworthy PG who does turn the ball over and knows what plays to run and when. As he hasnt really been playing with the real starters yet, I dont think we can evaluate this side yet.
Oh and dont get me wrong, the defense needs to improve too.
its not just you. i saw that as well. i think jose is just trying to learn a new offense and trying to learn about and feel out these new players. in contrast to jack and douby who are just trying to get there offense going and jacking up quick shots. its preseason the win doesnt matter but getting ready for the 28th does and thats what hes doing. ITS SCIENCE and jose is a scientist.
I agree with Malefax but we (the media and the blog-o-sphere) are all about instant gratification and criticism. Anyone who has ever played any sport in a semi-competitive environment, let alone at an extremely high level, knows that it does take time to get your timing back. So given the fact that Jose hasn’t played any basketball all summer and then add all the new faces and it’s quite understandable that he has been playing so sht. I think we should all just chill a little and give it until the regular season before we start bloging about how badly he’s playing
Johnson sees to go in and out on the “You knows” Sometimes using them and sometimes not even durin the same interview. I think he may use the “You know” when he needs for his thoughts on what he is going to say next to catch up with his words. When he has a clear thought on an idea before speaking he avoids the “you knows”.
There was one pretty revealing comment in that interview.
You could see by his reponse and facial expression how happy he was to finally be getting some serious extended, for him, minutes for the first time.
He is averaging 21 minutes a game so far which is a lot more than the Pistons ever gave him.
I can see that he is obviously overjoyed at it.
The other interesting comment that he made was he backtracked about his offensive game from what he had been saying earlier. It seems to me that Triano might have talked to him and told him to not be quite so aggressive in shooting the ball at this time. We shall see.
All in all not a bad interview.
Hedo seems totally bored with the interview and looked like he would rather have been somewhere else. My guess is that he is probably tired of getting asked the zillionith time about was he hurt or was he just fatigued. He is probably a also a little upset over the comments about him possibly dogging it and that maybe the reason he hasn’t played.
I think that with Hedo at this point, both him and the fans are a bit frustrated, one with the other.
And no offense to Doug Smith, but I’m with Arsenalist here – the media needs to start asking better questions; questions that prompt a little bit of pressure on the management, coaches and players.>>>
==============
This is meant in a humorous way.
In the U.S. there is only one media outlet that asks serious questions of their interviewees. We all know who that is, or hopefully know, and they evidently are not hanging around the Raptors camp. LOL
Great read and loved this comment:
“One of the questions actually asked, “Do you think the Raptors know what they were getting when they acquired you?””
That was Doug Smith of course.
Unreal…I almost threw up in my mouth when I heard it so SO glad you called it out.
yeah, no one lobs softballs like doughy. don’t call him on it though, or you’ll get a 3-paragraph diatribe on why life’s so hard for ‘beat grunts.’
i’m all for giving a guy time to get his conditioning up to speed, and to get acclimated with the offense. it’s simply a matter of being down a well-travelled road. we’re all abundantly familiar with excuses, and the way this pre-season has started (with fatigue & injuries), i fear the groundwork is being laid for excuses for future poor performances. bosh is still ‘battling’ a ‘nagging’ injury, jose was resting/rehabbing all summer & isn’t in ‘game shape’ yet, hedo has ‘played a lot of ball’ over the last couple seasons, and his body & mind ‘need to fully recover.’ bargnani’s ’still learning’ the centre position, his rebounding’s a ‘work in progress.’ it’s all fine – - for now. what i fear is that we’ll be hearing these ‘reasons’ off & on for the next 6 months, while the team ‘gels’ & learns the systems.
Sounds like you’r still getting your game in shape too.
Agree with all your sentiments about Jose. One thing I’ll say however is that the pg defender really has to be self-motivated. All the other defenders are behind him. So while everyone else might benefit from the energy of a Reggie Evans lets say, the only time he sees Reggie is when his man has already passed him.
More than anything else, I think he’s questioning himself. He knows he’s got a lot to prove and that might be weighing on him. We would be better served if it was simply a matter of conditioning frankly. He would inevitably get to where he needed to be.
It is only a matter of conditioing, and new players and offense, with Bosh missing, and nobody making shots (team 43%fg &28% fg3) so no assits when he is passing to the open shooters, and game points coming from FT’s.
I’m starting to realize Jose is in a no win situation with alot of Raps fans. He played so well as part of the Forderon that everyone thinks, hey if he gets X more minutes his stats/play will increase by X amount. So he gets full time duty last year, the team around him plays like crap and he gets injured and he doesn’t improve by X quantity. All of a sudden the focus of all eyes/criticism. It must be Jose because Bosh is a 20/10 guy and thats always money (ignoring the fact taht he doesn’t take it to the hole enough, has not been strong enough to cover larger bigs, only rebounds so well because he counterpart can’t rebound at all, is not in anyway a force down low on both ends of the court), and it can’t be Bargs because he played so well in the 2nd half of last year and has alot of potential (and has yet to show improvements in rebounding and defense… the two areas we need improvement in to be successful)
When do we realize that Jose is what he is. A good reliable player. Not a heavy slasher, not a heavy shooter, not a chance taker. People want to see these things change because Steve Nash does it, Chris Paul does it, Deron Williams does it (ie. more aggressive, more shooting, more chances). When he starts to do that its, man he doesn’t look good out there. Well guess why? Its because he is trying to change his game…. and it will take time for those changes to be effective.
You can’t take more chances without having more turnovers. If he is taking more shots its reasonable to assume some of those shots are not ones he would have chosen in the past (therefore resulting in a lower %). He is playing with alot of new faces, and he is a new face to alot of players… Jose’s responsibilities as the floor general is to figure out those players. 4 games into a preason (with the majority of minutes going to the bench/end of the bench) means little. We don’t jump on Bosh when he plays 2 subpar games because… well its early. We praise Weems, Johnson etc. because they have played above what we expected (with no guarantees it will last into the regular season). Bargs doesn’t improve in the areas we need him to improve (atleast not yet), and we generally accept it because he doesn’t do that stuff well. But with Jose well…. its unacceptable.
I’m not saying Jose has looked good, what I’m saying is Jose is not the guy we need to worry about. He has for 3 years been the definition of reliable. I don’t doubt for a second when the regular season comes around Jose will be the reliable player he always has. If this team is to win or lose its going to be the responsibility of Bosh/AB (and to some degree Hedo). Defense/rebounding starts and ends with big men… defense and rebounding is the difference between winning and losing.
Sorry for the rant…. this Jose business always gets me going….
“He’s obviously better than what he’s shown and I can’t see why he wouldn’t want to get himself off to a flying start.”
Great comment, and when the season actually starts I hope he does get off to a “flying start”. Until then, all this means nothing.
Why does RR always write “C**tics” ? What’s with the asterisks?
u n
We’re all very well aware of Jose’s strenghts on the court, but most of us undermine the importance of his weaknesses. He’s the worst starting point guard in the league defensively, and will be the real weakness in our starting lineup. JJ brings much more toughness, but his vison and scoring touch aren’t starter worthy. I think they will average similar minutes when all is said and done at the end of the season, but will turn out to be our real weakness, again.
PS. Hedo speaks decent English for someone who learned the language late and has no problem expressing himself on the court.
“He’s the worst starting point guard in the league defensively
This is quite a statement and yet little to base it on. His rebounding is on average for a pg, his steals are on average for a player (maybe slightly lower than most pgs but not of a significant amount to make a difference), the only opposing PGs who go off on him are pgs that go off on everyone. If you can show me that weak pgs play well because Jose was covering them I would agree…. but you are going to be hard pressed to find that.
Okaaaaayyy……I’m not saying he’s the worst defensive PG in the league but let’s not even pretend that he’s average. Since when does RPG indicate how good of a defender you are? He’s averaging 2.4RPG for his career and somehow that’s supposed to speak to his defensive credibility? Mark Jackson averaged 3.8 rebounds for his career and was the worst defensive PGs around when it comes to guarding your check.
And I can point to instances where average PGs lit him up last year, Randy Foye and Raymond Felton come to mind but I’m not even touching that subject any further because of his injury.
I’m not sold on Jose and I understand you’re a fan of his, but appreciate that we’re all trying to view things in a very objective manner when it comes to him and you should do the same.
Why can I not be a fan a of his and not be objective at the same time. To be honest I feel I am very fair about Jose. I dont yell about him being an Allstar, I dont put him in the same category as Nash, Paul and Williams. I dont claim that he is good defensively. I do say he is not as bad of a defender as everyone thinks and Im told Im not objective. Yet those who do agree that he is bad defensively are objective…. hmmm….. its funny how objective the use of the term objective can be.
Why cant we believe he is actually average defensively. Because so many other people say so. Somebody pushed a rock that is Joses defense down a hill and it continually grows momentum, not stopping and picking up everything in its path. There was never (or atleast rarely) talk of Joses defense prior to his injury. Post injury Jose defense looked much improved… is there ever talk about that.
Do we understand how difficult it is to be good defensively at the pg position. How all of the so called good defensive pgs have great defensive big men behind them to clog the lane. These teams have length and athleticism at the wing to help prevent the pass. Good defense at the pg position relies on the rest of the team. Good fast pgs have and will always beat the opposing pg (who can stop Harris, Parker, Paul, Nash…. Ill stop the list there because its very extensive). Getting beat by these guys in no way means you are bad… pgs are always reliant on their teammates to help them, while the pg then rotates and helps the man that helps them. That is what pgs need to do. When the screen and roll comes do we really expect Jose to waste time fighting through a screen set by a man 7-8 inches taller than him and 60+ lbs heavier, a screen he will NEVER be able to push threw… and if he does it will either be a foul or waste valuable seconds allowing the opposing pg and open shot or drvie. He needs to make the choice to either go over or under the screen, or if the defender of the screen pops out, cover the individual who set the screen. This also relies on the big calling out a screen… which from everything Ive read and heard the Raps did a poor job of.
Does anyone even recognize many pgs in this league as actually good defenders. (I cant think of any outside of Paul and Rondo…. and they get that recognition because of steals… oh yeah and rebounds….)
Rebounding is an indicator of defense (although not a typical straight forward indicator) because if you have possession of the ball… the other team doesnt. The less the oppossing team has the ball the less opportunity the opposition has to score. Can you name me a better defensive stategy then NOT letting the opposing team have opportunities. Isnt that the exact definition of good defense. I know to some this seems far fetched… but then go back over the years and check to see what all the good defensive teams in the league do well. Thats rebound. (albiet alot less important for a pg… but the point still applies). I know people like to think of B-Ball as 3 parts. Offense, defense and rebounding. Its not. Its 2 part… offense and defense. Rebounding fits into both categories (an offesnive rebound gives you a 2nd chance and prevents the opposing team from another possession, a defensive rebound prevents a second chance and gives you another possession)
Now will all those who jump on Jose as a bad defender bandwagon read this with an objective manner and start to understand how difficult it actually is to recognize what is good and bad defense at the pg position. How reliant a pg is on its teammates in order to not look bad defensively. PGs (all pgs) have it the toughest when it come to defense.
P.S. Mark Jackson was far from being a bad defender. Im amazed you would even claim that.
Except he was injured last year, so what does him getting lit up by guys last year objectively show about his defense? You say ‘you’re not touching on the subject’, except that you bring up cases where he was injured as if that’s relevant to his play when healthy. So you are touching on the subject, in a misleading way.
For the record, I’m not a fan of Jose. I just am not at all persuaded that a)we should be concerned about his play so far nor b) he’s a bad defender when healthy.
Jose gets beat one on one by just about any PG he faces up against defensively. He’s very fundamental when playing D, but lacks the lateral quickness and the toughness to stop most ball handlers. There’s no need to dig up stats (especially rebounding?) as this has been an issue with JC since we met him. I love his passion and his desire to win (and i seriously consider it genuine and legit) but he’s far from being a complete guard. I’m not basing my opinion on last season or this pre-season. Jose needs to either bulk up to match his desire to play hard, or realise his boundaries and look to excel in what he’s capable of.
I love the guy, but i can certainly guarantee you that he won’t be our starting guard if we ever make a deep push in the playoffs.
How can you certainly guarantee that??? What a false statement.
On the Jose topic….he was the only player besides Bad Joey that showed any balls last year,and stood up to that obnoxious pri… K.G. Where were the rest of our fearless leaders?
Can’t argue there. You know how I feel about standing up for yourself and your teammates. Hopefully Evans and Johnson fill that role this year.
or maybe, y’know, the franchise player. that’d be cool…
Hope you are not holding your breath….but oops he did man up once this pre season…now that he’s buffed!!!
I read somewhere that KG picked on Beli last year because he was pestering ,I believe ,Ray Allen too much . Hopefully if this happen again big brother (Andrea) will get on KG face (we can dream ,no ??)
Bosh is crap in the pre-season … and together with his rotten defense he looks like a scrub. All the guy gets is easy defensive rebounds when the other team is long gone … an a lot of those rebounds bounce on the floor before he snags them. If he didn’t get fouled a lot he would be a 12/5 player. Now with JT’s new offensive strategy to move the ball fast, Bosh will look like a sore thumb standing there holding the ball and doesn’t know what to do .. except throw it at the basket, or charge and flop. His game is sooooo one dimensional..!!!!
Chris sent me a message saying, `I looked too skinny (in Beijing),’” Triano said Thursday. “He said, `I called my (strength trainer) the next day and said, `Let’s go!’” – Triano. (Oct. 2, Toronto Star)
I wonder how much a contract year had to do with that. I have a feeling Bosh’s head is going to be way south of the border year, and his priorities very centered around himself.
“If he didn’t get fouled a lot he would be a 12/5 player”
how does getting to line a lot help to double his rebounds?
Can we back the truck up about Jose and take a pill? Wow, panic in the preseason?
Jose had 4 turnovers in London and looked awful – No argument I was there! I thought the guy was about to faint on the court – he looked all pale and worse.
In the last 3 games he’s had 2 turnovers – take the 4 game Asst:TO ratio and put it where it belongs – in the preseason junk pile. Jose’s Ast:TO is 6:1 in the last 3 games – but who cares!
Actually I’d take everybody’s stats in the preseason and look at them for amusement only. That said I enjoy watching preseason – there’s no pressure cause the games don’t count – I just wish the tickets were cheaper!
On Friday – the opposing coach said Jose played okay & better than Jack.
On Sunday, Jose did play okay – for a preseason game with 2 weeks to go before the season starts!
All that and I still want to see Hedo in the line-up because the preseason is when we want players to get their timing and conditioning back – you know – as opposed to Hedo trying to get his game together while guarding LeBron on the 28th.
Put Jose Calderon on the Celtics or the Cavs and his defense is only a minor issue.
I think Calderon is getting blamed for problems that lie elsewhere (Bosh and Bargnani mostly).
During last years Celtics-Bulls playoff series, Rondo and Rose both scored at will but none of the announcers ever called them stiffs. Rose is not really that good of a defender but nobody ever throws him under the bus in Chicago. So I agree with your point.
Absolutely. Calderon looked far worse as a defender because our team D was atrocious under Smitch. With more atheletes, fewer boneheads, and an intelligent coach at the helm this season I expect the team D to be much improved.
Looking forward to seeing Turkoglu in action. I agree with you steve, maybe we are being a bit too harsh on Calderon. Afterall, just preseason. One thing to remember is that he has proven himself in the past to be a valuable asset, don’t see him flopping now. The thing that I am concerned with is the defense. I thought he might step it up this year but it looks even worse. I remember a play where.. (I think it was against Washington) Arenas or Nick Young drove from the baseline on a 1 on 2 and he didn’t even put his hands up, forcing his teammate to stretch out and do the work himself. This resulted in a 2.
This is only the preseason for crying out loud.
jose calderon sucks! i was never a fan of him. he is one of my hated raptors, alongside the likes of kapono, moon.
he is very overrated, one of the most overrated players in the league. i do agree with t-dotforever that we still have to wait for the full strength lineup with hedo in it. where hedo can play point forward and handle the ball.
i still have high hopes for the team esp derozan. and also sony weems looks good with his dunks. hopefully these guys dont end up to be jamario moons or joey grahams.
we have to beat the bad teams in order for us to make the playoffs. otherwise, it;s deja vu of last season.
that's so weird, since pretty much every single bit of empirical evidence points to him being one of the more underrated players in the L. ah well, stats are for a-holes…
ooh, dig the new look, though i wish it were easier to see replies.
It's hard to read anything you write about Jose Calderon objectively because it's clear you do not like him as a player.
Not really even though it comes off that way. I hold him to higher standards than most people, that's all. I don't think it's OK to accept mediocrity from him. We all gave him the benefit of the doubt in the second half of last season but he's got to step it up early this year. Again, I'm willing to wait till the regular season.
I already knew Arse wrote this column — he hates Calderon for some reason. Jose just want to stay out of injury that's why he doesn't play well in pre-season. He doesn't need to impress anyone inorder to get more minutes. He's already a STARTER on the team whether he's having a blast in pre-season or not.
That seems very anti trainning camp to me. If Jose is not putting in the effort into his play, than how will his new teammates learn to adjust to him? How will they know what to expect when the season starts?